WHAT IF...CHARLES V HAD INVADED ENGLAND?

Nige Tassell asks Dr Owen Emmerson about the possible chain of events had Henry VIII been deposed by the Holy Roman Emperor

- Nige Tassell

When, in 1533, Henry VIII defied Pope Clement VII and Emperor, Charles V, was apoplectic. Frustrated at Clement's impotence in the face of Henry's insubordination, Charles sought papal assurances concerning the English king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Charles V's aunt. Clement threatened excommunication, which Henry ignored, thereby setting in motion the English Reformation. If the pope was toothless, a full-scale invasion of England by Charles wouldn't be.

"There were undoubtedly great fears at Henry's court that such an invasion was possible," says Dr Owen Emmerson, author of a number of books on Tudor history, including, with Kate McCaffrey and Alison Palmer, Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers. "Henry's married Anne Boleyn, the Holy Roman new minister Thomas Cromwell knew well that riots in support of Catherine would have been warmly met by faithful English Catholics. He was also acutely aware that letters encouraging an invasion of England were being sent by Charles's ambassador, Eustace Chapuys. His dispatches reveal a court terrified at the potential of Charles's invasion. According to Chapuys, the mere hint of an impending attack would have 'the king and court taking flight like a frightened flock of birds'."

Fortunately for Henry, the Holy Roman Emperor was already heavily engaged elsewhere. "Charles's ongoing commitment to war with France and the Ottoman empire took precedence. His propensity to wage war was a costly one, exhausting his revenues. The Ottoman expansion into Europe was a persistent threat and Charles fought continually with Suleiman the Magnificent, so opening yet another front would have contained unnecessary risks for him."