Do you agree with the view that the break with Rome was brought about primarily by Henrys desire for a male heir?

This again can be further supported by sources 4 and 5. Both sources make implications that Henry was reluctant to change.  Source 4 “Henry himself would have denied any accusation that in rejecting the pope he was departing from Catholic orthodoxy” implies that Henry thought that Rome had broken with him, rather the he had broken with Rome. Source 5 “Henry delayed for three years before cutting England’s legal ties with Rome” shows that he was reluctant. Henry did seem to want to obtain a divorce through Rome; however both of the sources suggest that Henry was forced to make the changes due to his desire for a male heir. Further evidence which supports the view that Henry still wanted to obtain his annulment through Rome was the fact that the Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates was conditional. This shows that Henry was still reluctant to completely go against Rome as he wanted to gain his annulment legitimately. Only when it became crystal clear to Henry that he would not be able to secure his annulment through Rome, due to Charles’ power over the pope and the fact Catherine was Charles’ aunt, did Henry resort to breaking with Rome. It can therefore again be said that Henry’s unquestionable desire for a male heir was the primary reasoning behind his break with Rome.

On the contrary to this, sources 5 and 6 both have implications that suggest there were other reasons behind the break with Rome.  Source 6 suggests that the reason Henry broke with Rome was that he liked the idea of the royal supremacy as “Rome had for years blinded them to a great limitations on the King’s authority.” This source can be seen as bias however as the author was a supporter of the Royal supremacy and it was also written during Henry’s reign and so the author may have been cautious as to not upset Henry. Despite this fact, it can still be possible to see the attractions of the Royal Supremacy. Henry would have the power and glory that he had dreamt off, as well as being head of the church and having complete authority over all of England. In addition to this, Edward Foxe and Thomas Cranmer had put together the ‘Collectanea satis copiosa’ which proved that Henry had so superiors, not even the pope.  This would have been a very attractive reason for Henry to break with Rome.  Source 5 supports this as it mentions “National Independent” which is something that Henry would have greatly benefitted from and relates to the Royal Supremacy.

To conclude, there are a few possible reasons for the break with Rome, such as the idea of the King having unlimited authority over England with the Royal Supremacy, mentioned in source 6. Despite this primary motivation behind the break with Rome was the fact that Henry desired a male heir. Sources 4 and 5 both indicate Henry’s reluctance to break with Rome, but his need for an heir drove him to make the break. Henry continuously piled pressure on the pope to attempt to allow him his annulment, showing his reluctance to break with Rome. Henry established a reformation parliament as a last resort and continually tried to use Wolsey to attain the annulment legitimately, an example being the Blackfriars court case. The Royal Supremacy was only brought forward due to the need for a divorce and so this cannot be seen as a primary motivation, thought it did play a part. In addition to this fact source 6 is an unreliable source as it is biased whereas the information given in source 4 and 5 is balanced and very reliable which adds to the weight of the source.  This is because they are written by historians who would not have been bias and as they are not written during Henry’s reign, they would be fearful of upsetting him.