Henry's Court

In sharp contrast to the rather dull atmosphere of his father's court Henry VIII delighted in having lively, vibrant people around him. Henry was a lazy man when it came to actually implementing any political changes, that was what his parliament was for after all. At this time it is accurate to call it his parliament as his power was absolute. He relied on his councillors, such as the ill-fated Sir Thomas More, to carry out his bidding. They served more as enforcers than advisors. The enthusiasm that the nation had felt for their new king was waning.

Riots were taking place with the prime targets of the rioters' frustrations being the Tax Collectors, landlords, churchmen and foreign merchants. It was the latter who by bringing cheap products into the country precipitated the rise in rents made by the Landlords, the scarcity of money for the Tax Collectors and the anger at the Church which seemed to be able to continue to prosper while the people suffered. Henry's court was filled with those who would openly agree with the king, privately their conscience was their own.

Cardinal Wolsey was head of the Church in England at the beginning of Henry's reign. In 1517 he and Henry attempted to introduce a new level of tax but such was the fear of revolution that this idea was vetoed, even by the sycophants around the king. In keeping with his consistent disloyalty Henry stripped Wolsey of his authority in 1527. It was but a short time before Wolsey, who had been charged with treason, died.

Although he did manage to avoid the axe. It was Sir Thomas More who stepped into the shoes of Wolsey. It was the desire of Henry to divorce from Catherine of Aragon that led to More's downfall. A major part of this can be attributed to the king's new adviser, Thomas Cromwell. It was Cromwell, with the assistance of Thomas Cranmer, who had become the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of Sir Thomas More, who steered much of England's policy in the next few years.

With Henry's track record it should not be surprising to read that both men were eventually executed. Although Cranmer's death came on the command of Henry's daughter Mary a staunch Catholic, following the death of her father and her brother, Edward VI.