No, no, not for me but for poor old Thomas Cromwell! What a stupid, fat, oaf Henry VIII was. He had the shrewdest 'first minister' any half sensible king would have prayed for. A man who kept the nation's finances in excellent order, who avoided wars and who began our escape from the Papal grip without starting a civil war. And then, because Henry couldn't get a 'hard on' for Anne of Cleves, in effect, he blamed Cromwell for the 'marriage' and chopped his head off! Yes, yes, I know it was a bit more nuanced than that but that was the essence of it. This poor, old, battered nation of ours has suffered over the years from malignant enemies but our leaders have often proved to be the worst danger!
The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell by John Schofield
Thomas Cromwell's problem was that his brain was in his head. The king's brain was elsewhere......
Posted by: backofanenvelope | Tuesday, 18 June 2019 at 11:38
Cromwell put off a proper civil war for a century. Not too bad for an event that had to happen.
Posted by: Whitewall | Tuesday, 18 June 2019 at 12:44
BofE & Whitewall. It is sad that intelligent people are done away with. Cromwell was a Protestant Reformer and British regimes tend to forget about such people less they offend reformed people who did not want their ancestors reformed. We would be selling Jesus Nails today without the Reformers.
Posted by: Glesga | Tuesday, 18 June 2019 at 23:54
"What a stupid, fat, oaf Henry VIII was."
My! He always spoke well of you, Duffers...
Posted by: Malcolm Pollack | Thursday, 20 June 2019 at 21:59