Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, who was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, was an English statesman and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

When Henry VIII became king of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure in all matters of state and extremely powerful within the Church. The highest political position he attained was Lord Chancellor, the King's chief advisor, enjoying great freedom and often depicted as an alter rex (other king). Within the Church he became archbishop of York, the second most important seat in England, and then was made a cardinal in 1515, giving him precedence over even the Archbishop of Canterbury. His main legacy is from his interest in architecture, in particular his old home of Hampton Court Palace, which stands today.

Thomas was the son of Robert Wolsey of Ipswich (1438–85) and his wife Joan Daundy. His father was widely thought to have been a butcher but sources indicate that Robert Wolsey died at the Battle of Bosworth Field and was a significant casualty. Robert may have been a respected and wealthy cloth merchant, and the butcher story was perhaps invented to demean Wolsey and show how high he had climbed in terms of status.

Thomas Wolsey attended Ipswich School and Magdalen College School before studying theology at Magdalen College, Oxford. On 10 March 1498, he was ordained a priest in Marlborough and remained in Oxford, first as the Master of Magdalen College School before quickly being appointed the dean of divinity. In 1502, he left and became a chaplain to Henry Deane, archbishop of Canterbury, who died the following year. He was then taken into the household of Sir Richard Nanfan, who trusted Wolsey to be the executor of his estate. After Nanfan's death in 1507, Wolsey entered the service of Henry VII.

It was to Wolsey’s advantage that Henry VII had introduced measures to curb the power of the nobility and was prepared to favour those from more humble backgrounds. Henry VII appointed Wolsey royal chaplain. In this position, Wolsey was secretary to Richard Foxe, who recognized Wolsey's innate ability and dedication and appreciated his industry and willingness to take on tedious tasks. Thomas Wolsey’s remarkable rise to power from humble origins can be attributed to his high level of intelligence and organisation, his extremely industrious nature, his driving ambition for power, and the rapport he was able to achieve with the King. In 1509, Henry VIII appointed Wolsey to the post of Almoner., a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council, providing an opportunity to raise his profile and to establish a rapport with the King. His rise coincided with the ascension of the new monarch, Henry VIII, whose character, policies and diplomatic mindset differed significantly from those of his father, Henry VII. A factor in Wolsey's rise was that the young Henry VIII was not particularly interested in the details of governing during his early years. Under the tight personal monarchy of Henry VII, Wolsey was unlikely to have obtained so much trust and responsibility.

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