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William Brereton
Sir William Brereton of Malpas as played by James Gilbert
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| born - date unknown - executed May 17, 1536 by order of Henry VIII Character's backstory: *Although an actual historical character, the series has totally fictionalized this character. William Brereton was not a jesuit and was not commissioned by the Pope to assassinate Anne Boleyn. He also never confessed to adultery with the Queen. He was probably collateral damage when Cromwell moved against the Boleyn Faction and decided to get rid of him in the same coup. Historical backstory: William was the 7th of 9 sons and had to find his own fortune in the world rather than rely on his inheritance. William's family was prosperous landed gentry, seated in Cheshire in Northern England. His father had enjoyed substantial favor from the crown, but had little to give to his younger heirs. Like four of his brothers (four others became priests), William entered royal service and by 1524 was a groom of the king's Privy Chamber. William married in 1529 to a widow, Elizabeth Savage, who was a second cousin to Henry VIII which improved his status and his connections to the crown. As a result of his marriage, he received 36 offices in Cheshire and North Wales. After his father's death, William received the office of chamberlain of Chester thanks to his ties with the king. In 1536, William was one of the five men who were accused of adultery and conspiracy with Queen Anne. Cromwell claimed that the queen had solicited William for sex on November 16, 1533 and the act took place on the 27th. In retrospect, this is highly unlikely, since Anne was still in seclusion after having given birth to Elizabeth in September (Eric Ives). He was not a prominent courtier and was an older man in the background of the Boleyn faction. Despite the dubious nature of the claims made against him, he was arrested on May 4th during a jousting tournament in Greenwich in which William, as the story goes, picked up the token handkerchief of Queen Anne and in doing so set off the king's jealous rage. William Brereton was found guilty of high treason and beheaded at Tower Hill on May 17, 1536. Historian Eric Ives claims that the true reason William Brereton was implicated in the conspiracy is because of Cromwell's interest in Brereton's lands in Wales and Northern England. Gentility: 7th son of Sir Randle Brereton of Malpas Hall Position: By 1521 he was a groom of the King's chamber, from 1524, groom of King Henry VIII's privy chamber and Chamberlain of Chester. In reward for his work for the King, Brereton gained many grants in Cheshire and the Welsh Marches. These eventually brought him more than £10,000 a year. (a veritable fortune in Tudor times). Personality type: ambitious social climber, Using his place at court, he had secured a virtual monopoly of royal appointments in Cheshire & Wales. Signature look: Endearing trait(s): self-made man, loyal friend and servant to the King. He presented Anne Boleyn with the gift of a greyhound named Urian. Annoying trait(s): there's no telling what he'll do or who he'll betray to get ahead. Click EasyEdit to update this page! |   "Brereton farewell, as one that least I knew. Great was thy love with divers as I hear, But common voice doth not so sore thee rue As other twain that doth before appear; But yet no doubt but they friends thee lament And other hear their piteous cry and moan. So doth each heart for thee likewise relent That thou givest cause thus to be dead and gone." A verse from Thomas Wyatt's poem - a eulogy to those who were executed along with Anne Boleyn:
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UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER QUOTES
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DEFINING EPISODES | MEMORABLE SCENES
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PHOTOS
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 William Brereton stands behind Anne |  |
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 Tomb of William's parents, Sir Randel Brereton and Eleanor Dutton, in the Brereton chapel of St. Oswald's Church in Malpas |  Tower Hill where Brereton and four others were executed May 17, 1536 |
MsSquirrly |
Latest page update: made by MsSquirrly
, Sep 29 2009, 2:29 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by MsSquirrly
87 words added 87 words deleted 9 images added 10 images deleted view changes - complete history) |
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Keyword tags:
anne boleyn
charles brandon
gabrielle anwar
henry viii
James Gilbert
James Gilbert IX
jeremy northam
jonathan rhys meyers
margaret tudor
natalie dormer
sam neill
showtime the tudors
the tudors
tudors characters
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| LadyevaoftheDuttons | William Brereton | 0 | Jul 12 2009, 5:48 PM EDT by LadyevaoftheDuttons | ||
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Thread started: Jul 12 2009, 5:48 PM EDT
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Yes it is odd as William Brereton seems almost traitor-like in the series. Doesn't seem possible he was her lover but who knows. We can choose our shoes but not our family. lol.
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William Brereton
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| tudorcrazy | william Brereton | 10 | Feb 21 2009, 6:43 PM EST by Maggie-AnneB. | ||
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Thread started: May 18 2008, 10:48 PM EDT
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this is the first time I encountered any suspicion of Anne being sought by as assassin. It was interesting to note that he was implicated as Champys man on the insise, and that he reported his failure to the Pope who rather than giving him political asylum, returns him to England in this holy order of priests dedicated to the obliteration of the protestant movement., the Boleyns in particular. Is this rue.?or did the Tudors script embellish this? Also, Champys reports, that the autopsy of Catherine of Aragon's body revealed a black heart, a sign of poisoning. Is there any historical evidence of this? It seems more plausable, to a modern person, that she most likely had a very serious infection after her first pregnancy, which left her abdomin swollen, giving hope to her lst failed pregnancy. I have to think that this infection, must surely have damaged her reproductive organs, leading to her many stillborn births. It seems Princess Mary, also suffered from female related disorders, that plagued her throughout her life . Is there anyone who can shed light on this mystery, or will we never know.?
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