As tomorrow is the anniversary of Thomas Cromwell's execution on 28th July 1540, I thought I'd examine the events leading up to his fall and consider why Henry VIII's right-hand man ended up on the scaffold.
You can read Cromwell's letter to Henry VIII at:
https://archive.org/stream/lifelettersoftho02merruoft#page/268
and
https://archive.org/stream/lifelettersoftho02merruoft#page/272
Notes and Sources
- Leithead, H. (2009, May 21). Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex (b. in or before 1485, d. 1540), royal minister. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- Schofield, John (2008) The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant, The History Press.
- Merriman, Roger Bigelow (1902) Life and letters of Thomas Cromwell, Volume 2, Clarendon Press, p. 268-273, 273-276.
- 'Henry VIII: March 1541, 1-10', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 16, 1540-1541, ed. James Gairdner and R H Brodie (London, 1898), pp. 282-289. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol16/pp282-289