The Botched Execution of The Woman Hacked 11 Times By Ax
There was once a variety of botched executions. These ended up being incredibly ugly and, obviously, very painful.
Almost none were more painful than that of Margaret Pole, who was sentenced to death by Henry VIII, the son of her cousin, and her execution was so botched that one account says she was hacked 11 times by an ax before she was finally beheaded.
What was Margaret Pole’s crime to begin with? She was a Catholic, and her relatives spoke out against Henry VIII’s many divorces.
This is the story of her life and her horrific death.
Who was Margaret Pole?
Margaret Pole was born of nobility and even royalty. She was the niece of two kings: Edward IV and Richard III. According to Hilary Mantel at the London Review of Books, she was also the daughter of a duke.
Her father was George Plantagenet, the Duke of Clarence, which meant she was also diametrically opposed to Henry VIII and the Tudors after the War of the Roses. Her uncle, Richard III, was famously killed by Henry Tudor.
Pole’s brother was the 17th Earl of Warwick, who was killed by Henry VIII in 1499 for treason. So, Margaret had good reason to not like Henry the Tudors, and the Tudors had good reason to try to control Margaret.
Henry VII tried to marry Margaret off to Sir Richard Pole, who was an ally of the Tudors and a cousin of Henry VIII. Margaret did not want the marriage, but she was forced into the marriage anyway.
Soon, Margaret became friends of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. Margaret would even educate the daughter of Catherine, Mary I, who would later be known as Mary Tudor, or Bloody Mary for her role in killing Protestants and attempting to reverse the English Reformation.
Richard Pole died in 1505, and at 32 years old, Margaret was left a widow. But she was on the wrong side of history, siding with Catherine over Henry VIII when Henry decided to annul his marriage. Margaret and Henry VIII still had a working relationship, but Margaret’s son, Reginald Pole, was outspoken in support of the Catholic Church and the sin of Henry VIII.
According to Blanche Mary Kelly in a 1913 article in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Reginald was sent to become a cardinal and the Archbishop of Canterbury. After the death of her husband, Henry VIII gave Margaret her “ancestral domains” because she was considered the “saintliest woman in England.” She would baptize Princess Mary and be present at her confirmation.
There was talk of marriage between Reginald and Princess Mary. But Reginald was exceedingly outspoken about Henry VIII’s affair with Anne Boleyn and his advocating for his divorce.
Margaret Pole was forced to support and defend her son. Margaret was stripped of her power because of Reginald’s opposition and losing favor in the court. She would live a peaceful life managing her land and accumulating wealth.
In 1530, Reginald got her into trouble yet again. He published the treatise “Pro ecclesiasticæ unitatis defensione,” condemning the actions of Henry VIII even after Henry executed his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
Henry VIII was beyond angry at Reginald and took out his anger on Margaret Pole and two of Reginald’s brothers. He arrested Margaret and her two eldest sons and imprisoned them in the Tower of London in 1539.
Margaret Pole was indicted for treason, although there was no evidence of her treason. Fitzwilliam, the Bishop of Ely, said Margaret was the “most arrant traitress that ever lived.” Margaret was then swiftly sentenced to death “by act of Parliament.”
The Act punished her for her captain escaping England and her son’s transgressions against Henry VIII.
On May 28, 1541, Henry VIII sentenced the 67-year-old Margaret to be executed.
The botched execution
Kelly says Mary insisted on her innocence and said: “no crime had been imputed to her.” The decision to execute her was very sudden and meant to send a message in light of a rebellion in Yorkshire.
The usual executioner was away at the time, so an inexperienced executioner got the job. Margaret had a highly unusual execution. She was sentenced to be executed within the Tower of London, and the execution was meant to be discreet since Margaret had many, many friends.
She was to be executed within the hour and it had to happen quickly. After two and a half years of imprisonment, and Margaret was sent to a block inside the Tower of London. It was unheard of — an execution inside the Tower of London.
Again, the execution was meant to be discreet, and there were very few spectators. As a noble, the crowd was an elite group and the execution was meant to be done with dignity.
It was clearly not. She was allowed to stand while the executioner was beheading her.
The inexperienced executioner aimed for Margaret’s head, but missed and hit her shoulder. He then tried to cut her nine more times, and all attempts failed to cut her head away from her body.
Of course, Margaret was trying to dodge the ax swings as they came, even in the blocks, which made the executioner’s job more difficult. One story says she escaped the block and had the executioner chasing her swinging her ax.
That story is not confirmed, but one witness, Holy Roman Empire ambassador Eustace Chapuys, corroborates the account, calling the executioner “a wretched and blundering youth who literally hacked her head and shoulders to pieces in the most pitiful manner.”
It is one of two accounts, but both accounts say the executioner took many ax swings before actually killing her.
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