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Claire | May 12, 2020
On this day in history, 12th May 1536, just twelve days after the first arrest in the fall of Anne Boleyn, four men were taken to Westminster Hall and tried for treason. Their names were Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton. All four men were found guilty. Let me explain […]
Claire | April 30, 2020
On 30th April 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn had just 19 days to live and everything was moving quickly. On 30th April 1536, court musician Mark Smeaton was arrested and taken to the home of the king’s master secretary and right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell. What happened to the lowly Smeaton in those next hours, we don’t […]
Claire | April 29, 2020
On this day in 1536, although she may have had an inkling that something was going on at the royal court, Queen Anne Boleyn could not have known that she only had twenty days to live. On 29th April 1536, the queen had encounters with two courtiers who would eventually be executed for allegedly sleeping […]
Claire | May 12, 2019
On this day in 1536, 12th May, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were tried for high treason at Westminster Hall. Spoiler alert – they were all found guilty and condemned to death. I explain more in today’s video. I’m doing these “Fall of Anne Boleyn” videos daily until 19th […]
Claire | April 30, 2019
On this day in 1536, 30th April, musician Mark Smeaton was arrested and taken to the home of Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell. What happened to him there over the next 24 hours is not known, but he ended up confessing to sleeping with Queen Anne Boleyn. Also, on this day, a theologian witnessed […]
Claire | April 29, 2019
On this day in 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn had encounters with two courtiers who would eventually be executed for allegedly sleeping with her and plotting with her to kill King Henry VIII. Find out about Sir Henry Norris and Mark Smeaton, and what happened when Anne encountered them on 29th April 1536, in today’s “Fall […]
Claire | April 30, 2018
On this day in history, 30th April 1536, Mark Smeaton, a court musician, was arrested and taken to be interrogated by Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s main secretary and adviser, at his house in Stepney. We do not know what happened to Smeaton in during the time he spent in that house, but within 24 hours […]
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 […]
