Thomas More; the Oath of Supremacy

Some say that it is my own fault that I am here in the Tower awaiting execution and that all I had to do was swear an oath to acknowledge the King as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. You see in fifteen thirty five a royal decree required the clergy to take the Oath of Supremacy acknowledging King Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Now because I was a layperson, I was not of the clergy nor was I an official of the church I didn’t have to sign this, which was good, because it was my belief that the Pope was the Supreme Head of the Church. But after a time and much pressure by the King I did take the oath, but added “As far as the law of Christ allows”. However in the end I resigned as Lord Chancellor and went home. Huh, the biggest mistake I made was not to attend Anne Boleyn’s coronation as Queen, because the King saw this as a snub and started to take action against me.