William Sommers

William 'Will' Sommers (or Somers) (died 15 June 1560) was the best-known court jester of Henry VIII of England.

Born in Shropshire, Sommers came to the attention of Richard Fermor, a merchant of the Staple at Calais, who brought him to Greenwich in 1525 to present to the king. Impressed by his sense of humour, Henry promptly offered Sommers a place at court. He was soon in high favour with the king, whose generosity to him is attested by the accounts of the royal household.

Sommers remained in service to the king for the rest of Henry's life. In the king's later years, when he was troubled by a painful leg condition, it was said that only Sommers could lift his spirits.

The jester was also a man of integrity and discretion. Thomas Cromwell appreciated that Sommers sometimes drew the King's attention to extravagance and waste within the royal household by means of a joke.

Court jesters were permitted familiarities without regard for deference, and Sommers possessed a shrewd wit, which he exercised even on Cardinal Wolsey. He did occasionally overstep the boundaries, however. In 1535, the king threatened to kill Sommers with his own hand, after Sir Nicholas Carew dared him to call Queen Anne "a ribald" and the Princess Elizabeth "a bastard".

Robert Armin (writer of Foole upon Foole, 1600) tells how Sommers humiliated Thomas, the king's juggler. He interrupted one of Thomas's performances carrying milk and a breadroll. Will asked the king for a spoon, the king replied he had none. Thomas told him to use his hands. Will then sang:

'This bit Harry I give to thee
and this next bit must serve for me,
Both which I'll eat apace.
This bit Madam unto you,
And this bit I my self eate now,
And the rest upon thy face.'

He then threw the milk in his face, ran out. Thomas was never at court again.

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