Court of Henry VIII

Henry VIII was well known for changing his courtiers and members of his council fell in and out of favour regularly - here are some of the best known names from the court of Henry VIII. 

Sir Thomas More

More was an English lawyer, judge, author, statesman and humanist. He rose to prominence after being elected to parliament in 1504 and began to represent London in 1510, where he fell foul of Henry’s father, Henry VII. After being released from the Tower of London, he served as an undersheriff of the City of London before being appointed to the Privy Council in 1514. During this time, he undertook diplomatic missions to the Holy Roman Emperor and negotiated treaties with France and Spain, which earned him a knighthood. As a secretary and personal advisor to Henry VIII, he became incredibly influential, eventually succeeding Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor.

More was a devout Catholic and considered the Protestant Reformation as heresy. He refused to sign the letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul the marriage between Henry and Catherine of Aragon and refused to acknowledge the king as Supreme Head of the Church of England. This led More to resign from his role as Chancellor but initially remained in Henry’s favour, however when he refused to attend Anne Boleyn’s coronation his relationship with the king soured.

From here on, More found himself the focus of several serious allegations, including accepting bribes and giving council to Elizabeth Barton, who had been punished for predicting the death of the king.

His refusal to support the annulment or supremacy, as well as refusing to confirm Anne Boleyn’s role as queen and the rights of her children to succeed sealed his fate. He was arrested for treason and was imprisoned in the Tower of London, during which time several of Henry’s advisors visited him and tried to convince him to change his mind, but he would not.

A trial was held on 1^st July 1535 and just 15 minutes later, was found guilty. He was initially sentenced to being hung, drawn and quartered, however Henry commuted his sentence to decapitation.

The execution took place on 6^th July 1535 at Tower Hill. His body was buried in an unmarked grave at the Tower and his head fixed to a pike over London Bridge for a month, as was custom. His daughter later rescued the head. He was a saint by the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

Wolsey was a Catholic bishop and statesman, who became Henry VIII’s almoner after his succession. By 1514, he controlled virtually all matters of state, eventually becoming Lord Chancellor, the King’s chief advisor and, some say, spy master.

While working with the king, Wolsey proved to be a talented diplomat, he negotiated the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a grand meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France and mediated issues between Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor and Francis I who were both trying to woo England for support for a war. The Treaty of London, which secured a peace in Europe is often regarded as his finest moment, but was abandoned within a year.

His inability to smoothly arrange an annulment between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon spelled the start of his downfall. Wolsey appealed to the Pope three times, eventually securing two papal legates to decide the next course of action. They took so long to arrive and then delayed the proceedings so much that the case had to be suspended, further enraging Henry who blamed the delay on Wolsey.

In 1529, Wolsey was stripped of his government office and property, including his home at Hampton Court, which Henry took for himself. He was permitted to remain Archbishop of York but after travelling to Yorkshire, was accused of treason and ordered to return to London. He fell ill on the return journey and died at Leicester on 29^th November 1530 at just 57.

Thomas Cromwell

Cromwell was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII. He was one of the most powerful players in the English Reformation and the creator of true English governance. Unlike other members of Henry’s inner circle, Cromwell wasn’t descended from nobility. He worked his way up through the ranks and eventually gaining a seat in the House of Commons and in 1524, became a member of Wolsey’s household and would become one of his most trusted advisors.

Initially, he was a supporter of Anne Boleyn’s though would later turn on her. He drafted the legislation that would make Henry Supreme Head of the Church of England and as a reward, was appointed several offices, including Chancellor of the Exchequer and was gifted the grant of property confiscated from the Duke of Buckingham.

After the downfall of Wolsey and More, Cromwell was appointed as principal secretary and chief minister. Though initially a supporter of Reformation and Anne Boleyn, the pair fell out after she wanted to use funds accumulated from the dissolution of the monasteries for charitable work and he wanted to fill the king’s coffers. She had also failed to produce a son, which made the king impatient with her and keen to move on to one of her ladies in waiting. It was Cromwell who orchestrated the investigation into Anne Boleyn and presided over her trial. After her death, Cromwell succeeded her father as Lord Privy Seal and was given a peerage.

He fell out of favour when negotiating the marriage of Henry and his fourth wife. Cromwell suggested the match with Anne of Cleeves and so Henry blamed him for her not being to his liking. Henry had confided in Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, something Cromwell then told to others, leading to Henry’s embarrassment. There was further conflict with the Howard family, who were pushing the king towards Catherine Howard, his fifth wife. By helping with an annulment for the king and Anne of Cleeves, he would be paving the way for the king to marry Catherine Howard and in turn would elevate his enemies. However, stalling on the annulment, took him out of royal favour. He was arrested on 10^th June 1540 and accused of various charges. He was sentenced to death and all his titles removed, though his sentence was delayed so he could continue to help with Henry’s annulment. He had no trial and was publicly beheaded on 28^th July 1540, the king’s wedding day to Catherine Howard. His head was displayed on London Bridge.

Fun fact though – his nephew’s great grandson was Oliver Cromwell, who was instrumental in the abolition of the monarchy.

Thomas Cranmer

A leader of the English Reformation, Cranmer was made Arch Bishop of Canterbury during the reign of Henry VIII and helped build the case of annulment for his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. He was also part of Edward VI’s court and helped promote major reforms, including the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, however, he met his end during the reign of Mary I.

Charles Brandon

1^st Duke of Suffolk, Brandon was an English military leader and courtier. He was brought up at the court of Henry VII and as such, alongside Henry VIII. The pair were close friends and as they grew up, he held a succession of offices in the royal household, including Master of the Horse, Viscount Lisle and Duke of Suffolk.

He commanded the king’s armies on invasions in France and is likely the only person to have successfully retained the king’s favour for the majority of his reign.

In their youth, Brandon had been romantically involved with Henry’s younger sister Mary, who was sent to France to marry King Louis XII. The French king was much older than her and she had arranged with her brother that on the French king's death, she would have the freedom to marry whoever she chose. It was widely thought that she and Brandon would rekindle their relationship when she was widowed and Henry was initially in favour of this match. On the death of Louis XII, Brandon was sent to France to retrieve Mary and was under strict instructions to bring back the gold and jewels promised to the Tudors for her hand in marriage and not to propose. However, the pair wed in secret in the presence of the new king of France, Francis I.

Henry’s council were mostly against the match as they did not want Brandon to grow in power and influence, and technically, marrying a royal without the king’s consent was an act of treason. However, Wolsey convinced the king to simply fine the couple. They had four children together, two of which survived to adulthood. Their daughter, Lady Frances Brandon, went on to marry Henry Grey the Duke of Suffolk and they had three daughters, one of which was Lady Jane Grey, the nine day’s queen.

Louis XII and Francis I

Louis XII was King of France from 1498 – 1515 and was married to Henry VIII’s younger sister Mary Tudor. Despite Mary being his third wife, he had no living sons and the marriage didn’t produce any children, likely because of Louis advanced age. Less than three months after he married Mary, he died and the throne passed to his son in law, Francis I.

Francis I was the king of France from 1515 until 1547. Throughout his reign he sought the support of Henry VIII, the pair met at a lavish ceremony as part of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The kings were both ambitious and their relationship featured an intense rivalry.

Charles V

Charles V became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and as such controlled huge areas of Europe. He was the nephew of Henry’s first wife Catherine of Aragon and for a time, was betrothed to their daughter Mary. It was this familial relationship that led to an alliance between the Holy Roman Emperor and England, however, it was Charles’ attack on Rome that prevented the pope from annulling the marriage between his aunt and uncle. Henry would eventually break with Rome, leading to the English Reformation, though Charles would remain allied with England on and off during his reign.

The mistresses

As well as six wives, Henry had a number of official mistresses. The best known of which are:

Bessie Blount
Blount was part of the English gentry, but her family didn’t have any real input in the running of the country. She was part of the king’s court as a maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon and became the king’s mistress around 1514, the affair lasted 8 years. Their relationship produced a healthy son, known as Henry FitzRoy, who was created the Duke of Richmond and Somerset. He is the only illegitimate child that Henry acknowledged, so much so that he even attempted to have him included in the line of succession.

Mary Boleyn

Henry started a relationship with Mary Boleyn around the same time as his affair with Bessie Blount ended. Mary had, like her sister, served in the French court and was rumoured to have been the mistress of Francis I before being recalled to England. She became a favourite of Henry VIII, who arranged her marriage to William Carey and bestowed generous gifts on the couple.

She had two children, which were rumoured to have been fathered by Henry, Catherine Carey and Henry Carey, though Henry didn’t acknowledge either as his and the pair were raised by William Carey. However, Catherine became maid of honour to both Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard, enjoying an elevated position at court. She later became the chief lady of the bedchamber to Elizabeth I, which further gave credence to the rumours that they were not just cousins, but half sisters.

Henry was made a knight by Elizabeth I and was offered the Boleyn family title but declined. He mostly led a quiet life.

Other famous mistresses included Margaret Shelton, the cousin of Anne and Mary Boleyn and both Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard, who he began relationships with while married to his previous wives.

Henry FitzRoy

Henry FitzRoy is Henry VIII’s only acknowledged illegitimate child. He was the son of Bessie Blount, Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting. To avoid scandal, Blount was taken to a priory in Essex for her confinement. His surname means ‘son of the king’ in Norman French and though his birth and christening were not recorded, Thomas Wolsey was named as one of his godfathers. Henry openly acknowledged the boy, proudly exhibiting his son to the court, he was a regular visitor to the royal nursery and became a permanent fixture after 1530.

FitzRoy was known around court as the Lord Henry, was given his own residences and was elevated to Duke, being given the Dukedom of Richmond and Somerset. It is said that Henry had a fondness for him and took a great interest in his upbringing, even going as far as to try and include him in the line of succession by marrying him to his half sister, Mary.

FitzRoy became seriously ill in 1536, dying in the July. His tomb has a mix of both royal and religious iconography, which can be seen at St Michael the Archangel Church in Framlingham, Suffolk.

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