‘The King’s ministers served Henry VIII well but served
themselves even better’. Assess the validity of this view in the
context of the years 1515 and 1540. (25 marks).
Despite the fact that both Henry VIII and his ministers benefited from their
respective positions, arguably, Henry VIII’s ministers gained much more
from the King, in terms of power, influence and money. It seems that they
utilised their supportive position to Henry VIII to cultivate, increase and
secure their own power, particularly in the case of
Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. Some historians would argue that
Henry VIII had little experience and in the early stages of his reign relied
heavily on Wolsey, which arguably paved the way for Wolsey’s meteoric
rise to power. Historians often argue that Wolsey and Cromwell served the
King well but benefitted more personally by furthering their own
megalomaniac tendencies. Self-serving ambitions could be evidenced
through their accumulated possessions, titles and abuse of their power
and status. However, the proposition could be challenged through the
success of their policies, both domestic and foreign. Arguably, Wolsey
significantly supported Henry VIII’s foreign ambitions and Cromwell
massively directed and controlled the break with Rome that had a
significant impact upon the economy.
In 1515, Wolsey seemed to feather his own nest and service his own
ambitions. Some of Wolsey’s policies effectively advanced his own power
and political motivations. Specifically, the Eltham Ordinances, 1526,
strategically reduced the royal household staff; therefore, fewer people
could influence Henry and subsequently, he could have more control over
the royal purse-strings. This helped Wolsey to improve Henry’s finance,
saving him money, but to historians, in retrospect, he put himself in a
position closest to the King, subsequently, he became known as the ‘alta-
rex’ which meant the ‘other King’. In this respect, it is clear that Wolsey
abused his power as Lord Chancellor and gained the highest possible
position in the Government. Whilst doing this, Historians may argue that
Wolsey seemed to reduce the influence of the Privy Council which seemed
to benefit King Henry and enable him to strengthen the economy through
saving money. Pursuing his own desire for power and abusing his position
as minister, Wolsey may have also benefited Henry VIII. Through reducing
the size of the Privy Council, Wolsey arguably gained more political sway
over Henry and the Government. However, historians could argue that
Wolsey served Henry well by being delegated the Amicable Grant, 1525,
where he gained one third of the Clergy’s goods. This was a political move
to increase taxes without consulting Parliament. This move was
unpopular, but Henry was able to distance himself from the measure and
this remained popular. Historians could argue that Wolsey was exploited
to carry out unpopular decisions and therefore, served the King better
than himself. Wolsey’s fiscal demands led to a tax revolt and Henry VIII
was able to deny all knowledge of Wolsey’s actions, which was hugely
beneficial to the King.
