The most important reason for Wolsey’s fall from power was his failure to gain a divorce for Henry VIII, how far do you agree?

Wolsey’s dismissal from Henry’s court came in September 1529, though Wolsey had a plethora of failures before, his fall his failure to get a divorce for Henry VIII proved to be the most significant. This is because Wolsey’s strength of position depended on whether he got Henry what he wanted and the divorce was the most obvious case of Wolsey’s failure to do so. For this reason, this essay will argue that the most important reason for the fall of Wolsey was his failure to get a divorce for Henry VIII.

Some argue that Wolsey’s failure was due to his alienation of common people. In his early days, Wolsey sought to ensure that common people got justice through his establishment of the Star Chamber. However, this egalitarian attitude faded during Wolsey’s later years and Wolsey’s own corruptness meant that he fell out of favour with the public. Within the area of the Church, Wolsey was guilty of absenteeism, pluralism and nepotism – appointing his illegitimate son (Thomas Wynter) to high positions in the Church. Furthermore, though his attempt to raise money for Henry’s foreign campaigns came in the form of the Amicable Grant 1525 (a heavy tax) failed, Wolsey was not dismissed on the grounds of this. From this we can see that Wolsey’s alienation from the ‘common’ people did not cause his fall, but something else. Henry did blame the Amicable Grant on Wolsey to save face, but he did not dismiss him. I would argue that the divorce caused Wolsey’s fall rather than the alienation of the people, since Henry’s needs were paramount to anything else. What’s more, Henry’s care for Wolsey as a friend was apparent, due to the fact that he only ordered Wolsey’s execution after Wolsey offended again. This evidence shows that it must have been a personal matter that was of paramount importance that led to Wolsey’s downfall because Henry really did not want to dismiss Wolsey. For these reasons we must turn back to the view that the divorce was the most important factor in causing Wolsey’s fall.

The role of factional intrigue was essential to Wolsey’s fall, however the issue of the divorce allowed factions to denounce Wolsey to Henry with increasing effectiveness leading to the fall of Wolsey. Wolsey came from a humble background, being the son of a butcher, and rose to prominence using his natural intelligence and nous. As mentioned before, Wolsey was (generally) an egalitarian - shown through his creation of proportional taxation in the subsidy and his campaign against enclosure. These factors and his low birth meant that he fell out of favour with the gentry. Furthermore, the conservative and boleynese faction were envious of how much power Wolsey wielded over Henry. This power struggle was the cause of much tension and Wolsey ruffled many feathers when he implemented the Eltham Ordinances (1526) which was aimed at reducing the number of people in the Privy Council – so Wolsey could advise Henry all the more. Though it has been argued that factional plans were sufficient to cause Wolsey’s fall, whether the divorce had been obtained or not, it is clear that the Boleynese faction and Conservatives united to oust Wolsey and the divorce was instrumental in their plan to do so. “the pressure coupled with Anne’s skilful management of her lover was enough to break the trust of almost twenty years and destroy Wolsey.” Starkey
I believe that without the divorce, factional pressure would not have been so potent, therefore the divorce is more significant than factions in causing the fall of Wolsey.

The issue of the divorce was of key importance for Henry and to marry Anne Boleyn was what he wanted the most. Wolsey’s failure to gain a divorce highlighted to Henry that he was not doing what he was employed for: doing things that ensured Henry’s wants and needs were met. Henry’s admiration of Wolsey, however, meant that smaller issues such as the Amicable Grant (1525) were noted, but did not result in dismissal. But the divorce was so much more important to Henry. Henry lusted after the young Anne Boleyn and wanted to be divorced from the middle-aged Catherine of Aragon so he could legitimately consummate his new marriage. Furthermore, Henry’s primary aim thus far was to sire a male heir so the future of the Tudor dynasty would be secured and Catherine was long barren. The issue of divorce was key to fulfil Henry’s carnal and dynastic needs and the defiance of the papacy to the divorce made England and Henry look relatively weak. For these reasons the issue of divorce was important to Henry and what was important to Henry was important for Wolsey to provide. Wolsey not delivering what Henry wanted the most was reason enough for his dismissal.

To conclude, though Wolsey made mistakes in alienating ‘common’ people with his previous failures, it was ultimately his failure to gain the divorce (not fulfilling what Henry wanted the most) that caused his fall from grace. The divorce worked to strengthen factional intrigue, allowing the Boleyn and Conservative faction to profit from this failure and denounce him reducing his influence over Henry. The fact is that without the failure to get the divorce Wolsey would have not fallen in 1529 Henry would not have dismissed him, making this the key reason for the fall of Wolsey.