Thomas Cranmer held a great significance in securing the divorce; he above many others used his knowledge and wisdom to influence others surrounding the divorce matter. In 1532, Cranmer replaced William Warham, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, after his death, as he was chosen by Henry to replace him, as unlike Warham, Cranmer was in favour of the divorce. It has been suggested by historians that it was Cranmer who suggested to the king that he should get the support of the Protestant universities of Europe as they would give the king the appropriate arguments to present to the court to his right to a divorce, and also justified his actions in his joint authorship of the 'Collectanea Satis Copiosa' 1530. Cranmer arranged for the divorce case to be heard in May. After three days discussions, a decision that papal dispensation that had blessed the marriage between Henry and Catherine had been invalid all along and that through no fault of their own Henry and Catherine had been illegally married in 1509 had been announced. Cranmer had secretly married Henry and Anne on January 25th, as she had succumbed to Henry and was in fact with child, which was covered by the decision as it claimed Henry was in every right to marry Anne, so they had got what they had set out for but the whole process was to have a immense impact on the whole of England as it was to be the catalyst for the English Reformation. So it seems that Cranmer had a major impact throughout the divorce; he used his intellectual influence to help bring about the divorce, and worked hard throughout to justify the cause with great effect. Cranmer seems a more key individual in the situation, more that Anne Boleyn, as it was on account of his ideas and actions that a divorce was finalised. However, it does appear that without the support of Anne, he would have not been within such a role to exert such influence, so both use each other in their need for a divorce.
The major breakthrough to the divorce issue came from the influences of Thomas Cromwell when he was made Henry's chief minister, following that of the role of Cardinal Worsely. In 1531 Cromwell saw that the Pope would not rule in Henry's favour and so a break from Rome and the Church was essential in securing a divorce from Catherine. Cromwell was able to describe his ideas clearly to Henry in a manner that the King could understand, with a take and influence on the fact that Henry would become Supreme Head of the Church. What Cromwell was suggesting was so big that Henry was very cautious in his approach on the idea and it took time to fully convince the King of such decision. Cromwell also suggested a highly innovative solution and gave the idea that it would go through Parliament and would stand with a stronger argument, and show more support as it would have been voted for accordingly and not just have been a movement of a just a few people. In March 1533, Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals, which stated that the final authority in all legal matters, whether they were civil or clerical, resided in the monarch and that it was illegal to appeal to an authority outside of the kingdom on any such matters, essentially meaning that of the power in Rome. Cromwell used and manipulated Parliament to create the Acts that he wanted, and followed a similar yet more tactical approach to that of Cardinal Worsely. Cromwell attempted to modify government at the expense of the Church and was so one of the strongest individual in the King’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
The role of Parliament seems lacking as its role within the divorce, as when the 'Reformation Parliament' was called in the years 1529-1533 as means of helping in securing the divorce, they were unable to find a way to oppose the decisions of Rome. For the first two decades of Henry's reign, Parliament had done little more than vote on local issues and taxes. Anne had introduced Henry to the ways of the Reformers, which taught that he as king, should be Head of the Church, and not succumb to the rule of Rome, which was to be his next goal in trying to secure a divorce from Catherine, and for this he used his Parliament. The King in Parliament was the supreme authority, and Henry used this to his advantaged, and essentially granted his own divorce, with the help that his Parliament and the Acts that they passed. The Act in Restraint of Appeals was one of these and Henry could now guarantee that any body headed by Cranmer created to discuss the divorce would support the King and his decisions, through the help of Cromwell and Parliament.
These individuals and that of Parliament hold a great significance within bringing about the divorce. They are often viewed as the key to securing it, and each use the influences of each other in their actions applied in the matter. Other individuals also place some impact on the divorce, yet in a different aspect from that of Anne Boleyn, Cranmer and Cromwell. Pope Clement VI had prolonged and denied the request for an annulment of the marriage, which could be accounted for by the issue of him and Rome being under the control of the Emperor Charles V, who was Catherine of Aragon’s nephew. This started the need for a divorce rather than an annulment and also increased Henry’s interest in Anne Boleyn. Catherine was also an important person in the start of the divorce, in the fact that she acts as a catalyst for the matter, in her lack of ability to provide a male heir and securing the Great Tudor Dynasty. Another reason in Henry’s decision for a divorce was that of a physical consequence of age within their 20 year marriage. She also made Henry look foolish at Blackfriars and he blamed her for the pressure that Charles V put upon the Pope, essentially preventing the annulment, on the account that she was his aunt. This individuals somewhat compare to that of the main role played by Anne Boleyn as it appears that each contribute to the motivations for seeking a divorce within the years 1529 and 1533 rather than their contributions to securing it, they act as an obstacle. Cardinal Wosely on the other hand, did play some importance in bringing about the divorce in that, according to that of the historian Peter Gwyn , in ‘The King's Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey’, Wosely worked tirelessly to achieve the annulment, though failed and thus effectively secured his fate. However it seems that each of these people lack in their importance in actually securing the divorce, as they play little role in this matter; rather they act as either the means for the need to a divorce or an obstacle while trying to bring the divorce about.
Anne did cause quite a stir which essentially resulted in the King’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. She was captivating and charming on her arrival at court in 1522, and was essentially a strong personal motive of Henry’s for pushing ahead with his divorce. This infatuation with Anne was a significant factor involved in Henry’s decision for a divorce, however there seems a greater impact on the matter from other characters providing their individual influences on the King. By 1532, Cromwell, with the help of fellow reformist and new Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, was able to pass statutes through Parliament that allowed England to brake off from papal authority and establish a church of their own. This allowed Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine on the basis that she had once been married to late elder brother Arthur and marry Anne Boleyn. In terms of the statement made, essentially I disagree with this view in that it appears Anne was a trigger for the decision of a divorce and as an individual pushed forward the matter, however it seems that in actually bringing about the divorce, the people such as Cranmer, Cromwell and Parliament play a more significant role and that without the efforts of each other, there would have been no divorce.
