The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3)Froude, James Anthony
History
The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3)
Froude, James Anthony
Great Britain -- History -- Henry VIII, 1509-1547; Henry VIII, King of England, 1491-1547
"The morning after," Chastillon wrote, "his Majesty sent for me and desired
me to repeat my words before the council. I obeyed; but the majority
declared, that there was nothing in them to act upon, and that the king
must not put himself in subjection. His Majesty himself, too, I found less
warm than in his preceding conversation. I begged the council to be
patient. I said everything that I could think of likely to weigh with the
king, I promised him a sentence from our Holy Father declaring his first
marriage null, his present marriage good. I urged him on all grounds,
public and private, to avoid a rupture with the Holy See. Such a sentence,
I said, would be the best security for the queen, and the safest guarantee
for the unopposed succession of her offspring. If the marriage was
confirmed by the Holy Father's authority, the queen's enemies would lose
the only ground where they could make a stand. The peace of the realm was
now menaced. The emperor talked loudly and made large preparations. Let the
king be allied with France, and through France with the Holy See, and the
emperor could do him no harm. Thus I said my proposals were for the benefit
of the realm of his Majesty, and of the children who might be born to him.
The king would act more prudently both for his own interest, and for the
interest of his children, in securing himself, than in running a risk of
creating universal confusion; and, besides, he owed something to the king
his brother, who had worked so long and so hard for him.
"After some further conversation, his Majesty took me aside into a garden,
where he told me that for himself he agreed in what I had said; but he
begged me to keep his confidence secret. He fears, I think, to appear to
condescend too easily.
"He will not, however, publish the acts of parliament till he sees what is
done at Rome. The vast sums of money which used to be sent out of the
country will go no longer; but in other respects he will be glad to return
to good terms. He will send the excusator when he hears again from M. de
Paris; and for myself, I think, that although the whole country is in a
blaze against the pope, yet with the good will and assistance of the king,
the Holy Father will be reinstated in the greater part of his
prerogatives."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account