Sir francis bryan henry viii

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bryan always retained Henry's favour, achieving this by altering his opinions to conform to the king's. He was knighted in for his courage during the capture of Morlaix in Brittany. In , Bryan and Sir Edward Neville disgraced themselves in the eyes of the minions' detractors when, during a diplomatic mission to Paris, they threw eggs and stones at the common people.

Sir francis bryan the tudors actor

Shortly after this he lost an eye in a tournament at Greenwich , and had to wear an eyepatch from then on. From then on he was highly influential, becoming one of the king's most favoured companions, [ 8 ] and a leading member of the faction who wished to break Wolsey's grip on power. He also sat in the Parliament of England as Member for Buckinghamshire probably in and certainly in the parliaments of , and He promoted the family of the latter, which was less well connected than the Boleyns and tried to find her a husband after her family had grown notorious because of the affair between Catherine Fillol and Jane's father.

He remained a friend of the King, with Henry even ending his pursuit of a lady when he heard that Bryan was seriously interested in her. However, by , Bryan was working with Thomas Cromwell to bring about his cousin's downfall as queen. Bryan was a distinguished diplomat, soldier, sailor, cipher, man of letters, and poet. However, he had a lifelong reputation as a rake and a libertine, and was a rumoured accomplice in the king's extramarital affairs.

He was a trimmer, changing his views to suit Henry's current policy, but was also one of the few men who dared speak his mind to the king. No portrait of Sir Francis survives. It is believed the marriage was a political manoeuvre to prevent Joan marrying her cousin, the 15th Earl of Desmond, and the union was not a happy one. Bryan is a character in Hilary Mantel 's novel Wolf Hall.

In the two-part drama Henry VIII starring Ray Winstone , a character named 'Sir Francis' who sports an eye patch and is a former soldier friend of Henry's, makes several appearances. The records from that time are scarce and are often hard to interpret, meaning that the following information is based on the best facts known about Sir Francis Bryan and his life.