German Princes and Lutherans

German Princes and Lutherans face accusation as co-conspirators with Thomas Cromwell in forged letters from Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner, and Richard Riche wield this charge during Cromwell's Tower interrogation to paint his Protestant ties as disloyalty to King Henry VIII. Cromwell rejects the letters as obvious fakes, exposing the ploy as aristocratic sabotage amid his rivals' coordinated attack.