Henry's Strategy for Getting Rid of Catherine Boleyn

Henry thought he knew why Catherine had failed to produce a son. He read in the Bible that if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing. Their union was incestuous, and God had punished them. Henry stopped sleeping in the same bed with Catherine since he considered her his sister-in-law, not his lawful wife. Finally, in 1531, he banished her from court and shipped her off to a distant castle. The Pope ordered him to return her to court on pain of excommunication - the most severe penalty a Catholic could suffer.