Sir William Compton was one of the most prominent courtiers during the reign of Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. Born around 1482, Compton was about nine years older than his king, but the two became close friends. Compton was the eldest son of Edmund Compton of Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

 and became an attendant on young Henry. On Henry's accession, he was given the position of Groom of the Stool

Groom of the Stool

The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of a monarch's courtiers, whose physical intimacy naturally led to him becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master, and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course...

, the man who was in closest contact to the young king. One of his duties, according to the courtier Elizabeth Amadas

Elizabeth Amadas

Elizabeth Amadas was a lady at the royal court of King Henry VIII of England who was accused of treason, and who claimed to have been the target of the King's advances.-Background:...

, was to procure women for his monarch and arrange trysts with them at his London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 home, in Thames Street. Though not a politician, Compton ultimately acquired significant influence over Henry when it came to granting land and favours to the aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

, and made a fortune himself.

In 1510, Compton was involved in a public row with Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, KG was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers and sister-in-law of King Edward IV.-Early life:Stafford was born at Brecknock Castle in Wales...

 over Henry's affair with the Duke's married sister, Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon. Around 1519, Compton became involved with Anne himself, and in 1521 Henry sent Compton to arrest Anne's brother the Duke of Buckingham, who was later executed for treason. Compton made provisions for Anne in his will in 1522. He died in 1528 of the Sweating sickness

Sweating sickness

Sweating sickness, also known as "English sweating sickness" or "English sweate" , was a mysterious and highly virulent disease that struck England, and later continental Europe, in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently...

 which killed several courtiers including Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

's brother-in-law, Sir William Carey.

Fictional portrayals

A fictionalized William Compton was portrayed by Kristen Holden-Ried

Kristen Holden-Ried

Kristen Holden-Ried is a Canadian actor. In 2007, he portrayed William Compton in the first seven episodes of the Showtime series The Tudors. In 2010, in the television series Lost Girl, his character is a werewolf, employed in the human world as a cop....

 in 2007 on the Showtime television series The Tudors

The Tudors

The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...

, loosely based upon the reign of Henry VIII. In the show he is portrayed in a common law marriage to a "Mistress Hastings" and as in a homosexual relationship with Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...

.