The reform of the Privy Council, 1540

Question 1

Geoffrey Elton:

Answer 1

Argues that the changes to the Privy Council actually occurred in 1536-37 and it was part of Thomas Cromwell’s attempt to modernise and reform the government of England

Question 2

John Guy: (2)

Answer 2

• Argued that the changes that occurred in 1536 were a temporary response to the Pilgrimage of Grace
• The smaller Council that met in 1536-7 was an emergency body, with many political enemies of Cromwell such as the Duke of Norfolk. Therefore if Cromwell had really instigated these changes, he would not have filled the Council with the men who had resented him the most

Question 3

Why did Henry VIII need to restructure his government?

Answer 3

So it could continue to work without Cromwell

Question 4

Henry VIII’s Chief Ministers:

Answer 4

• Thomas Wolsey
• Thomas Cromwell

Question 5

Role of the Privy Council under Henry VIII:

Answer 5

Privy Council turned itself into a ‘chief minister’ and were collectively responsible for much of the work which had previously been performed by Wolsey and Cromwell

Question 6

Name someone who was in Henry VIII’s Privy Council:

Answer 6

Duke of Norfolk

Question 7

Advantage of the Privy Council over Wolsey and Cromwell:

Answer 7

Meant that no one individual was able to wield the amount of power on their own that Wolsey and Cromwell had

Question 8

The role of ‘Chief Minister’ under Edward and Mary:

Answer 8

No ‘Chief Minister’

Question 9

The role of ‘Chief Minister’ under Elizabeth:

Answer 9

Taken by William Cecil, but under the name ‘Queen’s Secretary’

Question 10

Who was Elizabeth’s ‘Queen’s Secretary’?

Answer 10

William Cecil

Question 11

Henry VII Council membership:

Answer 11

227 members, many who attended only infrequently

Question 12

Before 1536, Henry VIII’s Council membership:

Answer 12

120 members

Question 13

1536 - 1540, Henry VIII’s Council membership:

Answer 13

19 members

Question 14

Edward’s Council:

Answer 14

Grew as he was only a child and needed a larger Council in order to govern the country

Question 15

Who was under control of Edward:

Answer 15

Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, Edward’s uncle

Question 16

Why was the role of the Council undermined during the reign of Edward?

Answer 16

Somerset preferred to make decisions and rule using men from his own household

Question 17

How did Somerset manipulate his role:

Answer 17

Somerset gave his men key roles in the king’s household and chamber, giving him and others more influence

Question 18

Sir Michael Stanhope:

Answer 18

• Somerset’s brother-in-law
• Made chief gentlemen of the Privy Chamber and groom of the stool
• Controlled the dry stamp

Question 19

Where had a rebellion broken out in 1549?

Answer 19

West Country and East Anglia

Question 20

What was achieved in the 1549 rebellion?

Answer 20

The Earl of Warwick (later the Duke of Northumberland) who led the attack on Somerset which brought him down

Question 21

Who replaced Somerset as Edward’s protector?

Answer 21

Duke of Northumberland

Question 22

Duke of Northumberland and the Council in 1552:

Answer 22

Governed through the Council and thus membership increased to 31 in 1552

Question 23

Did the Council have the most power?

Answer 23

Power still remained with the monarchy

Question 24

Membership of the Council under Mary:

Answer 24

A large number of men were appointed to the Council in an attempt by the queen to be inclusive.

Question 25

Council under Mary:

Answer 25

Returned to the pattern seen in 1540

Question 26

Average attendance at Council meetings in 1555:

Answer 26

12

Question 27

How many councillors attended over 50% of meetings?

Answer 27

8 councillors

Question 28

Council under Elizabeth:

Answer 28

Council had returned to a permanent, small group of trusted advisers as it was like in the 1540s

Question 29

1540 Council new powers:

Answer 29

• Issue collective proclamations and orders in the monarch’s name and did not have to wait for explicit instructions from the Monarch
• Had its own clerk who recorded meetings

Question 30

Council’s new power from Mary’s reign:

Answer 30

Had its own seal

Question 31

Seal

Answer 31

Tudor documents were made official by the use of a wax seal

Question 32

How was the inclusion the seal an indicator of increasing importance of the Council?

Answer 32

The fact that the Council had it’s own seal suggests that it was becoming an important institution of government in its own right

Question 33

Elizabeth and travelling with her Royal Council:

Answer 33

Elizabeth’s Council would meet wherever the Queen was staying as well as on progresses

Question 34

Why did the volume of work for the Council increase?

Answer 34

As the Tudor government expanded into the localities

Question 35

From 1520s to the 1560s how many meeting did the Council usually have per week?

Answer 35

3 or 4 times a week

Question 36

By the 1590s, how many meetings did the Council have per day?

Answer 36

A meeting per day, sometimes twice a day