Why I Want To Marry Cromwell

Catharine of Aragon was Arthur’s widow, and seven years after his death Henry VIII married her on June 11, 1509 when he was seventeen years old . The new prince, Henry VIII, did not waste any time in experimenting with his new found power. He quickly found two ministers his father greatly disliked when he was alive, and he had them arrested and then executed. Execution soon became Henry VIII’s standard way of punishing anyone who crossed his path.

Henry probably did not say the famous last line of the above quote, i.e. "If this be treason, make the most of it." The only account of the speech written down at the time by an eyewitness (which came to light many years later) records that Henry actually apologized after being accused of uttering treasonable words, assuring the House that he was still loyal to the king. Nevertheless, Henry's passionate, radical speech caused quite a stir at the time, even if we cannot be certain of his exact words.

Desiring marriage to his mistress Anne Boleyn, and a subsequent male heir to the throne, King Henry VIII of England stood before the pope with a plea. He wanted to divorce his then wife Catherine of Aragon, who he had come to despise for failing to produce a male heir, and instead marry Anne. However, this request was met with adamant refusal by the pope, who deemed the divorce unholy as it was against the Catholic faith. Upon hearing that his request was denied, Henry became livid and, in with the Act of Supremacy, ordained himself the head of the Anglican Church. He then proceeded to divorce Catherine and take Anne as his new bride. But Henry’s actions against the Catholic Church did not stop there.

The Pope is outraged by Henry’s move to break with the Catholic church and he is excommunicated for breaking with Papal authority. King Henry and Queen Anne produce a daughter shortly after their secret marriage. Their daughter Elizabeth would be their only surviving child. Once again, there was an issue with the failure to produce a male heir. He soon grew tired of Anne. In 1536, she was accused of adultery and executed. In 1537, Henry took a third wife, Jane Seymour. With Jane, Henry finally produces a male heir, Arthur. Unfortunately, Jane dies shortly after the baby’s birth due to complications with the birth.

In Anne’s adolescent years, she reached the minimum age of “Fille D’Honneur” and moved into the court of Archduchess Margaret Fraser in France where her love of fashion was sparked. After serving on the Archduchess’ court, Anne went on to be in the court of Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII and wife of King Louis XII. Because of Anne’s high profile position, she had to keep with the latest French fashion trends such as the French hood and dress styles. When Mary Tudor returned to England, Anne decided to stay in France for the next six to seven years and continued her education in the ways of the French court. The young Anne grew into a delightfully charming young lady, blessed with all the social graces a courtier at that time could possibly hope for. During that time King Henry came to France to meet the French King, Francis I, and it was here that King Henry most likely first met Anne.

Cardinal Wolsey, the King´s almoner, arranged a deal with Anne Boleyn that was suposed to give a child to Henry. She refused to do so until Henry divorce with Catherine of Aragon. The divorce was also in Henry´s interest since if Anne gave him a male heir he would be a bastard and not recognized by the law. Royal annulmenst were very unusual and so Henry needed very good reason for the divorce.

After the end of the civil war, officers of the New Model Army, formed by Cromwell, decided to put Charles on trial. Parliament voted to negotiate with the King in order to come to a peace agreement, but that was met with a fierce rebuke from Cromwell and his army. In order to kill any hope for the King and to prevent any kind of compromise between the King and Parliament, one hundred and eighty members of Parliament were excluded, and forty five were imprisoned for showing resistance. This act of purging was described simply as a coup d'état. (23 Laughland) If the king is truly guilty and hated by his people, Cromwell wouldn’t have needed to perform this despicable action of arresting and barring Parliament members from their seats. At this point, the authority of Parliament that was supported by the Roundheads, over the King’s, has lost all its legality. Parliament became a military tool in the hand of Cromwell and his army. In addition to this, Cromwell’s son-in-law, Henry Ireton, was the one who submitted a request to prosecute the King, which was naturally accepted by the one third of the Parliament left. A court with the name of ‘High Court of Justice’ was formed to be responsible for the King’s trial. (103-104 TURCHETTI)

There are many interpretations of Oliver Cromwell as he lived in the 17th century, he was seen differently at that time than he is seen today. There are different interpretations because historians might have been biased because they were on one side at that time and unbiased now. Another reason could be that people at that time knew more about him then people do now. However, religion and nationality changed people’s minds too.

As king of England, Henry has the power and the unquestionable authority to act based off his own desires even if they are not legally or morally acceptable. Because his current wife, Catherine, who was also his brother’s widow, has failed to birth a son, he wishes to divorce her and take Queen Anne as his new wife. Without a male heir to the throne, Henry’s lineage will come to an end and England will be left without a successor. He admits this to More during their meeting in Act 1, saying,

On January 1st of 1649, the Rump Parliament of England passed a mandate for the trial of King Charles I to which he would be charged with “subverting the fundamental laws and liberties of the nation while maliciously making war on the parliament and people of England.” After years of civil war and various failures in fulfilling kingly duties, Charles faced a trial against a strategically assembled English court that would choose his fate. This stands out in history as one of the most noteworthy and dramatic events in early modern England- a domestic political crisis unlike anything that had ever been seen before. Over the years historians have debated in how they characterize the king’s trial and its end result, referring to the execution as “a crime of the worst magnitude, a regrettable necessity, or a laudable challenge to either an individual ruler or the entire political system.” Due to the overall disapproval of the trial by prominent individuals, biased personnel assembled in the court, questionable legal legitimacy, improper court proceedings and unfortunate socio-economic circumstances during his reign, it can be concluded that King Charles I did not receive a fair trial.

Even after he had come of age, Henry suffered from a lack of popular support, something that invariably helps the "other side" in a civil war. He was considered a fool by the general populace, which weakened his authority. During his reign, there were many charges of seditious libel to come before the courts (Storey, 34) and they usually dealt with someone slandering the king. Common people and yeomen were calling the king a "lunatic", a child, and a fool (Storey, 35). For instance, one Sussex yeoman called the king a "natural fool" and said that "the king was no person able to rule the land" (Storey, 35). Evidently, if even the common people were slandering the king, they must have had some basis for it. The king did nothing to prove the people wrong, rarely going on progresses to smooth out his image. He stayed in the Home Counties for much of his reign, and even that did not improve his image with the people.

Doomed Queen Anne Women have had many jobs in a marriage, each changing after centuries of evolution. One of the most extraordinary, though, was in the era of King Henry the eighth. With six wives, King Henry certainly has a good knowledge of marriage. The role, purpose, and place in marriage were all the same for each woman, as life was different in the 1500s than to the modern 2016. The woman’s roles was to help the king, get a decent husband, and serve the royal family.

History remembers King Henry VIII and his many wives. Very few remember his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She was known as being quite beautiful and a great queen. Despite how poorly treated she was Catherine remained strong. The beloved Catherine of Aragon was the most remarkable queen due to the way she led her kingdom.

The success of Parliament during the first phase of the English Civil War can be attributed to Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. This army consisted of radical Puritans and Independents, who believed they were fighting for God. Cromwell was one of the Independents. The first phase of the war was ended with capture of Charles I. Blinded by his belief in divine right, Charles took advantage Parliament’s troubles and decided to flee to the Scots for protection. The Rump Parliament now accused the king of treason saying that he had acted as a tyrant, traitor, murder, and a public enemy to the good people of the nation. Charles was beheaded for his actions in 1649 and his attempt at absolutism was put an end. This was a great achievement in the rise of absolutism, as Parliament continued to gain more power in England with every passing monarchy. After the death of Charles I, his son Charles II rose to power (during the civil war). The Roundheads, supporters of Parliament, were victorious by the end of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England and held all executive power; legislative power was given to Parliament. Cromwell came to find that it was difficult to work with Parliament, even more so when members debated his authority. Six years after the death of Charles I, who Cromwell fought so hard to eliminate, Cromwell himself had done the exact same thing as Charles; demolish Parliament.

The split from Rome had made England vulnerable and Thomas Cromwell had suggested his next wife to be of a political match, much like the first. Anne of Clebes was the chosen match. The marriage took place on January 6, 1540, and by then Henry was already looking for ways to get out of the marriage. The King did not find his new bride attractive and had found an attraction to a young Kathryn Howard. Anne gave the King no problems with his annulment proceedings.