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Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40

Wolsey, Catherine, the succession and annulment

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2 booklet B

Overview

Catherine of Aragon and the dispensation, Princess Mary, the fear of a female heir, Leviticus, Anne Boleyn, annulment rather than divorce, Clement VII's refusal, Catherine's case, Blackfriars, and Wolsey's fall and death.

What you need to know

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Numbers

What was the background to Henry's doubts about his marriage to Catherine of Aragon?

Who and when

Who was Catherine of Aragon, and to whom had she first been married?

Key term

What special permission had allowed Henry to marry Catherine of Aragon in 1509?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who was Catherine of Aragon, and to whom had she first been married?

    Model answer

    A Spanish princess, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, who had first been married to Henry’s elder brother Arthur.

  2. 2

    What special permission had allowed Henry to marry her in 1509?

    Model answer

    A papal dispensation, because church law otherwise forbade a man to marry his brother’s widow.

  3. 3

    How many of Catherine’s children lived beyond infancy?

    Model answer

    Only one, Princess Mary, who was born in 1516.

  4. 4

    Why did Henry think leaving a daughter as heir was dangerous?

    Model answer

    No queen had ever ruled England successfully, and he feared a disputed throne, civil war, or a foreign husband ruling through her.

  5. 5

    Which passage of scripture did Henry use to argue his marriage had never been valid?

    Model answer

    A verse in Leviticus warning that a man who takes his brother’s wife will be childless.

  6. 6

    Besides the succession, what drove Henry to want his marriage ended?

    Model answer

    He was in love with Anne Boleyn, who would not become his mistress and held out for marriage.

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