Thomas Boleyn, the man behind the myths

Thomas Boleyn is one of my very favourite historical personalities, but people are always confused when I say that because he’s viewed as one of history’s bad guys, a slippery character, a villain of the Tudor court, a ruthless social climber, a greedy opportunist, and, worst of all, a father who “pimped out” his daughters for power.

But how much of this is fact, and how much is fiction?

Spoiler: It’s fiction.

Today, on the anniversary of Thomas Boleyn’s death in 1539, I’m going to set the record straight for the umpteenth time!

Who was the real Thomas Boleyn? Was he a power-hungry schemer, or was he a gifted diplomat, a patron of learning, and a man whose rise had nothing to do with his daughters?

Transcript:

Today, on the anniversary of his death in 1539, let’s set the record straight about Thomas Boleyn—father of Queen Anne Boleyn, grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I, diplomat, scholar, and trusted servant of two Tudor kings. Over the centuries, he has been unfairly vilified as a ruthless social climber, a greedy schemer, and—most offensively—a man who ‘pimped out’ his daughters for power and wealth.

But is this the truth? Or have we, as we so often do with the Boleyns, fallen for myths rather than facts?

Today, let’s rediscover Thomas Boleyn—the Renaissance man, the humanist, and the gifted courtier—by looking at the real evidence.
Thomas Boleyn’s rise had nothing to do with his daughters. In fact, he was a prominent and powerful courtier long before Mary Boleyn ever caught Henry VIII’s eye. Let’s look at the facts:

• 1501: He was present at the wedding of Catherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur.
• 1503: He was chosen to escort Margaret Tudor to Scotland for her marriage to King James IV—an honour that shows how trusted he was by Henry VII.
• 1509: Thomas was knighted by Henry VIII at his coronation and appointed Keeper of the Foreign Exchange in Calais.
• 1511: He participated in grand jousts celebrating the birth of Prince Henry, later becoming a chief mourner at the child’s funeral—a sign of his high status at court.
• 1512-1513: He was sent on an important diplomatic mission to Margaret of Austria’s court, where he so impressed her that she made a personal wager on his success! This connection also allowed Thomas to secure a prestigious place for his daughter Anne at Margaret’s court.

All this before his daughters event went to the English court.

By the early 1520s, Thomas was already one of the king’s most valued courtiers, he held over 24 manors, was Treasurer of the Household, and had been entrusted with multiple key diplomatic roles.

Does this sound like a man who needed to sell his daughters for favour? The evidence simply doesn’t support the claim.

The idea that Thomas Boleyn ‘pimped out’ Mary and Anne to Henry VIII is a modern fiction, popularised by novels, films, and TV shows. But historical sources tell a very different story.

1. The King had to step in to provide for Mary Boleyn after her husband’s death. If Thomas had been using Mary to gain favour, why would he abandon her once her affair with Henry was over? It seems more likely that there’d been some distancing between Thomas and Mary, perhaps because of her previous affair with the king.
2. He actively opposed Anne’s marriage to Henry VIII. In 1533, Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial ambassador, recorded that Thomas Boleyn had tried to dissuade Henry from marrying Anne. And he also reported that Anne was furious at both her father and uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, for opposing the marriage.
3. Duke of Norfolk’s Description of Thomas Boleyn: Thomas is often portrayed as ruthless and manipulative, but the Duke of Norfolk himself described him as “very timid” and “not of a warlike disposition.” These are not the words used to describe an overbearing, scheming puppet master. If anything, they suggest Thomas was hesitant about his daughter’s rise.

Beyond court politics, Thomas Boleyn was a man of learning and a patron of the New Learning. His household was a hub of intellectual activity, and he supported some of the brightest minds of the time:

• He acted as a patron to humanist scholar Gerard Phrysius (1529-1533).
• He supported Robert Wakefield, who taught Hebrew at Cambridge.
• He was in contact with French reformers like Clément Marot.
• His godson, Thomas Tebold, described him as a patron of the ‘New Learning and New Religion’.

This was a man who valued education—not just for his sons but also for his daughters. Unlike most Tudor noblemen, Thomas ensured Anne and Mary received an excellent education, preparing them for the highly competitive courts of Europe.

Thomas Boleyn has often been condemned for ‘abandoning’ Anne and George during their arrests and executions in 1536. But what could he have done?
We have no evidence that Thomas was involved in their downfall.

He was not present at Anne or George’s trials.

After their executions, he had to move forward. The Tudor court was a dangerous place, and survival depended on adapting. He had to pick himself up and continue serving the king, as many other families had done before him.

He continued serving Henry VIII until his death in 1539, a testament to his resilience.

Thomas Boleyn was not a villain. He was not a pimp. He was not a ruthless schemer. Instead, he was a trusted diplomat who worked with European powers, a gifted courtier who navigated the treacherous world of Henry VIII’s court, and a patron of learning and reform, influencing the very intellectual movements that would define Tudor England.

It’s time to move beyond the myths and acknowledge the real Thomas Boleyn – a man who gave his children remarkable opportunities, who served his country loyally, and who deserves far more credit than history has given him.