The Kings Fool – Will Sommers
Henry VIII is notorious for his willingness to do away with anyone who crossed him – including two of his wives!
So you might think that, to keep your head on your shoulders at his court, you would need to have your wits about you – and to watch your tongue.
Yet, one figure who sailed effortlessly through Henry’s later years and the equally violent reigns of his successors, was Will Sommers – the court fool.
Born in Shropshire, Will Sommers came to the attention of Richard Fermor, who brought him to Greenwich in 1525, to present to King Henry VIII.
Impressed by his sense of humor, Henry promptly offered Sommers a place at court.
This was around the same time when Henry first became enamored with Anne Boleyn.
At the time, Will Sommers was a young man, in his late teens or early twenties.
He was soon in high favour with the King, whose generosity to him is attested by the accounts of the royal household.
Will Sommers and the king became extremely close. He called the king “Harry,” “Hal,” or “Uncle,” the only person permitted to do so.
Will Sommers remained in service to the King for the rest of Henry’s life.
Will Sommers seems to have acquired a reputation for kindness and generosity to the poor, however, he also had a reputation for being a bit hot-tempered – sometimes lashing out when tormented.
He also, more unusually, fell asleep at the most inopportune moments.
None of these things would have been tolerated by a normal courtier.
His misbehaviour was indulged like a naughty pet’s. There is a story that says he even slept with the king’s spaniels!
Will Somers wore mostly green, and his clothes were apparently covered in brightly coloured silk buttons – which were bought for him by the hundreds.
He wasn’t there chiefly for his witty banter, but to be looked at, laughed at and mocked.
In the King’s later years, when he was troubled by a painful leg condition, it was said that only Will Sommers could lift his spirits.
The jester was also a man of integrity and discretion. Thomas Cromwell appreciated that Sommers sometimes drew the King’s attention to extravagance and waste within the royal household, by means of a joke.
Sommers possessed a shrewd wit, which he even used on Cardinal Wolsey.
He did occasionally overstep the boundaries, however.
In 1535, the King threatened to kill Sommers with his own hand, after Sir Nicholas Carew dared Sommers to call Queen Anne Boleyn “a ribald” and the Princess Elizabeth “a b@stard”.
Despite this incident, Henry kept him close throughout his turbulent life.
After King Henry’s death, Will Sommers remained at court, eventually retiring during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Under Queen Mary I, Will Sommers role was mainly ceremonial, and as a sidekick to Mary’s personal fool, Jane Foole.
Will Sommers was reputed to be the only man who made Queen Mary laugh.
During Mary’s brief, sad reign, laughter may have been in short supply.
Will Sommers last public event was the coronation of Elizabeth I.
William Sommers death is recorded in the parish of St. Leonards, Shoreditch, on 15th June 1560.
A modern plaque in the church commemorates his burial there.
Will Sommers was such an important member of the royal court, he makes an appearance in the great family painting commissioned by Henry VIII at the Palace of Whitehall.
It was completed around 1544–45 by an unknown artist.
🤡 Family painting commissioned by Henry VIII at the Palace of Whitehall.
The figure under the far right archway is believed to be Will Sommers.