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The Regency: Government
Topic Started: Dec 30 2013, 05:41 PM (243 Views)
Katherine of Aragon
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REGENT AND QUEEN DOWAGER
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[align=center]THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THE REGENCY[/align]

Since Henry VII, it has been an unwritten law that to have control over government the Ruler had to have control over Parliament. During Henry VII and his son Henry VIII reigns, Parliament only met to grant taxes and to pass laws and nothing else much. It was in the role of passing laws that both Henry VII and VIII had a need to control Parliament if they were to become as powerful as they felt a King should be.

Enter the Regency.

After Henry VIII’s was poisoned and incapacitated, Katherine of Aragon moved speedily to put political procedures in place to protect her daughter Mary’s rights as Princess. She abolished the Act of Succession of 1533 and set up a series of laws -- with the help of Parliament -- to give Mary a more stable position in the line of succession. In order to avoid the possibility of Henry undoing everything when he returned, Katherine also gave Parliament an extremely amount of autonomy, gambling -- correctly -- that Henry would be unable to take it back from them… unless he risked a political meltdown. She also, in an unprecedented move, took power away from the Privy Council and instead gave it to Parliament. But the political savvy Regent also increased the numbers of the Council by adding new members and increasing responsibilities for the Ministers.

When Henry died, everything changed. Katherine knew that Mary’s first years as Queen would be unstable, hence she works diligently to prepare her. Taking a page out of Henry VIII’s book, Katherine continues the policies of increasing the status and ranks of commoners -- in view that the House of Commons is one of her biggest supporter -- and although knowing full well this would bring her into conflict with some of the old Nobility, she balanced the gains against the dangers. Because of her popularity among the people, she will continue Henry’s policies of showing the nobility that loyalty to her -- and most importantly, to her daughter -- would be rewarded, so it is easier for her to exert some control over the House of Lords – made up of senior clergy and peers – because the Ruler determines the social rise of these men or not.

The Commons – rich merchants, lawyers etc. – should continue to gain power around the time of the Regency and Katherine clearly recognizes their importance to the growth of England’s economy. However, while Henry rarely spoke directly to the Commons, Katherine is not Henry. She created a way to hear both sides equally, instead of the traditional way of communicating with them through the Speaker of the Commons. While the most important body in Parliament was the Lords, the fact that Katherine recognizes the Commons as valuable to the economic growth of the kingdom is important.

While Henry VIII took -- some say lazy -- approach of leaving the government to trusted men, Katherine is more hands on. She is quite involved and decisive in government, and expects the ministers to carry out the policies. This is understandable. She needs to show that a woman is as capable as any man in running a Realm, especially if she expects these men to respect her daughter once she takes over. Like Henry, though, she followed the policy of success was likely to be rewarded and failure would not be tolerated. She also gave Parliament a bit more control over its own affairs but answerable to the Regency and the Crown.

When Henry was King, the ministers knew that there were only two times in the day when Henry might be available to discuss policy – around the time each day that he took Mass and after dinner. With Katherine, it is completely the opposite. She is available and accessible to them at any time and she encourages them to speak openly and plainly, with honesty. Katherine does not have the lethal and famous temper Henry had. She is also very good at quickly understanding issues that need to be answered. While history tends to remember only her unfair fate and the fact she stood between Henry and Anne, it tends to forget that Katherine was an intelligent and formidable woman who not only had experience in been a Regent but was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella… which gave her two impressive role models to follow.

For all the differences in opinion concerning his rule, there is one irrefutable fact. Henry left an image of being a governmental tyrant. If he did not get his way almost immediately, those discussing issues with him were in danger of their own well-being. Katherine would strive to leave a different impression for herself and more importantly, her daughter. Although Katherine is driven -- to the point of obsession -- by an unbreakable and fervent desire to make her beloved and cherished Mary the greatest ruler she could be, she is also fair and considerate. She is always willing to participate in a decent political argument on whatever issue is being discussed and is capable to listen to her enemies if their input is valuable, always trying very hard not to allow personal dislikes affect her judgment.

Whereas Henry VIII took measure to counterbalance any power of Parliament, especially granting the Privy Council power at the expense of Parliament, Katherine goes the other way. She knows Mary would need the support of Parliament once she takes over, so she -- as said -- will try to put mechanisms in place for that, hence making Parliament quite important during the Regency and beyond, to the extent of her daughter’s reign. This means that the Regent is putting mechanism of sovereign government in the hand of Parliament, which later generations would utilize to chip away the power of the Monarchy.
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