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Claire | May 17, 2017
In the “bloody days”, as Thomas Wyatt called them, of May 1536, not only was a queen executed, but also five courtiers. If we believe that Queen Anne Boleyn was innocent of all charges then these five men were innocent too and deserve to be remembered just as we remember Anne. Five families were rocked […]
Claire | May 17, 2017
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 […]
Claire | May 12, 2017
On this day in history, 12th May 1536, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were taken by barge from the Tower of London to Westminster and tried in Westminster Hall for high treason. The four men were tried by a special commission of oyer and terminer and any hopes of […]
Claire | May 2, 2017
On this day in history, on the morning of 2nd May 1536, Henry VIII’s friend and groom of the stool, Sir Henry Norris, was escorted to the Tower of London following his interrogation the previous day. He wasn’t the only person taken to the Tower on 2nd May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn was arrested at […]
Claire | April 29, 2017
On 29th April 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn had two separate encounters with male courtiers, men who would soon be accused of sleeping with her and plotting with her to kill King Henry VIII. You can read more about Anne’s encounters with Mark Smeaton, a musician, and Sir Henry Norris, her husband’s groom of the stool, […]
Claire | May 19, 2016
Queen Anne Boleyn was, of course, not the only victim of her fall in 1536, five men were executed on 17th May 1536. Clare Cherry, my co-author (George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat), pays tribute to these men in this video talk. Remember to head over to www.madeglobal.com/3292/clare-cherry-men-died-may-1536/ and enter the giveaway for a […]
Claire | May 12, 2016
On 12th May 1536, Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston and William Brereton were escorted by barge from the Tower of London to Westminster by Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, for their trial. At Westminster Hall, the four men were brought before a special commission of oyer and terminer […]
Claire | May 8, 2016
Here is an extract from my book The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown regarding what happened on this day in 1536: While Anne Boleyn, Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, George Boleyn, Sir Richard Page and Sir Thomas Wyatt were in prison awaiting their trials, courtiers were already clamouring over […]
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