On Sunday 7th May 1536, William Latymer, one of Queen Anne Boleyn’s chaplain, was stopped and searched on his arrival at Sandwich in Kent. He was on his way home from a business visit to Flanders, a visit he had undertaken on behalf of the Queen.
A letter from the Mayor and Jurates of Sandwich to Henry VIII recorded that a list of Latymer’s books were made and also a list of books that were “in is mail” and on their way to London. Things might have been bad for Latymer if the books had been deemed heretical, but he was not arrested and was escorted to London to see the King.
Of course, bad news was waiting for Latymer in London; his mistress was in the Tower.
Notes and Sources
- LP x. 827
