Today in 1536 Anne Boleyn’s downfall was picking up pace. Four men: Sir Henry Norris, Henry VIII’s groom of the stool; Sir Francis Weston, a gentleman of the king’s privy chamber; William Brereton, a powerful man in North Wales and Cheshire, and Mark Smeaton, a court musician, were taken by barge from their prison at the Tower of London to Westminster Hall to stand trial for high treason. The men were tried separately from Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, since Anne and George were members of the aristocracy, they were entitled to be tried in the court of the Lord High Steward of England by a jury of their peers.
There was little chance that there would be anything other than a guilty verdict – the jury was stacked with religious conservatives who were also close to Cromwell. Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial Ambassador, wrote: “The others were condemned upon presumption and certain indications, without valid proof or confession.”
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:Â
Episode 076: Alison Weir on Anne Boleyn
Autumn 2018 Tudor Summit: James Peacock on Anne Boleyn
Spring 2018 Tudor Summit: Claire Ridgway on the Boleyns
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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.