Francis Weston
Sir Francis Weston Henry VIII | |
---|---|
Spouse | Anne Pickering |
Children | Henry Weston |
Parent(s) | Sir Richard Weston Anne Sandys |
Relatives | Sir William Weston |
Sir Francis Weston
Origins
He was the only son of Sir
Career
In 1526, aged only fifteen, he was listed as a
Marriage and children
In 1530, he married Anne Pickering, a daughter to Sir Christopher Pickering of Killington in Cumberland. An oak
- Henry Weston (born 1535), who at the age of six became heir to his grandfather Sir Richard Weston.
- Anne Weston, who married Francis Keilway.[6]
Arrest
Once arrested, Anne Boleyn was attended by four unsympathetic ladies, who had been instructed by the King's chief minister Thomas Cromwell to report on the Queen's actions. Anne told one of these ladies, Mrs. Coffin, that she had reprimanded Weston for flirting with Madge Shelton, who was betrothed to his fellow courtier Henry Norris. When Anne had wondered aloud to Weston why Norris had not yet married Madge, Weston replied, "[Norris] came more to her [Anne's] chamber for her than for Madge."[7] Ironically Weston was not arrested until a day or two after Anne. The first indication that he was involved in this was in a letter from Sir William Kingston to Cromwell, giving the details of Anne’s converstations after her arrest.
Execution
Francis was executed at the age of twenty-five after being accused of committing adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn, treason and plotting to kill the king.[b] He vehemently denied the charges and protested his innocence but it made no difference. In addition, the evidence supporting the accusations against him is dubious. Even his father is said to have offered all the family had in order to gain a pardon for his son but all to no avail. The family trying to save Francis was backed up by Lancelot de Carle who wrote “no one dared plead for him [Weston]except his mother, who, oppressed with grief, petitioned the King, and his wife [Weston’s wife], who offered rents and goods for his deliverance”.
Francis was
Notes
- ^ The escutcheon in the top left corner shows the Weston arms: Ermine, on a chief azure 5 bezants and the canvas bears the inscription "Weston Esq. of Sutton, Surrey". Collection of Parham Park, Sussex
- ^ A schedule of the charges against all five accused men are in the Baga de Secretis, published in Wriothesley (1875), pp. 189–226
References
- ^ a b Hughes 2004.
- ^ Lindsey 1996, p. xviii.
- ^ Ford 2010.
- ^ Shaw 1906, p. 149.
- ^ Ridgway 2012, p. 101–102.
- ^ "KEILWAY, Francis (d.1602), of Rockbourne, Hants. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ Ives 2005, pp. 334–335.
- ^ Wriothesley 1875, p. 39–40.
Bibliography
- Cavendish, George (1825). Singer, Samuel Weller (ed.). The Life of Cardinal Wolsey. Vol. I. London: Harding, Triphook, and Lepard.
- Clarke, Ernest (1899). "Weston, Francis". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 60. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 360–361.
- Ford, David Nash (2010). "Sir Richard Weston (1465–1541)". David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History. Berkshirehistory.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- Friedmann, Paul (2014). Anne Boleyn. Chalford: Amberley. ISBN 9781445617619.
- Hughes, Jonathan (2004). "Weston, Sir Francis (1511–1536)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29121. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-0-631-23479-1.
- Lindsey, Karen (1996). Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII (revised ed.). Cambridge: ISBN 9780201408232.
- ISBN 978-1475266122.
- Shaw, William A. (1906). The Knights of England. Vol. I. London: Sherrat and Hughes.
- ISBN 9780521406772.
- ISBN 9780712640176.
- Wriothesley, Charles (1875). Hamilton, William Douglas (ed.). A Chronicle of England During the Reigns of the Tudors, From A.D. 1485 to 1559. Vol. I. Printed for the Camden Society.