 The power of Tudor monarchs , including Henry , was ' whole ' and ' entire ' , ruling , as they claimed , by the grace of God alone . The crown could also rely on the exclusive use of those functions that constituted the royal prerogative . These included acts of diplomacy ( including royal marriages ) , declarations of war , management of the coinage , the issue of royal pardons and the power to summon and dissolve parliament as and when required . Nevertheless , as evident during Henry 's break with Rome , the monarch worked within established limits , whether legal or financial , that forced him to work closely with both the nobility and parliament ( representing the gentry ) . In practice , Tudor monarchs used patronage to maintain a royal court that included formal institutions such as the Privy Council as well as more informal advisers and confidants . Both the rise and fall of court nobles could be swift : although the often @-@ quoted figure of 72 @,@ 000 executions during his reign is inflated , Henry did undoubtedly execute at will , burning or beheading two of his wives , twenty peers , four leading public servants , six close attendants and friends , one cardinal ( John Fisher ) and numerous abbots . Among those who were in favour at any given point in Henry 's reign , one could usually be identified as a chief minister , though one of the enduring debates in the historiography of the period has been the extent to which those chief ministers controlled Henry rather than vice versa . In particular , historian G. R. Elton has argued that one such minister , Thomas Cromwell , led a " Tudor revolution in government " quite independent of the king , whom Elton presented as an opportunistic , essentially lazy participant in the nitty @-@ gritty of politics . Where Henry did intervene personally in the running of the country , Elton argued , he mostly did so to its detriment . The prominence and influence of faction in Henry 's court is similarly discussed in the context of at least five episodes of Henry 's reign , including the downfall of Anne Boleyn . 
