Joel Ridgway | March 3, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 3rd March 1542, Arthur Plantagenet, Lord Lisle, courtier, soldier, diplomat, administrator and illegitimate son of Edward IV, died of a heart attack after being informed of his release from the Tower of London. How very sad! Find out all about Lord Lisle’s background, his career in Henry VII and […]
Claire | May 8, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 8th May 1536, some very distasteful behaviour, downright greed, was being displayed by some of Henry VIII’s courtiers. They were like vultures circling, wanting to take advantage of the fall of Queen Anne Boleyn and their fellow courtiers. What were they doing? What were they after? Find out in […]
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 […]
Claire | May 8, 2015
On 8th May 1536, while Anne Boleyn, Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, Sir William Brereton, George Boleyn, Sir Richard Page and Sir Thomas Wyatt were in prison at the Tower of London, courtiers were busy writing letters to put forward their claims for offices and titles that may soon become vacant. In […]
Claire | May 8, 2014
On 8th May 1536, just over a week after the first arrest and four days before the trial of Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston and William Brereton, courtiers were already clamouring over the spoils that may result from their falls from grace. These men had not been found guilty of anything yet, […]
Claire | May 8, 2013
It was the way of the Tudor court, as men fell from favour others were waiting in the wings to mop up the crumbs and gain from their fall. It seems brutal to us today, but I guess it’s human nature; there are always people looking to see how they can gain from another’s misfortune. […]
Claire | May 8, 2011
Queen Anne Boleyn, Mark Smeaton, Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, George Boleyn (Lord Rochford), Sir Richard Page and Sir Thomas Wyatt are all in prison and, as yet, have not been to trial, yet courtiers are already clamouring over the spoils that may result from their fall from grace. It really is sickening […]
Claire | May 9, 2010
As I read through Letters and Papers to look at primary source evidence for the events leading up to the execution of Anne Boleyn on the 19th May 1536, it sickens me to see how the vultures were gathering to ensure that they had their share of the spoils even before the trials of Anne […]
