Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 52 minutes ago
How did THOMAS WOLSEY DIE, where was Thomas Wolsey buried and what happened to the body of Thomas Wolsey? These are the key questions which will be answered (as far as is possible) in this Tudor history documentary from History Calling.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was Henry VIII’s favourite minster and right-hand-man for many years, but when he was unable to obtain an annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon so that the King could marry Anne Boleyn, he fell from favour. In November 1530 he was on his way back to London, most likely to face imprisonment in the Tower of London, when he died at Leicester Abbey in the presence of (among others) his later biographer, George Cavendish and the constable of the Tower of London, Sir William Kingston. He was buried there, without the elaborate tomb he had had built for himself (which Henry VIII pilfered but which ended up adorning the grave of Horatio Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral, centuries later) and when the monasteries were dissolved just a few years later, the grave site was lost. Since then, many historians have wondered, where is Thomas Wolsey’s body (or rather skeleton as it would surely be at this point) and could he be found in the same way that Richard III’s remains were rediscovered? One man in the 17th century even (supposedly) claimed to have discovered Thomas Wolsey’s lost grave.
This video will look at what we known about the death and burial of Thomas Wolsey, using a first hand account of his final days written by his servant and biographer, George Cavendish, as well as other primary sources. It will also include an account of Thomas Wolsey’s final words.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
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NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#ThomasWolsey #CardinalWolsey #TudorHistory #HistoryCalling
How did THOMAS WOLSEY DIE, where was Thomas Wolsey buried and what happened to the body of Thomas Wolsey? These are the key questions which will be answered (as far as is possible) in this Tudor history documentary from History Calling.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was Henry VIII’s favourite minster and right-hand-man for many years, but when he was unable to obtain an annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon so that the King could marry Anne Boleyn, he fell from favour. In November 1530 he was on his way back to London, most likely to face imprisonment in the Tower of London, when he died at Leicester Abbey in the presence of (among others) his later biographer, George Cavendish and the constable of the Tower of London, Sir William Kingston. He was buried there, without the elaborate tomb he had had built for himself (which Henry VIII pilfered but which ended up adorning the grave of Horatio Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral, centuries later) and when the monasteries were dissolved just a few years later, the grave site was lost. Since then, many historians have wondered, where is Thomas Wolsey’s body (or rather skeleton as it would surely be at this point) and could he be found in the same way that Richard III’s remains were rediscovered? One man in the 17th century even (supposedly) claimed to have discovered Thomas Wolsey’s lost grave.
This video will look at what we known about the death and burial of Thomas Wolsey, using a first hand account of his final days written by his servant and biographer, George Cavendish, as well as other primary sources. It will also include an account of Thomas Wolsey’s final words.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Death, murder and corpses’ playlist
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
Death and burial of Catherine of Aragon
youtu.be/5u7Spc5l2Ms
Was Catherine of Aragon murdered?
youtu.be/3CvsbGToiTE
Corpse of Richard III: lost and found
youtu.be/NpQZZanLaRM
Strange disappearance of Katherine Howard
youtu.be/RF1GYu2njC8
READ MORE
[FREE] George Cavendish, The Life of Cardinal Wolsey
gutenberg.org/cache/epub/54043/pg54043-images.html
Jill Bourne & Richard Buckley (eds), Leicester Abbey: Medieval History, Archaeology and Manuscript Studies (2006)
amzn.to/3RJfSXT
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
WATCH
Wolf Hall
amzn.to/4jit4ig
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j (US link)
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw (US link)
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58 (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#ThomasWolsey #CardinalWolsey #TudorHistory #HistoryCalling
