On 27th April 1536, three days after commissions of oyer and terminer had been set up by Thomas Audley, writs were issued summoning Parliament to meet on 8th June and a letter was sent to Archbishop Cranmer asking him to attend Parliament.
“Why should we see this as a sign that something is afoot?”, you may ask. Well. Parliament had only been dissolved on 14th April. Why was Parliament being summoned so soon? Could this have anything to do with Queen Anne Boleyn? Click here to read more about this.
On the very same day, according to Eustace Chapuys, the imperial ambassador, John Stokesley, Bishop of London, was approached to see if it was possible for Henry VIII to “abandon” his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Click here to read more about that.
AFAIK, a new Parliament would be necessary if Henry was planning on having the marriage annulled — to deal with the succession — even if there was never an accusation against Anne of any crime. Would Parliament be necessary if there was a plot to get rid of her (by execution) but no plans to annul the marriage?
The Parliament must be the last one to draw all of the reformation issues to an end. The new Parliament would need to verify in law everything that had happened, making Jane the new legal wife, the old union dead, Elizabeth no longer the heir, all children of Henry and Jane the heirs. Henry had to send out the writs in plenty of time to allow for travel to the new sittings and if he was indeed anticipating his marriage to Anne being ended, one way or another, he needs Parliament to be prepared and back him up.