The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown

by Ridgway, Claire

  Elizabeth Browne, the Countess of Worcester, was one of Anne's ladies and she apparently told her brother, Sir Anthony Browne, that her own offence (possible adultery) was nothing by comparison to those of the Queen, who allowed members of the court to come into her chamber at all hours. Browne continued that if her brother did not believe her then he could find out more from Mark Smeaton. She then accused George Boleyn of having carnal knowledge of his sister, the Queen.

  If this exchange between the Countess and her brother did take place and was then fed back to Cromwell, we can see how this, combined with Anne's ramblings in the Tower regarding Smeaton and Norris, could well have made Anne look guilty or have been enough ammunition and "evidence" for those conspiring against her.

  Smeaton Mooning Over Anne

  When Mrs Stonor, one of the ladies chosen to attend Anne Boleyn in the Tower, spoke to Anne about Smeaton being held in the Tower and having to wear "irons", Anne was quick to comment that "it was because he was no gentleman". She went on to tell of Mark mooning over her:

  "I never spake with him since, but upon Saturday before May-day [29th April], and then I found him standing in the round window in my chamber of presence; and I asked why he was so sad? And he answered and said it was no matter. And then I said, You may not look to have me speak to you as I should do to a noble man, because ye be an inferior person. No, no, said he, a look sufficeth me; and thus fare you well."5

  Anne's account suggests that Mark had a crush on her but that there was actually distance between them, and that she put him in his place by pointing out his inferiority. Clergyman and historian, John Strype, who published his "Ecclesiastical Memorials" in 1721 and who saw Kingston's letters and various records before they got damaged in the Ashburnam House fire of 1731, wrote that Smeaton was "some haughty person" who "thought the Queen gave him not respect enough. And so might take this opportunity to humble her; and revenge himself by this means on her; not thinking it would cost him his own life."6

  Mark Smeaton's Confession

  Those of us who believe that Anne Boleyn was 100% innocent of all the charges laid against her struggle to understand why Mark Smeaton confessed to sleeping with the Queen.

  Was his confession tortured out of him?

  Did he confess in an attempt to save himself? Was he promised a pardon if he confessed?

  Was Mark promised a swifter and more merciful death if he complied and confessed?

  Was he living in some kind of fantasy world? Did he actually believe that Anne loved him and that they had a relationship?

  Was it revenge for Anne rejecting him and humiliating him?

  Did he see sin where there was none and see himself as guilty of adultery for fantasizing about Anne?

  Was Smeaton tortured?

  Unfortunately, we just don't know whether Mark Smeaton was tortured. He was taken to Cromwell's house in Stepney for interrogation and although I cannot see Cromwell having a racking room there, Smeaton could have been tortured psychologically. He was certainly the only one of the accused to be kept in irons in the Tower.

  The Spanish Chronicle has Smeaton being tortured with a rope and cudgel:

  "Then he [Cromwell] called two stout young fellows of his, and asked for a rope and a cudgel, and ordered them to put the rope, which was full of knots, round Mark's head, and twisted it with the cudgel until Mark cried out, "Sir Secretary, no more, I will tell the truth, " and then he said, "The Queen gave me the money. " "Ah, Mark, " said Cromwell, "I know the Queen gave you a hundred nobles, but what you have bought has cost over a thousand, and that is a great gift even for a Queen to a servant of low degree such as you. If you do not tell me all the truth I swear by the life of the King I will torture you till you do." Mark replied, "Sir, I tell you truly that she gave it to me." Then Cromwell ordered him a few more twists of the cord, and poor Mark, overcome by the torment, cried out, "No more, Sir, I will tell you everything that has happened." And then he confessed all, and told everything as we have related it, and how it came to pass."7

  Although this is what is recorded in The Spanish Chronicle, we have no other primary source evidence to back this up. George Constantine, one of Henry Norris's servants, said that "the sayeing was that he was fyrst grevously racked, which I cowlde never know of a trewth"8 but Lancelot de Carles wrote that Mark confessed without being tortured.9 There is no mention of Smeaton having any physical injury at his trial or execution; if he had been severely racked then he would have had to have been helped or carried to the scaffold. Whatever the truth regarding his alleged torture, Mark Smeaton was interrogated for around twenty-four hours, which suggests that he didn't willingly confess and that some pressure was put on him. This pressure could have been physical or psychological, or he could have been offered some kind of deal.

  Mark Smeaton was a lowly court musician and may have been seen as expendable. Perhaps Cromwell and his men could get away with torturing him, something that they could not risk doing with the likes of Sir Henry Norris, a nobleman and groom of the stool. Lancelot de Carles writes that when Henry VIII rode back from the May Day joust with Sir Henry Norris, the former accused the latter of committing adultery with Anne and then offered to spare Norris if he would confess. Did Cromwell try to strike some similar deal with Mark Smeaton and then break that deal after Mark confessed? Perhaps so.

  I doubt that we will ever know what caused Mark Smeaton to confess to sleeping with the Queen and why he didn't later retract his confession, but this young musician's life was cut short on the 17th May 1536 when he was beheaded on Tower Hill. My own personal belief is that Smeaton was offered a deal – a more merciful death by axe, rather than the usual horrific and slow traitor's death, if he confessed and stuck to his confession.

  Historian Eric Ives writes of how Henry's anger may have subsided long enough for him to continue with the May Day jousts the next day. However, it was ominous that the King postponed the court's move to Rochester and his plans to go from there on to Calais. Was he aware that Thomas Cromwell was interrogating Mark Smeaton? We just don't know.

  Mark Smeaton

  Mark Smeaton (Smeton) was a misfit in that he had not been part of the Boleyn faction or Anne's circle of friends for very long. Unlike the other men, it is thought that he was from a humble background, being the son of a carpenter.1 It is thought that his family were Flemish.

  Mark was a talented musician and it was through this talent that he got a position at Henry VIII's court. His gifts included dancing, singing and playing instruments such as the portable organ, lute and virginals. His beautiful voice was noticed by Cardinal Wolsey, who recruited him for his choir. At Wolsey's fall, Mark managed to move to the Henry VIII's Chapel Royal and get promoted to the position of Groom of the Privy Chamber in 1529. Everyone called him "Mark", rather than Smeaton; this familiar address shows that although Mark was a member of the Privy Chamber he was still rather "lowly". It also shows that he was probably younger than the others.

  The Privy Purse Expenses of November 1529 to December 1532 show frequent mentions of "marke". In the introduction, the editor explains that it is clear that Smeaton was "wholly supported and clothed" by Henry VIII. There are many mentions of payments for "shert"s and "hosen". His rise in favour is evident from the increase in his rewards during the period, from "xx s"2 (20 shillings) in December 1530 to "iii li. vi s. viii d."3 (£3 6 shillings and 8 pence) in October 1532. The increase in payments for clothing would also indicate this rise in favour.

  Mark and the Boleyn Faction

  An inscription in a manuscript of Jean Lefèvres translation of Mathieu of Boulogne's 13th century satirical poem "Liber lamentationum Matheoluli" ("The Lamentations of Matheolus") is evidence that Smeaton was friends with George Boleyn and a part of the Boleyn circle of friends. The manuscript, which can now be found in the British Library, is inscribed, "Thys boke ys myn, George Boleyn. 1526", and then, near the end of the volume, "Amoy m marc S", showing that it had also belonged to Smeaton. The fact that the po
em is an attack on women and the institution of marriage has been used as evidence of a sexual relationship between Smeaton and George Boleyn.4 However, there are also scribblings on the fly leaf by Thomas Wyatt; and this was a text that was widely circulated amongst scholars in Europe at that time. It was simply a circle of friends sharing fashionable literature.

  Smeaton was a talented young man and it is likely that his gifts would have been well appreciated by this group of intellectuals and lovers of the arts and entertainment. However, due to his humble backgrounds, he may have been on the fringes of this circle and looked upon as a source of entertainment rather than as an equal.

  1st May 1536 - The May Day Joust

  The May Day joust of 1st May 1536 should have been like every other May Day joust. It should have been a day of celebration, of fun and joy. Instead, it was to be the first outward sign that something was wrong in Tudor Paradise.

  Anne Boleyn sat watching the May Day jousting at Greenwich with her husband, King Henry VIII, who was sitting it out for the first time due to his accident in the January. Anne was blissfully unaware of the interrogation of Mark Smeaton the day before, although she may have had an inkling that something was going on. She may well have been pre-occupied about a conversation she had had with Sir Henry Norris, her husband's Groom of the Stool; a conversation which could be misconstrued and used against her by her enemies. Anne may also have been concerned about her husband's interest in a certain Jane Seymour, one of her ladies, but she had no clue about the events which were shortly to unfold.

  In his poem "De la royne d'Angleterre"1, Lancelot de Carles, secretary to the French ambassador, wrote of how there was no sign of anything being wrong between the King and Norris during the joust. He describes how Norris was armed and ready to joust, but his horse refused to run. The King stepped in and offered Norris his own horse – an act of kindness and chivalry. The Queen's brother, George Boleyn, was also involved in the joust. He led the challengers and Norris led the defenders.2

  Everything changed at the end of the joust when the King suddenly got up, abandoning his wife, and riding instead to Westminster with Norris. According to George Constantine, one of Norris's servants, the King interrogated Norris the whole way and offered him a pardon "in case he wolde utter the trewth".3 Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, corroborated this offer of a pardon, writing that Norris said "that in his conscience he thought her innocent of these things laid to her charge; but whether she was or not, he would not accuse her of anything; and he would die a thousand times, rather than ruin an innocent person."4 A courageous answer.

  The Spanish Chronicle explains that Norris's interrogation was due to Smeaton's confession:

  "The Secretary at once [after Smeaton had confessed] wrote to the King, and sent Mark's confession to him by a nephew of his called Richard Cromwell, the letter being conceived as follows: "Your Majesty will understand that jealous of your honour, and seeing certain things passing in your palace, I determined to investigate and discover the truth. Your Majesty will recollect that Mark has hardly been in your service four months and only has £100 salary, and yet all the Court notices his splendour, and that he has spent a large sum for these jousts, all of which has aroused suspicions in the minds of certain gentleman, and I have examined Mark, who has made the confession which I enclose to your Majesty in this letter."5

  The Spanish Chronicle then has the King leaving by boat for Westminster, whereas Constantine has them riding. Norris would not confess to anything and protested his innocence, but he was taken to the Tower of London the next morning.

  2nd May 1536 – Arrests

  At dawn on 2nd May 1536, Sir Henry Norris, Henry VIII's Groom of the Stool and great friend, was taken to the Tower of London. Mark Smeaton had also been taken there, and the imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, wrote to Charles V on 2nd May telling him that George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, was also in the Tower:

  "The Concubine's brother, named Rochefort, has also been lodged in the Tower, but more than six hours after the others, and three or four before his sister."1

  The Tudor chronicler, Charles Wriothesley,2 was in agreement, writing that Norris and Rochford were both taken to the Tower on 2nd May. However, nowhere is there any mention of George Boleyn being interrogated prior to his arrest. He was also apprehended so discreetly that his sister, Anne Boleyn, knew nothing about it. Historian Eric Ives believes that the fact that George was arrested at Whitehall, rather than Greenwich (like his sister), suggests that he may have been on his way to see the King to find out what was going on.3

  In "Las nuevas de Ynglaterra de la presion de la Manceba del Rey", recorded in Letters and Paper on 2nd May, it reports Rochford's arrest as being to do with him covering up his sister's crimes and being an accessory, rather than his being one of her lovers:

  "The Emperor has letters from England of 2 May, stating that the mistress of the king of England, who is called queen, had been put in the Tower for adultery with an organist of her chamber, and the King's most private "sommelier de corps." Her brother is imprisoned for not giving information of her crime. It is said that, even if it had not been discovered, the King had determined to leave her, as he had been informed that she had consummated a marriage with the earl of Nortemberlano (Northumberland) nine years ago."4

  This leaves us wondering whether George Boleyn was arrested first and then the charge of incest made up later, a shocking and horrific allegation intended to turn everyone against him and his sister.

  It appears that Anne Boleyn was watching a game of real tennis on 2nd May when a messenger arrived telling her that the King had ordered her to present herself to his privy council. Although Anne was unaware that her brother had been arrested, this message, along with her husband's abrupt departure from the May Day jousts the day before, must have frightened her. Anne was an intelligent woman who realised the potential repercussions of her reckless words to Sir Henry Norris; she must have been worried about what was going to happen next. So worried had Anne been that she had appealed to the King with Elizabeth in her arms. On Wednesday 26th April, as mentioned earlier, she had also asked her chaplain, Matthew Parker, to take care of Elizabeth if anything happened to her.5 The fact that she approached Parker days before she quarrelled with Norris suggests that Anne was already worried about her precarious position.

  Anne Boleyn left the tennis match and presented herself in the council chamber in front of a royal commission consisting of the Duke of Norfolk (her uncle), Sir William Fitzwilliam and Sir William Paulet. There she was informed that she was being accused of committing adultery with three different men: Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris and a third, unnamed at this stage. She was also told that Smeaton and Norris had confessed. Anne remonstrated with her accusers, but her words had no effect and the royal commission ordered her arrest. Anne was then taken to her apartments until the tide of the Thames turned and then, at two o'clock in the afternoon, she was escorted by barge to the Tower of London.

  Upon arrival at the Tower, it is likely that Anne's barge would have entered through the Court Gate6 (Tower Gate7) of the Byward Tower, rather than through Traitors' Gate. She was met by Sir Edmund Walsingham, the Lieutenant of the Tower, and taken to the Royal Palace where she encountered the Constable of the Tower, Sir William Kingston. Kingston wrote letters to Thomas Cromwell to keep him informed of Anne's behaviour and the things she said during her imprisonment. In a letter dated 3rd May, he wrote of Anne's arrival at the Tower:

  "On my lord of Norfolk and the King's Council departing from the Tower, I went before the Queen into her lodging. She said unto me, "Mr. Kingston, shall I go into a dungeon?" I said, "No, Madam. You shall go into the lodging you lay in at your coronation." "It is too good for me, she said; Jesu have mercy on me;" and kneeled down, weeping a good pace, and in the same sorrow fell into a great laughing, as she has done many times since."

  "She desired me to move the King's highness that she might have the sacrament in the closet by her chamber, tha
t she might pray for mercy, for I am as clear from the company of man as for sin as I am clear from you, and am the King's true wedded wife. And then she said, Mr. Kingston, do you know where for I am here? and I said, Nay. And then she asked me, When saw you the King? and I said I saw him not since I saw [him in] the Tiltyard. And then, Mr. K., I pray you to tell me where my Lord my father is? And I told her I saw him afore dinner in the Court. O where is my sweet brother? I said I left him at York Place; and so I did."

  "I hear say, said she, that I should be accused with three men; and I can say no more but nay, without I should open my body. And there with opened her gown. O, Norris, hast thou accused me? Thou are in the Tower with me, and thou and I shall die together; and, Mark, thou art here to. O, my mother, thou wilt die with sorrow; and much lamented my lady of Worcester, for by cause that her child did not stir in her body. And my wife said, what should be the cause? And she said, for the sorrow she took for me. And then she said, Mr. Kyngston, shall I die without justice? And I said, the poorest subject the Kyng hath, hath justice. And there with she laughed"8

  It is hard to imagine how Anne felt as she entered the Tower of London. How ironic for her to be imprisoned in the very lodgings in which she spent the night before her coronation – the sumptuous Queen's apartments in the Royal Palace. No wonder she collapsed weeping and moved from tears to laughter. Her hysteria was caused by her realising the full extent of what was happening. After all, she knew her husband well and she had seen what had happened to the likes of Sir Thomas More. She knew that real justice was unlikely.

  We can see from her speech to Kingston that she was stricken with anxiety, but more about others than herself. In April 1536, Elizabeth Boleyn had been reported as being ill;9 Anne was obviously worried that news of her arrest would affect her mother's health for the worse. Anne was also worried that the news would affect her friend Elizabeth Browne's pregnancy. George was preying on Anne's mind, too. She obviously realised that he may have been in danger as well. Kingston lied to her. He knew full well that her brother was also in the Tower, but it is likely that he was trying to be kind to an already hysterical woman.