May 17 – The ends of George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton

| May 17, 2022

May 17 – The ends of George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton

While King Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was being declared null and void by Archbishop Cranmer at Lambeth, executions were taking place on Tower Hill. On this day in 1536, 17th May, George Boleyn, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were executed for high treason after being found guilty […]

17 May 1536 – Tragedy at Tower Hill – The Fall of Anne Boleyn

| May 17, 2019

17 May 1536 – Tragedy at Tower Hill – The Fall of Anne Boleyn

On this day in 1536, 17th May, George Boleyn, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were executed on Tower Hill for high treason after being found guilty of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn and conspiring with her to kill King Henry VIII. In today’s video, I share what happened on […]

17 May 1536 – Pray for the souls of those be dead and gone

| May 17, 2017

17 May 1536 – Pray for the souls of those be dead and gone

On this day in history, Wednesday 17th May 1536, five courtiers were beheaded on Tower Hill. Their names: Mark Smeaton, William Brereton, Sir Francis Weston, Sir Henry Norris and George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. Their crime: high treason; they had been found guilty of having sexual relations with Queen Anne Boleyn and of plotting with her […]

17 May 1536 – These bloody days have broken my heart

| May 17, 2015

17 May 1536 – These bloody days have broken my heart

The famous Tudor poet Thomas Wyatt the Elder wrote two poems about the executions he witnessed in 1536 from his prison in the Bell Tower of the Tower of London. In one, he wrote of how “These bloody days have broken my heart” and I am always moved by those words and the refrain at […]

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