Wolf Hall – The Real Cast

I’ve been receiving lots of questions about the historical personalities featured in the recent BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies so I’m currently working on some special articles on some of these characters, helped by Clare Cherry, Olga Hughes, Teri Fitzgerald and Beth von Staats. These articles will be published later this month and in early April, but for now I thought I’d share links to previous articles about some of Wolf Hall’s real cast.

There are thousands of articles on this site, so I’ve just picked a selection. I hope you find them useful.

Thomas Cromwell

• Henry VIII’s Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell – A Review and Rundown
• Your Most Sorrowful Subject – Thomas Cromwell’s Plea to Henry VIII in June 1540
• 10 June 1540 – The Arrest of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, at Westminster
• 28 July 1540 – The Executions of Thomas Cromwell and Walter Hungerford
• Thomas Cromwell’s Arrest – This includes a bio of Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

• The Life of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
• Thomas Cranmer becomes Archbishop of Canterbury
• The Unlawful Execution of Thomas Cranmer

Sir Thomas More

• Sir Thomas More biography
• Sir Thomas More becomes Lord Chancellor
• 17 April 1534 – Sir Thomas More sent to the Tower of London
• 3 June 1535 – The Interrogation of Sir Thomas More
• 26 June 1535 – A Commission of Oyer and Terminer Appointed to Try Sir Thomas More
• 5 July 1535 – Thomas More’s Last Letter
• 6 July 1535 – Execution of Thomas More, former Lord Chancellor

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk

• Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
• Anne Boleyn’s Family Part Two – The Howards
• 12 May 1536 – Appointment of Lord High Steward of England
• 15 June 1536 – Henry VIII’s Council bullies Mary
• 12 December 1546 – To the Tower for the Howards

Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

• Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford

• George Boleyn and Jane Parker
• The Marriage of George and Jane Boleyn
• Jane Boleyn – History’s Scapegoat
• Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford
• 13 February 1542 – Catherine Howard and Jane Boleyn, What they did and didn’t say

George Boleyn, Lord Rochford

• Anne Boleyn’s Family Part One – The Boleyns
• 15 May 1536 – The Trial of George Boleyn, Lord Rochford
• 23 April 1536 – Nicholas Carew, George Boleyn and the Order of the Garter
• George Boleyn video – Inaccuracies and Surprises
• George Boleyn and the Fall of Anne Boleyn video
• George Boleyn’s Appearance and Character video
• The Poetry of George Boleyn video
• George Boleyn’s Religious views video
• George Boleyn – His Education, Career and Relationship with Henry VIII video
• George Boleyn and Jane Parker video
• George Boleyn – Was he Homosexual?
• The Lover Complaineth the Unkindness of His Love – A Poem thought to be Written by George Boleyn
• 17 May 1536 – Five Executions on Tower Hill
• George Boleyn: Saint or Sinner
• George Boleyn Sources
• George Boleyn Bio page

Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire

• Sir Thomas Boleyn, Father of Anne Boleyn
• In Defence of Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn
• Remembering the Real Thomas Boleyn
• 29 June 1536 – The Demotion of Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire
• Anne Boleyn’s Family Part One – The Boleyns

Mary Boleyn

• Mary Boleyn and Henry VIII
• Mary Boleyn – One Big Boleyn Myth
• Mary Boleyn – Was she really the mistress of Francis I
• 4 February 1520 – The Marriage of Mary Boleyn to William Carey
• 19 July 1543 – The Death of Mary Boleyn
• Mary Boleyn: A Reassessment
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Birth
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Childhood and Education
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Personality and Appearance
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – France
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Fathers and Fertility
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Religion
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – From Widowhood to William Stafford
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – The Fall of the Boleyns
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Until the End
• Mary Boleyn the Unknown Sister – Conclusion

Gregory Cromwell

• Who Was Gregory Cromwell? – How Fiction Became History by Teri Fitzgerald

Sir Francis Weston, Sir Henry Norris, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton

• Sir Francis Weston Part 1
• Sir Francis Weston Part 2
• Sir Henry Norris Part 1
• Sir Henry Norris Part 2
• William Brereton Part 1
• William Brereton Part 2
• Mark Smeaton Part 1
• Mark Smeaton Part 2
• Mark Smeaton the Scrupulous?
• 30 April 1536 – A Visit Cancelled, a Royal Argument and the First Arrest
• 1 May 1536 – The Fateful May Day Joust
• The Arrests of Sir Francis Weston and William Brereton
• 10 May 1536 – Bring Up the Bodies
• 12 May 1536 – The Trial of Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton
• 16 May 1536 – George Boleyn, Sir Francis Weston, Sir Henry Norris, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton prepare for death
• 17 May 1536 – The Executions of Norris, Weston, Brereton, Smeaton and Rochford
• Courtly Love, Flirtation and the Fall of Anne Boleyn – Part 1
• Courtly Love, Flirtation and the Fall of Anne Boleyn – Part 2
• 29 April 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the Marmalade Cupboard and Dead Men’s Shoes
• Henry Norris and William Brereton – The Knighthood Confusion

Jane Seymour

• Jane Seymour Bio
• Jane Seymour – The Meek and Mild One?
• Jane Seymour by Lauren Johnson
• Jane Seymour – Redefining the Myth
• 20 May 1536 – The Betrothal of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
• 30 May 1536 – The Wedding of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
• 12 October 1537 – Queen Jane Seymour gives birth to a Prince
• 24 October 1537 – Death of Queen Jane Seymour

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

• Cardinal Thomas Wolsey Bio

Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester

• Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester Bio

Sir Francis Bryan

• Sir Francis Bryan, the Vicar of Hell

Sir Henry Percy

• The Early Life of Anne Boleyn Part 7 – The Butler, Chaplain, Courtier and Poet
• Anne Boleyn’s Love Life Prior to Henry VIII
• 13 May 1536 – The Breaking up of Anne Boleyn’s Household and Percy Gets Cross

Elizabeth Barton

• Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent.

Eustace Chapuys

• Eustace Chapuys, Imperial Ambasssador
• Q & A with author Lauren Mackay on Eustace Chapuys
• 18 April 1536 – Chapuys bows to Queen Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII

There are many, many articles on this website about Henry VIII and you can browse these by going to the Henry VIII category page, but here are a few:

• The Birth of Henry VIII
• Henry VIII: Renaissance Prince and King
• Henry VIII: A Tyrant or Just Misunderstood?
• Why I think Henry VIII was ultimately responsible for Anne Boleyn’s downfall
• 25 January 1533 – Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn at Whitehall
• 24 January 1536 – A Jousting Accident at Greenwich
• 28 January 1547 – The Death of Henry VIII and the Accession of Edward VI
• A Timeline of Anne Boleyn’s Relationship with Henry VIII – From 1528-1533

Catherine of Aragon

• Catherine of Aragon Bio page – for a list of articles on her.

Anne Boleyn

There are many, many articles on this site on Anne (obviously!) so use the category menu on the left hand side to browse articles on different aspects of her life. You may find these links particularly useful:

• Anne Boleyn Life series – a series of posts on her life
• Events of 1536 – Articles on Anne Boleyn’s fall in 1536 and links to primary sources
• Anne Boleyn categories page
• Why was Anne Boleyn executed?
• The Fall of Anne Boleyn interactive timeline
• Queen Anne Boleyn, 19 May 1536
• Anne Boleyn: A Cheat who deserved death? I don’t think so!
• Anne Boleyn and the fire in her chamber

The Google Search box in the right hand side menu will help you to find articles on specific topics.