Henry VIII throughout his reign as the King of England is known for being a notorious
and brutal monarch who ordered the executions of some of his closest friends.
He would send Thomas Cromwell and Sir Thomas More to the executioner’s scaffold on Tower
Hill where they were both beheaded by axe.
But near to Tower Hill is the Tower of London where two of Henry’s wives would go to their
deaths within the walls of the iconic and formidable fortress.
The Tower got its reputation for brutality during the Tudor Period, but especially for
Anne Boleyn’s date with the execution.
Anne was Henry’s second wife who changed the face of English history.
So that Anne would take to the Kings bed, Henry would plunge England into religious
turmoil, breaking from Rome and claiming that he was the Supreme Head of the Church of England,
which offended a great number of people.
But Anne Boleyn’s execution is one of the most harrowing and shocking of the Tudor Period,
if not English history, but the testimony of a woman who has been forgotten about in
History condemned her to death.
But what is the story of the mistress of Henry VIII that sent Anne Boleyn to her execution?
Elizabeth Somerset was born Elizabeth Browne around 1502, and she lived in Bechworth in
Surrey.
Her father was Sir Anthony Browne, who during the reign of Henry VII was the Standard Bearer
of England.
He was also the governor of Queenborough Castle and the Constable of Calais, and all of these
positions were key roles in England and the royal court.
He was also seen as a trusted courtier during the reign of Henry VIII, and his wife Lady
Lucy Neville was also important.
Elizabeth’s half brother was also Sir William FitzWilliam, the 1st Earl of Southampton who
became the treasurer of the household, a role which was important in which he would be in
control of the royal finances at court.
With this, it shows that the Browne family were very well connected at court and were
close to the monarchy.
Interestingly her half brother would become a key player in the downfall of Anne Boleyn
also, and he was very active in the inquiry against the 2nd wife of Henry VIII and Queen,
that saw her accused of treason, incest and adultery.
Around 1508, Elizabeth’s sister Anne married Sir Charles Brandon who later became the Duke
of Suffolk, and with this Elizabeth was the aunt of Lady Anne Brandon, and her younger
sister Lady Mary Brandon.
But before 1527, Elizabeth married Henry Somerset, the 2nd Earl of Worcester and then became
the Countess of Worcester on the 15th April 1526.
Henry’s first wife Lady Margaret had died without any children, but her husband was
a very wealthy and prominent land owner and earl.
This of course brought Elizabeth to the royal court, and during the reign of Henry VIII
she was there much of the time with her husband.
Elizabeth though would serve as one of Anne Boleyn’s ladies of her privy chamber.
This was ane of the most exclusive roles at court as Elizabeth would be able to tend to
the Queen’s closest needs, and she would get one on one access with her at times.
Elizabeth Somerset was close to Anne Boleyn and they would confide in each other, and
following Anne’s coronation a huge feast was held.
To solidify her status as well thought of, Elizabeth Somerset stood to the direct left
and next to the Queen, and as her lady in waiting, Elizabeth’s duties during this
huge occasion was to hold a fine cloth in front of the Queen’s facer when she wanted
to spy out dinner and she would wipe her face.
Throughout her time as Queen of England, Elizabeth spent much of her time by Anne’s side, and
because of how close she was to the Queen it’s likely also that Elizabeth knew about
the secrets of her and Henry VIII’s marriage.
Elizabeth would probably talk about the King and Queen’s bedroom antics with the Queen,
and because of this she was privy to very important information.
However what is also interesting is that there were rumours that Elizabeth Somerset the Countess
of Worcester despite being close to Anne Boleyn was a royal mistress who slept with Henry
VIII.
Henry did have a number of mistresses including Mary Boleyn, the sister of his future second
wife and it was claimed that he had many illegitimate children with these women.
One Henry Fitzroy would be almost treated like the heir to the throne, before his premature
death.
But the King’s lust for women especially the ladies in waiting of his wives led him
to have a disastrous love life, but sleeping with the King was encouraged by many husbands
of women at court.
Some husbands were happy if the King took a shine to their wives, as they would then
believe they would get reward and favour from Henry VIII through their wives sleeping with
the King.
As mentioned there was allegations that Elizabeth did sleep with the King, either before or
during his marriage to Anne, but this would have definitely interfered with their relationship.
However to show how close she was to Anne, Elizabeth secretly borrowed £100 from the
Queen, and this was never repaid even when Anne was imprisoned inside of the Tower of
London.
There was also record of another payment made on the 4th February 1530 by the King’s personal
funds for a midwife for the countess of Worcester, and this was probably arranged by Anne Boleyn.
However, because the pair were very close, this also meant that when Anne Boleyn fell
from grace, there was danger that Elizabeth Somerset could fall with her.
But this isn’t what happened, and instead, it’s believed that Elizabeth Somerset to
possibly save her own skin turned against Anne the Queen, and her close friend.
It has been said that as Anne’s lady in waiting and close confidant, that ‘she would
have been aware of any misdemeanour of affair, and might have been complicit with other adulterous
acts,’ when Anne was accused of this.
Later Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard would also be executed, but killed
with her was Jane Boleyn who suffered the swing of the executioner’s axe also, but
she was complicit in the affairs Catherine was having.
It’s possible Elizabeth feared that any such accusation against Anne regarding cheating
could come back to cause problems with her.
But in 1536, Elizabeth Somerset then testified to Cromwell against Anne Boleyn.
Cromwell had been tasked with getting Henry VIII out of the marriage to Anne, and he spun
a web of lies and deceit but tried to gather any evidence he could to send Anne Boleyn
to the executioner’s block.
Elizabeth Somerset gave Cromwell what he needed, and she said that Anne Boleyn had engaged
in numerous adulterous affairs and acts with a handful of men including Mark Smeaton, Henry
Norris a prominent courtier and also her own brother George Boleyn.
The accusations against Anne highlighted that one of the King’s privy councillors and
her sister as in Elizabeth, had observed the adulterous affairs.
Elizabeth’s brother as mentioned spoke out against Anne, and she encouraged him to look
and interrogate Mark Smeaton and the Queens own brother.
It was said Elizabeth said, ‘I must not forget to tell you what seems to me to be
the worst thing, which is often her brother has carnal knowledge of her in bed,’ meaning
Elizabeth accused Anne Boleyn of incest with George her brother.
These accusations made by Elizabeth Somerset, led to Anne Boleyn’s downfall and this was
exactly what Thomas Cromwell wanted and needed.
He had the evidence to charge Anne of the crimes that would result in her death.
It’s considered today that these charges and accusations are false, and that Anne was
the victim of lies but what is strange is that Elizabeth was considered the all knowing
lady in waiting that turned against her.
It’s possible she had been manipulated by her brother, or by testifying against her
former mistress that she was promised further advancement and wealth by Cromwell.
The once close friends were no more, and there were other accusers but Elizabeth was considered
as ‘the first ground,’ and the most important one when charges were raised against Anne.
During the downfall of Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was pregnant with another child, and the Queen
even became concerned about the fate of this child whilst she was imprisoned in the Tower
of London.
It’s likely she did not know Elizabeth spoke against her, but she it was said ‘much lamented
my lady or Worcester, because that her child did not stir in her body,’ but that year
Elizabeth would give birth to a daughter who was named Anne in honour of Anne Boleyn, who
remained in prison before she was brought to the executioner’s scaffold on Tower Green.
However in 1565 Elizabeth Somerset died.
She would live to see the daughter of Anne Boleyn Elizabeth I reign over the country,
and it’s not known if she had a relationship with the Queen in any regard.
She was buried in Chepstow in Monmouthshire in Wales, and she left behind four sons and
four daughters on record, but it is believed that she had two more children meaning she
in total had 10 children.
Her first born daughter Anne would go on to marry Thomas Percy the 7th Earl of Northumberland,
and her first son would become the 3rd Earl of Worcester.
However Elizabeth Somerset the Countess of Worcester for some reason turned against her
close friend Anne Boleyn.
She may have done this to protect herself from any accusation of danger, and she may
have also done this as she was persuaded to do so by her brother who was very vocal against
her.
It’s not known her motives behind this, but she’s also considered to have been one
of Henry VIII’s mistresses, and a woman who slept with the infamous six wifed King
of England.
But today Elizabeth Somerset is an interesting figure, who’s testimony and evidence led
to one of the most infamous executions in English History, with a Queen of England and
a wife of Henry VIII losing her head to a French swordsman inside the Tower of London.
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