Fisher openly rejected Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church, but More was careful to avoid openly breaking the Treasons Act 1534, which (unlike later acts) did not forbid mere silence. P., The Essential Erasmus, („Enchiridion”, „Moria”, „Querela Pacis”, „De Immensa Misericordia Dei” and other works), New York 1964. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer, sitting in judgment at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, declared the marriage of Henry and Catherine null and void. Wśród jego żon były również kobiety które kochał, jedna nawet umarła przedwcześnie i z powodu jej śmierci przechodził on przez kilkuletni okres ciężkiej żałoby. See also: Henry VIII § Reformation Portrait of Anne Boleyn, Henry's second queen; a copy of a lost original painted around 1534.

The Privy Council was informed of her affair with Dereham whilst Henry was away; Thomas Cranmer was dispatched to investigate, and he brought evidence of Queen Catherine's previous affair with Dereham to the King's notice. Following Wolsey's downfall, Henry took full control of his government, although at court numerous complex factions continued to try to ruin and destroy each other.This bias was perhaps the result of pressure from Emperor Charles V, Catherine's nephew, but it is not clear how far this influenced either Campeggio or the Pope. Although Clement agreed to the creation of such a court, he never had any intention of empowering his legate, Lorenzo Campeggio, to decide in Henry's favour. This important dynastic portrait of Henry VIII and his family shows the king seated in the centre beneath a canopy of state flanked by his third wife, Jane Seymour, and the couple’s son Prince Edward, later Edward VI.

He was delighted with his new queen and awarded her the lands of Cromwell and a vast array of jewellery.

The careful diplomacy of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey had resulted in the Treaty of London in 1518, aimed at uniting the kingdoms of western Europe in the wake of a new Ottoman threat, and it seemed that peace might be secured. Charles V, the nephew of Henry's wife Catherine, inherited a large empire in Europe, becoming king of Spain in 1516 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1519.