Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell
Portrait of Thomas Cromwell, Hans Holbein the Younger (1532–1533)
Lord Great Chamberlain
In office 17 April 1540 – 10 June 1540
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford
Succeeded by	Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex
Governor of the Isle of Wight
In office 2 November 1538 – 10 June 1540
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	Sir James Worsley
Succeeded by	Richard Worsley
Lord Privy Seal
In office 2 July 1536 – 10 June 1540
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	Thomas Boleyn
Succeeded by	William Fitzwilliam
Master of the Rolls
In office 8 October 1534 – 10 July 1536
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	John Taylor
Succeeded by	Christopher Hales
Principal Secretary
In office April 1534 – April 1540
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	Stephen Gardiner
Succeeded by	Thomas Wriothesley
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 12 April 1533 – 10 June 1540
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	John Bourchier
Succeeded by	John Baker
Personal details
Born	c. 1485 (1485) Putney, Surrey
Died	28 July 1540(1540-07-28) (aged 54–55) Tower Hill, London
Cause of death	Execution by beheading
Resting place	Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, London, United Kingdom 51°30′31″N 0°04′37″W / 51.508611°N 0.076944°W / 51.508611; -0.076944
Spouse	Elizabeth Wyckes
Children	Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell Anne Cromwell Grace Cromwell Jane Cromwell
Parent(s)	Walter Cromwell, Katherine Meverell

Thomas Cromwell (/ˈkrɒmwəl, -wɛl/;^[1][a] c. 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution.

Cromwell was one of the most powerful proponents of the English Reformation, and the creator of true English governance. He helped to engineer an annulment of the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that Henry could lawfully marry Anne Boleyn.^[3] Henry failed to obtain the approval of Pope Clement VII for the annulment in 1533, so Parliament endorsed the king's claim to be Supreme Head of the Church of England, giving him the authority to annul his own marriage. Cromwell subsequently charted an evangelical and reformist course for the Church of England from the unique posts of Vicegerent in Spirituals and Vicar-general (the two titles refer to the same position).^{[4]: 658, fn. 2}

During his rise to power, Cromwell made many enemies, including Anne Boleyn, with his fresh ideas and lack of nobility. He duly played a prominent role in her downfall.^[5] He later fell from power, after arranging the king's marriage to German princess Anne of Cleves. The marriage was a disaster for Cromwell, ending in an annulment six months later. Cromwell was arraigned under an act of attainder (32 Hen. 8. c. 62) and executed for treason and heresy on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540. The king later expressed regret at the loss of his chief minister, and his reign never recovered from the incident.

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