Thomas Boleyn

Thomas Boleyn was born in Norfolk in 1477. He worked as a diplomat for Henry VII and Henry VIII. His eldest daughter, Mary Boleyn, became Henry's VIII's mistress and he was rewarded with the title of Viscount Rochford in 1525. His other daughter Anne Boleyn also became involved with the king and in 1529 received the titles of Earl of Wiltshire and the Earl of Ormond.

In January 1533 Henry VIII discovered that Anne Boleyn was pregnant. As it was important that the child should not be classed as illegitimate, arrangements were made for Henry and Anne to get married. King Charles V of Spain threatened to invade England if the marriage took place, but Henry ignored his threats and the marriage went ahead.

It was very important to Henry that his wife should give birth to a male child. Without a son to take over from him when he died, Henry feared that the Tudor family would lose control of England. Catherine of Aragon had given birth to six children but five died within a few weeks of being born. Only one child, Mary, survived into adulthood.

Henry hoped that Anne would provide him with a son. He was therefore disappointed when, in September 1533, Anne gave birth to a daughter called Elizabeth. While Henry was furious about having another daughter, the supporters of Catherine were delighted and claimed that it proved God was punishing Henry for his illegal marriage to Anne.

In March 1534 the Pope eventually made his decision. He announced that Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn was invalid. Henry reacted by declaring that the Pope no longer had authority in England. In November 1534, Parliament passed an act that stated that Henry VIII was now the Head of the Church of England.

In January 1536, Anne had a son but unfortunately he was born dead. What is more, the baby was badly deformed. This was a serious matter because in Tudor times Christians believed that a deformed child was God's way of punishing parents for committing serious sins. Henry feared that people might think that the Pope was right when he claimed that God was angry because Henry had divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn.

Henry's solution to this problem was to claim that he was not the father of this deformed child. Soon afterwards, five men, including Anne's brother, were accused of committing adultery with the queen. Catherine of Aragon and the five men were found guilty and executed.

Boleyn's political career now came to an end. However, he was able to retain his titles, wealth and property as Anne had praised Henry VIII before being executed.

Thomas Boleyn died in 1539.