 Pole's studies in Padua were partly financed by his election as a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, with more than half of the cost paid by Henry VIII himself on 14 February 1523, which allowed him to study abroad for three years.Pole returned home in July 1526, when he went to France, escorted by Thomas Lupset.Henry VIII offered him the Archbishopric of York or the Diocese of Winchester if he would support the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.