On 12th June 1540, Thomas Cromwell, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his arrest on 10th June for treason, wrote to King Henry VIII regarding his “most miserable state”, asking for mercy and pleading his innocence.
You can read the full letter in my article from last year – click here.
Cromwell tried his hardest in his letter and it’s a hard heart that is not moved by the final words of the letter:
“Written with the quaking hand and most sorrowful heart of your most sorrowful subject, and most humble servant and prisoner, this Saturday at your [Tower] of London.”
But it was in vain. His pleas for mercy were ignored and he went to his death on 28th July 1540.
Also on this day in history
- 1530 – Catherine of Aragon told her husband Henry VIII, who was courting Anne Boleyn and trying to get his marriage to Catherine annulled, to abandon his “wicked” life.
- 1553 – Edward VI’s council commanded the judges of the King’s Bench to turn Edward’s “Devise for the succession” into a legal will. Click here for more on this.
