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Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex

Thomas Cromwell
Cromwell,Thomas(1EEssex)01.jpg
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 Vacant
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 circa 1485
Putney, Surrey
Died 28 July 1540 (aged 54–55)
Tower Hill, London
Resting place 51°30′31″N 0°04′37″W / 51.508611°N 0.076944°W / 51.508611; -0.076944
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Wyckes
Children Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell
Anne
Grace
Jane
Parents Walter Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex KG PC (/ˈkrɒmwəl/ or /ˈkrɒmwɛl/;c. 1485 – 28 July 1540) was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540.

Cromwell was one of the strongest and most powerful advocates of the English Reformation. He helped to engineer an annulment of the king's marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon so that Henry could lawfully marry Anne Boleyn. Henry failed to obtain the Pope's approval for the annulment in 1534, 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.

During his rise to power, Cromwell made many enemies, including his former ally Anne Boleyn. He played a prominent role in her downfall. He later fell from power, after arranging the king's marriage to German princess Anne of Cleves. Cromwell had hoped that the marriage would breathe fresh life into the Reformation in England, but Henry found his new bride unattractive and it turned into a disaster for Cromwell, ending in an annulment six months later. Cromwell was arraigned under a bill of attainder 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.


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