It was a perfect storm. The national interests of England were being dictated by the semi-hostile government of Spain through the agency of the papacy. Thus, in the eyes of England, the historic Roman Catholic doctrine of the primacy of Peter was being distorted and hijacked for political purposes. For obvious reasons, the Pope delayed and equivocated. At one point, he even suggested that, under the circumstances, it might be permissible for Henry to commit bigamy. By 1529, it had become clear the