THOMAS CULPEPER
Not much is known of Thomas Culpeper’s early life.
He was born in 1514, the son of a gentleman farmer, and grew up in Kent.
In 1537 Thomas became a member of King Henry VIII’s Privy Chamber.
This was an elite group of courtiers, close to the king.
He was one of the king’s favorites and described as “a beautiful youth”.
In 1539, a Thomas Culpeper was accused of r@ping a park-keeper’s wife, and murdering a villager.
However, there is a possibility that the r@pist was Culpeper’s older brother, also called Thomas.
It seems unlikely that Henry would have a murderous r@pist serve him in such a prestigious position at court, so the speculation that Thomas’ older brother was the guilty one, is plausible.
Thomas was related to two of his queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
He was a distant cousin of Anne Boleyn through her mother’s Howard side, and Catherine Howard through her father.
It was Catherine Howard, the young and beautiful fifth wife of Henry VIII, who soon caught Culpeper’s attention.
Rumors started to swirl, that the queen was being unfaithful to her husband.
Culpeper had been visiting the queen’s chamber on several occasions, late at night – aided and abetted by Catherine’s lady-in-waiting Lady Rochford, the widow of Anne Boleyn’s brother, George.
In late 1541, this information reached the ears of the king.
Culpeper himself was arrested and charged with treason.
Firstly, he denied any involvement.
The Queen was accused of having carnal relations with Culpeper at Chenies Palace in Buckinghamshire.
Testimonies were given of private meetings at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, and during the royal progress to the north of England, at Pontefract.
Under interrogation, Culpeper admitted his intent to have sexual relations with Catherine, and that she herself intended to sleep with him.
Lady Rochford, however, stated in her interrogation that she believed that Culpeper had “known the Queen carnally.”
Thomas Culpeper went to trial on 1st December 1541, and eventually pleaded guilty.
Culpeper was to be hung, drawn, quartered, and b-headed.
Presumably because of his former closeness to the King, Culpeper received a commuted sentence of a simple b-heading.
On 10th December 1541, Thomas Culpeper was exEcuted at Tyburn.
However, he was not alone.
Francis Dereham, a former lover of Queen Catherine’s was exEcuted too.
After their b-heading, their heads were displayed at London Bridge.
Thomas Culpeper’s body was buried at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate church, in London.
Queen Catherine and Lady Rochford were both exEcuted on 13th February 1542, and were buried in the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower of London.
In the Showtime TV series ‘The Tudors’, Thomas Culpeper is portrayed by Torrance Coombs.
In the series, he is characterised as a cruel, arrogant man whose interest in Catherine is purely sexual.
His relationship with her is facilitated by a pre-existing affair with Lady Rochford, something that has no historical basis.
? Torrance Coombs as Thomas Culpeper & Tamzin Merchant as Queen Catherine Howard, in ‘The Tudors’
