2nd of May 1536: Arrest of the Queen

2nd of May 1536: Arrest of the Queen

At the Greenwich Mayday jousts, the king, with only six in his retinue, including Henry Norris, suddenly departed for Westminster. Queen Anne, out of favour with the king since her miscarriage, was subsequently arrested on 2 May and brought from Greenwich to the Tower of London at five o’clock in the evening.

The cannon thundered as she entered in at the court gate. Falling on her knees before the Duke of Norfolk and William Kingston, Constable of the Tower, she swore that she was not guilty of ‘her accusement before they led her to the lodgings she not long ago used during her coronation. She requested the sacrament in the closet by her chamber, saying to Kingston, I am as clear from the company of man as for sin, as I am clear from you. She said her mother would die for sorrow and asked after her brother. Kingston did not reveal to her that George had been arrested earlier in the day.

Mr Henry Norris was also in the Tower, interrogated by the king on the journey to Westminster as to whether the queen had committed adultery with him. He affirmed his and her innocence.

William Brereton and Sir Francis Weston, both of the king’s privy chamber, and one Mark Smeaton, a musician, were also arrested and committed to the Tower.
Later that night, the queen asked Sir William whether she would die without justice. He told her, ‘The poorest subject the King has had justice?

At that she laughed.