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Why did Henry VIII boil his cook alive? 17 grisly tales from Tudor England

Why did Henry VIII boil his cook alive? 17 grisly tales from Tudor England

Elizabeth Goff reveals a series of macabre Tudor tales, shedding light on the dynasty’s most shocking – and sometimes downright bizarre – moments

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Published: July 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM

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We’ve all heard about Elizabeth I being the Virgin Queen and Henry VIII having a penchant for wife-swapping, but did you know Henry boiled a cook alive? Or that Elizabeth was rumoured to be a man? Mary, Queen of Scots has had many a film made about her, but none show how grisly her execution really was, or how Catherine of Aragon wanted to send her husband the body of a king to show off her prowess. These lesser-known stories are among the most intriguing about the fabulously dramatic, rather dark and utterly unhinged Tudor dynasty.

1. Did Henry VII marry a witch?

Richard III accused Elizabeth Woodville and her mother Jacquetta of casting a spell on King Edward IV, ensuring Edward would fall in love with Elizabeth and make her his queen. Jacquetta had once stood trial for witchcraft and Richard used this as the basis for his accusations. There was nothing more damaging for a woman’s reputation than that of witchcraft; it was a good excuse to blight a powerful woman. It also meant that Elizabeth’s children were ‘made’ with magic. So, perhaps Henry VII’s wife Elizabeth of York was actually a witch…

An illuminated miniature depicts the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Richard III’s accusations against Woodville and her mother meant that the first queen consort of the Tudor dynasty, Elizabeth of York, could be considered a ‘witch’ | Credit: Getty Images

2. The groom of the stool

Wiping the royal bottom doesn’t seem like a particularly great job, but in the Tudor world it was an incredible honour. The Groom of the Stool would be with the monarch in their most intimate and vulnerable moments, privy to all sorts of conversations. Especially for someone like Henry VIII, who had notoriously difficult bowels; a trip to the loo could take hours! The groom would then report back to the king’s doctors on anything suspicious lurking in the royal chamber pot.

Such a high-ranking role didn’t protect you from the king’s wrath, though; Henry had one of his grooms executed during his disposal of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, when the man was accused of committing adultery with her.

3. Monkey business

Henry VII kept a monkey as his pet, much to the court’s chagrin as the creature was particularly troublesome, causing havoc wherever he went. The king was a thorough record-keeper, not only of his finances but also of his court; making notes of who said what, where and why. One day, Henry left his notebook unattended, and the monkey decided the time was ripe to dramatically rip the book to shreds. Therefore, Henry found himself with a rather irritating gap in his meticulous court notetaking.

A young boy dressed in ornate royal clothing stands at the centre of a formal court gathering. He holds out a book to a kneeling man in dark robes, while richly dressed courtiers and attendants look on. The hall features tall windows with a landscape visible outside and heraldic shields above, reinforcing the noble setting. The figures are arranged in a ceremonial, hierarchical composition.

Henry VII’s pet monkey appears at court alongside his children, in this 1910 painting by Frank Cadogan Cowper. The monkey caused all sorts of trouble – not least for the king’s administration | Credit: Alamy

4. Henry VIII boiled a cook

In 1531, a cook named Richard Roose was given powder by a stranger to pop in the food being served at a banquet. Roose claimed he thought it was a laxative and wanted to ‘play a prank’ on his master. Turns out, the powder was deadly, killing two attendees. Roose was then accused of poisoning, being tortured in various grim ways to reveal why he did it. Henry VIII had a great fear of poisoning and meted out a brutal end for Roose – boiling him alive. At the execution site at Smithfield he was lowered into a vast cauldron, being dipped in and out via heavy chains until he eventually died in agony.

5. Exploding, oozing coffins

Henry VIII’s body was more than a bit of a mess when he died; the smell of his pustulating leg when he was alive was almost too much to take, so when he died the rotting smell was very intense. His body had been prepped and wrapped in cerecloth, then placed into a lead-lined coffin.

While stopped at Syon Abbey during the journey to his burial site at Windsor, it was claimed that there was an enormous crack to be heard, and his coffin split, leaking out goo for the dogs to lap up. Many years later, his daughter Elizabeth I’s coffin also cracked and split, likely due to gasses building up in the cadaver.

6. The Tower's bloodiest death

Lady Margaret Pole was 67 when Henry VIII ordered her death. The regular executioner was away so Margaret had an apprentice for her end, who was unfortunately inexperienced in noble decapitations. Laying her head on the block, he missed her neck completely and hacked into her shoulders. When he managed to pull out the axe, he panicked and swung again, only to hit the back of her head. This went on and on, until finally Margaret’s head was removed at last. It’s said to be one of the bloodiest deaths the Tower of London has ever seen.

An old engraved scene shows a person on a raised platform facing an executioner who holds an axe ready to strike. The person wears a long dress and head covering, extending one arm outward. A guard with a halberd stands nearby, and a crowd watches in the background with ship masts visible, creating a tense public execution setting.

An engraving depicts Lady Margaret Pole – convicted of treason – being chased by her executioner. She was subjected to a very gory, botched beheading, making it “one of the bloodiest” deaths at the Tower | Credit: Alamy

7. The King's mutilated body

In 1513, the King of Scotland, James IV, invaded England while Catherine of Aragon was acting as regent, and he was killed by English forces at the Battle of Flodden. To show off this great achievement, Catherine wanted to send her husband the mutilated body of the Scottish king, but Henry’s council blanched at the gruesomeness of the request and only allowed her to send the blood-stained cloak instead!

8. Humiliated in death

Katherine Parr had been happily ensconced in a tomb at Sudeley Castle for many years, albeit the chapel she was buried in slowly falling to ruin. Curious locals, however, wanted to find Henry VIII’s last wife and so dug her up. Opening her coffin, it revealed Katherine was still fresh and appeared perfectly preserved.

Over the years, she was intermittently reburied and dug up by the morbidly curious, with people taking souvenirs from her remains. It was then decided to bury her properly, but the team of men hired for the job got drunk instead, and pulled Katherine’s remains out from the coffin altogether. They mutilated her corpse by stabbing her, playing football with her head and ripped out the last of her hair and teeth. Thankfully, she was fully reburied after this horrific incident, remaining there, in peace, to this day.

A carved marble tomb shows a reclining figure with hands clasped in prayer beneath an ornate Gothic canopy decorated with floral patterns, pointed arches and small sculpted angels. Stained‑glass windows glow behind the monument, and an inscription along the tomb identifies the figure as Queen Katherine, wife of King Henry VI.

Katherine Parr’s tomb at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire. The body of Henry VIII’s last wife and widow was not left to rest in peace, suffering several mutilations and reburials over the years | Credit: Getty Images

9. Like father, like son

Little King Edward VI was raised to be a mini version of his father, from the rooms he lived in to the clothing he’d wear. He was indulged by everyone, with his happiness being their top priority. His father’s tyrannical nature wasn’t far behind either, with Edward allegedly ripping apart a falcon in a royal temper tantrum, feather by feather. He then went on to sanction the execution of both his uncles, coldly noting the events in his diary.

Four people sit around a table in a dark, dramatic setting. Three older men with long beards wear simple robes and listen as the central figure reads from a set of papers. Beside them, a richly dressed person in a white fur‑trimmed robe and feathered hat watches intently. The painting focuses on their serious discussion against a shadowed background.

King Edward VI signs the first death warrant of his reign in this Victorian painting. Edward inherited many things from his father, including his tyrannical personality | Credit: Alamy

10. The boy king's suffering

It might be easier to list what Edward VI didn’t die of, his symptoms are so lengthy and grisly. During his reign he contracted smallpox that weakened his immune system, so he was susceptible to endless coughs, colds and fevers. Toward the end, Edward was coughing up foul-smelling bile, and his legs swelled so badly he had to remain in bed. His hair fell out, as did his nails (after turning black). When even just breathing became an issue he said he was glad to die, to end his terrible suffering. During his autopsy, putrefied ulcers were found on his lungs, leading to a modern diagnosis of tuberculosis.

11. The haunting of the Nine Day Queen

Lady Jane Grey was placed on the throne for nine days and was executed for it by Queen Mary – she was only a teenager. Her sad ghost is said to haunt the Tower of London on the anniversary of her death, wandering the battlements – sometimes with, sometimes without, her head. Her husband Guildford Dudley was executed with her, and his ghost can be heard weeping as he overlooks Tower Green to the chapel where he was buried. If you try and communicate with him, he only sits and stares out of the window, endless in his grief.

A blindfolded young woman in a white gown kneels before a wooden block as an older man in a fur‑trimmed robe guides her hand. An executioner holding a large axe stands nearby. Behind them, two distressed women watch from a stone hall with arches and columns, creating a solemn, tense scene.

An 1833 depiction of Lady Jane Grey’s execution, 1554. The ghost of the ill-fated teenager allegedly haunts the Tower of London, alongside that of her husband Guildford Dudley | Credit: Getty Images

12. The scandalous Grey sisters

Jane Grey had two younger, lesser-known sisters, Katherine and Mary. Katherine courted endless drama by secretly marrying Edward Seymour, nephew to Henry VIII’s third queen, Jane. She became pregnant, enraging Elizabeth I, who duly sent her to the Tower. Katherine had a boy (cue more anger from Lizzie), and as both Katherine and Edward were at the Tower at the same time, she managed to get pregnant again, producing another boy.

Elizabeth’s rage was catastrophic – she separated the family, with Katherine dying not long after. Mary, having learnt nothing from her sister’s drama, also married secretly, to the queen’s Sergeant Porter, Thomas Keyes (the man responsible for the palace’s security). Equally incensed, Elizabeth separated them as well, with Mary never seeing her husband again.

13. Mary's phantom pregnancies

The entire court was ready for Queen Mary to have her first child in May, with her confinement starting in April 1555. She even invited her loathed sister Elizabeth to court, to watch herself get displaced in the succession. When no child came in May… or June, or even July, Mary was humiliated. She had all the symptoms of pregnancy, but no child to show for it. This happened again a few years later, with all the same pregnancy signs and Mary again convinced she was with child. It soon became clear she wasn’t pregnant but was likely at this point to be dying. Modern diagnosis offers possible pseudocyesis, dropsy, cysts or tumours.

A richly dressed figure in a deep burgundy velvet gown sits for a formal portrait, hands clasping a pair of gloves. Gold‑patterned sleeves, rings, a bracelet and a large jeweled pendant emphasise their status. Behind them, an ornate embroidered chair adds to the sense of Tudor‑era wealth and authority.

A portrait of Mary I of England, c1554. More than once, Mary thought she was pregnant with a much-wanted heir – but the reality was sadly much darker | Credit: Alamy

14. Was Elizabeth I secretly a man?

Supposedly, when Elizabeth was nine years old, she was moved to the village of Bisley to avoid the plague. En route she sadly died, and her governess Kat Ashley had to make a decision – admit Elizabeth had passed away or replace her? For some mad reason Kat decided on the latter, and went into Bisley to find a suitable swap.

No girls matched the dead princess, so she selected a boy instead; he was of Elizabeth’s age and colouring, and the disguise supposedly worked well when he was dressed in Elizabeth’s attire. The king came to visit his daughter one day and didn’t catch the swap. Legend has it that Elizabeth Tudor was buried in the local church, and the Bisley Boy became Gloriana! Utterly untrue, but a great tale none the less.

15. The queen's gruesome teeth

Elizabeth adored sugar all her life and, as a result, her teeth gave her endless trouble, with toothache and abscesses being her constant companions. Once, Elizabeth became so irritable and ill with a particularly bad tooth that the Bishop of London offered to have one of his own removed, to show her how ‘painless’ it was! Elizabeth accepted, watching while the barber-surgeon plucked out a healthy tooth from the Bishop, finally agreeing to let him proceed with her.

Toward the end of her life, Elizabeth’s teeth become black with decay. To flatter their queen, her courtiers rubbed soot on their own teeth to match their monarch. She also lost so many teeth it made her face look quite hollow, so she resorted to stuffing her cheeks with bits of silk to pad them out and make her appear more youthful…though in the process, ambassadors reported she was terribly hard to understand.

A person in richly decorated 16th‑century clothing stands against a dark background, wearing a red gown with gold embroidery, a fur‑trimmed collar and an ornate lace ruff. Their sleeves are heavily beaded, and they hold a gold chain with a pendant in both hands. A jewel‑covered red cap and gold mesh cover their hair, completing the formal Renaissance portrait.

A c1563 portrait of Elizabeth I. Known for her sweet tooth, the queen suffered greatly from dental decay – eventually leading to a blackened smile which courtiers emulated with soot | Credit: Bridgeman Images

16. The naughtiest duo of the Tudor court

Lettice Knollys was a cousin to Elizabeth and managed to enrage her like no woman had ever done before – she secretly married Elizabeth’s long-term favourite, Robert Dudley. Lettice’s disgrace knew no bounds, but Robert wormed his way back into the queen’s favour eventually. Lettice had a daughter Penelope, and in a strange dig at her rival, Elizabeth kept Penelope at court constantly, almost treating her like a surrogate daughter.

Her great favour with the queen became very useful when Penelope, having been wedded to a man she couldn’t stand, conducted quite a public affair with another courtier. Elizabeth usually frowned upon this disruption to the proper order of things, but as she had such a soft spot for Penelope, she let it slide.

17. The grisly death of Mary, Queen of Scots

After 19 years in prison, Mary, Queen of Scots met her end bravely. A scaffold had been erected and the headsman called to service. Blindfolded, she lay her head upon the block and ‘thwack’, down came the axe, not on her neck, but the back of her skull.

The headsman had to wrench it out and tried again; he didn’t quite make it, and had to saw the connective tissue holding Mary’s head to her body. Mary is meant to have cried out during the process, but hopefully she lost consciousness swiftly. When the head was eventually detached and held up to proclaim, ‘God save the Queen!’, it fell with a sickening thud to the floor, and the headsman was left holding Mary’s wig. It was then that the Scottish queen’s little dog came out from between her skirts, where it had been hiding during the ordeal. The little dog had to be washed as he was covered in his owner’s blood.

Elizabeth Goff is author of Bloody, Brilliant Tudors: 100 Tales of Gowns, Gossip and Gory Ends (The History Press, 2026)