Faction was a part of Tudor government throughout Henry VIII life and the rest of the Tudor monarchs reigns and was an everyday part of court politics as each rival group sought the kings favour for more power and patronage. During the last eight years of Henry's reign, Henry was an ageing king and there is some debate as to whether he was able to control faction, which increased after 1540, towards the last eight years of his reign. Faction had always existed in the royal court, as like-minded groups of courtiers grouped together to advance their interests. This became more intense as a result of the Great Matter and then the Break with Rome. After the fall of Wolsey in 1529, there was no longer a chief minister to direct and implement policy Instead, Henry operated with three groups of counsellors and advisers, who had rather different ideas about what to do, these were the Conservatives, Reformers and Aristocrats.
, so that he had every intention to move against Cromwell however given that Henry made Cromwell Earl of Essex in April 1540, it seems likely that it was only at the last minute, sometime in June, that he was persuaded to Cromwells arrest on grounds of heresy and treason. There is evidence that Henry regretted this decision, which may suggest a brief loss of control over faction fighting, which had got the better of him.
Due to Henry's Marriage to Catherine Howard between 1540 -1542 the conservative faction had the upper hand. She had been a key player in Norfolk's scheme to lure Henry away from Cromwell to ensure the rise of the conservative faction. However, it was soon discovered that Catherine had already had two lovers before the king and was not a virgin. Henry had been oblivious to the activities of his young wife, but once the truth was revealed to him he acted quickly and decisively, those involved to their deaths. He did not act against Norfolk or Gardiner, but their influence at court warned from this time, and all further attempts they made to bring down leading members of the reformers faction would fail, indicating that Henry learnt from this experience and managed faction more carefully.
