The death of the king on 28 January 1547, proved the turning point in Bonner's career. Hitherto he had shown himself entirely subservient to the sovereign, supporting him in the matter of the divorce, approving of the suppression of the religious houses, taking the oath of Supremacy which Fisher and More refused at the cost of their lives. But while accepting the schism from Rome, he had always resisted the innovations of the Reformers, and held to the doctrines of the old religion.