Today in 1529 the Legatine Court opened in Blackfriars. This was the court that was held by the Papal Legate, Cardinal Campeggio, to decide whether Henry VIII’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon was valid.
At this point, Henry still believed that there might be a way forward for him to marry Anne Boleyn with Papal approval, and everyone – including Cardinal Wolsey – had high hopes for this court. Of course, as we will see, this court was only going to be more procrastination for Henry – it would recall the players back to Rome to give testimony, which Henry adamantly refused to do.
It would be another four years before Henry would be able to marry Anne, and it would be only after breaking away from the Pope.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Episode 69: Supplemental – Chat with James Boulton on Katherine of Aragon
Episode 47: Tudor Times talks about Katherine of Aragon
From my shop:
Catherine of Aragon Young Tudor Women Classic Handbag
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.