Thomas Cromwell was an English barrister and statesman who served as Henry VIII’s chief adviser from 1532 to 1540. Thomas was a brilliant man with a logical and rational mind who rose to become one of his era’s most powerful political figures. He wielded immense power in the English court as the king’s chief adviser and is acknowledged as being a key figure in the English Reformation. Thomas grew up to be a lawyer and a successful merchant, having been born into the family of a blacksmith and a businessman. He was intelligent, rational, and cunning, and he had political ambitions, which he pursued when he was appointed as Cardinal Wolsey’s secretary. He became Wolsey’s most trusted employee due to his dedication and ability, but he had to remove himself from him after Wolsey’s fall from grace. He went on to become King Henry VIII’s trusted adviser. He assisted the king in having his marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon annulled so that he may marry his lover. Cromwell had many opponents, despite his popularity with the king, and was eventually caught for treason and executed at the behest of his foes.
Childhood and Adolescence
In 1485, Thomas Cromwell was born in Putney, London, to Walter and Katherine Cromwell. He was the younger of two sisters.
His father worked as a blacksmith, fuller, and fabric merchant, and was a jack of all trades. He was also a known alcoholic who owned and operated a brewery.
Several aspects of his early years are unknown.
The Career of Thomas
He set out to travel and seek his fortune as a young man. He is thought to have traveled extensively around Europe, residing in France, Italy, and the Low Countries. He claimed to have become a mercenary and marched to Italy with the French army in 1503 to fight in the battle of Garigliano.
These allegations, however, were not validated.
He claimed to have worked as an Italian banker, a Dutch clerk, and a London barrister.
Thomas Cromwell became a member of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s household in the mid-1510s. He won over the elder guy with his hard work, dedication, and intelligence, and he became one of his most trusted employees. He was a member of Wolsey’s council by 1526, and his secretary a few years later.
Cromwell assisted Wolsey in the dissolution of approximately 30 monasteries in order to collect cash for the establishment of The King’s School, Ipswich (1528), and Cardinal College, Oxford (1529). (1529). Cromwell had become one of Wolsey’s most trusted counselors by this time.
Wolsey was the king’s primary counsel and had a lot of success in that role. The king requested Wolsey’s help in annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Wolsey, on the other hand, was unable to secure an annulment of King Henry’s marriage, and as a result, he fell out of favor with the king and lost his government titles.
Cromwell, ever the cunning politician, distanced himself from the discredited Wolsey and, by 1531, had seized control of the king’s legal and parliamentary affairs. Thomas Audley aided him greatly in his job.
Thomas Cromwell devised a cunning plot to guarantee the king’s marriage was annulled. The Parliament accepted the king’s claim to be head of the breakaway Church of England after the pope refused to approve the request for the annulment of the royal marriage. This gave the king the authority to cancel his own marriage. He then married Anne Boleyn, his mistress.
The king was so pleased with Thomas Cromwell’s efforts that he made him one of his most trusted aides. Cromwell was appointed as the king’s primary secretary and chief minister in 1534.
Anne Boleyn, the king’s wife, was never popular with the common people, and the monarch was unhappy with her for failing to bear him a male heir. In addition, he was in love with another woman. The king married Jane Seymour after Anne was executed.
In 1537, Jane Seymour died. The monarch should marry Anne, the sister of Duke Wilhelm of Cleves, according to Thomas Cromwell. Although the king was not completely convinced, he accepted the proposal and married Anne in January 1540.
The marriage of King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves was doomed from the start, and the king became enraged at Cromwell for persuading him to enter into such an unnecessary relationship.
Cromwell had established a number of enemies in the court by this time, and they took advantage of the opportunity to turn the king against his most trusted minister. Cromwell was then arrested by the king.
Thomas’s Major Projects
Thomas Cromwell, as chief minister to King Henry VIII of England, was one of the most ardent supporters of the English Reformation. He was instrumental in assisting the king in obtaining the necessary authorization to annul his own marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon, after which he married his mistress.
Personal History and Legacy
In 1515, he married Elizabeth Wyckes, the daughter of Henry Wykes, a Putney shearman, and the widow of Thomas Williams, a Yeoman of the Guard. They had three children together. Unfortunately, in 1528, an epidemic killed his wife and two of their children.
Jane, Cromwell’s illegitimate daughter, was also an important figure in his life.
He had made a number of enemies during his political career. Following the failure of the king’s scheduled sad marriage to Anne of Cleves, the king’s opponents rallied against him. On July 28, 1540, Thomas Cromwell was captured, imprisoned, and sentenced to death without trial before being beheaded on Tower Hill.
Estimated Net worth
Thomas is one of the wealthiest and most well-known judges. Thomas Cromwell’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.