The penalties prescribed in the Statute of the Six Articles were enforced with great vigour， and at the same time those who maintained papal supremacy were treated with equal severity. While the men who denied Transubstantiation were burned as heretics at Smithfield， their opponents， who dared to express views derogatory to royal supremacy， were hanged， drawn， and quartered as traitors. Latimer retired into private life； Cranmer showed no signs of open opposition to the king's religious policy， and， practically speaking， all traces of the new teachings that had disturbed England for years disappeared. The aged Countess of Salisbury， mother of Cardinal Pole， was put to death in 1541， two years after sentence of attainder had been passed against her by Parliament， as were， also， a large number of priests and laymen suspected of having been implicated in an attempt to bring about another rebellion in the north. In consequence of this plot Henry determined to undertake a journey to York (1541) with the hope of strengthening his hold upon the people， and possibly also of securing the friendship of his nephew， James V. of Scotland， who had remained loyal to Rome and to France. The Archbishop of York made his submission on bended knees， presenting the king with a gift of ā600 as a sign of the repentance of the people for their recent disobedience， an example that was followed in many of the cities and towns； but James V.， unwilling to trust his life and liberty to the king， refused to cross the English border.
Henry returned to London only to find that serious charges of immorality were being brought against his wife， Catharine Howard. She was arrested and put to death with her chief accomplices (1542).
Though the king could not conceal his joy at finding himself free once more， he hesitated for some time before choosing another wife； but at last in 1543， his choice fell upon Catharine Parr， a young widow twenty years his junior， who was believed to favour royal supremacy， though she had been married previously to one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace. It is said that once at least she stood in serious risk because she ventured to disagree with her husband's theological views， but， however that may be， it is certain that she had the good fortune to survive the king.
The struggle between the old principles and the new continued， notwithstanding all Henry's attempts to secure unanimity. As early as 1540 a set of questions had been circulated amongst the bishops， and as a result of the replies received and of the discussions that took place in Convocation a book was issued， entitled /A Necessary Doctrine and an Erudition for any Christian Man/ (1543). It was issued by order of the king， and for this reason is known as the /King's Book/ in contradistinction to the /Bishop's Book/， published with his permission but not by his authorisation. Just as the /Bishop's Book/represented a revision of the Ten Articles， so the /King's Book/ was an extension or completion of the /Bishop's Book/， in many respects even more Catholic in its tone than the original. The king was now nearing his end rapidly， and both parties in the royal council strove hard for mastery. Gardiner and Bonner， Bishop of London， stood firm in defence of Catholic doctrine， and once or twice it seemed as if they were about to succeed in displacing Cranmer from the favour of the king； but the danger of an attack from the united forces of France and the Emperor， especially after the peace of Crépy had been concluded (1544)， made it necessary for Henry not to close the door against an alliance with the Protestant princes of Germany by an attack on Cranmer， who was regarded by them as an active sympathiser. Once indeed Henry ordered that the archbishop should be arrested， but a sudden change of mind took place， and the order for the arrest was cancelled.
A new Parliament met in 1545. The royal exchequer had been emptied by the war with France and Scotland， and to replenish it an Act was passed empowering the king to dissolve chantries， hospitals， and free chapels， and to appropriate their revenues for his own use. Henry addressed the Parliament on Christmas Eve 1545 in a speech in which he deplored the religious differences that divided his people， differences which were due， he said， partly to the obstinacy of the clergy， some of whom wished to cling to all the old ways， while others of them would be content with nothing less than a complete renewal；partly to the fault of the people who spoke scandalously of their clergy， and abused the Scriptures they had been permitted to read. In itself this speech was a sad commentary on Henry's religious campaign， containing as it did a confession that despite all his violence and persecution， religious formularies imposed by royal authority were not sufficient to preserve religious unity. During the year 1546， though many persons were still sent to the stake for denying Transubstantiation， the power of Cranmer and his party was on the increase. The Earl of Hertford， uncle of the young Prince Edward and Cranmer secured the upper hand in the council， and the Duke of Norfolk， together with his son the Earl of Surrey， was imprisoned in the Tower (Dec. 1546). Surrey was tried and executed， and a similar fate was in store for the Duke， were it not that before the death-sentence could be carried out， Henry himself had been summoned before the judgment-seat of God (28th Jan. 1547). For some weeks before his death the condition of the king had been serious， but the Earl of Hertford and his party kept the sickness and even the death a secret until all their plans had been matured. On the 31st January Edward VI.
was proclaimed king， and the triumph of the Lutheran party seemed assured.