Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell Character Analysis in Wolf Hall

Richard is Cromwell’s nephew, and the son of Kat and Morgan Williams. After his parents die, he moves into Cromwell’s household at Austin Friars and Cromwell brings him up like one of his own children. Richard is sharper than Cromwell’s own son, Gregory, which leads to Cromwell trusting Richard more readily with his affairs. Richard is very attached to Cromwell and asks to change his last name from Williams to Cromwell since Cromwell is like a father to him. Through his father’s family, Richard is a distant relative of King Henry, which leads Anne Boleyn to suggest that he marry her sister Mary Boleyn since he has some royal blood. Cromwell thinks this would be a great opportunity for Richard and the whole family, but Richard is reluctant when Cromwell discusses it with him, asking him if he even has a choice in the matter. Cromwell tells him he certainly does, but he goes on to persuade him by telling him that the whole family would gain immensely from the alliance. However, it doesn’t work out, to Richard’s relief, and he ends up marrying a young woman named Frances. Years later, when Mary Boleyn writes Cromwell a letter asking him for money, Richard says he is glad he didn’t marry her, and that he managed to find happiness and success without the Boleyns’ interference.

Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell Quotes in Wolf Hall

The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell or refer to Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon

He stops to have a word with some of the benchers: how was this allowed to go forward? The Cardinal of York is a sick man, he may die, how will you and your students stand then before God? What sort of young men are you breeding here, who are so brave as to assail a great man who has fallen on evil times—whose favor, a few short weeks ago, they would have begged for?

The benchers follow him, apologizing; but their voices are lost in the roars of laughter that billow out from the hall. His young household are lingering, casting glances back. […]

Rafe touches his shoulder. Richard walks on his left, sticking close. “You don’t have to hold me up,” he says mildly. “I’m not like the cardinal.” He stops. He laughs. He says, “I suppose it was…”

“Yes, it was quite entertaining,” Richard says.

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell (speaker), Cardinal Wolsey , Rafe Sadler

Page Number and Citation: 162

Explanation and Analysis:

Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell Character Timeline in Wolf Hall

The timeline below shows where the character Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell appears in Wolf Hall. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

...are in mourning. Kat and her husband, Morgan Williams, died this year too. Their children, Richard and Walter, come to live in the Cromwell household. (full context)

Dogmatism vs. Open-Mindedness Theme Icon

...great man who has fallen on evil times.” However, while walking home with Rafe and Richard, Cromwell calms down and admits that the play was entertaining. (full context)

Cromwell’s nephew Richard comes in and he asks if he and his brother Walter Williams can now take... (full context)

...away the menace conveyed, and the message” as he mildly tells Gardiner that his cousin Richard Williams “sends greetings.” Gardiner’s “eyebrows bristle, like a dog’s hackles,” and he says that he... (full context)

...to Hull and then travel over land with his 160 servants. Cromwell tells his nephew Richard that “a thousand pounds isn’t much when you have a cardinal to move,” but he... (full context)

...about the travel arrangements. Rafe says he will go to ensure that everything is perfect. Richard tells Cromwell that “it is time to let the cardinal go.” During Holy Week, they... (full context)

...be alone. A young man named Thomas Wriothesley is the newest addition to the household. Richard and Rafe laugh at him for his complicated last name and call him “Call-Me-Risley,” because... (full context)

After dinner, Thomas More talks about wicked King Richard III, about whom he has started writing books in both Latin and English. While some... (full context)

...late one night by someone knocking at the gate. Cromwell comes down to find Johane, Richard, and Rafe facing William Brereton of the privy chamber, who has come there with an... (full context)

...him to Greenwich to arrest him, even though he isn’t sure that this is true. Richard looks like he wants to hit Brereton, and Cromwell thinks he himself would have once... (full context)

Cromwell, accompanied by Richard, Rafe, and Gregory, boards Brereton’s barge, and they begin the journey down the Thames. Henry... (full context)

Rafe, Gregory, and Richard rush to Cromwell when he heads outside, asking what happened. Rafe is shocked that the... (full context)

...He entertains the household with stories of how he was tortured in the Tower by Richard Plantagenet until the Tudors took power. When he is alone with Cromwell, he asks him... (full context)

...to go bribe the turnkey and get him out. Cromwell reluctantly goes with Gregory and Richard, and after some haggling, he gets Wyatt, Francis Weston, and Francis Bryan out. (full context)

...is tired of her sister Mary Boleyn and wants her gone. She suggests Cromwell’s nephew Richard, who has some Tudor blood, as a potential husband for Mary, saying they can “make... (full context)

At Anne Boleyn’s command, Cromwell presents Richard and Gregory at court, and Henry receives them graciously. That evening, Cromwell tells Richard that... (full context)

However, Richard tells Rafe about it right away, and Rafe looks disapproving as he walks into Cromwell’s... (full context)

...adds that he has thought it over and doesn’t think that Mary Boleyn should marry Richard—“at least, not at this time.” Cromwell understands him perfectly, and he thinks that Anne will... (full context)

...will be left there. Rafe and Helen are moving to a new house in Hackney, Richard is building another house in the same neighborhood and will move there with his wife... (full context)

...money since they are so cruel to her, and she has nowhere else to turn. Richard is present, and he says he hardly remembers how he almost married her. He seems... (full context)

Richard Riche comes to see Cromwell, and he seems excited about being in possession of information... (full context)

...days after More’s trial, he is executed. That evening, Cromwell walks in the garden with Richard and Rafe, discussing the trial. More had seemed very calm, so everyone, including the jury,... (full context)

Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell Character Analysis

Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell Quotes in Wolf Hall

Part 3: Chapter 1 Quotes

Richard Williams/Richard Cromwell Character Timeline in Wolf Hall