Sir Henry Norris: Another Victim of a Plot to Remove Anne Boleyn

Very little is known about Sir Henry Norris’ earlier years. In fact, his father’s name is disputed by historians, with some saying it was Richard and others claiming it was Edward Norris. Using some deduction, it is unlikely that Richard Norris was Henry’s father. When Richard died in 1522, his daughter, Anne, inherited the estate. Since this was before the trial, had Henry been Richard’s son, it would have definitely been passed onto him.

It is likely that Edward Norris was Henry’s father, which determines that Sir William Norris was Henry’s grandfather. William died in 1487 at the Battle of Stoke Field.

Despite his ending, Henry had a great start in Court. He attended when he was very young and soon became the Gentleman of the Bedchamber. By 1515, he gained his first of office in Winkfield and was the bailiff of Ewelme by 1519. He continued to rise in power up to being made the Groom of the Stool in 1526. This would have instantly made him close to Henry VIII – as a friend and confidant. His close relationship makes it surprising that Henry Norris would be implicated in such a plot. Thomas Cromwell was risking a lot based on so little evidence.

At first, Henry was not close to the Boleyn faction and risked their wrath by offering his rooms for Cardinal Wolsey to stay in. As the Boleyns rose in power, Cardinal Wolsey lost favour with the King, which led to the removal of all the accommodation he owned. Henry was concerned for the health and well-being of Wolsey, which shows just how much of a caring man he was.

After the death of Wolsey, Henry did become close to the Boleyn family. This wasn’t just for more power. Historians believe that Henry genuinely liked Anne and George Boleyn. It was Henry’s influence that helped Anne Boleyn gain the political power that she had in her hay-day. This caused some problems with Thomas Cromwell, who wanted the political power that Anne was gaining. It is possible that Cromwell was so jealous of Henry Norris helping the Queen that he saw fit to have him removed too.

Henry was such good friends with the King of England that he was one of the few witnesses at the secret marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

By the May Day joust, the first of the five men – Mark Smeaton – had been arrested. It is unclear about Henry VIII’s part in the plot but it is possible that he knew nothing about Henry Norris’ “guilt”. When Henry Norris’ horse become uncontrollable at the jousts, Henry VIII offered his own. There is a comment from Nicholas Sanders about how Anne dropped a handkerchief that Henry Norris retrieved. However, no other chronicler has written about this “event” and it is possible that it was another fabricated tale to help Cromwell.

At some point during the day, Henry VIII received a message, possibly about Mark Smeaton’s “confession” and that Henry Norris was also guilty. On the way back, Constantine reports that Henry VIII was willing to offer a pardon to his friend as long as he told the truth. However, there is no detail about the accusations during that time. Whatever they were, Henry refused to admit to anything. It’s probably not the fact that Henry didn’t just the King but that he was genuinely innocent of the crimes he was being accused.

Henry Norris did not have the fair trial that we have come to know of today. Since he was accused to treason, he would not have had a defence. He had no idea of the evidence against him and would have had no time to prepare. Henry would have had to find evidence to support his own claim that he was not guilty.

On top of that, the jury were all men who had a reason to find him guilty. Some of the men, like Thomas Cromwell, disliked Anne Boleyn and her faction while others owed money or wanted back in favour with the King.

Sir Henry Norris was found guilty and condemned to death. Henry VIII agreed to the execution of beheading by axe – not being hanged, drawn and quartered. He was executed on May 17, 1536 and said very little. As all the men on the day, he did not deny that he was guilty but he didn’t admit to the crimes either. It may have been that he was worried about a harsher execution at the last minute but it was also the norm in 16^th century executions – the people being executed would admit to being sinners during their lifetime but not necessarily of committing the crime.

Henry’s body was buried in an unmarked grave but his head was taken by his family – a family that must have believed he was innocent. His head was buried by his family at a private chapel.