Thomas Cromwell has traditionally been cast as one of history’s greatest villains, even greater than his boss King Henry VIII. But Cromwell is the genius who orchestrated the political, religious and physical landscape of England more radically than anyone before or since. A man whose stratospheric rise from working class boy from Putney to Henry VIII’s closest friend and Chief Minister defies belief.
On the face of it, Cromwell’s innate intelligence and extraordinary ambition meant he would stop at nothing in pursuing his goals, even if it meant driving a wedge between England and much of Europe. However, Henry's Henchman: The Spectacular Rise and Ultimate Fall of Thomas Cromwell goes far beyond the traditional characterisation and tells a complex yet fascinating story.
Cromwell was a workaholic, a brilliant negotiator, driven by absolute conviction, mostly formed by his experiences before he arrived at the Tudor Court. Not afraid to speak his mind, Cromwell personally broke down aristocratic class boundaries, understood the abuse of power and wealth by the Vatican - consequently separating Church from State - and navigated the increasingly irascible, intolerant and tyrannical King Henry VIII. He was the man who nearly survived Henry until fate intervened with a series of catastrophes even Henry’s fury he was executed with a blunt axe. It Cromwell couldn’t control. Such was took three swings to cut off his head.
Through a mix of dramatic reconstruction and expert testimony Henry's Henchman: The Spectacular Rise and Ultimate Fall of Thomas Cromwell explores the story of Cromwell by chronicling his life from when he started working for Cardinal Wolsey, through to his execution on the very day Henry married his doomed young wife Catherine Howard. We will see how Cromwell was single minded, yet shaped by the influential figures with whom he crossed paths - Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves. We will use a series of drama flashbacks across each episode, tracing the origins of his character, streetwise sensibility, and prodigious intelligence. We return to the epic journey he made across Europe that would equip him with the legal and negotiating brilliance required for his meteoric rise to the top.
Cromwell shaped his country of birth perhaps more than anyone who came before or after him and in doing so forged a future for a new Europe and a New World, indelibly cast in his own vision.