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That the king has elevated him to the peerage, made him Lord Privy Seal, and later, bestowed on him The Most Noble Order of the Garter, does not scrub out his base origins nor temper the perplexed rage that England's old aristocracy bears towards this upstart.

But while the trajectory of Master Secretary Cromwell in "Wolf Hall" resembles a triumphant swagger from dirty old Putney to the heart of royal power, the arc of the Lord Privy Seal in "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light" bends towards the chopping block, and is haunted throughout by the ghosts of those he has deposed.

The Lord Privy Seal, who is responsible for procedure, told peers the Lords had become "far too much a House of the south-east of England".

Lord True, the Lord Privy Seal, said the proposal was a "practical solution" necessary for the "machinery of government" - and suggested only working royals would be called upon in practice.

In response to questions from peers, the Lord Privy Seal, Lord True, said he would not comment on "specific circumstances", and the Royal Household would need to be consulted about any change.