Supreme Governor of the Church of England Church's assets in England and declared the Church of England as the established church with himself as its head. The Act of Supremacy 1534 confirmed the King's status as having supremacy over the church and required the peers to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy. Henry's daughter, Mary I, attempted to restore the English Church's allegiance to the Pope and repealed the Act of Supremacy in 1555. Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in 1558 and the next year Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy 1558 that restored the original act. To placate critics, the Oath of Supremacy which peers
History of the Constitution of the United Kingdom not to imply that she had control over the church's doctrine, or, that the Monarch was usurping the primacy of Jesus. The Act also required all office-holders, including the clergy, to take an oath of allegiance acknowledging the Queen as the supreme governor of the Church of England. The monarchy had to get the consent of Parliament in all issues, but with the threat of war looming from Spain, Parliament showed great loyalty toward Queen Elizabeth, who was a strong leader. However, after the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588, Parliament felt safer and thus it decreased its loyalty to