Wolf Hall: how real is the horrifying scene where King Henry VIII plots to execute his daughter Mary?

Wolf Hall is back for its second and final season based on the late author Hilary Mantel’s hit novel The Mirror and the Light. The story follows Thomas Cromwell in the final years of his life as he balances the terrifying tightrope of navigating Henry VIII’s court.

In season two’s opening episode, the King’s advisor has his work cut out for him after Henry VIII reaches the limit of his patience regarding his daughter Mary, who was made illegitimate and stripped of her title as Princess following the annulment of his marriage to her mother, Katherine of Aragorn. 

Despite his instructions, and being denied her return to court, Mary refuses to sign a paper claiming her father to be the head of the Church of England, leading Thomas to speculate that she had made certain promises to her late mother that she was reluctant to break, despite it placing difficult restrictions on her own life. 

Although Henry appears to advise him to execute his daughter, a decision that his council disagrees with, Thomas goes to considerable lengths to keep the peace, liaising with Mary’s closest advisor to tell her to accept her father’s terms or face dire consequences. 

Having persuaded her to let go of her principles and blindly sign a form where she signs accepting her status as illegitimate, her father’s role as the Head of the Church of England, she is reconciled with her father, meeting his wife Jane Seymour for the first time. However, was Mary ever close to the chopping block?

© Nick Briggs

While it was rumoured that Henry had threatened to kill Mary should she not obey his new laws and sign a document declaring her parents’ marriage to be unlawful and accepting him as the head a new church, despite her strong Catholic faith, there is no real evidence that Henry was ever planning to truly execute Mary – particularly as such a decision would have had terrible repercussions with his own popularity. 

Jane Seymour was integral to reconciling Henry with Mary, who eventually resumed her place at court, and resided at the Palace of Beaulieu, Richmond and Hunsdon and Hatfield House – and also resided at Henry’s homes in Hampton Court, Westminster and Greenwich. Mary was eventually added to the line of succession once more behind her younger brother, Prince Edward. 

Did Thomas love Lady Mary? 

While it is clear that Thomas served as a liaison between Mary and the King, and may have persuaded her to sign the document, these Wolf Hall scenes of Thomas with Mary also lay the foundation for one of the treason charges levied against Cromwell – that he planned to wed himself to the Lady Mary. There was no evidence suggesting that this was actually true, and historians have claimed that the rumours were fabricated and exaggerated by Cromwell’s enemies at court. 

© Nick Briggs