Thomas Cromwell “With great energy and single-minded vision, he oversaw a mammoth programme of monastery dissolution” earned, together with any land and ownership of sexual misconduct The 36-year-old ‘adulteress’ unsold property, fell into the hands of the king queen was imprisoned in the Tower in April 1536 This pleased Henry VIII immeasurably and placed and on 15 May that year, the Duke of Norfolk Cromwell at the height of his power And yet, sentenced her and the men to death Four days the king’s marriage problems continued to be an later, Boleyn gave a speech in praise of the king ever-running theme, only this time it was about to Moments later, she was blindfolded and beheaded undo Cromwell By this stage, Cromwell’s influence over England In 1537 Jane Seymour had died, having given was stark Taking his cue from his earlier days birth to a son, Edward VI Cromwell had secured with Wolsey, he sought to bolster the king’s coffers the king a new partner, Anne of Cleves The king With great energy and single-minded vision, he had never met her, so in order to give him an idea oversaw a mammoth programme of monastery of what she looked like, court artist Hans Holbein dissolution This was achieved by establishing a network of informers who spied on the monasteries was sent to paint her portrait and the king, to Cromwell’s relief, loved the result He agreed to from within, gathering evidence that could be enter into a marriage treaty on October used to order a closure Priors and abbots 1539 but when he finally came facewere confronted with the accusations to-face with the woman, he was not and offered an easy way out, Lord Protector impressed He ordered Cromwell often a pension or the promise Oliver Cromwell’s to resolve the situation but, of peace The vast majority of faced with destroying relations them complied; those that great-greatbetween the king and Anne’s did not suffered in jails, were grandfather married brother, William, Duke of Jülichburned at the stake or publicly Thomas Cromwell’s Cleves-Berg, Cromwell found disembowelled Sinisterly, there sister, Katherine, himself unable to anything was a ‘Black Book’ containing and the marriage went ahead on the names of those believed to in 1497 6 January 1540 So repulsed was be promoting ‘manifest sin’ No one he, the king could not bring himself to wanted their name to be in it consummate the marriage and Cromwell Cromwell ordered more than 800 bore the brunt of his anger The only way for the monasteries to be seized from 1536 to 1540 and king to annul the marriage was to admit to having they were either demolished (so that the stonework not consummated – which he did, humiliatingly, could be used in other building projects), turned in court Cromwell’s enemies rubbed their hands into Anglican churches or sold Every penny The flattering portrait of Anne of Cleves seen by Henry VIII – and which prompted Cromwell’s downfall with glee and sensed his protection had waned On 10 June 1540, a group led by the Duke of Norfolk, assisted by Bishop Gardiner, had him arrested Cromwell was imprisoned in the Tower of London, charged with treason and corruption Despite not having a trial and despite having pleaded with the king by letter to save his life – “Most gracious Prince,” he wrote, “I cry for mercy, mercy, mercy” – he was put to death On 28 July 1540, the same day that the king married his fifth wife Catherine Howard, Cromwell was beheaded on Tower Hill, his head spiked on London Bridge As if to underline just how influential Cromwell was, though, Henry VIII mourned his death He said Cromwell had been “the most faithful servant” he had ever had and regretted his execution Defining moment Defining moment Cromwell seizes control 1531 Finding himself within Henry VIII’s inner circle even though he refused to denounce Wolsey, Cromwell begins to court favour with the king A plan emerges to divorce England from Roman Catholic influence and establish royal supremacy over the church, with Cromwell using his parliamentary experience to gain the required consent This will allow the king to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn Henry VIII becomes Head of the English Church and Cromwell rapidly rises to power as his most trusted servant In 1534, Cromwell officially becomes the king’s principal secretary and chief minister The Great Bible 1538 O Anne Boleyn beheaded Despite giving birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I, Henry VIII is frustrated at Boleyn’s ‘inability’ to give him a male heir She is beheaded following accusations of high treason 1536 Cromwell is insistent the Bible be printed in English so the text will be accessible to all Henry VIII agrees Work starts in 1536 and the volume is ready two years later Large and with a title page that shows the king on his throne handing copies to Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, it starkly shows the displacement of the pope’s authority over the church in England Every parish is forced to buy a copy and display it prominently By 1541, more than 9,000 copies have been printed, spread over six editions O Wolsey loses his power Unable to mastermind an annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Cardinal Wolsey is stripped of power and accused of treason He dies of illness on 29 November 1530, aged 57 1529 O Dissolution of monasteries In a bid to strip the Catholic monasteries, priories, convents and friaries of power, and boost the king’s coffers at the same time, 800 monasteries are dissolved over six years 1536 O Anne of Cleves Although Henry VIII is rather taken by a portrait of Anne of Cleves during Cromwell’s attempt to engineer the pair into marriage, the king is physically repulsed by her in the flesh He bitterly blames Cromwell 1539 Cromwell is executed O Still smarting over the hoops he had to go through to annul his marriage to Anne of Cleves, the king backs Cromwell’s arrest on a charge of treason and corruption Cromwell is executed 1540 © Alamy 1540 O Death of a family Cromwell’s wife and two daughters succumb to sweating sickness, leaving him only with his son, Gregory There is evidence that Cromwell may have had an illegitimate daughter called Jane 1528 65