Art of man behind Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall unveiled at her childhood home

A portrait of the “mastermind” behind the rise of Anne Boleyn to the English throne, and her downfall three years later, is set to be unveiled at the former queen’s childhood home.

A portrait of King Henry VIII’s top minister, Thomas Cromwell, the protagonist in the award-winning novel by Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, is being showcased at Hever Castle as the second series of the BBC adaptation airs on Sunday.

The 16th century portrait joins a collection about the Tudor dynasty and the Reformation in the Kent castle’s long gallery.

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The castle’s assistant curator, Owen Emmerson, who was a historical consultant for the latest BBC drama, Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light, said: “When I first saw this painting listed at auction back in 2020, I thought twice about suggesting the purchase, for fear of what Anne Boleyn would have thought of us hanging a portrait of the man who orchestrated her downfall in her home.

“However, I remembered that before Anne’s downfall, she had threatened Cromwell with his life, telling him that she wanted his head off his shoulders, and I then reasoned that, since the portrait only shows his head, we were, in a way, fulfilling her wishes.”

Dr Emmerson added; “It is also true to say that Cromwell didn’t only break the Boleyns’ fortunes, he very much made them, and was integral to their story too.”

The painting was bought by Hever Castle in 2020 and underwent restoration. It had been in the Duke of Manchester’s collection for centuries.

It once hung at Kimbolton Castle, in Cambridgeshire, which was the final home of King Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, where she was banished and where she died in 1536.