The May Day joust of 1st May 1536 should have been like every other May Day joust - a day of celebration, fun and joy. Instead, it became the first outward sign that something was wrong in Tudor Paradise.
Anne Boleyn sat watching the May Day jousting at Greenwich with her husband, King Henry VIII, who was sitting it out for the first time due to his accident in January. Anne was unaware of the interrogation of Mark Smeaton the day before, although she may have had an inkling that something was afoot. She may have been pre-occupied with a conversation she had with Sir Henry Norris, her husband’s Groom of the Stool; a conversation which could be misconstrued and used against her by enemies. She may also have been concerned about her husband’s interest in Jane Seymour, one of her ladies, but had no clue of the events shortly to unfold.
In his poem “De la royne d’Angleterre”, Lancelot de Carles, secretary to the French ambassador, wrote that no sign of wrong between the King and Norris was apparent during the joust. He described Norris as armed and ready to joust, but that his horse refused to run. The King stepped in and offered Norris his own horse – an act of kindness and chivalry. The Queen’s brother, George Boleyn, was also involved in the joust. He led the challengers and Norris, the defenders.
Everything changed at the end of the joust when the King suddenly abandoned his wife and rode instead to Westminster with Norris. According to George Constantine, a servant of Norris, the King interrogated Norris the entire way and offered him a pardon “in case he wolde utter the trewth.” Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, corroborated this offer of a pardon, writing that Norris said “that in his conscience he thought her innocent of these things laid to her charge; but whether she was or not, he would not accuse her of anything; and he would die a thousand times, rather than ruin an innocent person.” A courageous answer.
The Spanish Chronicle explains that Norris’s interrogation was due to Smeaton’s confession:
“The Secretary at once [after Smeaton had confessed] wrote to the King, and sent Mark’s confession to him by a nephew of his called Richard Cromwell, the letter being conceived as follows: “Your Majesty will understand that jealous of your honour, and seeing certain things passing in your palace, I determined to investigate and discover the truth. Your Majesty will recollect that Mark has hardly been in your service four months and only has £100 salary, and yet all the Court notices his splendour, and that he has spent a large sum for these jousts, all of which has aroused suspicions in the minds of certain gentleman, and I have examined Mark, who has made the confession which I enclose to your Majesty in this letter.”
The Spanish Chronicle records that the King left by boat for Westminster, while Constantine has them riding. Norris would not confess to any wrong and protested his innocence, but was taken to the Tower of London the next morning.
Taken from The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown by Claire Ridgway.
Arrests were made by the Duke of Norfolk and his men. On 4th May, thirteen people were executed, and on 7th May, John Lincoln was executed. Others were saved by the intercession of Henry VIII’s wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his sisters, Margaret and Mary, who pleaded with him to spare them, although, as Noble points out, this was probably a public relations exercise conceived by Henry or Wolsey.
Anne Boleyn sat watching the May Day jousting at Greenwich with her husband, King Henry VIII, who was sitting it out for the first time due to his accident in January. Anne was unaware of the interrogation of Mark Smeaton the day before, although she may have had an inkling that something was afoot. She may have been pre-occupied with a conversation she had with Sir Henry Norris, her husband’s Groom of the Stool; a conversation which could be misconstrued and used against her by enemies. She may also have been concerned about her husband’s interest in Jane Seymour, one of her ladies, but had no clue of the events shortly to unfold.
In his poem “De la royne d’Angleterre”, Lancelot de Carles, secretary to the French ambassador, wrote that no sign of wrong between the King and Norris was apparent during the joust. He described Norris as armed and ready to joust, but that his horse refused to run. The King stepped in and offered Norris his own horse – an act of kindness and chivalry. The Queen’s brother, George Boleyn, was also involved in the joust. He led the challengers and Norris, the defenders.
Everything changed at the end of the joust when the King suddenly abandoned his wife and rode instead to Westminster with Norris. According to George Constantine, a servant of Norris, the King interrogated Norris the entire way and offered him a pardon “in case he wolde utter the trewth.” Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, corroborated this offer of a pardon, writing that Norris said “that in his conscience he thought her innocent of these things laid to her charge; but whether she was or not, he would not accuse her of anything; and he would die a thousand times, rather than ruin an innocent person.” A courageous answer.
The Spanish Chronicle explains that Norris’s interrogation was due to Smeaton’s confession:
“The Secretary at once [after Smeaton had confessed] wrote to the King, and sent Mark’s confession to him by a nephew of his called Richard Cromwell, the letter being conceived as follows: “Your Majesty will understand that jealous of your honour, and seeing certain things passing in your palace, I determined to investigate and discover the truth. Your Majesty will recollect that Mark has hardly been in your service four months and only has £100 salary, and yet all the Court notices his splendour, and that he has spent a large sum for these jousts, all of which has aroused suspicions in the minds of certain gentleman, and I have examined Mark, who has made the confession which I enclose to your Majesty in this letter.”
The Spanish Chronicle records that the King left by boat for Westminster, while Constantine has them riding. Norris would not confess to any wrong and protested his innocence, but was taken to the Tower of London the next morning.
Taken from The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown by Claire Ridgway.
Also on this day in history
The Evil May Day Riot of 1517 – A mob of young apprentices and labourers gathered at St Paul’s and then rampaged through the streets of London, damaging property and hurting onlookers. The rioters in this Evil May Day Riot focused on damaging and looting the shops and houses of foreign traders, including the shoe shops around Leadenhall and the house of French merchant John Meautys.Arrests were made by the Duke of Norfolk and his men. On 4th May, thirteen people were executed, and on 7th May, John Lincoln was executed. Others were saved by the intercession of Henry VIII’s wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his sisters, Margaret and Mary, who pleaded with him to spare them, although, as Noble points out, this was probably a public relations exercise conceived by Henry or Wolsey.
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