9 Historical Inaccuracies In BBC's Wolf Hall

The BBC's adaptation of Hilary Mantel's novel "Wolf Hall" received much critical acclaim for its portrayal of the rapid rise of King Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell - yet it also garnered much criticism for several historical inaccuracies which featured in the show. Damian Lewis's portrayal of Henry VIII was fresh and quite magnificent, while Mark Rylance was brilliant as the opportunistic figure of Cromwell - whose rapid rise is facilitated by the demise of Thomas More (Anton Lesser). Yet to what extent was Cromwell's ascension to effective second-in-command in England achieved in the manner portrayed by the BBC's six-part series? Cromwell was confirmed as Henry VIII's chief minister and principal secretary in April 1534, but in truth he had long since been the King's closest confidante and most-trusted general. For once More had refused to acknowledge Henry VIII's split from the Roman Catholic Church, Cromwell was elevated to the King's right-hand man and he helped to organise the monarch's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the subsequent wedding to Anne Boleyn. But how much power did Cromwell actually wield? And to what extent was he a sympathetic figure as the BBC portray, rather than a scheming, Machiavellian character? Furthermore, how accurate for the time were the costumes and manor houses used? Well, here are nine prominent historical inaccuracies which affect the BBC's adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.