Although Henry did eventually get his Heir to crown it didn’t happen till’ Edward VI in 1537. This means that Henry’s biggest and most important aim was technically a failure during the early years of his reign. Another important goal that Henry VIII wanted to achieve in the early years of his Reign was to bring Honour and Glory to England and for him to be known as a true English warrior to the rest of Europe. Henry did somewhat achieve this goal with his wars with France and Scotland. The battle of the Spurs (1513) and the Battle of Flodden (1513), although to some considered small skirmishes, did make the countries of Europe start to notice England as a possible threat and certainly now knew about Henry VIII.
Another way that Edward IV proved that he was not a ‘puppet king’ as Henry VI was seen as was by removing Warwick’s brother, George Neville, as chancellor. However, although these events showed that he was not controlled by Warwick, there were many failures that outweigh his successes when it came to dealing with the over mighty subjects. Edward was said to have ‘alienated’ Warwick, which then caused him to become over mighty. Warwick was the biggest land owner in England and therefore had a lot of power, maybe even too much power as some people thought when it came to Edwards’s decision. Edwards marriage to Woodville was said to show favouritism as he subsequently gave the Woodville family titles and arranged the best marriages possible for Elizabeth’s sister, meaning that Warwick’s daughters did not get the desired marriages.
I personally think that Henry failed in his foreign policy because he didn’t end up gaining a full grasp on France, this was the main precedence. The initial aim was to capture more land, gaining more land meaning capturing France and knowing Henry’s ambitious mindset, he most probably had his whole mind set on creating an empire and France was a good place to start. Had Henry been what he said he was ‘a warrior king’ he wouldn’t have been used as a toy twice throughout this unsuccessful foreign policy. Charles took advantage of Henry. At the Battle of Pavia, the French were defeated and Francis along with his strongest supporters were held captive.
Henry also wanted more power because he wanted Europe to know that England is a powerful country and he wanted a son because he thought that men were more powerful than women. He got more power buy being famous for marrying six wives and spiting from the church. Edward VI Edward born in 1537 was a very smart educated boy and was interested in politics and things like that (I personally don’t know why). So he decides to change the church to his liking. The first thing he did was change the prayers books into English, the he abolished the Catholic Mass and was replaced with the Holy Communion, he turned Church interiors plain and simple, he told priests to wear plain clothing, he said priests couldn’t get married, he said you couldn’t buy your way to heaven and finally traditions were banned such as Christmas.
However, wars generally led to very expensive costs to the country. Henry's father, Henry VII, left the country in quite a stable state economically, but Henry devoted most of England's money into his campaigns to take over France, because he believed had a right to the Throne. To some extent source 4 supports the idea that the foreign policy did fail due to the lack of resources, because it states that “the young warrior family accepted the fact that royal finances could not support a repetition of the campaign of 1513”. This quote implies that the lack of resources seems to be the dominant reason for stopping Henry from invading France and therefore source 4 supports the statement to some extent. In source 4 we also learn that much must have depended on diplomatic relations with Maximilian and Ferdinand, however Henry’s allies proved unfaithful and unreliable.
Due to Henry being popular parliament were willing to help finance his invasion. He proved himself a worthy King from the very beginning by personally sening letters asking for help from religious communities and individuals asking for help with his plans. This shows from an early stage that Henry doesn't hold back. His organisation skills from the very early stages led him to being so successful in France as a whole as if he had just jumped straight in with trying to take over France at once, he wouldn't have stood a chance or gained credibility from his men and the French men. Gaining cedibility and respect was very important to Henry.
The improvements that the French army had made during the reign of Charles V and thus, the subsequent similarities that had arisen between the two countries' armies, disappeared. Though the English were far outnumbered, they wrought a startling defeat over the French. Their defeat caused Charles VI to sign the Treaty of Troyes with the English in 1420. It ensured that upon his death, the rule of France would be handed over to Henry V. The treaty was complicated, however, when both Charles VI and Henry V died two years later. The kingship of both countries was given to Henry V's infant son.
France had a burning desire for revenge on the British after their loss at the French Indian war back in 1754. and America wanted France to help them in the war. But France didn't want to step in because they were afraid that their participation would result in another expensive war with the British. So France said “ we will help only if you show us that you have a real chance of winning this war.” the victory at Saratoga convinced France to step in and donate a ton of supplies and men. This helped to even the playing field against the
Cromwell hoped that the marriage to the German princess would secure support against the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor, and strengthen the bonds of Protestantism. Despite the marriage not working it was clear that Cromwell’s influence was a bad decision on Henry VIII’s behalf look manipulated as he put his trust into Cromwell. Cromwell showed to be more in control with legal issues for example his last office of Lord Great Chamberlain, gave him control over the whole household-above-stairs, Chamber and Privy Chamber, this clearly means that Henry had a lack in control, however his lack in control could of been down to his ill
One of Henry VIII’s main aims when he came to power was to be as different from his father as possible, and this is what led him to make many of his decisions during the first few years of his reign. Henry’s personal ambition was to invade and take the throne of France; he wanted the fame and glory that came with winning battles and taking over countries. Adding to this, Henry wanted to become a huge part of Europe, trying to form alliances, sign treaties and claim status. Henry knew that if he was going to take over France he would need powerful allies as France was becoming powerful itself, was becoming wealthy and gaining military strength. His last aim was the succession.