After being ordained as a priest Leigh obtained several livings under the patronage of Cardinal Wolsey;[1] despite Wolsey's fall he rose high in the esteem of Henry VIII and of Thomas Cromwell by pursuing the policy of suppressing the monasteries, and is believed to have been rewarded by officiating at Henry's secret marriage to Anne Boleyn in January 1533.
[2] He served as a prelate to the royal household advocating the legality of Henry's marriage with Queen Anne until May 1534 when he was appointed Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches.
[3] As the Lord President, under the direction of Thomas Cromwell, he set out to bring law and order to the Welsh regions.
Leigh was also disliked among the gentry for giving them scant respect, despite being related to them; he once boasted to have hanged "Five of the best blood in the county of Shropshire".
[4] The "Hanging Bishop" was said to be disappointed and incensed when the first Act of Union was enacted in 1536, as he believed the Welsh could not be trusted as part of England.