Catholic Henry VIII: Development of English Protestanism?

So say Catherine of Aragon births Henry a healthy, bonny baby boy. Maybe even two to keep Henry VIII's nerves in check.

So no break with Rome. Henry was no religious radical, he happily denounced Martin Luther prior to the split, and the Church of England as we know it didn't develop until Elizabeth's reign. Henry, bar removing the independent power of the monasteries, initiated little more than a re-brand.

So we have Henry VIII as a loyal Catholic Prince but how does it effect Protestantism in England? I've been searching threads about this subject but most seem to assume Catholic Henry equals Catholic England until the modern era. Given the violence France and Germany suffered is that likely?

I'm not well versed in the era but I would assume England would still see a boost in heretical thought.

Would England suffer a war of religion? A compromise? Would the Counter-Reformation be triumphant?
 
It is a really good question because most people assume a healthy heir by Catherine of Aragon negates any chance of a reformation in England.
There are some issues to consider:
If Henry remains Catholic in the traditional sense and there is no divorce problem then it is likely that Thomas More remains chancellor for longer - and he was pretty stern when it came to heresy - the more something is persecuted the more it tends to grow.
England's principal trading partners (the low countries and France - were hotbeds of new religious thinking and religious division - that influence is going to spread to England irrespective of what the state does to stop it)
Henry VIII would not be unaware of certain political attractions of reform - the absolute authority of a monarch in his own land - whether alone that is enough to encourage reform is unlikely though.
Who does Henry's heir marry and if Catherine of Aragon dies as in OTL does Henry remarry - the influence of a wife to either might make a difference to their thoughts - Anne Boleyn and Katherine Parr for example were highly influential on Henry's religious outlook)

Probably the best point is to look to Scotland - the Scot's King James V remained a devout Roman Catholic as was his widow and regent Marie of Guise but they were not really able to stem the tide of Calvinist thought in Scotland - that today Scotland remains essentially with a fully reformed protestant church is a testament not to union with England but to a native movement that had nothing to do with the state or the crown.

I do so some form of religious conflict - probably not the full on war of religion experienced by France but possibly something similar to what happened in Scotland - though in England the catholics might win given the much stronger central control of the crown (assuming you don't end up with a monarch who has sympathy with protestant thought even if nominally remains Catholic)
 
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