Mark Smeaton facts for kids

Mark Smeaton (c. 1512 – 17 May 1536) was a musician at the court of Henry VIII of England, in the household of Queen Anne Boleyn. Smeaton, together with the Queen's brother George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, Henry Norris, Francis Weston and William Brereton was executed for treason.

Background

Mark Smeaton's exact date of birth is unknown but it is believed he was around 23 years old when he died in 1536. While there are few specifics about Smeaton's life, it is thought that he was the son of a carpenter and a seamstress. His surname is thought to be of Flemish-French Flemish origin, as 'Smeaton' could be a derivation of either de Smet or de Smedt.

Known for his talents as a singer, Smeaton was a handsome musician and dancer in Henry VIII's court who later transferred into the court of Queen Anne. In addition to his singing ability, he also played the lute, viol, virginals and the organ. Smeaton originally joined the choir of Cardinal Wolsey. After Wolsey's fall from grace, Smeaton was transferred from the Cardinal's service to Henry's Chapel Royal, where his musical ability came to the notice of the Queen. Established as a court musician, he was named a Groom of the Privy Chamber in 1532.

Of lowly social standing, he was never part of the Queen's intimate circle of companions, which included her favourite ladies-in-waiting and courtiers. Anne herself once reprimanded him for assuming she would speak to him in the same way she would speak to an aristocrat. A poem by the courtier Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder made reference to his apparent social-climbing.

In popular media

Smeaton was portrayed by Gary Bond in the 1969 costume dramatic film Anne of the Thousand Days. In it, Smeaton is depicted as being tortured by Cromwell's henchmen. In 1971, Michael Osborne portrayed Smeaton in the second episode of The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

Smeaton is fleshed out as a character in the novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, and the TV miniseries adaptation Wolf Hall, in which he is portrayed by Max Fowler. Told from Cromwell's point of view, the story shows Smeaton intimidated and manipulated into a confession rather than being tortured.

In the Royal Shakespeare Company plays that Michael Poulton adapted from Hilary Mantel's books, also called "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up The Bodies" (though the latter was changed to "Wolf Hall Part 2" when the plays transferred from England to New York), Joey Batey played Mark Smeaton.

Smeaton appears in Gaetano Donizetti's opera Anna Bolena, in which the character is a trouser role assigned to a contralto.

Jack Benny portrayed Smeaton in an extended fantasy sequence in The Jack Benny Program television show (S:7 E:6) entitled "Jack locked in the Tower of London" which originally aired 2 December 1956.

Chris Clynes portrayed Smeaton in the BBC documentary drama The Six Queens of Henry VIII (S:1 E:2) entitled "Anne Boleyn" which originally aired in 2016.