Wolf Hall season two came to a stunning conclusion on Sunday night, which saw the death of King Henry VIII’s right-hand man Thomas Cromwell after being denied a trial and found guilty of heresy and treason. In reality, it is widely known that the King came to bitterly regret executing his most intelligent adviser – but what really happened to Britain after Cromwell met the chopping block?
In the show, Thomas (played by Mark Rylance) hints at the future of the country after he is killed, telling his interviewers that everyone will suffer as a result of his “sacrifice”.
Speaking to the Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner, Thomas Wriothesley and Richard Riche – with the former two in particular being instrumental in Cromwell’s downfall – he revealed his predictions for England.
What will you do without me? You will read the lines as written but you will never read between them. The French ambassador will make fools of you, and Chapuys too if he returns. Within a year the King will be fighting the Scots and the French or likely both, and he’ll likely be bankrupt.
And none of you, none of you can manage matters like I can. The King will quarrel with you, all of you. You’ll quarrel with each other. In a year’s time, if you sacrifice me, you’ll have neither honest coin nor honest minister. But when the hour strikes and the bell rings, you’ve had the best of it, haven’t you? What’s left is like a sucked plum stone on the side of a plate.
So did Cromwell’s predictions actually happen? In short, yes. Henry allied with Emperor Charles V after the alliance between France and the Holy Roman Empire failed, with Britain joining the Italian War and planning an invasion of France.
He also went on to fight the Scots to remove the threat of his nephew, James V. After James died, Henry attempted to make an alliance by betrothing his son Prince Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots. However, the marriage agreement was rejected by the Scottish parliament, sparking an eight-year war between England and Scotland.
Henry then invaded France in 1544, securing Boulogne in an otherwise highly unsuccessful campaign which left France and England financially ruined, with the fighting costing £650,000, and leaving England facing bankruptcy as a result.
His marriage to Catherine Howard, the Duke of Norfolk’s niece, was also ultimately a huge failure. It was quickly uncovered that Catherine had sexual relationships before marrying the King which she had failed to disclose, and she was discovered to be having an affair with one of the King’s favourite courtiers, Thomas Culpeper. She became the second of his wives to be beheaded.
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