‘The Children of Henry VIII” - by Alison Weir
Henry VIII:
• The closure of the monasteries had led to serious social problems
• It was not until the end of the century that the Poor Law Acts dealt efficiently with the
social evils of poverty and destitution
• Henry VIII’s reign had been a catalogue of failures rather than achievements
• Squandering his inheritance by mismanagement and extravagance, so that already by the
1530s he had been desperately in need of money and eager to profit from his religious
Reformation
• Sought glory and renown in France by attempting to emulate the example of Henry V
Edward VI:
• Warwick, hitherto Somerset’s ally, now began nursing ambitions of depriving him of his
authority as Lord Protector
• Mary was allowed to lay down any other rules for the guidance of her staff, and apart from
imposing these few restrictions, which could only be to her benefit, the Council left her
alone during the early months of Edward’s reign
• Her (Mary) living quietly in the country, for they were aware of her popularity and her
political opposition…focus for opposition against the reformist policies
• The Pope was known to be working through his agents for the overthrow of what people
regarded as the heretical regime
• Crowded streets his subjects hailed him as a ‘young King Solomon’
• He demanded the fourth sword (at his coronation), the Bible, “ the sword of the spirit”
• Perhaps consciously he took to emulating his own father, whose example he was expected
to follow and even excel; in state portraits he adopted the same stance as Henry VIII
• Nicholas Udall- “how happy are we Englishmen of such a king”
• Joan Boacher, executed in 1550 for denying that Jesus Christ had been a human being
• Sons of John Dudley, became sincere converts to Protestantism
• (Somerset) has no sense of political pragmatism- he was too much of an idealist
• London and some other cities and towns, as well as a core of intellectuals in the
universities and gentry in the south-east, were already largely Protestant, though the rest of
the country remained Catholic
• Colleagues resented Somerset’s power and his policies and he had also alienated many of
his supporters by being unable to keep his promises to eradicate what many people
believed to be the current evils in English society, such as rising inflation and the enclosure
of common land
• Some thought the Duke (Somerset) had gone too far in his religious reforms, while many
thought he had not gone far enough
• [Act of Uniformity] many objected to the simplified English liturgy on the grounds it
debased Christian worship
• Concern…Lady Mary might have been encouraging the rebels; after all, she was at her
home at Kenninghall at that time, in the heart of rebel territory and only 20 miles from
Norwich
• Mary regarded Kett’s followers as traitors and had refused to become involved with them
Henry VIII:
• The closure of the monasteries had led to serious social problems
• It was not until the end of the century that the Poor Law Acts dealt efficiently with the
social evils of poverty and destitution
• Henry VIII’s reign had been a catalogue of failures rather than achievements
• Squandering his inheritance by mismanagement and extravagance, so that already by the
1530s he had been desperately in need of money and eager to profit from his religious
Reformation
• Sought glory and renown in France by attempting to emulate the example of Henry V
Edward VI:
• Warwick, hitherto Somerset’s ally, now began nursing ambitions of depriving him of his
authority as Lord Protector
• Mary was allowed to lay down any other rules for the guidance of her staff, and apart from
imposing these few restrictions, which could only be to her benefit, the Council left her
alone during the early months of Edward’s reign
• Her (Mary) living quietly in the country, for they were aware of her popularity and her
political opposition…focus for opposition against the reformist policies
• The Pope was known to be working through his agents for the overthrow of what people
regarded as the heretical regime
• Crowded streets his subjects hailed him as a ‘young King Solomon’
• He demanded the fourth sword (at his coronation), the Bible, “ the sword of the spirit”
• Perhaps consciously he took to emulating his own father, whose example he was expected
to follow and even excel; in state portraits he adopted the same stance as Henry VIII
• Nicholas Udall- “how happy are we Englishmen of such a king”
• Joan Boacher, executed in 1550 for denying that Jesus Christ had been a human being
• Sons of John Dudley, became sincere converts to Protestantism
• (Somerset) has no sense of political pragmatism- he was too much of an idealist
• London and some other cities and towns, as well as a core of intellectuals in the
universities and gentry in the south-east, were already largely Protestant, though the rest of
the country remained Catholic
• Colleagues resented Somerset’s power and his policies and he had also alienated many of
his supporters by being unable to keep his promises to eradicate what many people
believed to be the current evils in English society, such as rising inflation and the enclosure
of common land
• Some thought the Duke (Somerset) had gone too far in his religious reforms, while many
thought he had not gone far enough
• [Act of Uniformity] many objected to the simplified English liturgy on the grounds it
debased Christian worship
• Concern…Lady Mary might have been encouraging the rebels; after all, she was at her
home at Kenninghall at that time, in the heart of rebel territory and only 20 miles from
Norwich
• Mary regarded Kett’s followers as traitors and had refused to become involved with them
