On this day in Tudor history, 10th June 1540, King Henry VIII's right-hand man and 'fixer', Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, was arrested.
In today's "on this day" video, I share an account of what happened on that day, the day when Henry VIII's loyal servant fell from power and was escorted to the Tower of London.
You can find out a bit more about Thomas Cromwell's fall in my Claire Chats video on the subject - click here, and here are some more Cromwell resources:
- Thomas Cromwell Quiz 2
- Thomas Cromwell’s Execution – His speech and prayer
- Expert Talk – Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII and the Fall of Anne Boleyn
- Thomas Cromwell Quiz 1
- April 2015 Tudor Life Magazine - Articles on Thomas Cromwell by Tracy Borman and Beth von Staats
Also on this day in history:
- 1464 – Birth of John Islip, Abbot of Westminster, probably at Islip, Oxfordshire. Islip became Abbot of Westminster in 1500, and was the last to hold this office by free choice of the community.
- 1528 – Birth of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland. Percy was a staunch Catholic, and was involved in the failed Rising of the North in Elizabeth I's reign. He fled to Scotland, but was captured and taken to York on 22nd August 1572, where he was beheaded in the Pavement, and his head put on display on Micklegate Bar. His body was buried in St Crux Church.
- 1537 – Deaths of Blessed Thomas Green and Blessed Walter Pierson, Carthusian monks from London Charterhouse, in Newgate Prison, from starvation. They were two out of nine monks who were purposely starved to death for refusing to accept the royal supremacy. Others were hanged, drawn and quartered.
- 1584 – Death of Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon, a suitor whom Elizabeth I dubbed "Frog", in Paris. It is thought that he died of malaria.
- 1607 – Death of Sir John Popham, lawyer, Judge and Speaker of the House of Commons. He was buried in Wellington, Somerset.
1612 – Funeral of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, at Hatfield.