On the 29th June 1536 Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, was stripped of his office of Lord Privy Seal, an office which he’d held since January 1530. It was, of course, the result of the fall of two of his children, George and Queen Anne Boleyn.
On 2nd July 1536, Thomas Cromwell, the brains behind Anne’s downfall, was formally appointed Lord Privy Seal in Wiltshire’s place.
It was not the end, however, for Thomas Boleyn. He was active in squashing the northern rebellion of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and was present at Edward VI’s christening in October 1537. Historian Eric Ives writes of how he he even buttered up Cromwell by lending him his chain and Garter badge on one occasion. By 1538, just two years after Anne’s execution, Thomas Boleyn was properly back at Henry VIII’s court and it was even rumoured, after Elizabeth Boleyn’s death in April 1538, that he was going to marry Henry VIII’s niece, Margaret Douglas. Of course, this never happened and Thomas died in March 1539. Henry VIII ordered masses to be said for his soul, showing that Thomas was truly back in favour with the King at the time of his death.
You can find out more about Thomas in my articles In Defence of Thomas Boleyn, Father of Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas Boleyn, Father of Anne Boleyn.
Also on this day in history…
- 1509 – Death of Lady Margaret Beaufort, grandmother of Henry VIII and the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty. See 29 June 1509 – Death of Margaret Beaufort
- 1537 – Death of Henry Algernon Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. He was buried at Hackney parish church and his will appointed the King as supervisor and Edward Fox, Bishop of Hereford, and Thomas Cromwell as executors.
- 1537 – Execution of John Hussey, Baron Hussey and Chief Butler of England, by beheading at Lincoln after he was accused of conspiring with Lord Darcy during the Pilgrimage of Grace.
- 1540 – Bill of attainder passed against Thomas Cromwell for the crimes of corruption, heresy and treason, stripping him of his honours and condemning him to death.
- 1541 – Hanging of Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre, at Tyburn. He was hanged after he and his companions murdered a servant of Nicholas Pelham while poaching on Pelham’s estate in April 1541. He was buried in the church of St Selpulchre.
- 1552 – Birth of Elizabeth Carew (née Spencer), Lady Hunsdon, literary patron, at Althorp, Northamptonshire. Elizabeth was the sixth child of Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton and Althorp, and his wife, Katherine. Elizabeth was married first to Sir George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon and grandson of Mary Boleyn, and then, after his death, to Ralph Eure, third Baron Eure.
