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The BRUTAL execution of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury | people killed by Henry VIII

History Calling

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HACKED TO DEATH by an incompetent axeman, this is the story of the brutal execution of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury who supposedly required 11 blows of the axe to finish her off.

The daughter of George, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville, Margaret was one of the last Plantagenets still alive in Tudor England in the early 1540s and had been in high favour with her cousin’s son, Henry VIII, for many years even being made godmother to the future Mary I, his eldest daughter for instance. So why was Margaret Countess of Salisbury killed? The answer had to do with her son, Cardinal Reginald Pole, who had not supported Henry VIII’s break from the Catholic church in Rome. Unable to get to Reginald, who was in exile, Henry had the old woman locked up in the Tower of London instead. After years of imprisonment, Margaret was suddenly told she would be executed, a sentence which was swiftly carried out on 27 May 1541.

In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling we look at what happened next, at an execution so horrific and unwarranted, it shocked even Tudor England. I’ll tell you why there wasn’t even a scaffold erected for the execution, just a block, about the last words of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, about how she supposedly tried to dodge the axeman’s blade, about why the executioner was so bad at his job and about where Margaret, Countess of Salisbury is buried, in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula. You’ll also learn what was found when the remains of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury were dug up by the Victorians, along with those of Anne Boleyn.

I’ll use primary sources which provide conflicting accounts of her death, including a letter written by Eustace Chapuys, who was the imperial ambassador to the Tudor court and another by Charles de Marillac, the French Ambassador. I’ll also examine the claims that she wouldn’t lay her head on the block and ask how likely it is that they are true.

If you're fascinated by the dark side of Tudor history, royal executions, and the tyrannical reign of Henry VIII, this is a story you won't want to miss.

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#MargaretPole #CountessOfSalisbury #RoyalExecution #TudorHistory

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LEARN MORE:

Hazel Pierce, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury 1473-1541: Loyalty, Lineage and Leadership (2003). Available at https://amzn.to/3Kdr2DW

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20 Comments

@HistoryCalling Creator 5 months ago Pinned

Do you think Margaret ran around the block and/or needed eleven stokes of the axe to take her hear off? Let me know below and remember to check out my other online platforms at these links:

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@TheAshesvondust 5 months ago

I feel like the moral to almost every Tudor story is: some guy in your family is going to get you killed.

@fabulouschild2005 5 months ago

Simply put, there's no way that such a sensational story could have been kept from Eustace Chapuys for very long - that man was, like, the first Gossip Girl

@stevenleslie8557 5 months ago

This execution is among Henry's most despicable. Even for 16th century standards, he was an awful human being.

@HikariHolic 5 months ago

wild to think you survive the wars of the roses and a good chunk of chaos with Mary during the reign of Henry VIII, AND the beginning of the English Reformation just to be cut down so close to the end of Henry's reign VIII's reign, poor Margaret

@dgcaz1 5 months ago

As far as her thrashing around on the block. I always believed that he first missed and hit her on the shoulder or back and if she thrashed while he hacked at her, it was because of the unbearable pain that she was experiencing. Poor woman.

@sweethistortea 5 months ago

The way she passed was barbaric. That poor woman.

@LaPinturaBella 5 months ago

With the number of people the Tudors executed, it's amazing there was hardly anyone left to make up the court.

@alisonbrowning9620 5 months ago (edited)

Margaret and her brother Edward were absolutely tragic victims

@Feather-888 5 months ago

This is my 12th Great Great Grandmother may 😇 Her Saintly Soul Rest in Peace & may Henry pay eternally for what he did to her!!!!

@vlmellody51 5 months ago

I've always been of the opinion that Henry did it to be petty, too. He was just that kind of man.

In my opinion, he had approximately the same tolerance for frustration as an overindulged toddler.

@chrisbanks6659 5 months ago

I would always fall on the side of Chapuys for veracity. His chronicles, letters & dispatches are considered one of the most vital, detailed, and continuous primary sources for the reign of King Henry VIII. It's all out there and available to read.

@THEE_Kisywisy 5 months ago

This is why I don’t bother with fiction; history is far more interesting

@katieedwards5926 5 months ago

I can’t imagine the feeling of knowing your life is in CONSTANT danger because you’re related to a man who happens to have royal blood. There’s nothing you can do except try to keep a low profile and clearly that isn’t always enough either.

@Shane-Flanagan 5 months ago (edited)

Always love hearing about Catherine Howard's act of kindness while Margaret was in the Tower. The classic Queenly act of showing mercy. A human act too. It showed Catherine could live up to the role of Queen consort when it called for it 👑 💜

@sammygirl4080 5 months ago

I’ve heard of this death many times, and it never fails to horrify me with the gory details of this innocent woman’s death.

@dylanraewulf4272 5 months ago

Read about this as a preteen and it traumatized me. Never forgot about Margaret Pole.

@Shane-Flanagan 5 months ago

I wish we got an account of Mary Tudors thoughts and reaction upon hearing of Margaret's execution. Margaret was like a mother figure in Mary's youth. Mary maybe felt she was doing right and honouring Margaret in a way when she brought Cardinal Pole back to England and had him at the heart of her court

@lisatomihiro3488 5 months ago

I think it's sad that they found an incompetent executioner. Bad enough to kill an old woman unnecessarily but to have her death be "practice" for a new executioner is ridiculous.

@geraldrichman67 5 months ago

On the basic question you ask about the 11 strokes and Margaret’s behavior at the execution, I think the failure any of de Marillac’s or Chapuy’s apparent sources to mention that puts it in the realm of fantasy. On a related though not central point to your video, Reginald Pole is on of my least favorite people from this period. He may have been true to his beliefs, but he chose to noisily broadcast his opposition to Henry from the safety of a comfortable exile without apparent concern to how his vocal opposition from abroad would affect his mother and his family.