Today in 1536 Henry Norris, Henry VIII’s groom of the stool, and one of his best friends, was taken to the tower. Eustace Chapuys wrote to Emperor Charles V that Mark Smeaton and George Boleyn were also already there.
Anne Boleyn found out there was trouble when she was watching a tennis match. A messenger came and said that the King ordered her to present herself to the Privy Council, and she left and found the council with her uncle the Duke of Norfolk, and others. She found out that she was accused of committing adultery with three men, and that Mark Smeaton had already confessed. Anne had to wait in her apartments until the tide was right to take her to the Tower, which happened at about 2pm. She was then escorted to the Tower by barge, where she would die just over two weeks later.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Spring 2018 Tudor Summit: Claire Ridgway on the Boleyns
Episode 076: Alison Weir on Anne Boleyn
From the shop:
The Anne Boleyn Portrait Collection
Anne Boleyn Portrait Tank Top
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.