15th May 1536
King’s Hall, The Tower of London.
King’s Hall, The Tower of London.
I wonder, if at anytime in the days before Anne's trial Thomas Boleyn ever thought of his great grandfather, Geoffrey Boleyn, the yeoman farmer from Norfolk. I wonder if he wished that he had discouraged his sons move to London and talked to him about how city life could lead to greed and ambition and tragedy. What was he thinking when he and his brother in law the Duke of Norfolk were asked to inquire into allegations of sexual misconduct and witchcraft or when his son was arrested and charged with incest.
It was this day in 1536 that Thomas Boleyn listened as his daughter was charged with "entertaining malice against the King" and having sexual relations with five men of Henry's court.
Thomas sat in judgement when Anne pleaded not guilty to all the charges but it was her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, who declared that she was guilty. So was she guilty? Of these charges no, her downfall was most certainly orchestrated.
Anne was feisty, Anne was opinionated, Anne was intelligent, are these not the characteristics that had attracted Henry to her in the first place and now he used them against her, he also knew exactly who to ask to get rid of her.
So was Anne's father one of her persecutors or was he just a pawn in a greater game? The irony is that Thomas Boleyn owed his royal favour to the fascination Henry VIII had for both is his daughters, maybe without this, Boleyn's part in Tudor history would be just that of a minor member of the kings court.
After the executions of Anne and George Boleyn, Thomas lost the office of lord privy seal to Thomas Cromwell. Over the next couple of years he lost all his titles apart from his earldom, which he had no heir to inherit and incidentally he had to share with Piers Butler, a member of his mothers family who was granted the title in 1538.
Was all this punishment enough?
Thomas Boleyn died at Hever Castle in 1539.
It was this day in 1536 that Thomas Boleyn listened as his daughter was charged with "entertaining malice against the King" and having sexual relations with five men of Henry's court.
Thomas sat in judgement when Anne pleaded not guilty to all the charges but it was her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, who declared that she was guilty. So was she guilty? Of these charges no, her downfall was most certainly orchestrated.
Anne was feisty, Anne was opinionated, Anne was intelligent, are these not the characteristics that had attracted Henry to her in the first place and now he used them against her, he also knew exactly who to ask to get rid of her.
So was Anne's father one of her persecutors or was he just a pawn in a greater game? The irony is that Thomas Boleyn owed his royal favour to the fascination Henry VIII had for both is his daughters, maybe without this, Boleyn's part in Tudor history would be just that of a minor member of the kings court.
After the executions of Anne and George Boleyn, Thomas lost the office of lord privy seal to Thomas Cromwell. Over the next couple of years he lost all his titles apart from his earldom, which he had no heir to inherit and incidentally he had to share with Piers Butler, a member of his mothers family who was granted the title in 1538.
Was all this punishment enough?
Thomas Boleyn died at Hever Castle in 1539.
This unfinished painting is considered to be of Thomas Boleyn, historian David Starkey deputes this stating that it is his cousin, James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond.
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