MARK SMEATON

MARK SMEATON

Mark Smeaton, Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and the queen’s brother George Boleyn, were all be accused of having carnal knowledge of Queen Anne Boleyn.

They would all be found guilty and exEcuted, including Anne Boleyn.

Mark Smeaton was a musician at the court of Henry VIII, in the household of Queen Anne Boleyn.

Smeaton’s exact date of birth is unknown, but it is believed he was around 23 years old when he died in 1536.

While there are few specifics about Smeaton’s life, it is thought that he was the son of a carpenter and a seamstress.

Known for his talents as a singer, Smeaton was a handsome musician and dancer.

Smeaton originally joined the choir of Cardinal Wolsey. After Wolsey’s fall from grace, Smeaton was transferred from the Cardinal’s service to Henry’s Chapel Royal, where his musical ability came to the notice of the Queen.

King Henry’s privy purse account records show regular gifts to Mark of clothing and substantial sums of money.

He was eventually appointed a groom of the privy chamber, though his only duties appear to be that of a musician.

Smeaton kept horses at court, and had servants of his own that wore his livery.
His arrogant behavior may have created a great deal of resentment from the other palace servants.

Despite his success and favour with the nobility, he was still a commoner, and none of the nobles ever let him forget it.

Smeaton’s flashy lifestyle and his arrogance were perhaps what brought him to Cromwell’s attention, and made him decide to use Smeaton as one of Anne’s accused lovers.

During her imprisonment in the Tower, Anne confessed that she came upon an unhappy Smeaton one day.
Anne says ~

“On Saturday before May Day…
I found him standing in the round window in my
chamber of presence.
I asked him why he was so sad, and he said it
was no matter.”

Smeaton’s response was very impolite.
Instead of bowing and answering her question, as was proper, he sighed and said it wasn’t important.

Perhaps he was hoping Anne would be curious or flirtatious enough to try to coax it out of him and he could draw her into a conversation.

Anne replied,
“You may not look to have me speak to you as I
should do to a nobleman, because you are an
inferior person.”

Knowing the truth of her words, Smeaton miserably replied,
“No, no, Madam.
A look sufficeth, thus fare you well.”

Fatefully, this conversation with the Queen was quickly reported to Thomas Cromwell.

It was the evidence of Anne committing treason and adultery, that Cromwell needed.

On Cromwell’s orders, Smeaton was arrested on 30th April 1536.
Cromwell took Smeaton to his house in Stepney, and is said to have tortured him with a knotted cord around his eyes.

Anne is not thought to have noticed his disappearance, neither was she informed of his arrest.

At 6 pm on 1st May, Smeaton was sent to the Tower of London.
While at the Tower, Smeaton confessed to being the Queen’s lover.

The confession did not align with the facts: Smeaton stated he was with the Queen on 13th May 1535 at Greenwich.
However, it is recorded that she was not at Greenwich on that date, but at Richmond.

Smeaton, ‘under duress’ then implicated Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and the queens brother, George Boleyn.

All but Smeaton maintained their innocence, but none of them was tortured as Smeaton was.

The dates on which Smeaton was accused of sleeping with the queen do not match up with reality.

On one occasion, she was heavily pregnant with Princess Elizabeth, and would not have risked any s3xual activity which was believed to bring on miscarriage.

On another occasion, she was in a different palace, miles away from the supposed location, in full view of a thousand people…..

After being found guilty, Smeaton was condemned to death on 17th May 1536, as were the four other men accused.
Queen Anne was also condemned to death.

Smeaton, as the lowest in rank, was the last man to die.
The scaffold must have been soaked with blood when he stepped up to the block, standing most likely in a puddle of blood, as he said his final words…..

Smeaton’s body was taken with the others back to the Tower.
The commoners were buried outside, behind the chapel of St. Peter-ad-Vincula.
The men were put into two graves, Henry Norris and William Brereton in one, and Francis Weston sharing his final resting place with Smeaton.

As a man of noble blood, George Boleyn was taken into the chapel and buried near the altar.

The character of Mark Smeaton appeared in the second season of ‘The Tudors’ and was portrayed by David Alpay.

In the series, he is depicted as having a s3xual relationship with Anne’s brother, George Boleyn.

It is believed that Smeaton being portrayed as homosexual may have been based on the theories of historian and Professor of History Retha Warnicke, who argued that Smeaton and George Boleyn had been s3xually intimate.

George Boleyn was known to have sent Mark a gift on at least one occasion.
This was a book of poetry belonging to George, and is inscribed as a gift to a ”Mark Sn.”

Some have taken this as an indication that Mark and George were having a homosexual affair, but there really is absolutely no evidence to corroborate this.

🎻 David Alpay as Mark Smeaton in ‘The Tudors’