Sir Thomas More faced two major dilemmas as he began his duties as Chancellor of England. His first dilemma was whether or not to grant a divorce to King Henry VIII. His second dilemma was whether or not to take a vow to the Oath of Supremacy and the Act of Succession. Both of these dilemmas significantly changed Sir Thomas More's life. .
The first dilemma Sir Thomas More faced revolved around King Henry VIII desperately wanting a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon. At first, Catherine was married to King Henry VIII's brother, Arthur. When Arthur died, King Henry VIII wanted to marry Catherine so that he would become the next King of England. According to church laws, a man was not permitted to marry his dead brother's widow. However, the church ignored this rule and allowed the marriage to take place. As time went one King Henry VIII wanted to divorce Catherine because she was unable give him a son and also because he fell in love with another woman, Anne Boleyn. King Henry VIII wanted his marriage to Catherine to be considered invalid because of the church's beliefs. Against King Henry Vic's desires, the church determined the marriage was to remain. King Henry VIII sought out Sir Thomas More, who was the Chancellor of England, to grant him a divorce since he was the only one authorized to grant the divorce. Thus Sir Thomas More was facing his first major dilemma of whether to grant the king's wish of a divorce or enforce the ruling of the church.
Sir Thomas More could not bring it upon himself to grant the king a divorce and refused to grant King Henry VIII request primarily because of the church's original ruling. Also influencing his choice was the fact that the church had initially ignored a church rule to allow the marriage to take place. King Henry VIII tried to convince Sir Thomas More that it would be in his best interest to grant the king a divorce otherwise everything he owned would be taken away.