ABSTRACT
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, the only living child of George, Duke of Clarence, was chief among the old aristocracy, who were now sometimes called the party of the White Rose. Katherine of Arragon had been warmly attached to the Countess and her family. The tender-hearted queen believed that Margaret’s brother was sacrificed in order to bring about her marriage with Prince Arthur. The Pole family was devoted to the Queen, and would in any case have opposed the divorce. In addition to this motive the Countess was a very devout woman and had brought up her sons to be pillars of the Church. In 1532 Reginald Pole with some difficulty obtained leave to go abroad, to escape acquiescence in the divorce. Reginald Pole was a man of quiet, amiable and studious disposition. He had been educated at the King’s expense, and was genuinely fond of his patron.
