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So I want to talk about Margaret Poll today.

And specifically, I want to talk about the worst execution in Tudor history,

which is really saying something, because the competition there is pretty fierce.

Margaret was 67 years old. She'd been in the tower for over two years at that point

living in cold, damp conditions that would have been brutal for someone half her age.

And when they finally came for her on May 27, 1541, the executioner was apparently quite inexperienced, and it

took multiple blows. She was 67 years old, a former countess, the last Plantagenet, and Henry V had her killed because her son

wouldn't stop writing angry letters from Rome. Just like sit with that for a second. Because here's

the thing that gets me about Margaret Poll every time. She was not a threat. She was a problem,

sure, in the sense that, you know, she existed,

and she had plantagenet blood, and Henry got all paranoid about that kind of thing. But she, like,

wasn't plotting. She wasn't scheming. She was an old woman under house arrest, and her son was

out there on the continent, basically daring Henry to do something about it.

And Henry did something about it.

But before we get into any of that, I want to back up because Margaret Pull's life before all of this was extraordinary in its own right.

And you need to understand who she was to understand just how enraging her end was. So get comfortable, settle in, my friend.

Today we're going to talk about Margaret Poll and her execution and why her son didn't just shut up.

And maybe what would have happened if he had just shut up? It's another fun thought experiment day.

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