The Wives of Henry the Eighth and the Parts They Played in History
David Hume · en
Anne had so far triumphed by the coalition of Wolsey's enemies. Her own
hatred of him was more jealous and personal than political; for she and
her paternal family were decidedly French in their sympathies, and Wolsey,
at all events in the latest stages, had striven his utmost to help forward
her marriage with the King. The older nobility, led by Norfolk, who had
deserted Katharine their former ally, in order to use Anne for their
rival's ruin, had deeper and longer-standing motives for their hate of the
Cardinal. Although most of them now were heavily bribed and pensioned by
France, their traditions were always towards the Imperial and Spanish
alliance, and against bureaucratic ministers. There was yet another
element that had joined Anne's party in order to overthrow Wolsey. It
consisted of those who from patriotic sentiment resented the galling
supremacy of a foreign prince over the English Church, and cast their eyes
towards Germany, where the process of emancipation from the Papacy was in
full swing. The party in England was not a large one, and hardly concerned
itself yet with fine points of doctrine. It was more an expression of the
new-born English pride and independence than the religious revolt it was
to become later; and the fit mouthpiece of the feeling was bluff Charles
Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who had publicly insulted the Legates in the
hall at Blackfriars.
It is obvious that a party consisting of so many factions would lose its
cohesion when its main object was attained with the fall of Wolsey. The
latter had bent before the storm, and at once surrendered all his plunder
to the King and to Anne's relatives, which secured his personal immunity
for a time, whilst he watched for the divisions amongst his opponents that
might give him his chance again. Anne's uncle, Norfolk, aristocratic and
conservative, took the lead in the new government, to the annoyance of the
Duke of Suffolk, who occupied a secondary place, for which his lack of
political ability alone qualified him. Sir Thomas More became Chancellor,
and between him and Anne there was no great love lost, whilst Anne's
father, now Earl of Wiltshire, became Lord Privy Seal, and her brother,
Lord Rochford, was sent as English ambassador to France. With such a
government as this--of which Anne was the real head[79]--no very distinct
line of policy could be expected. The Parliament, which was summoned on
Wolsey's fall, was kept busy legalising the enrichment of Anne at the
expense of the Cardinal, and in clamorous complaints of the abuses
committed by the clergy, but when foreign affairs had to be dealt with the
voice of the government was a divided one. Anne and her paternal family
were still in favour of France; but the Emperor and the Pope were close
friends now, and it was felt necessary by the King and Norfolk to attempt
to reconcile them to the divorce, if possible, by a new political
arrangement. For this purpose Anne's father travelled to Bologna, where