His final downfall was caused by the haste with which he encouraged the king to marry Anne of Cleves. This was a marriage that Cromwell hoped would put the English Reformation back on track after the recent setback with the Six Articles. The enterprise became a disaster when King Henry told Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage. Henry told Cromwell to get him out of the marriage by legal means, but the king was obliged to go ahead with it or risk the vital German alliance. The king's marriage to Anne of Cleves was a disaster for Cromwell. It was the opportunity that Cromwell's opponents (most notably the Duke of Norfolk) needed to press for his downfall.