He was actually quite a warm man. You people need to start actually seeing what good he did do and stop saying this about portraits. Anne looks like a cold bore herself. Doesn't make it so. For starters Rome isn't fucking us up the ass. Defended Britain against French invasions. As for his wives, Anne got what she paid for. She was not a very nice person. Wanted Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary dead.
@@Mim-om6pq Anne wasn’t the monster you are making her out to be. She watched H8 seduce and impregnate her sister twice, only to cast her aside when he was bored with her, leaving Mary destitute with two bastards and was forever labeled as _the great prostitute_ . Therefore, when H8 (through Wolsey) denied her marriage to Henry Percy and set his sights onto Anne, she tried to get away, even retreated from court. He followed her and sent love letters and she didn’t respond which unexpectedly made him want her even more. Eventually, when all of her attempts to get him to move on didn’t work, she gave him the ultimatum that she wouldn’t be his whore but would only give in when he made her his wife. It had never been done so why would she ever think it was even a possibility? Years passed and they finally wed but everyone hated her for her part in Katherines divorce (which would’ve happened to another woman if it hadn’t been her, due to H8’s desire to have a son). She knew everyone was plotting her demise and wanted to restore Katherine so she knew it would come down to her survival or Katherines (and subsequently Mary).
Actually it's not as simple as that. And there are conditions where the mother will be unlikely to produce anything but girls. If both parents are completely healthy then it is a 50/50 chance. Half of the sperm the man produces will donate an X chromosome and the other half a Y chromosome. So really you could cheer for the sperm you want to win like it's a horse race. There are also conditions that can make the father more likely to produce female children as well. But as Henry produced illegitimate boys as well as a few that were miscarried it is unlikely that it was his fault. So it could indeed have been at least one of the women was unable to produce a male. I don't know what the chances are of having such conditions but I suppose it's possible he was extremely unlucky and married two such women. I can't imagine all the stress would have been good for the outcome of any pregnancy.
Yep he's king he can get away with it He even had an affair with Ann Boleyn sister Mary It's how he got with some of his Six wives start of having affair with them with Ann Boleyn Had an affair with her cheating on his first wife Catherine proves it was a man's world back then men can do whatever they like and women No Even if they were king didn't matter Poor Ann Boleyn was beheaded simply because she didn't bear him his son like it was all her fault maybe it was his. But her child ended up ruling England longer than the only son he had who died 15 and Mary He's first daughter Ruled only For a very short time and then died and she was pure evil she was known as bloody Mary she would burn people who didn't practice The Catholic faith Ann Boleyn daughter she was one of the most successful rulers of England even role better than her father Known as the golden years still she even was a better ruler than him Queen Elizabeth the first Ann Boleyn daughter
No. It wasn’t that she was having sex with men it was that he put a lot of work in trying to have a son. She had quiet a few miscarriages. She was also meddling in political issues which he didn’t like. Incest was a major crime and plotting the downfall of the King. Her having lovers was not an issue in those days. It’s the incest and plotting against the king
I would have been absolutely delighted, extremely happy and over the moon if my sentence was commuted from being hung, drawn and quartered to just being beheaded. Especially if I was innocent. It must have felt almost like Christmas.
Hanging was not to death and the drawing....starting with the cutting off of "privates" and burning before eyes was before other organs. This torture escaped Fawkes who jumped from the scaffold. Not only is this violence celebrated on Nov5th but is part of the judicial system....the Crown Prosecution Service Britain has today.
@@MilesBellas yea Guy Fawkes saw hscoconspirators gettortured before being hanged to death so he just sadi Nope! and put the rope around his own neck and jumped off the thing and broke his own neck
I received information that a great,,,,,,,,,, grandfather on my fathers side is the illegitimate son of Henry. Regardless if true or not his mother is proven to be from a royal line. So it's possible old Henry is my great,,,,,,,,,,, grandfather. He seems to have been an evil, selfish piece of shit regardless if I'm related to him or not. Sir Richard Cox who wrote the ode to Ann Boleyn was my great,,,,,,,,,,,,,, grandfather. Small world!!
Well I am 100% a descendent of William Brereton which is now Brewington in the U.S. I’m black with European ancestry like majority of African Americans.
He never actually killed anyone, he ordered other people to do it for him. The closest Henry came to actually killing anyone, was Katherine Howard. (5th wife, who by the way the cousin of Anne Boleyn) Henry asked for a sword so that he could kill Katherine himself.
Because that would be dumb. Serial killers kill three or more victims with a cooling off period between victims. It's a very well defined thing. The OVERWHELMING majority of serial killers are male sexual sadists. They gain intense pleasure in the process of controlling and killing their victims. Ultimately serial killers have so little empathy that getting their rocks off even a single time is worth ending someone's life. They are subhumans really. They have the soul of a cockroach.
@@James-mw7zv My point about Henry 8th meant, when he signed execution warrants, he washed his hands of the whole sorry situation. In fact you have probably heard of the "act of attainder" it was Henry's way of bypassing the signing of the death warrant. Aside from killing men in battle, the only time he actually came close to killing someone by his own hand as I stated was Katherine Howard. Hitler, Stalin, Pol pot etc are as guilty as the men they ordered to kill people. I was merely pointing out what Henry's mind set was when it came to executing people. Everyone else was to blame not him and that is possibly the same mind set of all dictators. I was in no way trying to excuse or lessen the blame that these barbaric savages rightly deserve to have... They are Traitors pure and simple and deserve the punishment that all traitors suffered in the days of yore. Hang, Draw and quartering. I hope this clears up any confusion my first comment may have caused.
The sketches you see were done by Hans Holbein. He did many sketches and paintings in the court of Henry VIII. Born in Augsburg, Germany he moved to Basel, Switzerland and spent two periods in England 1526-1528 and 1532-1543. An interesting fact is that Holbein painted a portrait of Anne of Cleves (Kleve) which was shown to Henry. Largely based on the portrait and Thomas Cromwell's descriptions of her beauty, Henry agreed to marry Anne (of Cleves). However on meeting her Henry found her completely unattractive ("I like her not !") and blamed Thomas Cromwell who had arranged the marriage and exaggerated Anne's beauty. No blame was ever assigned to Holbein who may have made her look more attractive. Henry's anger resulted in Cromwell's beheading on various trumped up charges. Holbein died in London (probably due to some infection) in 1543 at the age of 45.
Jane was basically groomed into everything Henry liked - the “perfect wife.” Her supporters made sure she was everywhere the king went, basically, always under her eye. She was no where near as meek and mild as depicted. She learned how to play the game from watching Anne then was courteous enough to die before she could piss Henry off or before he could tire of her.
Seems that way to me, too. I dont think Jane was as sweet and innocent as history has made her out to be. Of course Henry adored her, she gave him what he thought he needed to secure his dynasty. Delicious irony and also a tragedy Queen Anne's daughter both gloriously reigned and ended the dynasty.
She was but I doubt someone as benil as Jane would have truly survived the Tudor Court had she survived. I enemies doubt Henry would have wanted her. A tragic dead wife is ok to lift up..or so he may have thpught
Really? So Jane Seymour was not as shy and innocent as they depict her huh? Okay, that makes sense because I was surprised to hear that Jane was sitting in Henry’s lap within Anne’s eyesight. Anne was no innocent either. Henry was married but that did stop the Boleyns or him. Anne’s sister had also been Henry’s mistress. Henry had fathered a son with the sister. Smh
That isn’t even close to true. There are thousands of kings and emperors who not only were not corrupted by absolute power, but rather wielded that power wisely and with prudence.
@@Hiraeth-zq8ze One can be competent in one respect and corrupt in another. You are correct in that, for example, not all Roman Emperors were as bad as Caligula, or Nero, or Domitian, but the whole Empire was many respects corrupt, it was inevitable, and that there was so much intrigue and so many Emperors lasted such a short time before they were offed points out the problem. Without checks and balances I believe power is a very corrupting and dangerous influence.
I have to say , One of my favourite history periods is the Tudor history and yet had no idea of how bloody it was . Thanks for all the history lessons as keep the good work up . Elizabeth the 1st is my most favourite in the history of the Tudor’s
Thomas Cromwell trumped up all the charges. Anne and all of Henry’s friends were innocent. Henry’s pride was so great that even the mere accusations hurt his manhood so......... Cromwell was saving his own neck, for a short time anyway
Wasn’t the first time he executed those closest to him. Not to make excuses for a tyrant but, he had a pretty severe head injury a few months prior to this. It is said his demeanor completely changed.
Henry VIII always thought he acted correctly. For that reason, he probably convinced himself that the men were actually guilty despite the fact that the charges were false.
Let's see, he "commuted" a commoner's sentence to beheading (highly unusual), he reportedly offered Norris a pardon if he "confessed" (which Norris refused to do), he had Anne detained in luxurious apartments before her execution, and then had her executed by sword (postponing it twice in the process) as it was considered "merciful". This is speculation on my part, but these factors alone might suggest that Henry knew or suspected that Anne and her "accomplices" were innocent of the charges and these small acts of "mercy" were possibly motivated by some guilt.
Now a days the lesser punishment would be being tied up and having 3 blond female cops forcing you to have hardcore sex with them.... Oh wait did i say punishment because i meant to say fantasy
Charlie Bowen a beheading when properly executed resulted in a quick death. If your punishment would be death in the middle ages. I’ll rather not end up on the rack. At a burning stake. Or be hanged when if unlucky your neck brakes and you suffocate to death. Sometimes extra money was spend to hire an experienced executioner who did a proper beheading. So the victim would barely suffer.
Anne Boleyn wasn't executed. She was murdered at the connivance of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell. Henry was betrothed to Jane Seymour the day after Anne was murdered and they were married 10 days later. He went from being a good king in his youth to a monster in his middle and later years.
Everybody remembers Anne Boleyn but very few make mention of her young cousin Catherine Howard, Henry's 5th wife, she was only 21 when he had her beheaded - he was an absolute monster
That's how things were back then. He wanted a male heir! There would be little sexual morality back then either. The Victorian brought that! He was labelled evil for breaking from Catholocism. The behaviour of the church backthen was little different to that of Henry.
@@CocoCece08 How do you know she was adulterous ??? Oh yes, from the confessions of her lovers who were all tortured. Yeah, seems reliable. NOT (I hope you never become a judge or jury member in modern times)
I am a descendant of Sir William Brereton thank you for telling his story . His father was Sir Randle Brereton IV., of Malpas. He was so knighted for brilliant bravery at Terouenne, and at Tourney, in France, by Henry VIII. The knight bachelor always carried a penon or pointed flag ; the knight banneret had his penon cut off square by the king. He was a knight banneret.
Descendant of Williams brother urian I think is the name his daughter I believe married into the Barlow family. (Barlow hall) and carried that name through my grandmother. She was the last in my line with the name barlow anyway here in America
Anne Boleyn’s revenge was that her daughter Elizabeth became England’s greatest monarch. Henry was a monster. Cromwell had no problem on making up false charges against Anne and the five men. Cromwell was threatened by Anne because she knew that he was using church money for himself. Karma came to him. His beheading was botched. He deserved it.
I find it extremely interesting but would note the vast difference between what was taught during school history lessons 1940'/50's which, in retrospect, appears to have been a complete whitewashing of much of England's sordid history. I would feelthat the truth had been neglected whilst the 'cleaned up' version which remained was considered more suited when fed to we kids of those years.
@@terryofford4977 I was 14 years old when I saw Anne of the Thousand Days in 1979. I found Anne Boleyn fascinating. I wanted to learn more about her. I bugged my history teachers with questions. I never did got straight answers so I read more books. Tudor history was limited in the late 70s too.
Henry wasn't "evil" but after his serious jousting accident his personality changed massively...clearly indicating he had suffered a major brain injury...the real evil person was Thomas Cromwell....
The Holbein drawings of Anne Boleyn and her brother George are superb, so lifelike and powerfully conveying the famous Boleyn intelligence and wit. The painting you say is Sir Henry Norris can’t be right, however, as it shows a young gentleman attired in the circular ruff of Queen Elizabeth I’s era, about 50 years later - it closely resembles depictions of Sir Francis Drake, some mistake surely?
And there's no known portrait of George Boleyn, sadly- just descriptions of him being very handsome. I'd love the Holbein one to be him, it's gorgeous, but I've definitely heard it ascribed to someone else, maybe Thomas Wyatt? But yeah- I'm no costume expert, but that ruff? In Henry VIII's reign?
I don't think these men have been "forgotten" by history as they are mentioned often when the execution of Anne Boleyn is brought up. They are atleast well known to people who are interested in the Tudors. But they are eclipsed by Anne as she was the Queen.
@@marinatebbenham4011 No. I haven't. But I've seen numerous documentaries and have a decent casual knowledge of history and have never heard them mentioned before. Typically you hear that Boleyn was accused of adultery, but not with whom. I believe the narrator says "largely forgotten" by history, which is definitely true. A handful of people knowing who they were is hardly not being forgotten.
@@hideousruin People who study the case well know who they are, even in the popular series, the Tudors, they are given screentime. At the very least, George Boleyn is well known as Anne was accused of having incestuous relationships with him, her own brother. Far more than a "handful" of people know who they are; however as the *Queen of England* and the discarded wife of a greedy king and also mother of Elizabeth I, her death is (rightfully so) well depicted. Though sadly many people still villainise her even today.
@@marinatebbenham4011 "Largely forgotten* is still accurate. How many people alive in England today could name 3 of them? Maybe one in 1,000 if we are being generous. In the West in general? Probably one in 10,000. I consider one in 10,000 to be a handful. I believe it's even lower than that as I seldom forget details when it comes to history. If I had ever heard them mentioned before I would remember it. This is my last comment as this is starting to get pedantic. It would be correct to say they are largely forgotten. Perhaps your particular interest in the Tudor period makes you unable to see what a niche area of knowledge this is.
A good account of the awful times back then. This evil King Henry's life was like one big murderous soap opera, the year 1547 must have come as a big relief for most...
Some of the latest thinking is that the head injury Henry got, when he was unconscious after a jousting accident, changed his personality and made him more cruel and temperamental.
@martel hinds maybe both. He suffered from the leg wound he got from jousting for the rest of his life and was in agony with that which also wouldn’t help. Historians now believe his personality changed after the accident and he became more cruel. He was relatively young and still with Anne Boleyn when it happened. Syphillis too... can understand why he wasn’t a happy chappy.
Henry was neither the most violent nor the most interesting king. Besides that, his wives are far more interesting. Although as Royal wives go, they were not the most interesting either.
@@birgittabirgersdatter8082 you're right- this whole thing is extremely BORING, can't we have a video about the more interesting King who killed more of his wives than this mere pretender? It's amazing anyone even knows this King Harrison bloke whoever the feck he is- BORING! Next.....
@Charlie Sinatra: the internet and rumor and conspiracy theorists would have us thinking otherwise. BTW, Sinatra is my surname, too. Have you found trouble using it in a social network!?
The story of the deaths of these innocent men is indeed tragic. As for Anne Boleyn herself, she was no doubt innocent of adultery, but it has to be pointed out that she was no saint. By all accounts she was an extremely arrogant and spiteful woman. She wasn't satisfied with replacing Catherine - she gloated in the fact that Mary had been made illegitimate by Henry and went out of her way to humiliate her. Mary was forced to wait on the infant Elizabeth. Anne also told people in Elizabeth's house hold that if Mary were to say she was a princess, that they should 'slap her face for the accursed bastard that she is'. Anne had no sympathy for Catherine either, and said she would 'rather see her hang' than acknowledge her as queen. For all her reformist convictions, Anne had a catholic confession before her execution, in which she stated her innocence on the charges of adultery (which no doubt she was). She also hoped that Henry would show mercy to her and rather than have her executed, that she be allowed to retire to a nunnery. Nuns are - yes, you guessed it - Catholics! Clearly her life was more important to her than her religious convictions. Yet she did not care when others lost their lives because of their religious convictions when Henry broke from Rome on her account. Anne Boleyn encouraged Henry to be ruthless when getting rid of Catherine, breaking with Rome, the execution of Fisher and Moore and the dissolution of the monasteries and the execution of monks. The monasteries had been places where the poor could turn to for help. They were robbed of their wealth but this ended up in the hands of Henry. When people peacefully protested in the form of The Pilgrimage Of Grace, Henry had them executed. Anne Boleyn chose as her motto 'people may grumble but that is the way it is'. It is ironic that Anne ended up in exactly the same position as the woman she replaced - she failed to produce a male heir. Catherine's marriage had been annulled because she was accused of having lost her virginity to the kings brother, her former husband, when they were married. Anne was accused of adultery with not just one man but numerous men, including her own brother. As no man wants to admit to being a cuckold, Anne had to be made to look like she was some sort of nymphomaniac that no man could satisfy her. For all her intelligence, Anne failed to see that if Henry could get rid of Catherine and others, he could also get rid of her as well. Henry also fell in love with one of her ladies in waiting - as she had been a lady in waiting when Henry fell in love with her. So the machinery Anne created to destroy others and make her Queen Of England then turned on her. In my opinion she got her just deserts. When Anne was awaiting execution and was told that her marriage had been declared invalid and Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate, she expressed regret for the way she had treated Mary and asked her forgiveness. She also asked Jane Seymour to be kind to Elizabeth. What is interesting here is that Thomas Cromwell, once her supporter, turned on her and became instrumental in her downfall when the tide turned. Fisher had been a staunch supporter of Catherine and had faced execution because he did not recognize Henry's marriage to Anne. Moore was also executed when he did not recognize Henry as the head of the church of England. When it came down to it, for all their protestant convictions, neither Cromwell nor Cranmer were prepared to put their lives on the line in defence of Anne (they both later faced execution).Another interesting point is that Anne was either innocent or guilty. If she was innocent then that means that Henry ordered her execution on false charges to suit his own agenda (rid himself of Anne, marry Jane Seymour and produce a male heir). Yet he was the King of England and head of the church of England. When Henry declared that his marriage to Anne had been invalid in that he was tricked into the marriage by witchcraft, the fact that if she had not been his wife she could not have been guilty of adultery was ignored. If she had been guilty, then she could not have been such a good protestant if she was committing adultery with half a dozen men behind her husband's back. That is what Henry, head of the Church of England, would have us believe.
My grandfather + was having an affair with Ann as he loved her, he even wrote the King was a mule he was allowed to live but had to watch the beheadings. Henry was after my grandmother+ she was cousin to 3 of Henry's wives and was with Anne when she had her head taken off.
Sorry to break this to you, but the Reformation was not about not being Catholic. They were still Catholic. It just replaced Henry to the Pope's role. You really need to read and do more research on Anne Boleyn. Your comment is full of so many holes.
@@ButtonsCasey I am aware that apart from breaking with Rome and becoming head of the Church of England, Henry was still a Catholic. His last wife Catherine Parr was a full blown reformist and tried to convince Henry to get rid of Catholicism completely. After Anne Boleyn Henry would not tolerate being lectured by women and was about to have Catherine arrested. Someone warned her and she managed to convince Henry she was seeking his guidance. The break from Rome was the beginning of the road which eventually led to the reformation where England became a protestant country.
She was given to Henry by her father and the only thing she did “wrong” which wasn’t even her fault was she never had a son. Everything was Henry’s fault.
Do you demand jewwled fro your ex? Christening gowns from his ex child you made him declare a bastard? It was Henry who was smitten at first. SHE had the balance of power and used it against people. Was it her snobby nature that made the people turn in her? How she wouldn't let her sister marry for love? Do tell me how she was a good woman! Because she could read? Could speak French? Was it how she made Katherine of Aragon die a painful death without money and her daughter? Was it how she cared nothing about the lowly born musician who was also accused and tortured? Just the high born men. Was it how she made sure Princess Mary never slept a night without fear? Or was it the possible suspicion of mass poison? I need someone to explain it because no one seems to be able to once I break down her personality. Stop looking to blame others for her son's. By all accounts she was a Marky, nasty bitchy woman that would be hated in 2020.
Thomas More was a friend and servant of KH VIII and lost his head. So also all these were servants, and some friends, of the same Henry, and lost their heads. I think Thom More spoke best as to how Henry valued his friends: (this is a near paraphrase) "Yes, I am friend to the King, but if my head could win him a castle in France -- make no mistake -- it should not fail to be off in a flash ." Fittingly, Thomas Cromwell lost his head.
From study it's believed Henry had a hereditary blood disease that permitted only the first child to be healthy. Somewhat like RH factor. So, lack of son's was most likely Henry's fault. Also, the unpredictable nature and rages of Henry's behaviour is believed to be from Traumatic Brain Injury from his jousting accidents. Also, he was probably a narcissist. Getting a DNA sample would be fascinating and revealing. Of course to late for his poor wives and the innocent men involved.
Catherine of Aragon died at the beginning of 1536, from natural causes (current theory is cancer). Anne Boleyn's execution was 5 months later. Catherine was extremely popular with the general population and was greatly mourned.
My understanding was that according to a contemporary witness, Mark Smeaton confessed while under house arrest at Friar's House (Cromwell's residence) after around 24 hours of interrogation.
@@mikesimms5750 I think you missed the point. I was pointing out that there is no conclusive evidence he was physically tortured. I'm not saying he was guilty at all. The trial evidence would strongly suggest he wasn't regardless of the method of interrogation anyway.
It's interesting to note that another man was accused but later released at the bidding of Cromwell. This was Sir Thomas Wyatt. His father Henry Wyatt was a close friend of Cromwell having served under Henry VII. Thomas was added to the accused because of poems he wrote that clearly showed that he had an attraction to Anne Boleyn before she married King Henry. Of all the men facing accusations, he was the only one that could have had more convincing evidence against him. Yet his relationship to Cromwell got him off. This is clear evidence that it was Cromwell who set up the false allegations of the others.
Nice comment. I'm not sure that Wyatts poetry clearly pointed to an affair, possibly unrequited lust but I dont think there is enough there. I understand his father was in good standing with Cromwell but as I understand it, Cromwell was the fixer so why add a 6th man only to acquit him and then give him lands and titles ?
QuenAnne told her brother that Henry was impotent. The other men knew. Henry was mortified because they knew he was having problems. The musician over heard. It was all because of that.
Great video thank you. Would have liked to have seen some mention of Thomas Wyatt. Also I thought the men were beheaded by French sword and not English axe?
There was an attempt on Henry"s life in July 1544, known as the July Plot. One of his aides smuggled explosives into a meeting which went off but Henry was saved by a stout oak table.
Some who visit the Tower of London, as well as staff working there, claim to see a woman haunting the tower, opening and closing the door through which she entered, then exited toward her unjust execution. If this is so, it would rightly be the spirit of the wrongly accused *Anne Boelyn.* To think, that beautiful lady wanted nothing to do with the mad king, but forced into a death sentence marriage to the psychopathic Henry VIII.
Looking back at this particular history, it's amazing this guy was allowed to do what he did. Of course stuff like this hastened the end of nobility rule in any event.
I can't believe that Henry and Anne were "overjoyed" at the death of Katherine of Aragon. I read they both wore yellow and celebrated at court on KOA's passing. That's pretty sick.
Why are so many public buildings named after king Henry VIII in many former British colonies if he was so bad? We have the Henry VIII Hospital here in Durban, South Africa for years and thereafter it was changed.
But why should a church be rich and hold the power of life & death , and death was ur punishment if u defied the church . We know royalty was corrupt in Europe but so was the church and it begins at the top .
Virginials!!!!!!! It’s vir gin als. Interesting video. Some of the historical ‘facts’ are a little erroneous but on the whole I enjoyed it. And Cromwell wasn’t the monster many people believe him to have been. Read the biography ‘Thomas Cromwell, The Untold Story of Henry V111s Most Faithful Servant’ by Tracy Borman. A fascinating and very well researched book. Cromwell is one of my favourite historical characters.
I also suspect that the presenter's reference to playing the 'viola' refers to the 'viol' (viola da gamba). Was the 'modern' viola even in existence during Henry VIII's reign?
@@wayneparker9331 I hope he isn't planning on becoming an actor. So irritating I turned him off as he wasn't saying anything new anyway, and read the comments instead. Much more interesting and informative.
Wonder who’s worse? Father or daughter? Bloody Henry? Or Bloody Mary? I REALLY REALLY enjoy that his daughter became queen and ruled a looong time. Would have LOOOOVED to hear his tantrums on that!!!
This information needs to be updated due to very recent findings by Tracy Borman (joint chief curator of our Royal historic palaces) that are based on documented facts.
What fascinates me, is that tyrrants like Henry become leaders even in modern times : Hitler, Mussolini, Ceaucescu, Honecker, Hussein, Amin, Jong-Un etc etc, and that the same principle applies in industry, and within families. I worked for two companies, the CEO of which were tyrranical psychopaths who, if they had been in Henry VIII’s shoes, would in all probability acted with the same brutality as Henry did. I have also experienced tyrrany and brutality at domestic level by family “leaders”. In short, history has shown us that tyrrants become leaders, whether we are speaking about a monarchy, an industry, or a family : some get the punishment due to them, like Ceaucescu, while others just die a natural death, like Henry - possibly the one who most deserved justice.
This is a pretty old version of events. Most modern historians currently believe that the whole chain of events was actually kicked off by Elizabeth Countess of Worcester (one of Ann's ladies-in-waiting). Sir Antony Browne (her brother) had apparently summoned her to admonish her for her alleged promiscuous reputation in court to which she responded her behavior was "no worse than what the Queen gets up to." Shocked, Sir Antony quizzed her further and she pointed the finger at Smeaton and the Queen's brother. Sir Anthony reported this to Cromwell who summoned Smeaton to his office after which Smeaton signed a written confession that he had been with the Queen 3 times. Nobody else was in this office but Cromwell and Smeaton for the entirety of this meeting so we can't say for sure that what happened in there. However, torture is extremely unlikely. 1. It was in Cromwell's office - if the intent was torture, Cromwell would have most likely had him brought somewhere else (like the tower dungeon which actually had the tools for it) rather than his office in the middle of Westminster. 2. Cromwell was an old bureaucrat, he's not going to be trying to overpower a much younger man himself w/o summoning guards to assist if torture was on the cards and none were. Now later confessions when he named the other 4 were made under duress, but there is no proof either way that the first one regarding just himself was. So while the other 4 were likely bogus, Smeaton (and Ann's) guilt is a bit less clear cut.
I so totally agree with you. History has been hard on Anne. But she deserved better and needs to be remembered as the mother of one of England 's greatest leaders--a Queen who showed Europe, England and history how to be a leader. She took a bankrupt country and made it a super power. Never forgetting who she was.
You know Anne should have carried a baby and if it was a girl, she should have secretly exchanged babies with someone and tricked Hank. Nothing to lose.
Here's the irony. There was speculation that Princess Elizabeth died in childhood . To avoid the king's wrath, her caregivers had a boy who resembled Elizabeth take her place. Consequently, this young man became the Virgin Queen. The story of the Bisley Boy is part of Tudor folklore.
We have come a long way as a species since these backward poorly educated people ruled. Actually thinking about it again in the light of current events, have we really?
A tragic story...the executions of the innocent men.When this story about A. Boleyn comes up...I always have to think of these poor souls. Dignified that they are mentioned here...I don't like to imagine how they must have felt....
George Boleyn and the other men (accused with Catherine Howard) arguably had worse executions - at least Anne and Catherine didn't have mobs screaming at them
You know, it is possible that Smeaton did put a bun in the royal oven. Look at the state of Henry, smelly and overweight with the personality of a hungry shark, she may have been tempted by a handsome dancer and musician. If bloody Queen Mary saw a resemblance there may have been something to it. Henry was a blot on British history, he was basically a serial killer. If there was a way to retrospectively strip him of his royal title, justice would be served. He should be disinterred and have his remains thrown in to the English Channel.
Sir Henry Norris was my 14x great grandfather. My OTHER 14x great grandfather whose descendants married Henry Norris' descendents to make my family line was Sir Edward Seymour First Duke of Somerset. (My family was Seymour for generations, then they married a York and were York all the way to my great grandmother Armeldia) Both beheaded by the Tudors. 😅 So... I find the fact that BOTH of my 14x great grandfathers ended up that way quite ironic.
The Breretons are from an Ancient line- they rode with William the Conqueror and built their Family home in Cheshire in the 12th Century. I am descended from them. Tudors are an Illegitimate line- I am still glad that Henry caused the break from The Catholic Church though. I think Henry had brain damage from his Tournament accident.
Also a descendant from that line, Williams brother urian or Urias however it’s spelled. I’ve seen some sites that say those breretons come from royalty. But can’t prove it. I did trace one up on one of the females lines up to owning haddon hall
the real truth is not that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely Instead .....the reality is that we are all corrupt and power only reveals this fact
He slaughtered many in the north for supposed rebellion against the reformation sackings of the monastery system . He was an utter tyrant and I don’t think the relationship between the north and south has ever recovered from that . Bloody southerner is a very apt saying for what happened then .
The artists who painted Henry VIII really did captured the coldness in his eyes.
Yes, I agree. There is something distinctly ominous and frightening in his eyes.
He was actually quite a warm man. You people need to start actually seeing what good he did do and stop saying this about portraits. Anne looks like a cold bore herself. Doesn't make it so.
For starters Rome isn't fucking us up the ass.
Defended Britain against French invasions.
As for his wives, Anne got what she paid for. She was not a very nice person. Wanted Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary dead.
@@Mim-om6pq Anne wasn’t the monster you are making her out to be. She watched H8 seduce and impregnate her sister twice, only to cast her aside when he was bored with her, leaving Mary destitute with two bastards and was forever labeled as _the great prostitute_ . Therefore, when H8 (through Wolsey) denied her marriage to Henry Percy and set his sights onto Anne, she tried to get away, even retreated from court. He followed her and sent love letters and she didn’t respond which unexpectedly made him want her even more. Eventually, when all of her attempts to get him to move on didn’t work, she gave him the ultimatum that she wouldn’t be his whore but would only give in when he made her his wife. It had never been done so why would she ever think it was even a possibility? Years passed and they finally wed but everyone hated her for her part in Katherines divorce (which would’ve happened to another woman if it hadn’t been her, due to H8’s desire to have a son). She knew everyone was plotting her demise and wanted to restore Katherine so she knew it would come down to her survival or Katherines (and subsequently Mary).
@@smithamy1982 How do you know this? We can't know, therefore any strong arguments we make are mostly due to our individual bias.
They celebrated at news of the 1st wifes death.
If only he had known that the man determines the sex of the child. He was the inadequate one. It is ironic his girl child ruled England anyway.
@Roger Allison & they all were Psychopath's just like their father.
He did have boys. They simply did not live as long as his daughters did.
Henry fathered a son named FitzRoy by his mistress Elizabeth Blount.
@@vinnieviddivicci5459 hey don't blame me blame channel 5 they are the idiots trying to changing history
Actually it's not as simple as that. And there are conditions where the mother will be unlikely to produce anything but girls.
If both parents are completely healthy then it is a 50/50 chance. Half of the sperm the man produces will donate an X chromosome and the other half a Y chromosome. So really you could cheer for the sperm you want to win like it's a horse race.
There are also conditions that can make the father more likely to produce female children as well. But as Henry produced illegitimate boys as well as a few that were miscarried it is unlikely that it was his fault.
So it could indeed have been at least one of the women was unable to produce a male. I don't know what the chances are of having such conditions but I suppose it's possible he was extremely unlucky and married two such women.
I can't imagine all the stress would have been good for the outcome of any pregnancy.
So Henry had a mistress and framed his wife accusing her of having relations with other men. What a jerk.
It’s good to be the king.
@@momstermom2939 of rap
Yep he's king he can get away with it He even had an affair with Ann Boleyn sister Mary It's how he got with some of his Six wives start of having affair with them with Ann Boleyn Had an affair with her cheating on his first wife Catherine proves it was a man's world back then men can do whatever they like and women No Even if they were king didn't matter Poor Ann Boleyn was beheaded simply because she didn't bear him his son like it was all her fault maybe it was his. But her child ended up ruling England longer than the only son he had who died 15 and Mary He's first daughter Ruled only For a very short time and then died and she was pure evil she was known as bloody Mary she would burn people who didn't practice The Catholic faith Ann Boleyn daughter she was one of the most successful rulers of England even role better than her father Known as the golden years still she even was a better ruler than him Queen Elizabeth the first Ann Boleyn daughter
No. It wasn’t that she was having sex with men it was that he put a lot of work in trying to have a son. She had quiet a few miscarriages. She was also meddling in political issues which he didn’t like. Incest was a major crime and plotting the downfall of the King. Her having lovers was not an issue in those days. It’s the incest and plotting against the king
A lot of those kings were jerks, of course when you appointed by god I guess that leads to being a jerk.
I would have been absolutely delighted, extremely happy and over the moon if my sentence was commuted from being hung, drawn and quartered to just being beheaded. Especially if I was innocent. It must have felt almost like Christmas.
Hanging was not to death and the drawing....starting with the cutting off of "privates" and burning before eyes was before other organs.
This torture escaped Fawkes who jumped from the scaffold.
Not only is this violence celebrated on Nov5th but is part of the judicial system....the Crown Prosecution Service Britain has today.
Remind me never to reply to any possible Xmas invitations at your place! Lol! 🤣
@@MilesBellas yea Guy Fawkes saw hscoconspirators gettortured before being hanged to death so he just sadi Nope! and put the rope around his own neck and jumped off the thing and broke his own neck
I am a descendant of Brereton on my mother’s side and on my father’s side, my many great times grandfather was Anne Boleyn’s uncle. So crazy!
So according to channel 5 you must be mixed race? No offence but channel 5 is portraying Anne Boleyn as a Black woman
I received information that a great,,,,,,,,,, grandfather on my fathers side is the illegitimate son of Henry. Regardless if true or not his mother is proven to be from a royal line. So it's possible old Henry is my great,,,,,,,,,,, grandfather. He seems to have been an evil, selfish piece of shit regardless if I'm related to him or not. Sir Richard Cox who wrote the ode to Ann Boleyn was my great,,,,,,,,,,,,,, grandfather. Small world!!
Well I am 100% a descendent of William Brereton which is now Brewington in the U.S. I’m black with European ancestry like majority of African Americans.
Descendant of his brother
How come Henry was never called a serial killer. He certainly fits the bill.
He never actually killed anyone, he ordered other people to do it for him. The closest Henry came to actually killing anyone, was Katherine Howard. (5th wife, who by the way the cousin of Anne Boleyn) Henry asked for a sword so that he could kill Katherine himself.
Because that would be dumb. Serial killers kill three or more victims with a cooling off period between victims. It's a very well defined thing.
The OVERWHELMING majority of serial killers are male sexual sadists. They gain intense pleasure in the process of controlling and killing their victims.
Ultimately serial killers have so little empathy that getting their rocks off even a single time is worth ending someone's life. They are subhumans really. They have the soul of a cockroach.
Narsasitic sociopath yes. Serial killer my dear sweet summer child no.
@@mrsdinosaur1009 then Hitler didn't kill anyone either. Stalin too
@@James-mw7zv My point about Henry 8th meant, when he signed execution warrants, he washed his hands of the whole sorry situation. In fact you have probably heard of the "act of attainder" it was Henry's way of bypassing the signing of the death warrant.
Aside from killing men in battle, the only time he actually came close to killing someone by his own hand as I stated was Katherine Howard.
Hitler, Stalin, Pol pot etc are as guilty as the men they ordered to kill people.
I was merely pointing out what Henry's mind set was when it came to executing people. Everyone else was to blame not him and that is possibly the same mind set of all dictators.
I was in no way trying to excuse or lessen the blame that these barbaric savages rightly deserve to have...
They are Traitors pure and simple and deserve the punishment that all traitors suffered in the days of yore.
Hang, Draw and quartering.
I hope this clears up any confusion my first comment may have caused.
The sketches you see were done by Hans Holbein. He did many sketches and paintings in the court of Henry VIII.
Born in Augsburg, Germany he moved to Basel, Switzerland and spent two periods in England 1526-1528 and 1532-1543.
An interesting fact is that Holbein painted a portrait of Anne of Cleves (Kleve) which was shown to Henry. Largely based on the portrait and Thomas Cromwell's descriptions of her beauty, Henry agreed to marry Anne (of Cleves). However on meeting her Henry found her completely unattractive ("I like her not !") and blamed Thomas Cromwell who had arranged the marriage and exaggerated Anne's beauty. No blame was ever assigned to Holbein who may have made her look more attractive. Henry's anger resulted in Cromwell's beheading on various trumped up charges.
Holbein died in London (probably due to some infection) in 1543 at the age of 45.
Jane was basically groomed into everything Henry liked - the “perfect wife.” Her supporters made sure she was everywhere the king went, basically, always under her eye. She was no where near as meek and mild as depicted. She learned how to play the game from watching Anne then was courteous enough to die before she could piss Henry off or before he could tire of her.
Seems that way to me, too. I dont think Jane was as sweet and innocent as history has made her out to be. Of course Henry adored her, she gave him what he thought he needed to secure his dynasty.
Delicious irony and also a tragedy Queen Anne's daughter both gloriously reigned and ended the dynasty.
She was but I doubt someone as benil as Jane would have truly survived the Tudor Court had she survived. I enemies doubt Henry would have wanted her. A tragic dead wife is ok to lift up..or so he may have thpught
Really? So Jane Seymour was not as shy and innocent as they depict her huh? Okay, that makes sense because I was surprised to hear that Jane was sitting in Henry’s lap within Anne’s eyesight. Anne was no innocent either. Henry was married but that did stop the Boleyns or him. Anne’s sister had also been Henry’s mistress. Henry had fathered a son with the sister. Smh
@@phalynwilliams4119 haha.. Us shy girls always end up I'm in Kings lap...slipped?
@@phalynwilliams4119 Mary Boleyn allegedly had a daughter as well as son by Henry VIII.
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton
That isn’t even close to true. There are thousands of kings and emperors who not only were not corrupted by absolute power, but rather wielded that power wisely and with prudence.
@@Hiraeth-zq8ze Thousands eh
Yes there have certainly been more competent monarchs than evil monarchs.
@@Hiraeth-zq8ze One can be competent in one respect and corrupt in another. You are correct in that, for example, not all Roman Emperors were as bad as Caligula, or Nero, or Domitian, but the whole Empire was many respects corrupt, it was inevitable, and that there was so much intrigue and so many Emperors lasted such a short time before they were offed points out the problem. Without checks and balances I believe power is a very corrupting and dangerous influence.
@@Justin.Martyr I didn't know D. Trump had been canonized, but his Godliness and holy life have been a wonder to all.
“Good news, you’re not getting hung, drawn & quartered, you’re having your head chopped off” “oh” !
Well comparatively, a beheading is further up from hanging, drawing and quartering on the good outcome scale than a clean pardon is from a beheading.
@Murray David That was only female traitors. Male traitors were hanged, drawn & quartered.
There must have been season tickets for executions in those days 😅
Henry VIII. Bit of a knob really.
I have to say , One of my favourite history periods is the Tudor history and yet had no idea of how bloody it was . Thanks for all the history lessons as keep the good work up . Elizabeth the 1st is my most favourite in the history of the Tudor’s
Thomas Cromwell trumped up all the charges. Anne and all of Henry’s friends were innocent. Henry’s pride was so great that even the mere accusations hurt his manhood so......... Cromwell was saving his own neck, for a short time anyway
What a horrible man .. to execute his very close and intimate friends on such (He must have known) trumped up charges.
Not only did he know, he probably made them up.
Wasn’t the first time he executed those closest to him. Not to make excuses for a tyrant but, he had a pretty severe head injury a few months prior to this. It is said his demeanor completely changed.
Henry VIII always thought he acted correctly. For that reason, he probably convinced himself that the men were actually guilty despite the fact that the charges were false.
Let's see, he "commuted" a commoner's sentence to beheading (highly unusual), he reportedly offered Norris a pardon if he "confessed" (which Norris refused to do), he had Anne detained in luxurious apartments before her execution, and then had her executed by sword (postponing it twice in the process) as it was considered "merciful".
This is speculation on my part, but these factors alone might suggest that Henry knew or suspected that Anne and her "accomplices" were innocent of the charges and these small acts of "mercy" were possibly motivated by some guilt.
@@sayitlikeitis5026 agreed.
Imagine the time when beheading was the lesser punishment
Now a days the lesser punishment would be being tied up and having 3 blond female cops forcing you to have hardcore sex with them....
Oh wait did i say punishment because i meant to say fantasy
@@jacobsaccount9353 that would be r*pe
@Ronijb no kidding, AND he forgot the lesbians!
What crack are you lot smoking?? Beheading is still carried out as a punishment in a few countries!!
Charlie Bowen a beheading when properly executed resulted in a quick death. If your punishment would be death in the middle ages. I’ll rather not end up on the rack. At a burning stake. Or be hanged when if unlucky your neck brakes and you suffocate to death. Sometimes extra money was spend to hire an experienced executioner who did a proper beheading. So the victim would barely suffer.
Anne Boleyn wasn't executed. She was murdered at the connivance of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell. Henry was betrothed to Jane Seymour the day after Anne was murdered and they were married 10 days later. He went from being a good king in his youth to a monster in his middle and later years.
Yep
Yes, and many others too.
Check out the movie trailer on this story
Anne Boleyn slept with over a hundred men. Of course Henry wanted to move on past her. As would any man in his position.
@@Siegeclan34 Your evidence for that nonsensical assertion?!
Everybody remembers Anne Boleyn but very few make mention of her young cousin Catherine Howard, Henry's 5th wife, she was only 21 when he had her beheaded - he was an absolute monster
Stay tuned for a video on Catherine Howard coming soon!
Agreed!
With an axe instead of a sword like anne
Wich shows he loved anne more or was less angry at her
That's how things were back then. He wanted a male heir! There would be little sexual morality back then either. The Victorian brought that! He was labelled evil for breaking from Catholocism. The behaviour of the church backthen was little different to that of Henry.
As we don’t know Katherine Howard’s exact birth date, she could’ve been as young as 19 when she was executed which is heartbreaking to think about
Mark smeatons painting looks just like the Tudors TV series actor lol
R.I.P. to Anne Boleyn & the Innocents! Good God Blessed the Innocents to a Better World/Realm! 🕯
spare us your religious nonsense
@@power2084 Spare us your atheist cultism.
Anne wasn't innocent. Treason was already a death sentence. Adultery was as well. And she was guilty of that.
@@CocoCece08 Get the f*** out of here with that bullshit. So I suppose all the f****** people he had killed were f****** guilty right?
@@CocoCece08 How do you know she was adulterous ??? Oh yes, from the confessions of her lovers who were all tortured. Yeah, seems reliable. NOT
(I hope you never become a judge or jury member in modern times)
Never really realised how big of an absolute monster Henry VIII was.
Henry’s psychopathic ways, go deep into childhood & bad upbringing by his Father, Henry V11.
I have binge watched all these videos. Such ana amazing channel 👌🏻
I am a descendant of Sir William Brereton thank you for telling his story . His father was Sir Randle Brereton IV., of Malpas. He was so knighted for brilliant bravery at Terouenne, and at Tourney, in France, by Henry VIII. The knight bachelor always carried a penon or pointed flag ; the knight banneret had his penon cut off square by the king. He was a knight banneret.
Descendant of Williams brother urian I think is the name his daughter I believe married into the Barlow family. (Barlow hall) and carried that name through my grandmother. She was the last in my line with the name barlow anyway here in America
Do you know if William and his brother were related to the tutors. Some websites say they were related to royalty. But I can’t confirm it
Anne Boleyn’s revenge was that her daughter Elizabeth became England’s greatest monarch. Henry was a monster. Cromwell had no problem on making up false charges against Anne and the five men. Cromwell was threatened by Anne because she knew that he was using church money for himself. Karma came to him. His beheading was botched. He deserved it.
apparently Henry fell into a rage just before Cromwell execution and had the axe blunted ..not a nice man
@@leemday5731 -
@@magicbus63
Agreed
I find it extremely interesting but would note the vast difference between what was taught during school history lessons 1940'/50's which, in retrospect, appears to have been a complete whitewashing of much of England's sordid history. I would feelthat the truth had been neglected whilst the 'cleaned up' version which remained was considered more suited when fed to we kids of those years.
@@terryofford4977
I was 14 years old when I saw Anne of the Thousand Days in 1979. I found Anne Boleyn fascinating. I wanted to learn more about her. I bugged my history teachers with questions. I never did got straight answers so I read more books. Tudor history was limited in the late 70s too.
Henry didn't deserve any of the amazing women he married
Henry was the Adolf Hitler of his time
True!
Henry wasn't "evil" but after his serious jousting accident his personality changed massively...clearly indicating he had suffered a major brain injury...the real evil person was Thomas Cromwell....
Your right he didnt his wives , he was a complete tyrant.
Andy Richards, I agree wholeheartedly!
No one talks about the men enough thank you.
The Holbein drawings of Anne Boleyn and her brother George are superb, so lifelike and powerfully conveying the famous Boleyn intelligence and wit. The painting you say is Sir Henry Norris can’t be right, however, as it shows a young gentleman attired in the circular ruff of Queen Elizabeth I’s era, about 50 years later - it closely resembles depictions of Sir Francis Drake, some mistake surely?
Yes, it is a portrait of Francis Drake.
And there's no known portrait of George Boleyn, sadly- just descriptions of him being very handsome. I'd love the Holbein one to be him, it's gorgeous, but I've definitely heard it ascribed to someone else, maybe Thomas Wyatt? But yeah- I'm no costume expert, but that ruff? In Henry VIII's reign?
Interesting side note--so many books, stories, pictures were made of Henry the eight but in fact, he was an evil monster
Henry was not always the person/king history portrays him as. Yes, towards the end of his life he was horrible. That isn't his whole story though.
He is largely portrayed in England as a slightly comical figure, who just happens to have an eye for the ladies. A bit like Boris Johnson.
I feel the worst for all of these innocent men who were tortured and killed just to get rid of his wife.
This is so interesting and informative 👏
Loving this channel! Finally the algorithm got something right :-)
I don't think these men have been "forgotten" by history as they are mentioned often when the execution of Anne Boleyn is brought up. They are atleast well known to people who are interested in the Tudors. But they are eclipsed by Anne as she was the Queen.
I've never heard them even mentioned before.
@@hideousruin You can't have studied the case very well then.
@@marinatebbenham4011 No. I haven't. But I've seen numerous documentaries and have a decent casual knowledge of history and have never heard them mentioned before. Typically you hear that Boleyn was accused of adultery, but not with whom. I believe the narrator says "largely forgotten" by history, which is definitely true. A handful of people knowing who they were is hardly not being forgotten.
@@hideousruin People who study the case well know who they are, even in the popular series, the Tudors, they are given screentime. At the very least, George Boleyn is well known as Anne was accused of having incestuous relationships with him, her own brother. Far more than a "handful" of people know who they are; however as the *Queen of England* and the discarded wife of a greedy king and also mother of Elizabeth I, her death is (rightfully so) well depicted. Though sadly many people still villainise her even today.
@@marinatebbenham4011 "Largely forgotten* is still accurate.
How many people alive in England today could name 3 of them? Maybe one in 1,000 if we are being generous. In the West in general? Probably one in 10,000.
I consider one in 10,000 to be a handful. I believe it's even lower than that as I seldom forget details when it comes to history. If I had ever heard them mentioned before I would remember it.
This is my last comment as this is starting to get pedantic. It would be correct to say they are largely forgotten. Perhaps your particular interest in the Tudor period makes you unable to see what a niche area of knowledge this is.
A good account of the awful times back then. This evil King Henry's life was like one
big murderous soap opera, the year 1547 must have come as a big relief for most...
Moral of the story: keep a low profile and don't mingle with powerful people.
Or if the King of England likes you, just get out of the country.
Very good information!
Some of the latest thinking is that the head injury Henry got, when he was unconscious after a jousting accident, changed his personality and made him more cruel and temperamental.
@martel hinds maybe both. He suffered from the leg wound he got from jousting for the rest of his life and was in agony with that which also wouldn’t help.
Historians now believe his personality changed after the accident and he became more cruel. He was relatively young and still with Anne Boleyn when it happened. Syphillis too... can understand why he wasn’t a happy chappy.
I thought he was diabetic too? Could explain why his wounds didn't heal.
@@rocker76m88 yes good job he was king really, all he had going for him.
Great video!
He maybe the most violent and interesting kings but your voice makes it sound like a shopping list
HaHa!!...You are right!...script in front of him!
🤣😂
Henry was neither the most violent nor the most interesting king. Besides that, his wives are far more interesting. Although as Royal wives go, they were not the most interesting either.
@@birgittabirgersdatter8082 you're right- this whole thing is extremely BORING, can't we have a video about the more interesting King who killed more of his wives than this mere pretender? It's amazing anyone even knows this King Harrison bloke whoever the feck he is- BORING! Next.....
Will you ever do a video about the Stanhope plot where my ancestor sir Thomas Gray was executed for trying to overthrow Henry the fifth?
I think Kim Jong un is a modern day Henry.
Yeah and according to channel 5 Anne Boleyn is a modern day Michelle Obama 😉
Thank you.
thank God we won the revolutionary war and didnt have to endure people like henry
@Charlie Sinatra: the internet and rumor and conspiracy theorists would have us thinking otherwise.
BTW, Sinatra is my surname, too. Have you found trouble using it in a social network!?
ummm, the Revolution came way, way, way after H. It was actually one of those George guys. good grief
@@yakkityyak9336 no shit
The story of the deaths of these innocent men is indeed tragic. As for Anne Boleyn herself, she was no doubt innocent of adultery, but it has to be pointed out that she was no saint. By all accounts she was an extremely arrogant and spiteful woman. She wasn't satisfied with replacing Catherine - she gloated in the fact that Mary had been made illegitimate by Henry and went out of her way to humiliate her. Mary was forced to wait on the infant Elizabeth. Anne also told people in Elizabeth's house hold that if Mary were to say she was a princess, that they should 'slap her face for the accursed bastard that she is'. Anne had no sympathy for Catherine either, and said she would 'rather see her hang' than acknowledge her as queen. For all her reformist convictions, Anne had a catholic confession before her execution, in which she stated her innocence on the charges of adultery (which no doubt she was). She also hoped that Henry would show mercy to her and rather than have her executed, that she be allowed to retire to a nunnery. Nuns are - yes, you guessed it - Catholics! Clearly her life was more important to her than her religious convictions. Yet she did not care when others lost their lives because of their religious convictions when Henry broke from Rome on her account. Anne Boleyn encouraged Henry to be ruthless when getting rid of Catherine, breaking with Rome, the execution of Fisher and Moore and the dissolution of the monasteries and the execution of monks. The monasteries had been places where the poor could turn to for help. They were robbed of their wealth but this ended up in the hands of Henry. When people peacefully protested in the form of The Pilgrimage Of Grace, Henry had them executed. Anne Boleyn chose as her motto 'people may grumble but that is the way it is'. It is ironic that Anne ended up in exactly the same position as the woman she replaced - she failed to produce a male heir. Catherine's marriage had been annulled because she was accused of having lost her virginity to the kings brother, her former husband, when they were married. Anne was accused of adultery with not just one man but numerous men, including her own brother. As no man wants to admit to being a cuckold, Anne had to be made to look like she was some sort of nymphomaniac that no man could satisfy her. For all her intelligence, Anne failed to see that if Henry could get rid of Catherine and others, he could also get rid of her as well. Henry also fell in love with one of her ladies in waiting - as she had been a lady in waiting when Henry fell in love with her. So the machinery Anne created to destroy others and make her Queen Of England then turned on her. In my opinion she got her just deserts. When Anne was awaiting execution and was told that her marriage had been declared invalid and Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate, she expressed regret for the way she had treated Mary and asked her forgiveness. She also asked Jane Seymour to be kind to Elizabeth. What is interesting here is that Thomas Cromwell, once her supporter, turned on her and became instrumental in her downfall when the tide turned. Fisher had been a staunch supporter of Catherine and had faced execution because he did not recognize Henry's marriage to Anne. Moore was also executed when he did not recognize Henry as the head of the church of England. When it came down to it, for all their protestant convictions, neither Cromwell nor Cranmer were prepared to put their lives on the line in defence of Anne (they both later faced execution).Another interesting point is that Anne was either innocent or guilty. If she was innocent then that means that Henry ordered her execution on false charges to suit his own agenda (rid himself of Anne, marry Jane Seymour and produce a male heir). Yet he was the King of England and head of the church of England. When Henry declared that his marriage to Anne had been invalid in that he was tricked into the marriage by witchcraft, the fact that if she had not been his wife she could not have been guilty of adultery was ignored. If she had been guilty, then she could not have been such a good protestant if she was committing adultery with half a dozen men behind her husband's back. That is what Henry, head of the Church of England, would have us believe.
A fantastic comment, thanks so much for your contribution.
@@TheUntoldPast Thanks for the appreciation.
My grandfather + was having an affair with Ann as he loved her, he even wrote the King was a mule he was allowed to live but had to watch the beheadings. Henry was after my grandmother+ she was cousin to 3 of Henry's wives and was with Anne when she had her head taken off.
Sorry to break this to you, but the Reformation was not about not being Catholic. They were still Catholic. It just replaced Henry to the Pope's role. You really need to read and do more research on Anne Boleyn. Your comment is full of so many holes.
@@ButtonsCasey I am aware that apart from breaking with Rome and becoming head of the Church of England, Henry was still a Catholic. His last wife Catherine Parr was a full blown reformist and tried to convince Henry to get rid of Catholicism completely. After Anne Boleyn Henry would not tolerate being lectured by women and was about to have Catherine arrested. Someone warned her and she managed to convince Henry she was seeking his guidance. The break from Rome was the beginning of the road which eventually led to the reformation where England became a protestant country.
No one seems to understand Anne Boleyn earned her own demise by destroying the previous queen.
She got what she paid for.
She was given to Henry by her father and the only thing she did “wrong” which wasn’t even her fault was she never had a son. Everything was Henry’s fault.
She in no way deserved what she got.
Do you demand jewwled fro your ex? Christening gowns from his ex child you made him declare a bastard? It was Henry who was smitten at first. SHE had the balance of power and used it against people. Was it her snobby nature that made the people turn in her? How she wouldn't let her sister marry for love?
Do tell me how she was a good woman! Because she could read? Could speak French? Was it how she made Katherine of Aragon die a painful death without money and her daughter? Was it how she cared nothing about the lowly born musician who was also accused and tortured? Just the high born men. Was it how she made sure Princess Mary never slept a night without fear? Or was it the possible suspicion of mass poison?
I need someone to explain it because no one seems to be able to once I break down her personality.
Stop looking to blame others for her son's. By all accounts she was a Marky, nasty bitchy woman that would be hated in 2020.
She got what she deserved. Cheating on the king, got caught. Oh, and the crap treatment of Mary.
Oh, how sad you are I suggest you watch Claire Ridgeway
I'm a direct descendant of William Brereton and I found this video very educational, thank you.
Me too
Awesome, my ancestor is Williams brother
Not much has changed in terms of corruption difference is nowadays they screw the working class in different ways.
Great channel love the quality of the content
Thomas More was a friend and servant of KH VIII and lost his head. So also all these were servants, and some friends, of the same Henry, and lost their heads. I think Thom More spoke best as to how Henry valued his friends: (this is a near paraphrase) "Yes, I am friend to the King, but if my head could win him a castle in France -- make no mistake -- it should not fail to be off in a flash ." Fittingly, Thomas Cromwell lost his head.
From study it's believed Henry had a hereditary blood disease that permitted only the first child to be healthy. Somewhat like RH factor. So, lack of son's was most likely Henry's fault.
Also, the unpredictable nature and rages of Henry's behaviour is believed to be from Traumatic Brain Injury from his jousting accidents.
Also, he was probably a narcissist.
Getting a DNA sample would be fascinating and revealing. Of course to late for his poor wives and the innocent men involved.
i would also not rule out sociopath. fits his behaviour.
Cromwell detested Anne and worried about her relationship and influence with Henry.
Very informative and interesting..
Good effort.
What happened to boylens dad ??
Wasnt he related to the house of treason the Norfolks ??
I think that the rest of the king's court should have resigned in protest to these unjust executions !
it's too bad that would never happen ... There is always some ladder climbing sycophant to fill the void.
I think that would have resulted in whole mess of executions.
I don’t think you realize that they couldn’t
"After the death of Henry's first wife" WHAT!!!??? Didn't Henry's first wife die in a convent at 50 years old?
No
Henry divorced Catherine of Aragon!She didn't die while married to Henry!
She was far older than Henry and they were married for 20 plus years so yes and yes to both
Charlie Bowen they were only 5 years apart thats not far apart.
Catherine of Aragon died at the beginning of 1536, from natural causes (current theory is cancer). Anne Boleyn's execution was 5 months later.
Catherine was extremely popular with the general population and was greatly mourned.
My understanding was that according to a contemporary witness, Mark Smeaton confessed while under house arrest at Friar's House (Cromwell's residence) after around 24 hours of interrogation.
Interrogation back then was torture sooooo.........
@@mikesimms5750 I think you missed the point.
I was pointing out that there is no conclusive evidence he was physically tortured.
I'm not saying he was guilty at all. The trial evidence would strongly suggest he wasn't regardless of the method of interrogation anyway.
It's interesting to note that another man was accused but later released at the bidding of Cromwell. This was Sir Thomas Wyatt. His father Henry Wyatt was a close friend of Cromwell having served under Henry VII. Thomas was added to the accused because of poems he wrote that clearly showed that he had an attraction to Anne Boleyn before she married King Henry. Of all the men facing accusations, he was the only one that could have had more convincing evidence against him. Yet his relationship to Cromwell got him off. This is clear evidence that it was Cromwell who set up the false allegations of the others.
Nice comment. I'm not sure that Wyatts poetry clearly pointed to an affair, possibly unrequited lust but I dont think there is enough there. I understand his father was in good standing with Cromwell but as I understand it, Cromwell was the fixer so why add a 6th man only to acquit him and then give him lands and titles ?
Oh and a trawled through the other comments. Big ups for mentioning Wyatt at all ... no one else did!
I fear history is doomed to repeat itself...
QuenAnne told her brother that Henry was impotent. The other men knew. Henry was mortified because they knew he was having problems. The musician over heard. It was all because of that.
Great video thank you. Would have liked to have seen some mention of Thomas Wyatt. Also I thought the men were beheaded by French sword and not English axe?
I think only Anne wax executed this way, the axe was the main instrument used.
This is good stuff but you gotta SLOW DOWN! I have keep hitting the back button to hear it again.
You can adjust the Playback speed to a slower cadence, so that you don't miss anything. Try listening at 0.75x speed.
😎 I came. I saw. I liked... and SUBBED!
I want to transport Henry VIII to the present day using a time machine..
.. And give him a TASTE of his own medicine!
Very interesting video from NZ thank you
Thank you! :)
There was an attempt on Henry"s life in July 1544, known as the July Plot. One of his aides smuggled explosives into a meeting which went off but Henry was saved by a stout oak table.
Good Job , very good history , hope we can be friends
Some who visit the Tower of London, as well as staff working there, claim to see a woman haunting the tower, opening and closing the door through which she entered, then exited toward her unjust execution. If this is so, it would rightly be the spirit of the wrongly accused *Anne Boelyn.* To think, that beautiful lady wanted nothing to do with the mad king, but forced into a death sentence marriage to the psychopathic Henry VIII.
Executing the mother of one of your children, simply because you could not produce a boy, that is simply barbaric.
No doubt, Henry VIII was a serial killer.
Looking back at this particular history, it's amazing this guy was allowed to do what he did. Of course stuff like this hastened the end of nobility rule in any event.
Geez, chop chop! This era sounds pretty bloody and paranoid.
I can't believe that Henry and Anne were "overjoyed" at the death of Katherine of Aragon. I read they both wore yellow and celebrated at court on KOA's passing. That's pretty sick.
Don't believe everything you read.
I have read that yellow was the colour of mourning in Tudor times.
@@hogwashmcturnip8930 Only in Spain. In Tudor, it wasn't yellow.
@@CocoCece08 The point was they dressed in yellow because she was Spanish?
Why are so many public buildings named after king Henry VIII in many former British colonies if he was so bad? We have the Henry VIII Hospital here in Durban, South Africa for years and thereafter it was changed.
But why should a church be rich and hold the power of life & death , and death was ur punishment if u defied the church . We know royalty was corrupt in Europe but so was the church and it begins at the top .
King Henry was a disgusting excuse for human life.
An acorn from the trunk of the usurper Henry VII whose mother was 14 when he was born.....!?!?!?
Like Chinese rulers and African dictators even to this day
And yet the monarch still exist👹👹👹
Henry was an evil hypocrite
Virginials!!!!!!! It’s vir gin als. Interesting video. Some of the historical ‘facts’ are a little erroneous but on the whole I enjoyed it.
And Cromwell wasn’t the monster many people believe him to have been. Read the biography ‘Thomas Cromwell, The Untold Story of Henry V111s Most Faithful Servant’ by Tracy Borman. A fascinating and very well researched book. Cromwell is one of my favourite historical characters.
I also suspect that the presenter's reference to playing the 'viola' refers to the 'viol' (viola da gamba). Was the 'modern' viola even in existence during Henry VIII's reign?
@@wayneparker9331 I hope he isn't planning on becoming an actor. So irritating I turned him off as he wasn't saying anything new anyway, and read the comments instead. Much more interesting and informative.
Henry evil? Not really by the standards of the time. Just incredibly self centred and ruthless.
he was a shovinest has well but to be fair all men were at that time
@@wolfshadow3789 *chauvinist
King Louis IX was a Saint. There were others of sterling character.
Wonder who’s worse? Father or daughter? Bloody Henry? Or Bloody Mary? I REALLY REALLY enjoy that his daughter became queen and ruled a looong time. Would have LOOOOVED to hear his tantrums on that!!!
His father Henry V11...was in no way entitled to the throne of England !
Times don,t really change,do they lady Di
This information needs to be updated due to very recent findings by Tracy Borman (joint chief curator of our Royal historic palaces) that are based on documented facts.
Henry VIII was a tyranical misogynist!
What fascinates me, is that tyrrants like Henry become leaders even in modern times : Hitler, Mussolini, Ceaucescu, Honecker, Hussein, Amin, Jong-Un etc etc, and that the same principle applies in industry, and within families. I worked for two companies, the CEO of which were tyrranical psychopaths who, if they had been in Henry VIII’s shoes, would in all probability acted with the same brutality as Henry did. I have also experienced tyrrany and brutality at domestic level by family “leaders”. In short, history has shown us that tyrrants become leaders, whether we are speaking about a monarchy, an industry, or a family : some get the punishment due to them, like Ceaucescu, while others just die a natural death, like Henry - possibly the one who most deserved justice.
That’s not an artist’s impression of mark smeaton, that’s a picture of the guy who played him in The Tudors tv show
This is a pretty old version of events. Most modern historians currently believe that the whole chain of events was actually kicked off by Elizabeth Countess of Worcester (one of Ann's ladies-in-waiting).
Sir Antony Browne (her brother) had apparently summoned her to admonish her for her alleged promiscuous reputation in court to which she responded her behavior was "no worse than what the Queen gets up to." Shocked, Sir Antony quizzed her further and she pointed the finger at Smeaton and the Queen's brother. Sir Anthony reported this to Cromwell who summoned Smeaton to his office after which Smeaton signed a written confession that he had been with the Queen 3 times.
Nobody else was in this office but Cromwell and Smeaton for the entirety of this meeting so we can't say for sure that what happened in there. However, torture is extremely unlikely. 1. It was in Cromwell's office - if the intent was torture, Cromwell would have most likely had him brought somewhere else (like the tower dungeon which actually had the tools for it) rather than his office in the middle of Westminster. 2. Cromwell was an old bureaucrat, he's not going to be trying to overpower a much younger man himself w/o summoning guards to assist if torture was on the cards and none were.
Now later confessions when he named the other 4 were made under duress, but there is no proof either way that the first one regarding just himself was. So while the other 4 were likely bogus, Smeaton (and Ann's) guilt is a bit less clear cut.
His beard looks smooth though, I won't lie.
Literally I love Anne boleyn so much❤️ she was always my favorite queen 👸 she didn’t deserve Henry😡 she deserved so much more 🥺
I so totally agree with you. History has been hard on Anne. But she deserved better and needs to be remembered as the mother of one of England 's greatest leaders--a Queen who showed Europe, England and history how to be a leader. She took a bankrupt country and made it a super power. Never forgetting who she was.
True , but Anne of cleves was great too. Underrated
You don't LITERALLY love her 🙄
@William Hutchinson What proof do you have that Anne was an adulteress?
@William Hutchinson Troll better
Certainly had a lust for blood in those days. Who could you trust?.
Exactly! There was always someone waiting to stab you in the back!
@@TheUntoldPast Yep. I'd have rather been a lowly pauper blended in with the crowd. another great doc. well done.
moog Dome
One can always trust in Wolf’s Head Golden 30 Weight.
@@g0679 Sorry friend, not sure what your saying.
@@moogdome2562 nah, you and your pitchfork would have been on the front lines of combat.
You know Anne should have carried a baby and if it was a girl, she should have secretly exchanged babies with someone and tricked Hank. Nothing to lose.
Here's the irony. There was speculation that Princess Elizabeth died in childhood . To avoid the king's wrath, her caregivers had a boy who resembled Elizabeth take her place. Consequently, this young man became the Virgin Queen. The story of the Bisley Boy is part of Tudor folklore.
@@Orphen42O I'll check that out.
We have come a long way as a species since these backward poorly educated people ruled. Actually thinking about it again in the light of current events, have we really?
Now we kill unborn babies by the millions
A tragic story...the executions of the innocent men.When this story about A. Boleyn comes up...I always have to think of these poor souls. Dignified that they are mentioned here...I don't like to imagine how they must have felt....
George Boleyn and the other men (accused with Catherine Howard) arguably had worse executions - at least Anne and Catherine didn't have mobs screaming at them
You know, it is possible that Smeaton did put a bun in the royal oven. Look at the state of Henry, smelly and overweight with the personality of a hungry shark, she may have been tempted by a handsome dancer and musician. If bloody Queen Mary saw a resemblance there may have been something to it.
Henry was a blot on British history, he was basically a serial killer. If there was a way to retrospectively strip him of his royal title, justice would be served. He should be disinterred and have his remains thrown in to the English Channel.
Henry VIII "Evil"? No. Many things but not evil. Evil is wanton is malicious, deliberate and unprovoked. These were not his motivation.
Sir Henry Norris was my 14x great grandfather.
My OTHER 14x great grandfather whose descendants married Henry Norris' descendents to make my family line was Sir Edward Seymour First Duke of Somerset. (My family was Seymour for generations, then they married a York and were York all the way to my great grandmother Armeldia)
Both beheaded by the Tudors. 😅
So... I find the fact that BOTH of my 14x great grandfathers ended up that way quite ironic.
The Breretons are from an Ancient line- they rode with William the Conqueror and built their Family home in Cheshire in the 12th Century. I am descended from them. Tudors are an Illegitimate line- I am still glad that Henry caused the break from The Catholic Church though. I think Henry had brain damage from his Tournament accident.
Also a descendant from that line, Williams brother urian or Urias however it’s spelled. I’ve seen some sites that say those breretons come from royalty. But can’t prove it. I did trace one up on one of the females lines up to owning haddon hall
Can't believe such a brutal king established a chuch that million still follow
the real truth is not that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely
Instead .....the reality is that we are all corrupt and power only reveals this fact
It is just horrible, what some poor people had to go through because of some bloody "Royalties"!
Well you know Henry VIII is rotting in hell.
He slaughtered many in the north for supposed rebellion against the reformation sackings of the monastery system . He was an utter tyrant and I don’t think the relationship between the north and south has ever recovered from that . Bloody southerner is a very apt saying for what happened then .