Fall of Cardinal Wolsey (1529): Henry VIII's Minister Disgraced

The fall of Cardinal Wolsey in October 1529 ended the career of the most powerful minister in early Tudor England. Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor and papal legate, lost Henry VIII’s favour after failing to secure the annulment of the king’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Stripped of office, he was later arrested for treason and died at Leicester Abbey on 29 November 1530, before he could be tried.

Background

Thomas Wolsey was born around 1473 in Ipswich, the son of a prosperous butcher and innkeeper. Educated at Oxford, he rose through royal service under Henry VII and became Henry VIII’s indispensable minister after 1509. He was made Archbishop of York in 1514, cardinal and Lord Chancellor in 1515, and papal legate a latere in 1518, giving him authority over the English Church second only to the pope.

Wolsey ran government, justice and diplomacy, and lived in great splendour at York Place in London and at Hampton Court, which he rebuilt into a palace. His wealth, arrogance and humble origins made him many enemies among the nobility.

The King’s Great Matter

By 1527 Henry VIII wanted to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had not given him a surviving son, and to marry Anne Boleyn. He argued that the marriage was invalid because Catherine had been the widow of his brother Arthur. Wolsey was expected to obtain an annulment from Pope Clement VII.

The task was nearly impossible. After the Sack of Rome in May 1527, the pope was under the control of Emperor Charles V, Catherine’s nephew. Clement delayed, and in 1528 sent Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio to England to hear the case jointly with Wolsey.

The Blackfriars court

The legatine court opened at Blackfriars in London in 1529. On 21 June Catherine appeared in person, knelt before Henry and appealed to him and to Rome, then left the court and refused to return. In late July Campeggio adjourned the hearings, following the Roman court calendar, and the case was soon recalled to Rome. For Henry this was a public humiliation, and Wolsey bore the blame.

The fall

In early October 1529 Wolsey was charged in the Court of King’s Bench with praemunire, the offence of upholding papal authority to the harm of the Crown, on the grounds of his work as legate. He surrendered the Great Seal around 17–18 October and withdrew to Esher. On 26 October Sir Thomas More became Lord Chancellor in his place.

Wolsey admitted the charges and gave up much of his property, including York Place. Henry pardoned him in February 1530 and allowed him to keep the archbishopric of York. That spring Wolsey travelled north to his diocese, which he had never visited, and prepared for his enthronement in York Minster.

Arrest and death

His enemies suspected that he hoped to return to power, and he had been in secret contact with foreign diplomats, including the French and imperial ambassadors. On 4 November 1530, three days before his planned enthronement, he was arrested for high treason at Cawood Castle by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland.

On the slow journey south towards London and the Tower, Wolsey fell seriously ill. He died at Leicester Abbey on 29 November 1530 and was buried there. His gentleman usher George Cavendish recorded his last words, including the famous reflection: “If I had served God as diligently as I have done the King, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs.”

Timeline

• 1515, December: Wolsey becomes Lord Chancellor, having been made a cardinal in September.
• 1527, May: Henry VIII’s case for annulment begins in a secret hearing before Wolsey.
• 1529, 21 June: Catherine of Aragon appeals in person at the Blackfriars court.
• 1529, late July: Campeggio adjourns the legatine court.
• 1529, 9 October: Wolsey is charged with praemunire.
• 1529, mid-October: Wolsey surrenders the Great Seal.
• 1529, 26 October: Thomas More becomes Lord Chancellor.
• 1530, 4 November: Wolsey is arrested for treason at Cawood.
• 1530, 29 November: Wolsey dies at Leicester Abbey.

Consequences

Wolsey’s fall opened the way for new men. Thomas More held the chancellorship until 1532, resigning as Henry broke with Rome; his later refusal to accept the king’s supremacy led to the execution of Thomas More in 1535. Wolsey’s former servant Thomas Cromwell rose to become the architect of the English Reformation under Henry VIII.

The praemunire charge also served as a warning to the whole English clergy, who in 1531 were themselves accused of praemunire and forced to pay a large fine and recognise Henry as their supreme head “as far as the law of Christ allows”.

Why it matters

Wolsey’s downfall marked the end of the attempt to solve Henry VIII’s marriage problem through the papacy. It cleared the way for ministers willing to break with Rome, and it showed how completely a Tudor subject’s power depended on the king’s favour.