\u201cThomas actually had a really great relationship with Wolsey,\u201d Dr Owen Emmerson told us in an episode of the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a>. \u201cIn fact, Thomas owed a huge amount of his success at court to Wolsey\u2019s trust in him. It was really through Wolsey\u2019s patronage that the Boleyns<\/a> rose in society, and Thomas was one of Wolsey\u2019s right-hand men. He was employed on important missions through Wolsey, and on behalf of the king [Henry VIII<\/a>].\u201d<\/p>\n However, the friendship between the two families started to fracture as Anne Boleyn\u2019s star began to rise.<\/p>\n Unlike her father, Anne Boleyn viewed the cardinal in positively frosty terms \u2013 and it all stemmed from one event that she never got over.<\/p>\n Wolsey had broken off a potential match between Anne and Henry Percy, who was the future Duke of Northumberland, explains Emmerson. \u201cAnd Anne held a massive grudge about it. She was renowned for doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n When Anne later became one of Henry\u2019s favourites and started to dominate at court, it was a huge learning curve for Wolsey.<\/p>\n \u201cAnne established herself very quickly as the second ear, almost, that Wolsey needed to please,\u201d says Emmerson. \u201cAnd I think that must have been a really humbling experience for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Historian Owen Emmerson examines what it is about the Boleyn family, who rose from obscurity to the pinnacles of influence in Henry VIII\u2019s court, that continues to enchant us to this day<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> To make matters worse, Wolsey was struggling to accomplish the task that Henry had set for him: securing an annulment of his marriage to his first wife and queen, Catherine of Aragon<\/a>, so he would be free to take Anne as his bride. The king\u2019s right-hand man had never failed the king before \u2013 but this task seemed \u201calmost impossible\u201d.<\/p>\n Of course, it wasn\u2019t only Henry who was eager for the annulment to take place: Anne was monitoring Wolsey\u2019s efforts with great interest. With the king\u2019s favour behind her, she was happy to push Wolsey even harder to convince the papal legate that Henry\u2019s marriage should be dissolved.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a particularly cordial \u2013 perhaps too cordial \u2013 letter from 1528 that survives from Anne to Wolsey, and it tells us a huge amount,\u201d says Emmerson. \u201cIn it, she\u2019s essentially asking for an update on the progress with the annulment, and at the bottom of the page is something quite remarkable.<\/p>\n \u201cAnne made Henry \u2013 who famously was not at all fond of writing letters \u2013 write a postscript at the end. Henry actually wrote that Anne would not cease until he did so.\u201d<\/p>\n By forcing Henry to add his own message to her letter, Anne was showing her trump card: she had the king\u2019s unswerving support.]<\/p>\nWhy did Anne Boleyn have a grudge against Cardinal Wolsey?<\/h3>\n
Why do the Boleyns continue to fascinate us?<\/a><\/h4>\n
![\""A\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-973901048-24a360e-e1646299076150.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Anne\\"")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Did Anne Boleyn bring down Cardinal Wolsey?<\/h3>\n