The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown
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Sir Francis Bryan (c.1490-1550)
Bryan had survived the coup against his relative, Anne Boleyn, by allying himself with the Seymours. In 1537 he was sent to Paris to secretly arrange the kidnap or assassination of Cardinal Pole, but it was suspected that instead he actually tipped Pole off. He acted as ambassador to Francis I in 1538 in Nice while Thomas Wyatt acted as ambassador to Charles V but was recalled due to his reckless gambling, drunkenness and all round bad behaviour. He never acted as ambassador to the French king ever again. Bryan sat on the jury which found his brother-in-law, Carew, guilty of treason in 1539. He was appointed vice-admiral in January 1543, but this was revoked in the February after he disobeyed the instructions of John Dudley, Viscount Lisle and lord admiral. In October 1543 he acted as ambassador to Charles V and in October 1546 he was given the freedom of the City of London. He was made knight-banneret in 1547 for his role in the expedition against the Scots as commander of the horse. In 1548, Bryan married Joan Butler, dowager countess of Ormond, and daughter of James fitz Maurice Fitzgerald, tenth earl of Desmond, making him a wealthy and powerful man. He died in Ireland on 2nd February 1550.7
Sir William Kingston (c.1476-1540)
In 1537, Sir William Kingston benefited from the dissolution of the monasteries when he was awarded the land and possessions associated with the abbey of Flaxley in Gloucestershire. In 1539, Kingston was appointed comptroller of the King's household and was also elected a Knight of the Garter. In 1540, he was chosen to inform Thomas Cromwell of the charges against him. After Cromwell's execution, he was able to buy Cromwell's property in Gloucestershire. He died at Painswick, in Gloucestershire, on 14 September 1540.8
William Latymer (1498/9-1583)
In September 1538, William Latymer became Master of the College of St Laurence Pountney in London. This was followed by him being given various benefices in Suffolk, Kent, London and Nottingham. In 1547, he voted for clerical marriage and then married a widow, Ellen English. He was a principal witness, along with John Hooper, in the case against Bishop Edmund Bonner in 1549. This case led to Bonner being deprived of his bishopric. In Mary I's reign, Latymer was deprived of his living due to his marriage. He survived by separating from his wife, but this was just an outward pretence. When Elizabeth I came to the throne, Latymer was chosen as one of her chaplains, and he went on to write his treatise or "Chronicklle of Anne Bulleyne". Latymer died at around the age of 84 in 1583. He was laid to rest on 28th August 1583 in Peterborough Cathedral. He left his wife, Ellen, and two sons: Edward and Joshua.
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland (c.1502-1537)
Henry Percy managed to avoid being caught up in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion of 1536. However, his brother, Sir Thomas Percy, was executed in 1537 after being involved in the rebellion and the 1537 Bigod Rebellion. His other brother, Sir Ingram, died in prison in the Tower of London. Percy died on 29th June 1537 in Hackney and was buried in the parish church there.
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473-1554)
After acting as Lord Steward at the trials of Anne and George Boleyn, Norfolk went on to be godfather to Edward VI at his christening in October 1537 and a commissioner at Queen Jane Seymour's funeral in November 1537. In 1539, he was chosen to go with the Duke of Suffolk to meet Anne of Cleves at her arrival at Dover. In 1540, during Cromwell's arrest in the council chamber, it was said that Norfolk tore the St George from around Cromwell's neck; certainly, he was very much involved in the plot against Cromwell. When the King's anger turned on the Howard family after Catherine Howard's adultery, Norfolk was fortunate in escaping punishment. He went on to serve the King in the war against the Scots in 1542 but his pro-French stance caused him problems when the King became keen to go to war with France. He served the King in France as lieutenant-general of the army, besieging Montreuil, but was rebuked by the King when he withdrew.
On 12th December 1546, Norfolk and his son, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, were arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London after it was alleged that Surrey had displayed the royal arms and insignia in his own heraldry. Surrey was found guilty of treason on 13th January 1547 at a common inquest at Guildhall and Norfolk was attainted on 27th January. Both were sentenced to death and Surrey was executed on 19th January 1547. Norfolk was lucky; the King died before the former's scheduled execution date. As a consequence, in 1553, Norfolk was released and pardoned by Mary I, and died naturally at Kenninghall on 25th August 1554. He was laid to rest in St Michael's Church, Framlingham.
Jane Boleyn (née Parker, d. 1542)
Jane was left in a difficult financial situation after her husband's death and appealed to Cromwell for assistance. Her father-in-law, Thomas Boleyn, was forced to become involved and Cromwell helped her to obtain a position in Jane Seymour's household. After Jane Seymour's death, she served Anne of Cleves and was one of the senior ladies of the bedchamber who was questioned regarding Anne of Cleves's understanding of what constituted consummation. Her testimony obviously helped the King have his marriage annulled so that he could marry the young Catherine Howard. When Catherine Howard fell in 1541, she and Culpeper laid the blame for their transgressions at Jane's feet. Jane was questioned regarding her involvement in their affair. She was executed with Catherine on 13th February 1542 even though she had had a mental breakdown in the Tower. Her name became synonymous with betrayal and scandal, yet she was more likely a scapegoat.
Extras
You can find lots of extras at The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown website -
http://www.thefallofanneboleyn.com/
These include:-
Interactive timeline
Execution poetry
Further Reading
Notes and Sources for each chapter, plus full bibliography
Printable timeline of the events of 1536
Places – Details on all of the places mention in the book
Q&A with Claire
YouTube videos on Anne Boleyn
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Acknowledgements
This book could not have been written without the encouragement of historian Suzannah Lipscomb, the friendship and ongoing support of Clare Cherry, the patience of my family, and the support I receive on a daily basis from visitors to The Anne Boleyn Files.
I want to thank Clare Cherry and Dr Sarah Morris for reading the draft manuscript and giving me their thoughts, Sarah Franklin for her magical copy-editing, David Leppenwell and my husband, Tim, for the fantastic cover, Professor Eric Ives for allowing himself to be grilled by me, members of the Anne Boleyn Fellowship for beta-reading the book, my parents Frank and Davida Brassington for their love and encouragement, Penny Wright and John Harris for picking me up whenever things got on top of me, Jane Sagi for giving me the history bug, and Mr R Taylor for telling me at the age of 11 that I would be a writer one day. Thank you!
Claire Ridgway,
Lúcar, Spain
April, 2012
About the Author
Claire Ridgway is a writer, researcher and Tudor history detective with a deep knowledge and love of everything about the Boleyn family and the time of the Tudors. She is also the best-selling author of The Anne Boleyn Collection which sold over 3000 copies in its first six weeks.
Claire is well known and respected for her two Tudor websites:-
The Anne Boleyn Files – www.theanneboleynfiles.com
The Elizabeth Files – www.elizabethfiles.com
Both these sites contain in-depth research about the period and promote historical authenticity.
Claire is also active in running an exclusive members website with all of the latest research about Anne Boleyn and her family, The Anne Boleyn Fellowship - members.theanneboleynfiles.com
Claire currently lives up a mountain in Southern Spain, but grew up near to Stratford-upon-Avon where she was surrounded by Tudor history. Claire is Tudor obsessed, and makes no apologies for it.
She is always happy to hear from readers and history lovers by email – claire@theanneboleynfiles.com – or via The Anne Boleyn Files Facebook page or Twitter.
Also by Claire:
The Anne Boleyn Collection: The Real Truth about the Tudors