Everything about Thomas Wyatt The Younger totally explained
Thomas Wyatt the younger (
1521 –
11 April,
1554) was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen
Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "
Wyatt's rebellion".
Birth and career
He was born at
Allington Castle, the only son of Sir
Thomas Wyatt, the famous poet, and
Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of
Thomas Brooke, 3rd Lord Cobham. His father was a well-known poet, courtier and ambassador, who had famously been in love with
Henry VIII's second wife,
Anne Boleyn, before Henry became attracted to her. He later pursued another of Henry VIII's lovers,
Mary Shelton. His mother was involved in similar scandals, and his parents separated because of her open adultery. She was a very attractive woman, who in February 1542 attracted the attention of Henry VIII, whose fifth wife was then in the Tower awaiting execution. The Imperial ambassador,
Eustace Chapuys, reported that she could possibly end up as wife number six, despite still being married to Wyatt.
The
Duke of Norfolk was his
godfather. At the age of fifteen he became a squire at the court of King
Henry VIII, and Joint Constable of
Conisborough Castle. In the same year, his father was imprisoned after a feud with the king's brother-in-law,
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, on the false charge of adultery with Queen Anne. The Queen was beheaded, but the elder Wyatt was released, He was imprisoned again in
1541 and only released after the intervention of Queen
Catherine Howard. Thomas himself married Jane Hawte, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Hawte of
Bishopsbourne, by whom he'd several children. He is also known to have had an illegitimate son, whose mother Elizabeth was a daughter of Sir Edward Darrell of Littlecote.
He was brought up a
Roman Catholic. However, it's said that while accompanying his father on a mission to
Spain, he witnessed the activities of the
Spanish Inquisition, and this turned him into an enemy of the
Spaniards. On his father's death in
1542, he inherited Allington Castle and
Boxley Abbey.
He was of a wild disposition, and became a boon companion of the
Earl of Surrey (the Duke of Norfolk's son). In
1543, they were arrested for breaking windows in London while drunk. He was tried before the Privy Council and imprisoned in the
Tower of London.
England was then at war with
France in allliance with Emperor
Charles V. On his release, Wyatt joined the English troops fighting for Charles in
Flanders, obtaining valuable military experience. In
1543 he took part in the siege of
Landrecies, and in the following year was at the
siege of Boulogne. He was commended for his service, and was
knighted in
1547. He remained abroad until
1550.
Wyatt's Rebellion
Returning to Allington, he lived quietly until the death of
Edward VI in
1553, when he joined the
Duke of Northumberland's abortive attempt to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne in place of
Mary I.
Wyatt escaped punishment by Queen
Mary. He took no further part in politics until Mary's bethrothal to
Philip of Spain. In
1554 he joined a conspiracy to prevent the marriage. A general movement was planned; but his fellow-conspirators were timid and inept. The rising was serious only in
Kent, and Wyatt became a formidable rebel mostly by accident.
Wyatt proclaimed his rebellion on
26 January in
Rochester. Many of the country folk responded. The royal forces sent against him deserted or joined him, including part of the London
trainbands under the Duke of Norfolk (his godfather).
With 4,000 men Wyatt marched on London, but was turned back at
London Bridge and
Ludgate. His men deserted and he surrendered.
He was brought to trial on
15 March, and could make no defence. Execution was for a time delayed, no doubt in the hope that in order to save his life he'd say enough to compromise the queen's sister Elizabeth, afterwards
Queen Elizabeth, in whose interests the rising was supposed to have been made. But he wouldn't confess enough to render her liable to a trial for
treason. It was only through Elizabeth's dignity and composure that she managed to escape from the scandal unharmed, although she was spied upon and placed under house arrest for the rest of her sister's reign.
He was executed on
11 April, and on the scaffold expressly cleared the princess of all complicity in the rising. After he was beheaded, his body was quartered.
His estates were afterwards partly restored to his son, George. George's son, Sir
Francis Wyatt (d.
1644), was governor of
Virginia in 1621–26 and 1639–42. A fragment of the castle of Allington is still inhabited as a farm-house, near
Maidstone, on the bank of the
Medway.
See
James Anthony Froude,
History of England.
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