A ‘plot’ involving King Henry, the Bishop of Rochester and a cook

During the reign of King Henry VIII, a cook’s ill-planned prank ended with him being accused of a political plot and his own gruesome death.

Neil Tonge, author of the Terrible Tudors, said the events all began with the Bishop of Rochester John Fisher inviting guests to supper at his London residence in April 1531.

Mr Tonge said the cook, Richard Roose, “wanted to play a prank” and laced the broth with a “certain medicinal compound”.

“Roose said he thought the powder would give the guests diarrhoea, but at least two people died,” Mr Tonge told Secret Kent.