Wolsey and the King's Divorce (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Wolsey and the King's Divorce
Why did Wolsey fail to secure a divorce for Henry?
Background and context
Wolsey faced his most difficult task in the late 1520s when Henry VIII decided he needed to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry may have been contemplating this before meeting Anne Boleyn, but several factors made the issue urgent by 1527. Catherine had not provided Henry with a surviving son, though she had given birth to a daughter, Mary. Henry had fathered an illegitimate son in 1519, Henry Fitzroy, whom he created Duke of Richmond. This child could potentially serve as heir, suggesting that divorce was not initially Henry's primary concern.
The succession crisis was a persistent Tudor concern. Without a clear, legitimate male heir, England risked returning to the chaos of civil war that had plagued the country during the Wars of the Roses.
Henry's motivation and the succession problem
Like all Tudor monarchs, Henry's overriding concern was establishing a secure line of succession through a legitimate male heir. An illegitimate son could be accepted, but others with stronger claims might challenge the succession. The worst possible outcome would be civil war, with memories of the Wars of the Roses still fresh in people's minds.
By 1527, Henry had firmly decided he wanted a divorce. He had become infatuated with Anne Boleyn. Henry had mentioned doubts about his marriage to Wolsey as early as 1525, but the matter became pressing in 1527 when Anne made clear she would not become his mistress. This left Henry increasingly frustrated. Obtaining a divorce would not be straightforward, however.
The Turning Point
Anne Boleyn's refusal to become Henry's mistress in 1527 transformed the divorce from a theoretical consideration into an urgent political necessity. This decision fundamentally changed the course of English history.
The obstacle: Pope Clement VII and Charles V
The Insurmountable Barrier
Pope Clement VII was heavily under the control of Emperor Charles V, who was Catherine of Aragon's nephew. Neither Charles nor the Pope had any interest in supporting Henry's wish for a divorce. This created an insurmountable diplomatic barrier that would shape all of Wolsey's subsequent strategies.
Wolsey's three approaches
Wolsey attempted three different strategies to secure the divorce, each addressing a different aspect of the problem.
1. Scriptural arguments
Wolsey constructed a complex argument based on scripture to justify the divorce in Catholic Church terms. He maintained that Catherine's marriage to Henry in 1509 had been invalid because Catherine had previously been married to Prince Arthur. The argument rested on Catherine's claim that her first marriage had never been consummated. If this claim was false, then Henry had been deceived and the marriage had never been legitimate.
The Biblical Justification
Wolsey's argument drew on Leviticus 20:16: "If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an impurity; he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless."
Henry became persuaded that his lack of a legitimate male heir represented God's punishment. He believed he was living in sin and his conscience demanded he rectify the situation.
Armed with this justification, Wolsey felt confident he could persuade the Pope to agree to an annulment.
Theological Disagreement
The argument was not straightforward, however. Many theologians disagreed about how to interpret Leviticus. Given that polygamy was practised when the text was written, numerous experts argued it referred specifically to not marrying your sister-in-law whilst your brother was still alive. After a brother's death, it became a man's duty to marry his brother's widow and father children on his behalf, as instructed in Deuteronomy. This undermined the scriptural basis of Wolsey's case.
2. Diplomatic manoeuvres
Wolsey's second approach targeted Emperor Charles V directly. As Catherine's nephew, Charles was unlikely to support a divorce, and his control of Italy made the situation doubly inconvenient for Henry. Wolsey attempted to free the Pope from Charles's influence by forming an alliance with France and renewing warfare in Italy to distract the Emperor.
This policy failed because Charles remained too strongly entrenched in the Italian peninsula to be evicted by France. Without removing Charles's influence over the Pope, diplomatic pressure proved ineffective.
3. Legal efforts
Wolsey hoped to circumvent the entire problem of Charles V and his control over the Pope by holding the divorce hearings in England. As Papal Legate, Wolsey would make the judgement himself. However, Pope Clement VII remained concerned about offending Charles V. Although he agreed to establish a commission to hear the divorce case, he sent Cardinal Campeggio to England with strict instructions to delay proceedings and ensure no decision was reached.
Wolsey hoped Campeggio would cooperate—after all, Campeggio had already compromised himself by serving as absentee Bishop of Salisbury. However, Campeggio was unwell, took months to reach England, and then proceeded very thoroughly once there. Henry and Wolsey both grew increasingly impatient.
When the court finally convened in June 1529 to discuss the case, Catherine immediately refused to recognise its authority and appealed to the Pope to move the hearing to Rome. This offered Clement VII another opportunity to frustrate the divorce without openly offending either Charles or Henry. The Pope agreed and the English court was shut down. It became clear to Henry that Wolsey had exhausted his options for resolving this problem. Wolsey's usefulness to Henry had ended.
The Final Blow
Catherine's appeal to Rome in June 1529 effectively ended all of Wolsey's strategies. The Pope's decision to move the hearing to Rome meant that Wolsey could no longer control the proceedings, and the divorce would remain subject to Charles V's influence over the papacy.
Key Points to Remember:
- Henry sought a divorce primarily to secure the succession through a legitimate male heir; Anne Boleyn made the issue urgent by 1527.
- Pope Clement VII's dependence on Emperor Charles V (Catherine's nephew) created an insurmountable obstacle to Henry's divorce.
- Wolsey attempted three strategies: scriptural arguments (based on Leviticus), diplomatic pressure (alliance with France), and legal manoeuvres (English hearings with Cardinal Campeggio).
- All three approaches failed; Catherine's appeal to Rome in June 1529 ended Wolsey's options.