Why did Thomas More refuse to attend Anne Boleyn’s coronation?

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Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger, showing More in dark robes and a black hat, wearing a gold chain of office, seated against a green and yellow draped background. — Thomas More *Sir Thomas More*, oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527; in the Frick Collection, New York City.

Thomas More’s refusal to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533 was a public manifestation of his opposition to King Henry VIII’s efforts to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.12

More could not support the king’s pursuit of an annulment, nor could he endorse the subsequent marriage to Anne, which ultimately led to the break with papal authority and the establishment of the Church of England. By abstaining from the ceremony, More signaled his dissent against the king's actions, which he viewed as a violation of the unity of the church and the supremacy of the Pope. This act of defiance, along with his later refusal to swear the Act of Succession, marked him for royal vengeance and eventually contributed to his trial and execution for treason.123