tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35427143270315258252024-03-13T23:19:45.932-04:00Under These Restless SkiesCirca Regna Tonat: Around the throne, the thunder rolls.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-9432433048336853572017-12-11T00:11:00.000-05:002017-12-11T00:11:08.173-05:00I Pulled My Book from Publication Because I was Wrong about Jane Parker, Lady Rochford #tudor, #historicalfiction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqud5AFt0awU48NL_RkFiwBIN-XFXzBKXsb681Etm6j9yjX6PHfimZ_v0M4NVL-0x3efIoyQuNx1U6a-C6tB9O_bzCBFXpTdhwrD0so2QH_n-LefYJlwTL-lhs98_2ubaHSQPsYKTNzU/s1600/510540339065664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqud5AFt0awU48NL_RkFiwBIN-XFXzBKXsb681Etm6j9yjX6PHfimZ_v0M4NVL-0x3efIoyQuNx1U6a-C6tB9O_bzCBFXpTdhwrD0so2QH_n-LefYJlwTL-lhs98_2ubaHSQPsYKTNzU/s320/510540339065664.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Last year, I made a promise to myself that when my rights to <i>Under These Restless Skies</i> reverted from my publisher back to me, I was going to pull it from publication until it underwent extensive rewrites. I've now done that; the book is unavailable and will be until I finish the process.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
.¸¸•.¸¸.•´¯`• (¯`•ღ•´¯)•´¯`•.¸¸.•.¸¸.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">So, What Happened?</span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
What happened was that I realized I was wrong. Terribly wrong. I had tried so hard in the novel to be fair to Anne Boleyn and depict her character as reflected in the true historical record that I ended up slandering and vilifying another historical character, Anne's sister-in-law, Jane Parker.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkup_aZRah3WsmYW_kM6cNobGEdLa1yXbhczPsFW6GdaIgjoTfPA2TM3XPw5gmaFLJjYoyXWndQYy7J_UPQ6A4RGy8X2A2JXmEBbWIhnNNnuP8cgI-1GFy3zR_LgFk6zArMPlBsaX39E/s1600/3fbcca127971408c86291fedec0b21ca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="500" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkup_aZRah3WsmYW_kM6cNobGEdLa1yXbhczPsFW6GdaIgjoTfPA2TM3XPw5gmaFLJjYoyXWndQYy7J_UPQ6A4RGy8X2A2JXmEBbWIhnNNnuP8cgI-1GFy3zR_LgFk6zArMPlBsaX39E/s200/3fbcca127971408c86291fedec0b21ca.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I can't plead complete ignorance. In my notes, I said that Jane's depiction as a sneaky, conniving person had fallen from favor, but she was a convenient villain (which is likely why history has traditionally blamed her).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But over the last few years since the book's debut, I've read more about Jane. I've updated my blog, routinely editing articles to reflect my findings, but I couldn't do the same with the novel. As more time passed, I felt worse about what I'd done.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(¯`•ღ•´¯)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">So How Are You Gonna Fix This?</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I intend to re-write the novel to be more accurate, and to be fair to Jane. I'll also give new ebook copies to readers, and replace paperbacks if the reader wants to mail theirs back to me. It will be a lot of work, and potentially rather expensive (especially given the original book didn't sell all that well,) but I think integrity is important. I said in my notes that I was trying hard to be accurate, and I want my actions to reflect that.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchTWDp8an5xVVbs8RBFk6LY_Vx-sw5dCahlexUxwpsKZ6t9qowZ7XfpVJ4YJz2ILhXYlToJD_B59pjQm7i9nhVbPPCgdZJ-kQBOaHsvXnegVo5AlDEms1fRzjC3JJTFH2mu0Br37p-xA/s1600/anne+boleyn+artistic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="500" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchTWDp8an5xVVbs8RBFk6LY_Vx-sw5dCahlexUxwpsKZ6t9qowZ7XfpVJ4YJz2ILhXYlToJD_B59pjQm7i9nhVbPPCgdZJ-kQBOaHsvXnegVo5AlDEms1fRzjC3JJTFH2mu0Br37p-xA/s320/anne+boleyn+artistic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I think authors should have the courage to admit they were wrong about what the historical record says, and to make it right wherever that is possible.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(¯`•ღ•´¯)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">When Do You Expect This to Be Complete?</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I can't say how long this project will take. The original <i>Under These Restless Skies</i> took a year to write. I've never re-written a novel before. I'll update on this blog when it's finished.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(¯`•ღ•´¯)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdOQjI31epCLxbZMdEH2lS_NQHJ-kEmRUPDZtWO1D_6xjGeHN2zIMtpLpo5ndqxQ3MCHIf72Yq54Ff0nRG_gePdWYX0zUia5JM5NlT_20M5xDD-R_cNg4s4kHwNyxQGbdmeBdDH_fMDM/s1600/0a8363ac4ee228c9a32135cd5f0a415e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="564" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdOQjI31epCLxbZMdEH2lS_NQHJ-kEmRUPDZtWO1D_6xjGeHN2zIMtpLpo5ndqxQ3MCHIf72Yq54Ff0nRG_gePdWYX0zUia5JM5NlT_20M5xDD-R_cNg4s4kHwNyxQGbdmeBdDH_fMDM/s200/0a8363ac4ee228c9a32135cd5f0a415e.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I want to apologize to my readers. I feel like I've failed you. I wanted to write a historical novel which entertained while giving readers a glimpse into the Tudor world I've found do fascinating over the years. I wanted to strip away the cobwebs of myth. Instead, I ended up adding more. <br /><br />And I want to apologize to Jane Parker Boleyn, Lady Rochford. You didn't deserve what Henry did to you, and you didn't deserve what history has done to you. Nor did you deserve what I did to you. I'm so sorry. I'll try to set my part of it right.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
.¸¸•.¸¸.•´¯`• (¯`•ღ•´¯)•´¯`•.¸¸.•.¸¸.</div>
</div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-13730470639821407742017-03-24T18:05:00.000-04:002017-03-24T18:13:02.689-04:00A Lovely "New" Portrait of Anne Boleyn<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLMDIDjdxByTkxMgJDvVYHyX3HCgxmm0oxZbS2TrdGjR3Btgr9LE5GSoLgw_bLq3DE2AwK4QaMi0LlRVIsp8dUZMfocJf1tbg8w2beTimlUv0M41l1IJ3iDtImJz76v_slxY2RMnGUsI/s1600/Anne+Boleyn+miniature+1530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLMDIDjdxByTkxMgJDvVYHyX3HCgxmm0oxZbS2TrdGjR3Btgr9LE5GSoLgw_bLq3DE2AwK4QaMi0LlRVIsp8dUZMfocJf1tbg8w2beTimlUv0M41l1IJ3iDtImJz76v_slxY2RMnGUsI/s320/Anne+Boleyn+miniature+1530.jpg" width="306" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fQ8b8i0yBPdY_UtDzVKpkZ4I3DAxgQsHCrEb69jTOkIdUvJfVsxI9EJg-9yK0HWlYyiusF5Tz0So4bJkKkH9GtZm_9ABbqahYyjBhyB1EhSf4VScXy7MMP8Fr1_n9h51lI4nq98_ljk/s1600/anne+boleyn+miniature+1530+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fQ8b8i0yBPdY_UtDzVKpkZ4I3DAxgQsHCrEb69jTOkIdUvJfVsxI9EJg-9yK0HWlYyiusF5Tz0So4bJkKkH9GtZm_9ABbqahYyjBhyB1EhSf4VScXy7MMP8Fr1_n9h51lI4nq98_ljk/s320/anne+boleyn+miniature+1530+back.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
<br />
Some of you may remember how opposed I was to the “<a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2016/04/this-is-not-anne-boleyn.html">new portrait of Anne Boleyn</a>” that surfaced a few months back. A new miniature portrait was brought to my attention via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=775215435975047&set=pcb.1790941964502390&type=3&theater">Facebook</a> today, and I wanted to tell you why I think this one actually <i><b>could</b></i> be a portrait of Anne Boleyn, or at least a copy of a portrait of her.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004597935259&fref=nf">owner</a> of the portrait wrote in her post:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Last year my husband purchased various snuff boxes etc at a local auction. In amongst them was a small portrait. I took the portrait out of its leather and velvet lined box and written on the back was written A Bo.... ( or A Bu....) and on the next line AD 1530. There is also a date at the bottom which appears to be 1796. I have been advised that it is probably not by a professional artist and that it is based on a print held by the British Museum from the early 1800's but it is dated earlier than that. It probably is based on another portrait. What there is no doubt of it is very similar to other supposed pictures of Anne Boleyn. Also, that in 1796, over 200 years ago, the artist probably believed this was Anne Boleyn?
</i></blockquote>
The date “1530″ on the rear was probably the artist’s guess as to the year the original image was created, but is probably just that - a guess. If the image does portray Anne in 1530, it would be two years before she married Henry VIII.<br />
<br />
Unlike the portrait of Lady
Bergavenny, the sitter in this portrait is wearing the appropriate clothing and jewelry for a woman of Anne Boleyn’s time-period and station. I would suggest that the date is closer to 1535 than 1530, though, simply because of the shortness of the lappets.<br />
<br />
The headdress closely resembles the one worn in Anne’s Nidd Hall and portrait medallion images.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="433" data-orig-width="437"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="433" data-orig-width="437" src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/5ddddc23169de397a5674c4637ddce93/tumblr_inline_onc83q0t111rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="496" data-orig-width="417"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="496" data-orig-width="417" src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/0dc1cf7260491d72f1f3b5fa8d1ead06/tumblr_inline_onc83qsqB61rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
The lappets on the hood reach to about mouth-level which would be correct for the mid 1530s.<br />
<br />
The date on the back of the portrait is difficult to distinguish (at the bottom of the frame) but 1796 seems correct, stylistically speaking.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="315" data-orig-width="347"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="315" data-orig-width="347" src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/af5f33146f54d5190d5842bec9f030bc/tumblr_inline_onc9i0CI341rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
As to what portrait the miniature may be based from, I suggest possibly this one by Jacobus Houbraken, 1738.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="372" data-orig-width="236"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="372" data-orig-width="236" src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/d6346f09dfbcbe13eadb24fd4a5c3b15/tumblr_inline_onc8mgFjzn1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
But what makes it intriguing to me is that the Houbraken etching was supposedly done after a Holbein portrait. I’d like to fantasize that the artist was actually looking at the Holbein painting itself when they made this miniature copy, and not this etching! Could we possibly be getting glimpses of the lost full-length Holbein of the queen which was lost in the late 18th century?<br />
<br />
One last thing... Note the hair of the sitter. It’s the same shade as that seen in Elizabeth’s portrait ring of her mother.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="231" data-orig-width="199"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="231" data-orig-width="199" src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/03a5ef539e7978902a1eb56c6bbf8647/tumblr_inline_onc8td4EKT1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
Yes, I’m still an advocate of the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/08/anne-boleyn-redhead.html">Anne Boleyn Was a Redhead</a> school! And it’s interesting the artist would choose to give her hair this shade if they were simply inventing colors for the black-and-white etching above. More fuel for my fantasy that the artist actually saw the lost Holbein!Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-12568204328923402602016-09-27T16:22:00.001-04:002016-09-27T16:22:45.824-04:00Did the "Dogs Lick Henry's Blood" After His Funeral?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPCUNuXViZh-cb2EAfrkpk1kreTWCoNkpwZIHE1fx8GkqqIOwibZPpfy27LjQHy5qMDk-cpGM_SHQkmSkoPXUg8XLRedzEPMZYnagMKHBqRiglnFxBvXu4_DOrw4kcdrUcxhx0ygsB0Y/s1600/priestdetail2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPCUNuXViZh-cb2EAfrkpk1kreTWCoNkpwZIHE1fx8GkqqIOwibZPpfy27LjQHy5qMDk-cpGM_SHQkmSkoPXUg8XLRedzEPMZYnagMKHBqRiglnFxBvXu4_DOrw4kcdrUcxhx0ygsB0Y/s1600/priestdetail2.jpg" /></a>I recently came across <a href="https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2012/02/death-of-henry-viii-demolishing-myths.html#comment-form">an article</a> which discusses this gruesome tale as one of the myths of Henry's death. For those of you needing a recap, the tale says that when Henry's coffin stayed overnight at Syon Abbey on its way to Henry VIII's funeral, it leaked a foul-smelling fluid on the floor, and a dog came to "<i>lick Henry's blood,</i>" fulfilling a curse on the king invoked by a Friar Peto during the days of Anne Boleyn.<br />
<br />
The author of the article noted that the source of this story was somewhat dubious. It was first written by Gilbert Burnet, whose work also gave rise to some of the other myths of Henry's reign, and then ghoulishly embellished by Agnes Strickland in the Victorian era.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The king being carried to Windsor to be buried, stood all night among the broken walls of Sion, and there the leaden coffin being cleft by the shaking of the carriage, the pavement of the church was wetted with Henry's blood. In the morning came plumbers to solder the coffin, under whose feet — I tremble while I write it </i><i>—</i><i> was suddenly seen a dog creeping, and licking up the king's blood. If you ask me how I know this, I answer, William Greville, who could scarcely drive away the dog, told me, and so did the plumber also.” </i></blockquote>
<br />
It's probable elements of fiction got mixed into the tale, especially given its emotionally-satisfying and edifying morality tale ending, all tied up neatly in a supernatural bow with the ghostly dog.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwivMLxyJuiY9505mlCjEDfL_BMYfJCTGbhCWxKE81Ms2_SooaN_6KZFUZz5xSd6NJCDf5k5wD7Ni2HUAw120yENJqKdXpgoYDKwnxpZUtu22NRoTBTHsf2AxEO0N9Nhj7o0ISWkTp9sk/s1600/tudor+funeral+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwivMLxyJuiY9505mlCjEDfL_BMYfJCTGbhCWxKE81Ms2_SooaN_6KZFUZz5xSd6NJCDf5k5wD7Ni2HUAw120yENJqKdXpgoYDKwnxpZUtu22NRoTBTHsf2AxEO0N9Nhj7o0ISWkTp9sk/s1600/tudor+funeral+5.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
But, as gross as it may be, it's highly probable Henry's coffin did leak, though I speculate that the "creeping" dog was probably an embellishment.<br />
<br />
When Henry died on the 28th of January, the news was kept secret for several days while Edward Seymour, uncle of the minor prince who would inherit the throne, consolidated his power. Property and titles were parceled out to the other nobles on the council until they were satisfied and Seymour could ensure that his role of Lord Protector would be unchallenged.<br />
<br />
Meals were delivered to the king's rooms as usual, and every appearance was kept up of the king being alive, but unwell.<br />
<br />
On the 31st of January, the king's death was announced, and the embalmers were able to get to work. It was likely an unpleasant task. Henry was over 300 lbs. when he died and had infected leg wounds. He may have also been suffering from renal or kidney failure, which would have created a backup of fluid in his system. And, after three days, the natural process of decomposition would have set in.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP6Bg-bqeWog8hByu7-PsJt1mMxv-H7ZAli5CxO6rg9CfOhRtOMrs9Or2OeN7FDliO2zMXbX00DMGDGlXg0O9E8Z2AkAYFa_AW2KHfW8Zu0UO8Xk-o8SChEjCGmZkpEWOgENbMzJl0NE/s1600/henry+viii+death.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP6Bg-bqeWog8hByu7-PsJt1mMxv-H7ZAli5CxO6rg9CfOhRtOMrs9Or2OeN7FDliO2zMXbX00DMGDGlXg0O9E8Z2AkAYFa_AW2KHfW8Zu0UO8Xk-o8SChEjCGmZkpEWOgENbMzJl0NE/s320/henry+viii+death.png" width="320" /></a>Without getting too graphic, Henry's unembalmed body was probably already leaking. It's something that modern embalmers have to deal with in preparing remains, and in the modern era, bodies are usually chemically preserved within 24 hours of death when being prepared for a funeral.<br />
<br />
Tudor embalmers would remove the intestines, heart and lungs. (This task usually fell to a noble's chandler, or the person who was in charge of the household's candles and wax, because wax was heavily used during the process.) Human decomposition usually begins within the stomach/intestines because of the natural bacteria already present. The removed organs would be casketed or put in urns, often buried at other churches that were important to the deceased, or along the road to their final funeral destination.<br />
<br />
The body cavity was stuffed with sawdust, spices, and herbs. Sometimes wax was poured inside. The body would be rubbed with perfumed salves and ointments, then wrapped in cerecloth - a heavy, waxed, canvas-like material. The bundle would then be encased in sheets of lead by the household's plumber.<br />
<br />
The lead coffin was put inside a more ornate outer coffin made of wood, often embellished with fine fabrics and gilded nails. Atop the coffin, an effigy of the deceased would lie. It was made from wood or wax, and meant to look as much like the deceased as possible. Sometimes, a "death mask" was used to create it. Grease would be smeared over the dead person's face, and then it was coated with wet plaster. Once it hardened, they had a perfect mold.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7bUBvMAYhIUSbGwgmE5RGDfV5fW3V9_IcC9VZ5_qCpnNyhA64kqepeHk5pAXnt9FK3AZ3e-2N_tVOHskloQgjNnij9O2yjSF5rxnUGpVTsNn96Tl4_6L8LRlwW28M0KzCQN0_gWbJ2I/s1600/henry+vii+deathbed_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7bUBvMAYhIUSbGwgmE5RGDfV5fW3V9_IcC9VZ5_qCpnNyhA64kqepeHk5pAXnt9FK3AZ3e-2N_tVOHskloQgjNnij9O2yjSF5rxnUGpVTsNn96Tl4_6L8LRlwW28M0KzCQN0_gWbJ2I/s320/henry+vii+deathbed_large.jpg" width="320" /></a>The effigy would wear the clothing of the deceased. Eyes open, sometimes smiling, it would stand in the place of the body, which wouldn't be quite so presentable for the long duration of the lying-in-state period or Tudor funerals, which usually lasted about a month.<br />
<br />
It was likely because of the delay between Henry's death and embalming that his burial occurred a rapid two weeks after his death. The famous overnight stay at Syon Abbey occurred on February 14 - five years (minus one day) after the beheading of Katheryn Howard.<br />
<br />
The story's narrative asserts that the jostling of the road had caused a separation in the plates of the lead coffin, which is certainly a reasonable explanation, but it may also be that the separation was caused by an explosion of decomposition gasses built up inside the lead coffin. As to why no one heard it? In the latter scenario, the excuse of the jostling might have been given because no one wanted to admit they'd left the coffin in the chapel alone overnight without attendants/mourners praying 'round the clock by the side of the dead king.<br />
<br />
It's unlikely that the matter below Henry's coffin was actually blood. More likely, the fluids were the products of decomposition, and could have been tinted from the perfumes and spices used in the embalming procedure. The smell would have been ghastly. It is <i>possible</i> that it could have attracted an animal. In the Tudor era, strays often wandered in and out of buildings, feasting on scraps that were disposed of poorly in those days before proper sanitation. But my guess is that the dog was an embellishment by those who wanted to portray Henry as wicked, and deserving of a gruesome end.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmqOKV5UE7G3Sym2rnxmZuBNbOhi1dNLhypoOC8ej_eOp9jKaa202cDNhqwircU1w__ur27erz3CGCZq9r0lXfzcOoLYH8dl18s1YX7bg6M6Dq649e7lvsBi4r_wcZKKDI4FS7r1jJ6c/s1600/vault+henry+viii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmqOKV5UE7G3Sym2rnxmZuBNbOhi1dNLhypoOC8ej_eOp9jKaa202cDNhqwircU1w__ur27erz3CGCZq9r0lXfzcOoLYH8dl18s1YX7bg6M6Dq649e7lvsBi4r_wcZKKDI4FS7r1jJ6c/s320/vault+henry+viii.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
According to the story, the plumber shored up the leaking inner lead coffin. Henry was transported another eight miles to St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where his body was placed in what was intended to be a temporary vault until his <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-repose-of-king-burial-place-of.html">grandiose tomb</a> could be constructed. That never happened, and there he remains.<br />
<br />
He lay undisturbed next to Jane Seymour for a hundred years until his vault was opened to hastily admit the remains of Charles I after his execution. The location was more or less forgotten until the Victorian era.<br />
<br />
The explorers noted that Henry's exterior wood coffin was in fragments, and the inner lead coffin appeared as though it had been <i>"beaten in with violence about the middle</i>." Henry's skeleton - including his skull, since "<i>traces of beard</i>" are mentioned - was actually visible, which means the lead plates must have completely peeled away, or gaped substantially. Jane Seymour's coffin, to Henry's right, was in perfect shape.<br />
<br />
Some speculate the damage was actually done when Charles I's coffin was shoved into the vault. But a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tZUNAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">1721 account</a> of Charles' burial says that a footsoldier had crept into Henry's vault before Charles was placed in side and had stolen one of Henry's bones by reaching through a hole in the coffin beneath the pall* that lay atop.(The fellow had intended to use it to fashion a knife handle.) So it appears the damage had already been done.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNM94e8miA-Z56Y3feW_gjEKNZSbcBYVS2QjyZkIk_rV6RDq-AqyDiY49zv6u4IZKtLXCKL295o2vHT14ql5LuLGUF4jH-KQZXFGvU62UhjSxNWhyphenhyphentd1d6c1BPdGQTjcybsRaM3Gr7Gks/s1600/Henry+viii+tombstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNM94e8miA-Z56Y3feW_gjEKNZSbcBYVS2QjyZkIk_rV6RDq-AqyDiY49zv6u4IZKtLXCKL295o2vHT14ql5LuLGUF4jH-KQZXFGvU62UhjSxNWhyphenhyphentd1d6c1BPdGQTjcybsRaM3Gr7Gks/s320/Henry+viii+tombstone.jpg" width="320" /></a>If the reason why Henry's coffin leaked was due to an explosion of decomposition gas, the force could have damaged his exterior coffin. The damage wouldn't have been immediately noticeable to onlookers, because it would have been hidden below the effigy and the fabric palls laid over the lid. Or, the damage could have been caused by the plumber, who had to open the exterior wood coffin to solder up the leaking lead plates. It could also have happened after its internment in the vault.<br />
<br />
Considering the delay between death and embalming, I would say that some leakage of the coffin was more likely than not. Whether it was enough to pool below on the floor is another matter. And due to the damage on Henry's coffin itself, I'm pretty confident that there was an explosion of decomposition gasses, either before his funeral or after it was placed in the vault.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*<span style="font-size: x-small;">The palls that had been described in the 1721 description appear to have vanished by 1813, because the description of the interior doesn't mention them, nor does the examination and sketch done in 1888</span>.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-77311005322152089822016-04-11T14:33:00.000-04:002016-04-17T16:24:48.381-04:00This is Not Anne Boleyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dBdoyV_4YJ0l0CUXqn24u34U_vHyP-XLvO-BfTXEyo5SO0Pr_xhaTjquu760y2oG2XN48zX_T4Z4BfZEViRAw7LpsYjtrxKPvhoNWvnGMTjtkD7i-gPFxe38SWJxj2hvJd_B0xUi6ms/s1600/Anne+bar+portrait.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dBdoyV_4YJ0l0CUXqn24u34U_vHyP-XLvO-BfTXEyo5SO0Pr_xhaTjquu760y2oG2XN48zX_T4Z4BfZEViRAw7LpsYjtrxKPvhoNWvnGMTjtkD7i-gPFxe38SWJxj2hvJd_B0xUi6ms/s640/Anne+bar+portrait.png" width="436" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This "new portrait of Anne Boleyn" has been making the rounds in social media, and now several <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwithomplofMAhXBwYMKHWdHD58QqQIIPjAO&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-3532419%2FAnne-Boleyn-s-head-turns-eBay-expert-finds-lost-16th-century-portrait-Henry-VIII-s-second-wife-online.html&usg=AFQjCNGPRbpFuVI2m0Yvzqz4GPhHP-gaXw&sig2=5_dyNM3OWtiCIBLAeeX2KA&bvm=bv.119028448,d.amc">news articles</a>. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">It is not Anne Boleyn.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The picture you see above is a copy of a copy of a copy of a painting that used to be in the collection of Horace Walpole. He was given it by a woman of the court who identified if as Joan, Baroness Bagevenny. Walpole had no reason to doubt this identification, and added it to his collection. The painting was sold in the 1840s, and has apparently vanished from existence. (<b>UPDATE</b>: <i>The painting has not vanished. It still exists and is in a private collection. Art historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor has examined the original painting years ago and searched it for any hint it can be connected to Anne Boleyn . Spoiler alert: He didn't <a href="http://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/3904_A_new_lost_portrait_of_Anne_Boleyn">find any</a></i>.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now, a historian has identified it as being Anne Boleyn. But there are serious, <b><u>serious</u></b> problems with this identification, which I will break down here. Buckle up, campers, 'cause this is gonna be a long post.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
First of all, the earliest sketch of the painting is this one from the Walpole collection. Looks a little different from the one above, even in the facial features.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84W6V0cIFd0oTNKgOQbyNaCq9JqJbmmMo9YsAkZsXPM0beirnSf4xXHiD4EwCSDwzmyVEpF88xrbtfwHQ1Bm0x2dLmORfy7CGCqub-9AETWmNej6sL1Z90JkzK7r6IM5XYZKtBvyMRjk/s1600/Screenshot+2016-03-31+20.34.01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84W6V0cIFd0oTNKgOQbyNaCq9JqJbmmMo9YsAkZsXPM0beirnSf4xXHiD4EwCSDwzmyVEpF88xrbtfwHQ1Bm0x2dLmORfy7CGCqub-9AETWmNej6sL1Z90JkzK7r6IM5XYZKtBvyMRjk/s320/Screenshot+2016-03-31+20.34.01.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You'll notice that the "R" insignia on the collar that caused so much excitement is nowhere to be found. That's because the original painting didn't have it, either, as shown in the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ofZTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA284&lpg=PA284&dq=Johanna%20Lady%20Abergavenny&source=bl&ots=-uU2fQREeB&sig=erxhq8uPTZ0wJ44tau5o0JBTQMQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAj_SWhurLAhVCsoMKHWxdA9gQ6AEIPzAK#v=onepage&q=Johanna%20Lady%20Abergavenny&f=false">catalog description </a>of the painting when it went up for sale:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUsvE-5pd-F8FPT0-8PErFl0bSDMSo1qhKS4JPLw63gCYnBL2LoHgdn_3G9lsuANAyx9TAo5NiOjjNj7uqBs4EprYh7D5R45DrP6Dtp3PXb-1Xse31xFbUJURHNBxXMhUxH9Av30oCIo/s1600/bergavenny+painting+details.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUsvE-5pd-F8FPT0-8PErFl0bSDMSo1qhKS4JPLw63gCYnBL2LoHgdn_3G9lsuANAyx9TAo5NiOjjNj7uqBs4EprYh7D5R45DrP6Dtp3PXb-1Xse31xFbUJURHNBxXMhUxH9Av30oCIo/s1600/bergavenny+painting+details.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here is another version of the same sketch.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v5GqTCndtLqMbSDH3owVw1RA1XDcNDwPeNevH4jcfzt3fH2M7vvY17fUICgKwfd9l0uZ1Ca98noQUzqSMxxGsL0MP-DWGaUu53vT_HZc8-_nPa1w7hA4oATc9raPmHA90PvXlfKZuoY/s1600/Lady+Bergavenny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v5GqTCndtLqMbSDH3owVw1RA1XDcNDwPeNevH4jcfzt3fH2M7vvY17fUICgKwfd9l0uZ1Ca98noQUzqSMxxGsL0MP-DWGaUu53vT_HZc8-_nPa1w7hA4oATc9raPmHA90PvXlfKZuoY/s320/Lady+Bergavenny.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<br />
The "R" insignias are the invention of the third sketch artist. They do not appear in the original sketch, nor in the painting upon which the sketches were based.<br />
<br />
Now, on to the details. (I warned you this would be long.)<br />
<br />
The style of the hood puts the image firmly in the early 1520s. The lappets in this image almost reach the woman's collarbone. In the 1530s, lappets were chin length (as you can see in Anne's portrait medal.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx67Tj866512hfjgJeDCQ0KXYnTw_7OsX6fIzAfTKrY8q8mzQ9xh0qhP1nf-6puFwk5MjrPGzQzML0naV8hzlsVio94vFhxabKaRyF9IXY7Qs8_07zpjhjzixip0VnKb4Hfem5rNfBkIw/s1600/anne-boleyn-medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx67Tj866512hfjgJeDCQ0KXYnTw_7OsX6fIzAfTKrY8q8mzQ9xh0qhP1nf-6puFwk5MjrPGzQzML0naV8hzlsVio94vFhxabKaRyF9IXY7Qs8_07zpjhjzixip0VnKb4Hfem5rNfBkIw/s320/anne-boleyn-medal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Here is a Holbein sketch from the 1530s said to be Anne Boleyn. Note the lappets.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5_NwFaHbA_iCpqxfe1XTOebhr1UHyBO6IcEN35CEQqdvLNsghClfG-SxIpfKsTTublw8x38hMVJL5jc7zB8nkNxELoNSYcbVA3vSKJswQZRX1WlDTixy4QbqqNK7aLjEva8NjpyzFNM/s1600/anne+boleyn+sketch+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5_NwFaHbA_iCpqxfe1XTOebhr1UHyBO6IcEN35CEQqdvLNsghClfG-SxIpfKsTTublw8x38hMVJL5jc7zB8nkNxELoNSYcbVA3vSKJswQZRX1WlDTixy4QbqqNK7aLjEva8NjpyzFNM/s320/anne+boleyn+sketch+detail.jpg" width="147" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This is the Anne Boleyn Nidd Hall painting (sometimes said to be Jane Seymour re-purposed.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG8qeudxMYJEMw7gqDnkEJvBmuLVwZZ7ey7imkWaogNZ2oF6bBUUNPYQFuvCHlN5IFa2Cjiu5hzrYefJ06-ScB8nr3OdkGIt7vwSz0CpLbGodOthjg_b9N4A2YopxBKBJNpr9NO5turg/s1600/anne+boleyn+nidd+hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG8qeudxMYJEMw7gqDnkEJvBmuLVwZZ7ey7imkWaogNZ2oF6bBUUNPYQFuvCHlN5IFa2Cjiu5hzrYefJ06-ScB8nr3OdkGIt7vwSz0CpLbGodOthjg_b9N4A2YopxBKBJNpr9NO5turg/s320/anne+boleyn+nidd+hall.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>
<br />
Again, note the lappets.<br />
<br />
They got shorter every year. By 1536, they were at mouth level.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_D8DB7EXHbD0d0XKUqwP8GCaidAIAaKkmedTvH3tkq97iPqcyk_4aLqUj0uHa0_x7tjwgMyD68YGu2ZpWppQmOesuvcwQF_f0mG5Rk4L4cneg-SGSFC0HqN6HufLAgzyrzV2iwT194o/s1600/jane+seymour+sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_D8DB7EXHbD0d0XKUqwP8GCaidAIAaKkmedTvH3tkq97iPqcyk_4aLqUj0uHa0_x7tjwgMyD68YGu2ZpWppQmOesuvcwQF_f0mG5Rk4L4cneg-SGSFC0HqN6HufLAgzyrzV2iwT194o/s320/jane+seymour+sketch.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It was also fashionable in Anne's time for the veil to be pinned up to the side of the hood, as you can see in the medal. The sitter in the sketch has a veil hanging straight down. (Look at the portrait medal and see how the veil is clumped on the left side of the head. On Jane Seymour's sketch above, it's clumped on the right side.)<br />
<br />
The gown itself dates more to the 1520s, as well. The neckline is square and not as low as the necklines in the 1530s. Compare the upper image to the images of Jane and the Annes. The necklines in the 1530s had gone wider, making them more rectangular and revealing more of the shoulders. You can see a similar neckline in Mary Tudor's childhood portrait.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuSu_7gp-MAZuTc5KZiD22AB86QBhXk9HhmQxc5unZUvhFbXyWSkXUUScoHKyGW6FvWyWfvMdkArRz-_vw8Q9ScUxeA2IuJZM0_DSBknsKeDbRGyilUi99YwkVKq1oBXPBBcfygvxWnM/s1600/Mary_Tudor_by_Horenbout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuSu_7gp-MAZuTc5KZiD22AB86QBhXk9HhmQxc5unZUvhFbXyWSkXUUScoHKyGW6FvWyWfvMdkArRz-_vw8Q9ScUxeA2IuJZM0_DSBknsKeDbRGyilUi99YwkVKq1oBXPBBcfygvxWnM/s320/Mary_Tudor_by_Horenbout.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anne Boleyn was known to be at the height of style and an innovator in fashion. She would not have worn something so out of date as queen.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMYUvhshHCoyTzd6bwLSs1SMCOKLNpatOkYkFtgrswznPn1NnCBFXtGtst6FnBbxLSzLbFGf5xflVgQN25ikCHt0K22mxnIH3Db-qIKU7xgNHU67bEKs6GH5BRss0ALcEPqLBNH84MEg/s1600/annebolyen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMYUvhshHCoyTzd6bwLSs1SMCOKLNpatOkYkFtgrswznPn1NnCBFXtGtst6FnBbxLSzLbFGf5xflVgQN25ikCHt0K22mxnIH3Db-qIKU7xgNHU67bEKs6GH5BRss0ALcEPqLBNH84MEg/s1600/annebolyen1.jpg" /></a></div>
Anne Boleyn was not rich enough in the early 1520s to afford the jewels the sitter wears, nor would she have been able to wear them due to the sumptuary laws. In the Hever/NPG portraits, Anne is wearing jewels more appropriate to her station.<br />
<br />
Anne was either thirteen years old or twenty years old in 1520 (depending on the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-age-of-anne-boleyn.html">birth date</a> you believe.) The sitter in the sketch is clearly a middle-aged woman, not a young girl.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Even the description of the painting says the sitter is a middle-aged woman.</b><br />
<br />
The hood has the letter "I" and "A" repeated. The "I" initials are larger than the "A"s. This lady's given name started with an "I" or a "J." "A" was a secondary name, given less importance.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>There is no way to explain the "I" insignias in the context of Anne Boleyn.</b> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafttioXcJY-qVdH_8y5hCbSTXVcl5f6UfV7NEI4Mf_1dcjU6rDLJxw-H5OYe16K-ZQQtpdWIeplKf2hLr5M5GbIDaefMSygIUZhpyxNzKSlZtOYXCDOyIIxpUIFPPa-4FfqkbN0CfuGI/s1600/is+in+the+hood+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafttioXcJY-qVdH_8y5hCbSTXVcl5f6UfV7NEI4Mf_1dcjU6rDLJxw-H5OYe16K-ZQQtpdWIeplKf2hLr5M5GbIDaefMSygIUZhpyxNzKSlZtOYXCDOyIIxpUIFPPa-4FfqkbN0CfuGI/s320/is+in+the+hood+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbvN-E9ZL_hMCyCHXVdHY29E53COQKYSCcYxy8Reyai9RUVUJVWDYFdhF49RHQ6148-aArnzcYMFFH51ndp5UCw72p6CQbpoVkTvnt8aBcNl7wNg3Bp3NQvytuGfOfm4jmltSTJncFO0/s1600/is+in+the+hood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbvN-E9ZL_hMCyCHXVdHY29E53COQKYSCcYxy8Reyai9RUVUJVWDYFdhF49RHQ6148-aArnzcYMFFH51ndp5UCw72p6CQbpoVkTvnt8aBcNl7wNg3Bp3NQvytuGfOfm4jmltSTJncFO0/s320/is+in+the+hood.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anne favored the HA cipher after her marriage. She and Henry put it on everything from her personal jewels to the buildings erected during her reign. If it wasn't "HA" it was "AR" or "ARS" for <i>Anna Regina Sovereign.</i> It's inexplicable for her to revert back to a simple "A" with no mention of her marriage or royal status - via crown jewels or other symbols - <b>anywhere </b>in the image. The sitter in the sketch is not royal. She's obviously rich and titled, but she has no indications of royalty whatsoever.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRARVwhknNRnJ0eX1fCtU3_Ic1aG0nNNmKoeNo-1kZy6FYXQx8wdN2ymGsjDHSotVC4LL5TrMsp84d2t4B8CfF5VM-mns0JB1UzeTLSMAFzTMuo75is-qH6fLDLkOcdTiVJVmNUM__GI/s1600/anne+boleyn+ha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRARVwhknNRnJ0eX1fCtU3_Ic1aG0nNNmKoeNo-1kZy6FYXQx8wdN2ymGsjDHSotVC4LL5TrMsp84d2t4B8CfF5VM-mns0JB1UzeTLSMAFzTMuo75is-qH6fLDLkOcdTiVJVmNUM__GI/s320/anne+boleyn+ha.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>In twenty years of studying Tudor England, I have never heard of the carnation standing for "coronation" as Weir claims in the article. </b>The carnation was a symbol of betrothal or marriage. (And Anne Boleyn certainly would not have had her coronation image painted wearing a headdress and gown almost thirteen years out of style.)<br />
<br />
If this really was a coronation portrait, Anne would have worn some of the crown jewels, such as the “consort’s necklace” all of Henry’s queens after Anne are painted wearing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-bs_NuNy5ZdG7tDWRWcgiOM0BYq5QHbXzszet0RFkCCnldH-HO5kqWB8I7mxcQp0Zfd3gJijo_0iXJKtw7W3dCZbYBPUOn1trD_VnfzuQpBvKK6CzKlgcNxF0RYbxEyFL3Umyd_4oyk/s1600/detail30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-bs_NuNy5ZdG7tDWRWcgiOM0BYq5QHbXzszet0RFkCCnldH-HO5kqWB8I7mxcQp0Zfd3gJijo_0iXJKtw7W3dCZbYBPUOn1trD_VnfzuQpBvKK6CzKlgcNxF0RYbxEyFL3Umyd_4oyk/s320/detail30.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN1BLR1U5iNzPz6VGRNDilTJetIQCfmZWlvo7iEray511KGilgzlQ4-3jP8FZ-JjrVFzV0tRiCeD0yNsrRFB8zr50HWjVipt5uOKGAvwGXdJjze76cfcBOmATUMnbkO-eZt7bRVsXUig/s1600/consort%2527s+necklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN1BLR1U5iNzPz6VGRNDilTJetIQCfmZWlvo7iEray511KGilgzlQ4-3jP8FZ-JjrVFzV0tRiCeD0yNsrRFB8zr50HWjVipt5uOKGAvwGXdJjze76cfcBOmATUMnbkO-eZt7bRVsXUig/s320/consort%2527s+necklace.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
She would have had “HA” in her headdress instead of just her maiden name. She could have been painted with the crown of St. Edward beside her as her daughter, Elizabeth, did. She would have used the RAS (Regina Anna Soverign) insignia designed for her, or SOME reference to her royalty, not just her maiden name.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6v8QJ_naqlgD_A-E-ed2Pj0anax_YyocFzSSysxJp9vKh8D0t_4otT5t4zLew6qiAhvGa792z-xHD-23zjjbpGyEodhYnqNwIccsn9P4ttvKQCDjm__x92HZ6Pg1EgLyPXpBTH8a2QMo/s1600/anne+boleyn+nidd+hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6v8QJ_naqlgD_A-E-ed2Pj0anax_YyocFzSSysxJp9vKh8D0t_4otT5t4zLew6qiAhvGa792z-xHD-23zjjbpGyEodhYnqNwIccsn9P4ttvKQCDjm__x92HZ6Pg1EgLyPXpBTH8a2QMo/s320/anne+boleyn+nidd+hall.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In the Nidd Hall painting, she's wearing the Consort's Necklace, plus three strands of pearls Jane Seymour is later seen wearing in the Dynasty portrait (obviously a royal set.) She also may be wearing the Consort's Necklace with a cross pendant in her portrait medallion... It's hard to tell.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadWlQBzBPT-EOg7EQXkMxn6Hu2lHl8NlgfZWqwR8Y8lRDmPKd01o7Tc0kcrQ1_rx2mTiBRXbGIF8MY4KnxeW7cZ-c7OqCgHeapl1iD-8HVWe_Sq6BhSumJfve17ElrvLch-yXMrSeuV0/s1600/anne-boleyn-medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadWlQBzBPT-EOg7EQXkMxn6Hu2lHl8NlgfZWqwR8Y8lRDmPKd01o7Tc0kcrQ1_rx2mTiBRXbGIF8MY4KnxeW7cZ-c7OqCgHeapl1iD-8HVWe_Sq6BhSumJfve17ElrvLch-yXMrSeuV0/s320/anne-boleyn-medal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>But note the initials Anne chose as queen: AR. She signified her royalty in her post-marriage portraits.</b><br />
<br />
Walpole had good reason to identify the painting with the Bergavenny family. Joan FitzAlan (the reported sitter) was the daughter of the Earl of Arundel (accounting for the "A"). She married the Baron of Bergavenny (the "B".) Her first name accounts for the "I" insiginas. The purpose of this image, whether or not it was painted after Joan's death, was to celebrate the uniting of those houses, Arundel and Bergavenny, and the woman who made it happen - Joan - by dint of her marriage. The design of the image itself screams its purpose.<br />
<br />
Though Joan was deceased at the time this image was painted, but posthumous paintings were often done with the current fashions (see the painting of Mary Tudor with Charles Brandon for an example.)<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I cannot say for <i>certain</i> the identification is correct and the sketch is Joan. But I'm willing to bet the farm it's not Anne Boleyn.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
Read Dr. Bendor Grosvenor's blog article <a href="http://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/3904_A_new_lost_portrait_of_Anne_Boleyn">here</a>.<br />
Claire Ridgeway of the Anne Boleyn Files <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/lady-bergavenny-turns-anne-boleyn/">gives her opinion</a> (and was kind enough to link my article!)Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-63033776200831511352015-06-18T00:00:00.000-04:002015-06-19T10:44:56.518-04:00Anne Boleyn's Final, Small, Strange Victory<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="75" data-orig-width="445"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="75" data-orig-width="445" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/f5067f7ff165f7620e3d26745361ffb3/tumblr_inline_nn2e68qtfw1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
<h2>
Mid-April, 1536</h2>
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/df8311c723fc31ba67510ef6e5a37cfe/tumblr_inline_nn2ea0PXZX1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="665" data-orig-width="832" height="256" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/df8311c723fc31ba67510ef6e5a37cfe/tumblr_inline_nn2ea0PXZX1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> Ambassador <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/eustace-chapuys.html">Eustace Chapuys</a> had been at court since 1529, and had witnessed most of Henry VIII’s efforts to rid himself of Katharine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. Chapuys was unabashedly on Katharine’s side, and he <b><i>despised</i></b> Anne. His vicious, unsubstantiated gossip and snide insinuations about Anne have wound their way into history, since his ambassadorial reports make up the backbone of many of the era’s histories.<br />
<br />
<br />
As late as 1536, Chapuys had never actually spoken to Anne, or interacted with her in any way. He avoided any contact with her, though he spent a great deal of time in his letters obsessing over her activities.<br />
<br />
In a letter to the Imperial court, dated <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol10/pp287-310">April 21</a>, Chapuys relates a strange set of incidents that occurred over the last month. At this point, he was unaware of the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-1536-conspiracy-to-destroy-queen.html">plot</a> that was already underway, a plot that would end in Anne’s arrest and execution a little over a month later.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/31b799b318065f681173d86b59a1b9ef/tumblr_inline_nn2edudiyU1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="550" data-orig-width="500" height="320" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/31b799b318065f681173d86b59a1b9ef/tumblr_inline_nn2edudiyU1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="290" /></a> Chapuys met with Cromwell just after Easter to discuss the possibility of the King Henry reconciling with the pope, and the deteriorating situation in France. But more important to Chapuys - on a personal level - was the king’s reconciliation with his daughter, Mary, whom the king had treated with increasing cruelty for the girl’s refusal to accept herself as illegitimate and ineligible to inherit the throne.<br />
<br />
Cromwell went out of his way to show respect to Chapuys and the emperor he represented, kissing the letters Chapuys had brought him. Cromwell assured him matters would be settled all parties’ satisfaction in time, and the king was merely waiting for the right opportunity to “express his affection” for the princess. Neither Henry, nor his council, had any regard for France, he said, and they had more esteem for the least hair on the Emperor’s head than they did for King Francis and all of his people. Laying it on a bit thick, Cromwell was.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/9bb91aaec80600097ada18b9a64cb787/tumblr_inline_nn2fgiOyFJ1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="376" data-orig-width="725" height="165" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/9bb91aaec80600097ada18b9a64cb787/tumblr_inline_nn2fgiOyFJ1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The following Tuesday, Chapuys was brought to meet with the king and his council, and it seems to have been quite the occasion for him. Chapuys describes the congratulations and laudatory comments made by the council members, praising him for the work he had done on the reconciliation with the Emperor. <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/george-boleyn.html">George Boleyn</a>, Lord Rochford, was one of those who came to greet him. Chapuys reluctantly liked “the Concubine’s brother,” in spite of himself. George had the same charm and intelligence as his sister, and was an outgoing fellow. But Chapuys was irritated that George couldn’t refrain from “Lutheran discussions” of the reformed faith he so ardently supported.<br />
<br />
Cromwell took Chapuys aside and said the king wanted him to go visit Anne and kiss her hand, something Chapuys had steadfastly avoided all of these years. The simple courtesy was an action fraught with political implications. If Chapuys bowed to Anne, he was acknowledging she was the Queen of England, and that meant Princess Mary was a bastard with no claim on the throne, a repudiation of the Emperor’s stance.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/1c7bdd1469c4177cf62b2b1565e4536a/tumblr_inline_nn2eiv78cn1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="387" data-orig-width="397" height="311" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/1c7bdd1469c4177cf62b2b1565e4536a/tumblr_inline_nn2eiv78cn1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> Chapuys tried to tactfully wriggle out of it, telling Cromwell it “wasn’t advisable” and begging him to give the king his apologetic excuses. Cromwell returned, saying the king had taken Chapuys’s refusal well enough and invited him to speak with the king after dinner. Chapuys must have breathed a sigh of relief. Diplomatic crisis averted.<br />
<br />
The king showed Chapuys exaggerated courtesy, which should have had Chapuys’s “spidey sense” tingling. The two of them had experienced tense relations in the past, at one point descending into a screaming match over Henry’s treatment of Katharine and Princess Mary. But Henry was now distancing himself from the French (Anne’s allies) and trying to begin repairing relations with the Emperor. Soon the “sticking point” - Anne herself - would be gone, though Chapuys did not yet know that.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/3e30c924b9b64e80eff5b9cc51b70ab4/tumblr_inline_nn2ejkl2Zd1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="159" data-orig-width="382" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/3e30c924b9b64e80eff5b9cc51b70ab4/tumblr_inline_nn2ejkl2Zd1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a><br />
They had a brief conversation about what the Emperor was up to, and Henry said he hoped the Emperor would take his advice,<br />
<blockquote>
<i>
as that of a very old friend, good brother, and, as it were, a father, as he might understand by what I should tell him hereafter more at leisure. On this he said, Well, we should have leisure to discuss all matters.
</i></blockquote>
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/41d75d0be1b8ad7ede232e8dffaef6ab/tumblr_inline_nn2ekcws7R1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="466" data-orig-width="333" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/41d75d0be1b8ad7ede232e8dffaef6ab/tumblr_inline_nn2ekcws7R1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Chapuys would have another opportunity to speak to the king soon, but right now, Henry had something planned.<br />
<br />
George Boleyn came right on schedule to escort Chapuys to mass, but he didn’t lead him down the usual path. Instead, he steered him right toward where Anne Boleyn was walking. Chapuys notes that this was all a set-up in his description of the events, but he was really rendered helpless to prevent it by etiquette.<br />
<blockquote>
<i>
I was conducted to mass by lord Rochford, the concubine's brother, and when the King came to the offering there was a great concourse of people partly to see how the concubine and I behaved to each other. She was courteous enough, for when I was behind the door by which she entered, she returned, merely to do me reverence as I did to her</i>. [...] <i>I am told the concubine asked the King why I did not enter there as the other ambassadors did, and the King replied that it was not without good reason.
</i></blockquote>
Chapuys had bowed to Anne and acknowledged her as queen. By extension, the Emperor himself had just acknowledged Anne. Much like Anne’s meeting with Francis at <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/10/anne-boleyns-visit-to-calais.html">Calais</a> when he tacitly acknowledged her as Henry’s consort, Anne had just been given the Emperor’s acknowledgement, as well.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/9f668fd4592e5e21360baebc201d3a84/tumblr_inline_nn2enrmgKJ1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="148" data-orig-width="334" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/9f668fd4592e5e21360baebc201d3a84/tumblr_inline_nn2enrmgKJ1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a><br />
From her question to the king about why Chapuys had entered the way he did, it does not appear that Anne was in on this little plot. It should be noted, however, that she went out of her way to be polite to this man who had said so many hateful things about her, doubling back so that she could stop and bow to him. None would have blamed her if she had sailed right on past him without acknowledging his presence, but she made it a point to be courteous. He gave her the bare minimum of courtesy in return, a quick bow. He said not a word to her, nor offered to kiss her hand.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/ad3648cdb79dc0ea8ec04055df8609a4/tumblr_inline_nn2ephhxIs1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="500" data-orig-width="333" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/ad3648cdb79dc0ea8ec04055df8609a4/tumblr_inline_nn2ephhxIs1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> But the question is why this took place. Why did Henry feel the need to force this final little victory when he knew he would be killing her a month later? What petty thrill did he get from arranging this forced acknowledgement of the queen he would be so shortly disposing of?<br />
<br />
Chapuys spoke again with the king a bit later, but despite the congenial way the events had begun, it soon descended into heated bickering. Chapuys made his Emperor’s points in conversation with the king and then excused himself.<br />
<blockquote>
<i>
After which they talked together, while I conversed and made some acquaintance with the brother of the young lady to whom the King is now attached </i>[Jane Seymour], <i>always keeping an eye upon the gestures of the King and those with him. There seemed to be some dispute and considerable anger, as I thought, between the King and Cromwell; and after a considerable time Cromwell grumbling left the conference in the window where the King was, excusing himself that he was so very thirsty that he was quite exhausted, as he really was with pure vexation, and sat down upon a coffer out of sight of the King, where he sent for something to drink.
</i></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/d990b59d40a746893f06ecce80b01503/tumblr_inline_nn2eycqSZT1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="456" data-orig-width="315" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/d990b59d40a746893f06ecce80b01503/tumblr_inline_nn2eycqSZT1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Cromwell spoke with Chapuys “confusedly and in anger” snapping out the king’s responses to Chapuys’s points, including the chilling remark that the Princess was Henry’s daughter and he would treat her as he saw fit and no one had the right to interfere.<br />
<br />
Cromwell also let Chapuys know there were dark currents stirring under the surface that Chapuys didn’t yet know about.<br />
<blockquote>
[T]<i>elling me also that although he had always pretended that what he said to me was of his own suggestion, yet he had neither said nor done anything without express command from the King. On my asking him what could have made this variation in the King's will, he said he could not imagine what spirit it was </i>[...] <i>and he concluded that princes have spirits or properties which are hidden and unknown to all others. By which conversations Cromwell showed covertly his dissatisfaction at the strange contradictions of his master.</i> [...] <i> </i>[H]<i>e told me that he who trusts in the word of princes, who say and unsay things, and promises himself anything from them, is not over wise, as he had found on Tuesday last</i>[.]</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/10d39b48c9478ddf6e05068f7e5ed01d/tumblr_inline_nn2ezvkkwa1rcv18h_540.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="549" data-orig-width="578" height="304" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/10d39b48c9478ddf6e05068f7e5ed01d/tumblr_inline_nn2ezvkkwa1rcv18h_540.png" width="320" /></a> After a beginning in which he was so excited by the progress he thought had occurred and the honors done to him, Chapuys ended this letter in despair, and suggested the Emperor might want to throw himself in with the French and the pope, declaring Henry excommunicate and unfit to rule, and that Mary was the rightful ruler of England, enforcing this edict by military force. Perhaps the threat of a gathering army might bring Henry to his senses.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Chapuys’s next letter begins with saying Cromwell has taken to his bed “in sorrow” over the matter and has retreated to his chambers. Cromwell wasn’t weeping into his pillow in anguish over the state of political turmoil - he was using his illness as a cover for the secret work he was doing in setting up the prosecution of Anne and her “lovers.”<br />
<br />
Chapuys notes in his next letter that Princess Mary and her party were “jealous” over the fact Chapuys bowed to Anne, though he protests that he never kissed her hand, nor spoke to her.<br />
<blockquote>
<i>
Although I would not kiss or speak to the Concubine, the Princess and other good persons have been somewhat jealous at the mutual reverences required by politeness which were done at the church. I refused to visit her until I had spoken to the King. If I had seen any hope from the King's answer I would have offered not two but 100 candles to the shedevil, although another thing made me unwilling, viz., that I was told she was not in favor with the King; besides, Cromwell was quite of my opinion that I should do well to wait till I had spoken to the King.
</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/2fb4020c78b9b54079c93bd67a8f283e/tumblr_inline_nn2fao6wkN1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="381" data-orig-width="293" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/2fb4020c78b9b54079c93bd67a8f283e/tumblr_inline_nn2fao6wkN1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a></div>
In light of the events shortly to come, Cromwell advising Chapuys to hold off on visiting Anne or giving her gifts is quite interesting. The king had made his point in regards to forcing the “acknowledgement.” No further courtesy to Anne was necessary.<br />
<br />
One month from the time Chapuys was writing these words, Anne would be languishing in the Tower, and the swordsman of Calais would already be on his way.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-41900315411784686272015-06-17T00:00:00.000-04:002015-06-17T16:16:16.828-04:00Camilla Parker-Bowles is the Anne Boleyn of Our Age<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="483" data-orig-width="620"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="483" data-orig-width="620" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/e1a7d20061f69a835c389d65adf5340d/tumblr_inline_nmjraau8Os1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
The marriage of Charles and Camilla has some striking similarities to the story of Anne Boleyn, and her public perception.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="628" data-orig-width="1528"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="628" data-orig-width="1528" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/a89ba04e2576cf4f9a34bd10cac9143e/tumblr_inline_nmjrclaJh41rcv18h_540.png" /></figure><figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="628" data-orig-width="1528"><br /></figure><figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="628" data-orig-width="1528"><br /></figure><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/dcd4d853a0a7b357bd86ff72b512ea9c/tumblr_inline_nmjrorXsxe1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="315" data-orig-width="267" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/dcd4d853a0a7b357bd86ff72b512ea9c/tumblr_inline_nmjrorXsxe1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a>~ Like Anne Boleyn, Camilla was the “other woman” <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-home-wrecker.html">luring</a> the (future) king away from a princess who was beloved by the public.<br />
<br />
~ Camilla is not conventionally beautiful, and her appearance has been mocked in the press. People could not understand what Henry saw in Anne Boleyn, either, because she was not <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-real-face-of-anne-boleyn.html">beautiful</a> by the standards of the era.<br />
<br />
<br />
~ Camilla is a mere gentlewoman, as Anne was, rising above her station to capture the heart of a king. Marrying for such an ephemeral reason as “love” has always been suspect in royal circles.<br />
<br />
~ Both women were blamed for the ill-treatment of their predecessors.<br />
<br />
~ In both cases, the ex-wife clung to her old title, Diana keeping the title of “Princess” and Katharine refusing to surrender the title of Queen. In both cases, the public supported this usage.<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="234" data-orig-width="255"><a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/814fc7c56e046b5db5bae0592e522cda/tumblr_inline_nmjryxAbKI1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="234" data-orig-width="255" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/814fc7c56e046b5db5bae0592e522cda/tumblr_inline_nmjryxAbKI1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a></figure><br />
~ Both women were the “scandal of Christendom.” Camilla is divorced; Anne had been pre-contracted, requiring a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-dispensation-to-marry-anne-boleyn.html">dispensation</a>.<br />
<br />
~ Both were the king’s “mistress” (though Anne refused to sleep with the king until they were <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/when-did-anne-boleyn-and-henry-viii.html">lawfully wed</a>.)<br />
<br />
~ Both were called ugly names disparaging their chastity.<br />
<br />
~ Camilla, like Anne, has fought an uphill battle to be recognized as her husband’s lawful consort. However graciously or charitably she behaves, there are many who will never accept nor “forgive” Camilla for usurping Diana’s place. Women were recorded as hating Anne, the “<i>goggle-eyed whore</i>” who made a mockery of the sacred vows of marriage.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/9f668fd4592e5e21360baebc201d3a84/tumblr_inline_nmjs75CPwC1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="148" data-orig-width="334" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/9f668fd4592e5e21360baebc201d3a84/tumblr_inline_nmjs75CPwC1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a>~ The prince’s “<a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/resources/anne-boleyn-words/henry-viiis-love-letters-to-anne-boleyn/">love letters</a>” (phone calls) to Camilla were made public in order to humiliate them. The public salivated and snickered over their playful talk the same way they must have snickered over Henry wishing to kiss Anne’s “<i>pretty dukkys</i>.”<br />
<br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/0787aabfd2f669dee698981ab83d4c86/tumblr_inline_nmjsqlUivf1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="360" data-orig-width="368" height="313" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/0787aabfd2f669dee698981ab83d4c86/tumblr_inline_nmjsqlUivf1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a>~ The prince’s wedding to Camilla was low-key in contrast to the lavish spectacle of his wedding to Diana, the same as with Henry VIII.<br />
<br />
<br />
~ Both of the ex-wives died not long after their divorce. In both cases, the surviving royals were criticized for not being respectful enough of the deceased. People still leave pomegranates on Katharine’s tomb, and visit the estate where Diana is buried.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<br />
<br />
Fortunately, Charles already has his “heir and a spare” and doesn’t seem to be the head-chopping type. Camilla has a chance Anne Boleyn never had - to slowly win the public over and grow into her role as consort. Whether she will ever be the Queen of England remains to be seen, but it seems public perception of her is softening as time passes. Anne had only a scant three years. Her reign is mostly known from the “<a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/eustace-chapuys.html">tabloids</a>” of her day, and so we may never have a clear picture of what she was really like, and what she could have become had she survived Henry’s obsession.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-78140127396436714042015-06-16T00:30:00.000-04:002016-04-17T16:27:58.634-04:00Did Elizabeth Inherit Anne Boleyn's Jewelry?<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="571" data-orig-width="400" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></figure><br /><br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="219" data-orig-width="387" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></figure><br /><br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="236" data-orig-width="276"></figure><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/84369e70b69b30e1ffb0dce90640e2ca/tumblr_inline_nmwtknOUG71rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="236" data-orig-width="276" height="342" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/84369e70b69b30e1ffb0dce90640e2ca/tumblr_inline_nmwtknOUG71rcv18h_540.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
There seems to be some misconceptions about the possible fate of Anne Boleyn's jewelry, and so I decided to update this article.<br />
<br />
Every queen had a selection of <i>personal </i>jewelry which was not part of the crown jewels. These personal jewels could include gifts from her husband during their marriage, or pieces she owned prior to her wedding. Anne's personal jewelry would not have been considered part of the crown jewels, even after her death and her husband's acquisition of her property.<br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/95a48b6c9748f12e214c3055da6c87d5/tumblr_inline_nmwubmuBqU1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="571" data-orig-width="400" height="320" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/95a48b6c9748f12e214c3055da6c87d5/tumblr_inline_nmwubmuBqU1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="224" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
The crown jewels were a set of gems that were handed down from monarch to monarch. You can see the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/recycling-queens-jewels.html">crown jewels</a> of the Tudor era in the portraits of Henry's queens. The "consort's necklace" is a piece which seems to have been worn by each woman after Anne Boleyn, and it appears not to have been re-set for each queen as many gems were.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Jane Seymour’s portrait is where it first turns up (though Anne may be wearing it in her portrait medallion with a cross pendant.)<br />
<br />
Katheryn Howard wears it next.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="496" data-orig-width="463"><a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/486e34b999d082f8b49e22e0f86f3ead/tumblr_inline_nmwugnKqkg1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="268" data-orig-width="186" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/486e34b999d082f8b49e22e0f86f3ead/tumblr_inline_nmwugnKqkg1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a><img alt="image" data-orig-height="496" data-orig-width="463" height="200" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/02bce80282145dae07998c2bd9741dab/tumblr_inline_nmwucrFqx61rcv18h_540.png" width="186" /></figure><br />
After that, Kateryn Parr wore it with a different pendant.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="268" data-orig-width="186"></figure><br /><br />
A particularly fabulous gem might be added to the crown jewels, but that seems to have depended on the monarch who purchased it - whether he or she wanted to "gift" it to the crown - or how it was purchased (whether with the monarch's privy purse or with the funds of the crown.) The current queen, Elizabeth II, owns many fabulous gems - tiaras, and jewelry sets - that have been passed down through her family that are her personal property and not part of the crown jewels.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="208" data-orig-width="221"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/c1d4bff8c01db0d14f06464bdf0f0888/tumblr_inline_nmwtmguNA41rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="208" data-orig-width="221" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/c1d4bff8c01db0d14f06464bdf0f0888/tumblr_inline_nmwtmguNA41rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> When a queen was widowed, she was expected to turn the crown jewels over to the woman who would take her place as consort, but not the gems that were her personal jewelry. Mary Tudor Brandon caused controversy when she absconded with part of the French crown jewels, including the famous <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-mirror-of-naples.html">Mirror of Naples</a>, and gave it to her brother in a bid to win his forgiveness for remarrying a man of her own choosing. When King Francis asked for the jewel’s return, Henry argued that the Mirror had been a <i>personal</i> gift from the dead king to his sister, and was not part of the crown jewels.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="626" data-orig-width="356"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/5d3ecea086148ddd7e42e555b9ac6768/tumblr_inline_nmwtoqWrgd1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="147" data-orig-width="342" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/5d3ecea086148ddd7e42e555b9ac6768/tumblr_inline_nmwtoqWrgd1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Anne's famous initial pendants were an example of personal jewelry. Katharine of Aragon also had personal jewels that were not part of the collection she was forced to surrender to Anne Boleyn in 1532. Specifically, she left to her daughter in her will a "<i>gold collar I brought out of Spain</i>."<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="147" data-orig-width="342"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/26e7a5cab43488ae82b20737515beea1/tumblr_inline_nmwtpmKqCF1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="279" data-orig-width="569" height="157" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/26e7a5cab43488ae82b20737515beea1/tumblr_inline_nmwtpmKqCF1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> The initial pendants I’ve described Anne wearing in <i><a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/about-book.html">Under These Restless Skies</a> </i>are featured in portraits of Anne Boleyn or her daughter. Since no portraits from Anne's lifetime survive (with the possible exception of the <a href="http://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/894_Anne_Boleyn_regains_her_head">Holbein sketch</a>) it seems likely artists painted Anne wearing pieces of jewelry her daughter had inherited, or pieces that were remembered as belonging to her.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="279" data-orig-width="569"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/161366602520195ddaed72a34bcd60c8/tumblr_inline_nmwtqgE3S01rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="297" data-orig-width="275" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/161366602520195ddaed72a34bcd60c8/tumblr_inline_nmwtqgE3S01rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Everyone is familiar with the famous “B” pendant, but it appears Anne had several others.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwbMDatRsiYE5He7fNc0ns06xcFc7BEALh_3NhvhWngo4aI9YGIgDr64SN6mccT6guOtIIbT5AvWsREa-56Rzi5b_eA84yPZocpOpMxJmDpLV3J9lmHBwXYXwZ0NQvxSO0E70w0d-eKo/s1600/Anne+Boleyn+8.jpg"></a><br />
“AB,” is pictured in one of her portraits, pinned to her bodice in the Nidd Hall portrait.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="297" data-orig-width="275"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj082uPQjw9AWOBTOWGbWDIcj1-yillud2-3oVzFrWa__dXlWcU7bZBO_kY_GZTFKtaljSb9-5X5_ivS6x1Z1_NeaKzEh2s6XnG1MbNs-XZDsxTdp8GPdjSlDhxlKgmkU7gZO8munM-8h8/s1600/elizabeth+in+necklace.jpg"></a><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/778988b48084cfa389fd5b9b298abea9/tumblr_inline_nmwtri6dwC1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="810" data-orig-width="535" height="200" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/778988b48084cfa389fd5b9b298abea9/tumblr_inline_nmwtri6dwC1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="132" /></a> An “A” pendant is worn by Elizabeth in the Whitehall Family Group Portrait. (UPDATE: <i>I have been informed that this pendant may have religious significance as opposed to signifying the name "Anne." The pendant may refer to </i>Auspice Maria<i>, or "under the protection of Mary." I need to do further research on this.</i>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="810" data-orig-width="535"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/67dcf1ba1c8823365f7d7ff1f186d871/tumblr_inline_nmwtsxRXFt1rcv18h_540.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="212" data-orig-width="165" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/67dcf1ba1c8823365f7d7ff1f186d871/tumblr_inline_nmwtsxRXFt1rcv18h_540.png" /></a> Anne is also portrayed wearing an “HA” pendant, her initials entwined with Henry’s, a design known as a love knot. Holbein is recorded to have designed such a necklace for her; it's tempting to imagine this is similar to the one he created. Inventories also record Anne had items with the initials "RA" <i>Regina Anna</i> (Queen Anne) and a large array of rings, bracelets and other items with "HA" inscribed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="212" data-orig-width="165"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/dec1026eb0eef6ae2a3680d956dc7115/tumblr_inline_nmwtu9G1US1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="247" data-orig-width="139" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/dec1026eb0eef6ae2a3680d956dc7115/tumblr_inline_nmwtu9G1US1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> It should be noted that some historians now claim the Hoskins miniature, used as the "pattern" for portraits of Anne Boleyn, is actually of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-mirror-of-naples.html">Mary Tudor Brandon</a>. However, most nobles of the day did not identify themselves by their surname, but by their title. If Mary wore an initial pendant, it most likely would have had an "S" for Suffolk. Charles Brandon's next wife signed herself <i>"Katherine Suffolk</i>" in documents, just as Anne herself used the name "<i>Anne Rochford</i>" after her father was ennobled, as she signed herself in her only surviving <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=3v4ONgWH2zUC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=anne+rochford+letter+to+wingfield&source=bl&ots=3iUjU649Gr&sig=8nznOil2zWOohy_uB7X8qXCIbGI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xpq5U5uWFJC1yATk4oLADw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=anne%20rochford%20letter%20to%20wingfield&f=false">letter</a> to a woman friend, indicating the "B" portrait may portray Anne from a time before that date.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="247" data-orig-width="139"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/fdfbb9213d07e9bae7411b42a447f86d/tumblr_inline_nmwtvfvq6w1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="557" data-orig-width="736" height="242" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/fdfbb9213d07e9bae7411b42a447f86d/tumblr_inline_nmwtvfvq6w1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> What happened to Anne Boleyn's initial pendants? After Anne died, they became Henry's property, both because he was her widower (though he'd had their marriage annulled) and because she was a convicted traitor. The pieces went into Henry's storage. Some of them were noted as still being in his inventories when he died, but not the initial pendants, so they must have been dispersed before his death. Nor do they turn up in the inventories of his queens.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="557" data-orig-width="736"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/1b216573667d0dd289ae737073511294/tumblr_inline_nmwtwyKZqO1rcv18h_540.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="245" data-orig-width="245" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/1b216573667d0dd289ae737073511294/tumblr_inline_nmwtwyKZqO1rcv18h_540.png" /></a> At some point, Henry seems to have decided to pass the jewels on to Anne's daughter. They were not only an inheritance from her mother, but they were her Boleyn legacy. Henry used his daughter Mary's obstinacy as an excuse not to give her the gold collar her mother had left her, but he had no such excuse in Elizabeth's case. Secondly, though he considered her a bastard, Elizabeth was a king's daughter and had to be groomed and bejeweled appropriately. Giving Elizabeth her mother's personal gems would be a cheap way of fitting her out according to her station. Some believe that Kateryn Parr may have intervened to urge him to give Elizabeth her mother's legacy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="245" data-orig-width="245"></figure><br /><br />
He doesn't seem to have minded her wearing them. Though he had initially tried to eradicate Anne's memory by destroying her <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/05/erasing-anne-boleyn-from-history.html">portraits</a>, <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/05/erasing-anne-boleyn-from-history_22.html">records</a>, and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/11/erasing-anne-boleyn-from-history-badges.html">emblems</a>, he passed on the gems as they were, not bothering with the expense of re-setting them before he had them given to Elizabeth. Elizabeth chose to wear the "A" pendant in the Whitehall family portrait. Perhaps Henry shrugged and said if she wanted to mark herself with the name of a traitor, it was no skin off his nose. She was a bastard ineligible for the throne anyway.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="131" data-orig-width="317"></figure><br /><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/b7a381abc25ef278b8cc8dce13ed7895/tumblr_inline_nmwu0x7tMA1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="131" data-orig-width="317" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/b7a381abc25ef278b8cc8dce13ed7895/tumblr_inline_nmwu0x7tMA1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Elizabeth may have eventually had the "B" pendant remade into the one we see in her teenage portrait wearing the red gown. Historian Eric Ives notes that he three dangling pearls are nearly identical. Elizabeth is not recorded in her later years as wearing her mother's initial pendants. Perhaps by then she felt it impolitic to associate herself openly with Anne, though she may have worn a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/recycling-queens-jewels.html">crown</a> made for her mother for her coronation portrait, and had a ring made which <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-real-face-of-anne-boleyn.html">contains</a> an image of her mother.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="700" data-orig-width="1068"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="700" data-orig-width="1068" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/463fa0e8964d1150487f0adf2a5c8bd5/tumblr_inline_nmwu3iaxfa1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></figure><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/c636b2cf16aadb428cb22cca1bef39d9/tumblr_inline_nmwu7oFd0p1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="615" data-orig-width="736" height="267" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/c636b2cf16aadb428cb22cca1bef39d9/tumblr_inline_nmwu7oFd0p1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> So, what happened next? The Tudors were not as sentimental as we are about keeping inherited jewelry intact. Elizabeth would have done as most people and had the pieces re-made to suit the current fashion. Her mother's pearls may have joined the long ropes she wore looped across her bodices, and the gold may have been recast into brooches or rings.<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="615" data-orig-width="736"></figure><br /><br />
They would have gone to James I when Elizabeth died in 1603. His wife, Anne of Denmark, likely had the pieces melted down and re-set again, as was customary with monarchs. Most of the pieces in royal hands were sold off during the civil wars and the Commonwealth era. They disappear into the mists of history.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="557" data-orig-width="750"></figure><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/31c0f9568e93cb6b5b089dc8a72b644e/tumblr_inline_nmwu8sqr0z1rcv18h_540.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="557" data-orig-width="750" height="237" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/31c0f9568e93cb6b5b089dc8a72b644e/tumblr_inline_nmwu8sqr0z1rcv18h_540.png" width="320" /></a></div>
It's thought that some of Anne Boleyn's pearls may survive today in the State crown of Queen Elizabeth II. However, the crown was made in the time of Queen Victoria, and there's no direct evidence that the pearls belonged to Anne Boleyn or her daughter.
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-55623902891562906112015-06-15T20:29:00.000-04:002015-06-15T20:53:59.644-04:00After Anne Boleyn's Execution: Telling Elizabeth<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/d307ef4eb31ffd2093b7a96e1e722b77/tumblr_inline_noo5kbdEZo1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="213" data-orig-width="280" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/d307ef4eb31ffd2093b7a96e1e722b77/tumblr_inline_noo5kbdEZo1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a><br />
Elizabeth was only two years and eight months old when her mother, Anne Boleyn, died on the scaffold. Anne had provided for her daughter as best she could in the last days of her reign, buying clothing for her - the last Elizabeth would receive for a long while.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/0d3576d2be0112adb230f9a54c004b46/tumblr_inline_noo5tgculd1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="350" data-orig-width="273" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/0d3576d2be0112adb230f9a54c004b46/tumblr_inline_noo5tgculd1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Elizabeth last saw her mother in January 1536, after the celebrations for Katharine of Aragon’s <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-queen-is-dead-katharine-of-aragons.html">death</a>. Anne’s expense reports show that Elizabeth was at her own household by January 18. Though Elizabeth would later be <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2015/04/anne-boleyns-last-appeal-to-henry.html">told a tale</a> of Anne Boleyn, clasping her baby in her arms and pleading with Henry right before her arrest in May, the story is unlikely to be true.<br />
<br />
<br />
Elizabeth was cared for by Sir John and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/lady-shelton.html">Lady Shelton</a>, along with her governess, Lady Bryan. Lady Shelton was the sister of Anne’s <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/thomas-boleyn.html">father</a>, and though they shared no emotional affection, she trusted that Lady Shelton would take good care of her baby. And her faith seems to have been well-placed. Though Lady Shelton had been instructed by the king’s council to treat Princess Mary harshly, Lady Shelton stood up to them and insisted that Mary was so virtuous she deserved to be treated with honor and respect.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/1f66239143a19f37be3081e0f79c9b02/tumblr_inline_noo724LE5t1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="382" data-orig-width="463" height="264" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/1f66239143a19f37be3081e0f79c9b02/tumblr_inline_noo724LE5t1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After Anne was slain, it seems no one told the child of her mother’s death. But the little girl was too intelligent and perceptive not to notice the changes to her lifestyle and the title by which she was addressed. Legend has it Sir John was the one she asked about it.<br />
<blockquote>
"<i>How hath it, yesterday my Lady Princess, and today but my Lady Elizabeth?</i>" </blockquote>
It’s not recorded how Elizabeth reacted to the news. She probably had little emotional attachment to her mother - in her little mind Anne was a nice woman Elizabeth saw on occasion who sent her presents. Lady Bryan was probably the one to whom Elizabeth was most attached. But Lady Bryan was suffering her own loss at the moment, as her husband died only a month after Anne Boleyn went to the scaffold. It must have been a very frightening and confusing time for the toddler.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/03e105a51264bea6890dcb60714c691f/tumblr_inline_noo734ZGR71rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="1076" data-orig-width="1267" height="272" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/03e105a51264bea6890dcb60714c691f/tumblr_inline_noo734ZGR71rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> Cromwell had apparently visited Elizabeth’s lodgings after her mother’s fall to give instructions to her household, but there was some confusion amongst the staff about the little ex-princess’s rank, and thus what level of respect she was to be accorded.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/02b2b7e63cd439de697dab2ee3fae1ca/tumblr_inline_noo748vdvT1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="346" data-orig-width="315" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/02b2b7e63cd439de697dab2ee3fae1ca/tumblr_inline_noo748vdvT1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Worse, no income had been allotted for Lady Elizabeth’s personal needs, and the child had outgrown all of the clothing her mother had made for her before her death. In a <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol11/pp90-103">letter</a> from August, 1536, Lady Bryan begs Cromwell for help.<br />
<blockquote>
<i>. . . My lord, when your lordship was last here, it pleased you to say, that I should not mistrust the king’s grace, nor your lordship. , Which word was more comfort to me than I can write, as God knoweth. And now it boldeneth me to show you my poor mind. </i>[...]</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Now, so it is, my lady Elizabeth is put from that degree she was afore; and what degree she is at now, I know not but by hearsay. Therefore I know not how to order her, nor myself, nor none of hers that I have the rule of; that is, her women and her grooms. Beseeching you to be good lord to my lady and to all hers; and that she may have some rayment. For she hath neither gown, nor kirtle, nor petticoat, nor no manner of linen, nor foresmocks, nor kerchiefs, nor sleeves, nor rails, nor body-stitchets, nor mufiiers, nor biggins. All these, her grace’s mostake </i>[”must take” or needs]<i> I have driven off as long as I can, that by my troth, I cannot drive it no longer. Beseeching you, my lord, that you will see that her grace may have that is needful for her,as my trust is ye will do;—that I may know from you by writing how I shall order myself; and what is the king’s grace’s pleasure and yours, that I shall do in every thing.</i></blockquote>
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/fd80ae486c96855ce048f4898e013e05/tumblr_inline_noo787iKdB1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="518" data-orig-width="769" height="215" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/fd80ae486c96855ce048f4898e013e05/tumblr_inline_noo787iKdB1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
About two weeks later, Sir John wrote back to Cromwell:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>
I perceive by your letter the King's pleasure that my lady Elizabeth shall keep her chamber and not come abroad, and that I shall provide for her as I did for my lady Mary when she kept her chamber. Have me in remembrance for the King's warrant you commanded me to deliver to Master Wrisley for money for the household, otherwise I cannot continue it. </i></blockquote>
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/5123aa2c5af262ba29667c296c0af0e4/tumblr_inline_noo7bqkjL71rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="569" data-orig-width="337" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/5123aa2c5af262ba29667c296c0af0e4/tumblr_inline_noo7bqkjL71rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Henry seems to have taken out his ill feelings toward Anne Boleyn on their daughter, just as he had once done with Princess Mary. But in Elizabeth’s case, he could not justify it by pointing to his daughter’s willfulness. Elizabeth was an innocent toddler who had done nothing to “deserve” her father’s neglect of her most basic needs.<br />
<br />
<br />
Henry’s purpose in confining Elizabeth to her chambers was the same reason he’d ordered Mary into isolation: to keep people from seeing her and hoping she would disappear from the public eye. Poor, friendless, forgotten, Elizabeth would be no competition for the children Henry was sure he would father with Jane Seymour.<br />
<br />
The next time Elizabeth would see her father would be at Christmas, 1536. Mary, restored to her father’s favor through Jane Seymour’s efforts, sat at the high table with him; Elizabeth was seated somewhere out of sight.<br />
<br />
Throughout Elizabeth’s childhood, she was in and out of favor with her father, and it would be Henry’s queens who took pity on her and urged Henry toward grudging kindness to the child. When <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/january-6-1540-henry-viii-marries-anna.html">Anna von Kleefes</a> wanted to bring Elizabeth to court, Henry cited Anne Boleyn as a reason against it, saying Elizabeth had a mother so different from Anna that she shouldn’t want Elizabeth around, but Anna insisted.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://36.media.tumblr.com/9b55060132a4688abfb5346372b9eca9/tumblr_inline_noo7skOuyQ1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="134" data-orig-width="403" src="https://36.media.tumblr.com/9b55060132a4688abfb5346372b9eca9/tumblr_inline_noo7skOuyQ1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Elizabeth made Henry uncomfortable. Every time he saw Elizabeth’s dark eyes, did he think of Anne Boleyn?<br />
<br />
Katheryn Howard made a great effort for Elizabeth because of their blood ties, seating Elizabeth across from her at the dinner table. But it was Kateryn Parr who would prove to be Elizabeth’s greatest ally.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-60850648823901245042015-06-15T20:25:00.000-04:002015-06-15T20:25:08.148-04:00Henry VIII Marries Jane Seymour<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/c233d8d05864d67d9bfa8699a1844617/tumblr_inline_np6h4cLkQA1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="181" data-orig-width="500" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/c233d8d05864d67d9bfa8699a1844617/tumblr_inline_np6h4cLkQA1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> On May 30, 1536 - only eleven days after the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-19-1536.html">execution</a> of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII married his third wife, Jane Seymour.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="181" data-orig-width="500"></figure><br />
The wedding was performed by Archbishop Cranmer at Whitehall Palace in the Queen’s Closet, a side chapel where the queen heard daily mass. Jane had been preparing for this event for weeks - even before Anne’s arrest. She had a new, elaborate wardrobe. Seamstresses must have been sewing day and night to get it completed in time.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/9f9c98e5edfac909093a40ce95a643dd/tumblr_inline_np6h6uPe4E1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="681" data-orig-width="300" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/9f9c98e5edfac909093a40ce95a643dd/tumblr_inline_np6h6uPe4E1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> As a wedding gift, Henry gave his new bride a magnificent gold cup designed by Hans Holbein. It had her phoenix emblem and their entwined initials on its elaborately engraved surface, along with Jan’e chosen motto, <i>Bound to Obey and Serve</i>. To get it done in time, Holbein must have started working on it months before, long before Anne’s fall.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="681" data-orig-width="300"></figure><br />
The wedding was kept a secret for a few days yet to come. Even Henry recognized the people had been horrified at what he’d done to his last wife. A few days prior, he had ordered his council to “beg” him to remarry “for the good of the realm,” to which he had graciously consented. But that didn’t stop the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/11/o-death-rock-me-asleep-poem-by-anne.html">ballad writers</a>, who composed works lamenting the sad fate of Anne Boleyn. And so, realizing his actions were seen as distasteful, Henry married Jane quietly and decided not to announce it for a bit until outrage cooled.<br />
<br />
Despite her humble motto and demure demeanor, the new queen had an agenda. Her <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2015/01/sir-nicholas-carew.html">supporters</a> had given her their assistance because Jane promised to advance their goal: to get Princess Mary restored as Henry’s heir. Jane realized that part of the reason Henry had come to <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/henry-and-anne-what-went-wrong.html">despise</a> Anne was her strong and bold avocation of her causes. Jane intended to try a more outwardly submissive approach. Her first effort was a failure. Henry retorted that instead of worrying about Mary, Jane ought to be seeking the advancement of the children she would have with Henry.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="571" data-orig-width="400"></figure><br />
She didn’t intend to give up, but she had to be subtle about it. In the meantime, all traces of the previous queen were being erased. Anne’s <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/11/erasing-anne-boleyn-from-history-badges.html">emblems</a>, initials, and badges were being ripped off the palace walls. Anne’s falcon was re-carved to become Jane’s phoenix, and her secondary emblem of the leopard was being refitted with new tails and heads to become Jane’s panther.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/95a48b6c9748f12e214c3055da6c87d5/tumblr_inline_np6h9acw9F1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="571" data-orig-width="400" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/95a48b6c9748f12e214c3055da6c87d5/tumblr_inline_np6h9acw9F1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> Only three years prior on this same date, Anne’s <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/06/june-1-1533-anne-boleyns-coronation-day.html">coronation</a> procession had begun. And now England’s new queen was waiting impatiently in the wings for her status to be announced.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="644" data-orig-width="500"></figure><br />
Did Jane feel any trepidation when she considered what had happened to her predecessor? Or did she assure herself she knew how to handle Henry and that her supporters would keep her protected? Did she console herself that if Anne hadn’t been technically guilty, she still “deserved” to die because of what had happened to Queen Katharine and the heresy of the new church?<br />
<br />
In any case, the die was cast. In the end, Jane had no more choice than Anne Boleyn had when Henry said he wanted to marry her. A king’s proposal was not something that could be declined. For better or worse, Jane Seymour was the new queen of England.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-70033743429362434262015-05-01T00:00:00.000-04:002015-05-01T00:00:05.349-04:00Anne Boleyn's Last Request<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="434" data-orig-width="478" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="434" data-orig-width="478" height="290" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/ece0f7e390e1a17e3a67d73e25ea6ca2/tumblr_inline_nnh7zgcChF1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></figure><br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="944" data-orig-width="671" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" data-orig-height="944" data-orig-width="671" height="320" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/3e5ca50b85c6576ddc57580c804a2212/tumblr_inline_nnh7sg5F521rcv18h_540.jpg" width="227" /></figure><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/dec1026eb0eef6ae2a3680d956dc7115/tumblr_inline_nnh7je9Qtx1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="247" data-orig-width="139" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/dec1026eb0eef6ae2a3680d956dc7115/tumblr_inline_nnh7je9Qtx1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> On April 26th, 1536, Anne Boleyn asked her chaplain, Matthew Parker, to meet with her. She had a special request to ask of him, something of utmost importance. Perhaps she had a premonition of some sort.<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="247" data-orig-width="139"></figure><br />
We know little of what took place during this meeting, only what Parker himself <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5HcuAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA492&lpg=PA492&dq=not+forgetting+what+words+her+grace%E2%80%99s+mother+said+to+me+of+her,+not+six+days+before+her+apprehension&source=bl&ots=LV72esDIhR&sig=tYJAMvsppwSNdv0gZTaHrcmDGoQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5HM-VaehHpGSyASSloD4AQ&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=not%20forgetting%20what%20words%20her%20grace%E2%80%99s%20mother%20said%20to%20me%20of%20her%2C%20not%20six%20days%20before%20her%20apprehension&f=false">wrote</a> of it later. Anne Boleyn asked him to make a promise to her, and Parker spent the rest of his life trying to fulfill it.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="701" data-orig-width="500"><a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/242a7d6b2d2df83dfd260acac531361c/tumblr_inline_nnh7kwaCoi1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="701" data-orig-width="500" height="320" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/242a7d6b2d2df83dfd260acac531361c/tumblr_inline_nnh7kwaCoi1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="228" /></a></figure><br />
The records indicate the weather in spring of 1536 was lovely, but Anne could feel the dark clouds gathering around the throne. A storm was brewing, but the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-1536-conspiracy-to-destroy-queen.html">conspirators</a> were careful to leave little trace of which direction they were heading. Anne Boleyn was a fighter, but she could not fight what she could not see.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="340" data-orig-width="500"></figure><br />
The courage and strength it took for her to behave as though everything was normal still amazes me. Anne went through the motions of being a Tudor queen with dignity and poise. The king, too, gave all outward appearance of normalcy.<br />
<br />
Though Henry was spending his nights in other palaces - where <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/11/jane-seymour-enigma.html">Jane Seymour</a> was always lodged nearby - he appeared at Anne's side for events, and they were able to present the image of a cordial relationship to the public. He dined in Anne's apartments, went with her to mass, and still insisted foreign courts should recognize the legitimacy of his marriage. He even devised a bizarre ruse to force Eustace Chapuys into <a href="http://lissabryan.tumblr.com/post/116834855742/anne-boleyns-small-strange-and-final-victory">bowing to Anne</a>, seizing the underhanded victory with apparent delight.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/4877b8e1a645d4c76be184d8df9a3196/tumblr_inline_nnh8pnnxdY1rcv18h_540.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="541" data-orig-width="870" height="199" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/4877b8e1a645d4c76be184d8df9a3196/tumblr_inline_nnh8pnnxdY1rcv18h_540.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
But behind the scenes, Henry was <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-1536-conspiracy-to-destroy-queen.html">devising</a> a way to rid himself of the woman he had come to <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/henry-and-anne-what-went-wrong.html">despise</a>. As he stood smiling by her side, he was plotting her death.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="541" data-orig-width="870"></figure><br />
Anne had to have known Henry was trying to get rid of her. If <i>we</i> know about it - and we do, from the letters of Chapuys to the Imperial court - then Anne heard the gossip, too. She still had powerful supporters who kept her informed of what was going on.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFm2t62JpCKzSfPgqjgfMxz0sSChTcez4vDWyxgx3HtguFr7-S2oERWV1u_v_7wlKpZmSPkBucIz7QN_5G8qmktI7yVneBRKzIEk3KKCpMSVnGtzHFaZ4K45LuEkY3Vgw_5-l43xHNQvE/s1600/detail448.jpg"></a><br />
<a href="https://41.media.tumblr.com/6ce9fb464dc24d736d94e9e3257681b1/tumblr_inline_nnh7xbdBLY1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="192" data-orig-width="422" height="145" src="https://41.media.tumblr.com/6ce9fb464dc24d736d94e9e3257681b1/tumblr_inline_nnh7xbdBLY1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
Anne had to have been terrified, sick with worry and anxiety. What was Henry planning? It looked like he was trying to find a way to annul their marriage. He was <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75428">asking bishops</a> about the validity of his union to Anne. It had gotten to the point where Princess Mary's supporters were <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75428">writing</a> to her and telling her to be of good cheer, because Anne would be gone soon.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="192" data-orig-width="422"></figure><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/5ce9196fc18293899c87a69c935aca02/tumblr_inline_nnh7ysLWgX1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="363" data-orig-width="167" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/5ce9196fc18293899c87a69c935aca02/tumblr_inline_nnh7ysLWgX1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> On the 21st of April, Chapuys <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75428">noted</a> as an aside that Cromwell had told the French ambassador not to broach the topic of Princess Elizabeth's marriage. Anne, who supported the French, must have been disturbed that there was no discussion of a marital alliance for the princess. Whatever was happening, it was affecting her beloved daughter, as well.<br />
<br />
On the 24th of April, a commission of Oyer and Terminer was created at Westminster. The court dealt with treason charges, and other serious crimes, and so Anne may have thought it was for someone who had denied the royal supremacy, assuming she knew about that it had convened. She had so many other things on her mind, she might not have given it a second thought.<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="363" data-orig-width="167"></figure><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb6RXHpqJ5SAjDLShqGaw2Rq1zTQSrsQLutTWFWnl1ZigUJXK0PZ-NPfNmAYSLoVH4BfLahFwPAZyHqEJ3X6B59uodo_5tCmPx-a2J4-xd2bASECCgyL5KKWTBSysGrx6niCRID6vdi4/s1600/detail1358.jpg"></a><br />
The commission was tasked with <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/did-anne-boleyn-have-fair-trial.html">investigating</a> and drawing up the indictment against Anne Boleyn for treason and adultery. The day after the commission was created, Henry wrote a letter referring to Anne as his "<i>entirely beloved</i>" wife. The wife he had already decided would have to die in order to ensure his marriage to Jane Seymour was unchallenged, and his heir with her was entirely legitimate. Even as Henry wrote those words, he knew Anne Boleyn would be dead before the letter arrived at its destination.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/8c9b65761a599102168329d76d95f31c/tumblr_inline_nnh82wpvG61rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="357" data-orig-width="500" height="228" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/8c9b65761a599102168329d76d95f31c/tumblr_inline_nnh82wpvG61rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> Anne’s days were numbered, though she was unaware of it as yet. She knew <i>something</i> was coming, at any rate, and Anne Boleyn was a woman who tried to meet her problems head-on.<br />
<br />
On the 26th, she asked her <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/26-april-1536-anne-boleyn-meets-with-matthew-parker-her-chaplain/">chaplain</a>, Matthew Parker, to meet with her. Though we don’t know the details of how the meeting was arranged, Anne would have wanted it to be private. She had a promise she wanted to extract from him, and she wouldn’t have wanted it to be overheard.<br />
<br />
It seems she was successful at keeping it quiet - no one else, including Chapuys, whose ears were always straining for the faintest sounds of gossip, reported on it. Perhaps she met with Parker under the guise of confession, the sanctity of which even Chapuys would have never dared violate.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="357" data-orig-width="500"></figure><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/f2dc08b3d305998f991ada5102b78362/tumblr_inline_nnh85bY3nl1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="320" data-orig-width="187" height="320" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/f2dc08b3d305998f991ada5102b78362/tumblr_inline_nnh85bY3nl1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="187" /></a> Anne asked Parker to promise her he would watch over her baby daughter, Elizabeth, if anything happened to her. She must have seen something in Parker that made her reach out to him - of all the people she could have contacted, including her own extended family - to safeguard Elizabeth and her future.<br />
<br />
Parker took the promise he made to Anne seriously, and considered himself bound to it for the rest of his life.<br />
<br />
<figure data-orig-height="320" data-orig-width="187"></figure><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrY8_lILulot1fenfr4KO0G-oG9j763uBtn-4H5fZ5yg9pIHysviO9IroSWDo8_WNJaNKZcc000I7okzXmLOgZ1BCQUMxbIOk7Useg4N2cSQq7si_ZC0mS1SbnkzVibJ1EyHkn0fCULk/s1600/detail1147.jpg"></a><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/1e4be39a80666cae5826fb93a2bec153/tumblr_inline_nnh8ure0td1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="1120" data-orig-width="736" height="320" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/1e4be39a80666cae5826fb93a2bec153/tumblr_inline_nnh8ure0td1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="210" /></a> Anne Boleyn was an amazing woman. She managed - somehow - to behave as though nothing were amiss. She performed her court duties, attended mass, even continuing to insist on proper decorum for her courtiers. Anne always managed to keep her composure in public; it was only behind the scenes that she broke down. We don't have any records of her inner turmoil at this time.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="1120" data-orig-width="736"></figure><br />
Only the letters of the courtiers and Anne’s <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75431">privy purse expenses</a> give us insight into what was happening. Anne spent the last weeks of her life ordering items for her daughter. Perhaps, psychologically, Anne was trying to “cover” her daughter as best she could with all of her clothing purchases for the child. Maybe she had the foresight to see Elizabeth would be plunged into reduced circumstances by whatever her father was planning and not be cared for according to her station.<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/022da3319337e0124e95b9047aa770d8/tumblr_inline_nnh89cgNsR1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="355" data-orig-width="390" height="291" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/022da3319337e0124e95b9047aa770d8/tumblr_inline_nnh89cgNsR1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
Anne was right - it was the last clothing Elizabeth would receive until her governess wrote a pleading letter begging for funds because Elizabeth had grown out of everything.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="355" data-orig-width="390"></figure><br />
Anne had done all she could to prepare Elizabeth for her uncertain future. She had filled Elizabeth’s household with loyal, supportive people, many of whom were extended family members. She had asked a powerful man in the religious reformist movement to protect Elizabeth, and she had dressed her baby warmly for the storm ahead.<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="891" data-orig-width="736"></figure><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/be106ae63449bd0024b809d154d20fda/tumblr_inline_nnh8f0lpbL1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="891" data-orig-width="736" height="320" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/be106ae63449bd0024b809d154d20fda/tumblr_inline_nnh8f0lpbL1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="264" /></a> Anne walked these last days of April on tenterhooks, waiting to see what Henry had in store for her. She would not have long to wait.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-86735291521896884182015-04-30T17:16:00.003-04:002015-04-30T17:32:20.823-04:00Anne Boleyn's Last Appeal to Henry<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure class="tmblr-embed tmblr-full" data-orig-height="344" data-orig-width="459" data-provider="youtube" data-url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv9BdTLBREV8"><iframe frameborder="0" height="404" id="youtube_iframe" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v9BdTLBREV8?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque" width="540"></iframe></figure><figure class="tmblr-embed tmblr-full" data-orig-height="344" data-orig-width="459" data-provider="youtube" data-url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv9BdTLBREV8"><br /></figure><figure class="tmblr-embed tmblr-full" data-orig-height="344" data-orig-width="459" data-provider="youtube" data-url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv9BdTLBREV8"><br /></figure><br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/40c641c01222d16e6fa142e85b7d06b4/tumblr_inline_nnhadfPLCB1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="382" data-orig-width="227" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/40c641c01222d16e6fa142e85b7d06b4/tumblr_inline_nnhadfPLCB1rcv18h_540.jpg" /></a> April 30, 1536 is the traditional date assigned to a story Elizabeth was <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=CYFWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA527&lpg=PA527&dq=Never+shall+I+forget+the+sorrow+which+I+felt+when+I+saw+the+most+serene+queen,+your+most+religious+mother,+carrying+you,+still+a+baby,+in+her+arms+and+entreating+the+most+serene+king+your+father,+in+Greenwich+Palace,+from+the+open+window+of+which+he+was+looking+into+the+courtyard,+when+she+brought+you+to+him.+I+did+not+perfectly+understand+what+had+been+going+on,+but+the+faces+and+gestures+of+the+speakers+plainly+showed+that+the+king+was+angry,+although+he+could+conceal+his+anger+wonderfully+well.&source=bl&ots=aBUkW9RdDJ&sig=-zTsbEuWR9QEvQhuhzb8tsP02Rc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=q38-VaOVCNa0yASG-oCwCQ&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Never%20shall%20I%20forget%20the%20sorrow%20which%20I%20felt%20when%20I%20saw%20the%20most%20serene%20queen%2C%20your%20most%20religious%20mother%2C%20carrying%20you%2C%20still%20a%20baby%2C%20in%20her%20arms%20and%20entreating%20the%20most%20serene%20king%20your%20father%2C%20in%20Greenwich%20Palace%2C%20from%20the%20open%20window%20of%20which%20he%20was%20looking%20into%20the%20courtyard%2C%20when%20she%20brought%20you%20to%20him.%20I%20did%20not%20perfectly%20understand%20what%20had%20been%20going%20on%2C%20but%20the%20faces%20and%20gestures%20of%20the%20speakers%20plainly%20showed%20that%20the%20king%20was%20angry%2C%20although%20he%20could%20conceal%20his%20anger%20wonderfully%20well.&f=false">told</a> by Alexander Ales later in life about her mother holding Elizabeth in her arms and pleading for her very life with her husband, Henry VIII.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ales wrote to Queen Elizabeth, and he told her a narrative of her mother’s fall from his perspective. He said that Anne had rebuked Cromwell and Wriothesley for accepting bribes and selling offices to unworthy persons, and so they decided to destroy her with false allegations of adultery.<br />
<br />
But he also included a touching scene that has been included in many fictional accounts of Anne’s fall, and in movie depictions, such as the one at the beginning of the post. <br />
<blockquote>
<i>Never shall I forget the sorrow which I felt when I saw the most serene Queen, your most religious mother, carrying you, still a little baby, in her arms and entreating the most serene King, your father, in Greenwich Palace, from the open window of which he was looking into the courtyard, when she brought you to him.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i> I did not perfectly understand what had been going on, but the faces and gestures of the speakers plainly showed that the King was angry, although he could conceal his anger wonderfully well. </i></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/fd80ae486c96855ce048f4898e013e05/tumblr_inline_nnhbhi5efQ1rcv18h_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" data-orig-height="518" data-orig-width="769" height="215" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/fd80ae486c96855ce048f4898e013e05/tumblr_inline_nnhbhi5efQ1rcv18h_540.jpg" width="320" /></a> If Ales did, indeed, witness Anne with Elizabeth in her arms, I’m not sure when it could have happened. Elizabeth wasn’t at court around the time of her mother’s fall.<br />
<br />
The princess had been at court for the Christmas festivities, and then was brought back by her father for the celebrations in January after Katharine of Aragon died, but Anne’s <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75431">expense records</a> show Elizabeth was at her own<br />
household by January 18.<br />
<br />
Anne ordered clothing for her daughter, and the tailor had to travel by river to Elizabeth’s lodgings to take measurements from the girl and do some mending. It would have appeared in the records as an expense if Anne had sent someone to retrieve the princess for such an appeal to the king.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulG9SxNU1FBHgPJ-uaaQ6QJ97XfbPf-BZJMpI8lTp5e0kAxeILnephmJ_UNrsPCRYpcxGlCd6xU_gZT7pajRe53yQd77Zg6Yzi_3RWWdDCzcMJrzFjaYKcX6uhveVoltb8K-esLxBu88/s1600/tumblr_mkyq6qgs1C1s7frtuo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulG9SxNU1FBHgPJ-uaaQ6QJ97XfbPf-BZJMpI8lTp5e0kAxeILnephmJ_UNrsPCRYpcxGlCd6xU_gZT7pajRe53yQd77Zg6Yzi_3RWWdDCzcMJrzFjaYKcX6uhveVoltb8K-esLxBu88/s1600/tumblr_mkyq6qgs1C1s7frtuo1_500.jpg" height="320" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
In short, the story could not have happened as Ales claims, though one can certainly see the emotional appeal of such a scene, and why he would have included it in his tale. It adds a strong element of pathos to imagine a mother begging for her life with her baby in her arms.<br />
<br />
Toward the end, there likely were many scenes in which Anne pleaded with Henry and he rebuffed her. She had tried everything to repair their relationship. But Henry was no longer enchanted by her charm. Her bright wit now irritated him. She could not even lure him into her arms, because he was experiencing problems in the bedroom, and knowing his personality, he likely blamed her for them. Henry wasn’t interested in reconciling with Anne. Instead, he wanted to hurt her as much as possible, rubbing his favor to Jane Seymour in her face whenever he could.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anne likely would have recognized the futility of a gesture like bringing Elizabeth to court so she could plead with her. Henry’s affection for his children was mostly in that they were proof of his virility (a subject upon which he was extremely touchy), and that he saw his children as extensions of himself. Henry had been brutally cruel to his other daughter, Mary, and so attempting to appeal to his fatherly emotions was pointless - he had none.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-29129600225838611642015-03-04T18:30:00.001-05:002015-03-04T18:30:57.469-05:00Did Henry VIII Father Mary Boleyn's Children?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_TZbyroIDe0ZvBw4eNuBHCYf1-3a-S7CnfxhBQlekSqykbDnH03My0S_qTcQrhArldgPtv2p3Jwx8N-YGocROQbtkOXKlIZQPFK4CezPK2kJsrnDj3S4lrhSWal43d0lJym7JEo9f_0/s1600/children+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_TZbyroIDe0ZvBw4eNuBHCYf1-3a-S7CnfxhBQlekSqykbDnH03My0S_qTcQrhArldgPtv2p3Jwx8N-YGocROQbtkOXKlIZQPFK4CezPK2kJsrnDj3S4lrhSWal43d0lJym7JEo9f_0/s1600/children+detail.jpg" /></a>On March 4, 1526 Henry Carey was born. He was the second child of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/mary-boleyn.html">Mary Boleyn</a>, who'd had a daughter, Catherine, in 1524. For five hundred years, rumors have abounded that one or both of these children were fathered by Henry VIII.<br />
<br />
Mary likely became the mistress of King Henry around 1519, after his affair with <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/henry-fitzroy.html">Bessie Blount</a> ended. She married William Carey in February, 1520 and it's assumed by some that her marriage marked the end of her affair with Henry. Mary had her first child four years later, and another child two years after that.<br />
<br />
The alternative theory has Mary and Carey in a long-term, sexless marriage of convenience to cover Henry's illicit relationship with her. She doesn't conceive until five years into her relationship with the king, and then gives him a son two years later. In this scenario, the end of Henry's relationship with Mary coincides with the first recorded <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/declare-i-dare-not-henrys-first-public.html">declaration</a> of the king's interest her sister, Anne Boleyn.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5xUfyLgQAAnDBoIIoeC9eEdLz3k-C_IDLskkj6MqhlD1RZ96DXCKM4NdODe5wh_OnbbZTG7CNrcIBKuUIWy3llDhSC2ciwv6jW1Kuu3KWGqRWATMg4GDRL8sN0JXSfAntkiSvE24ru8/s1600/detail636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5xUfyLgQAAnDBoIIoeC9eEdLz3k-C_IDLskkj6MqhlD1RZ96DXCKM4NdODe5wh_OnbbZTG7CNrcIBKuUIWy3llDhSC2ciwv6jW1Kuu3KWGqRWATMg4GDRL8sN0JXSfAntkiSvE24ru8/s1600/detail636.jpg" height="320" width="97" /></a></div>
<br />
Is there any evidence Henry's involvement with Mary continued after 1520 and her marriage to William Carey?<br />
<br />
The chief evidence seems to rest on a series of grants that Henry made to William Carey between 1522 and 1526, which some argue were akin to payments for the "use" of Carey's wife.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.genealogymagazine.com/boleyn2.html">Genealogy Magazine</a> notes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Mary Boleyn’s affair with the King probably commenced at about the same time: 1522. "The spate of royal grants to her [Mary Boleyn’s] husband [William Carey] in 1522, 1523, 1524 and 1525 is also suggestive." "[T]he first manors and estates, as opposed to minor keeperships and stewardships, that Mary’s husband possessed were granted to him by the crown in June 1524 and February 1526." It should be especially noted that the February 1526 grant occurred on the 20th, just twelve days before the recorded birth of Henry Carey on 4 March 1525/6. Significantly, this royal grant included the borough of Buckingham which was granted to William Carey "in tail male." It is impossible not to be struck by the coincidence of this entailment to a male "heir," just twelve days before the date of record on which William Carey’s wife gave birth to a male child said to be the king’s son.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ctTmd8Ot5N7l9KQZ-u1A7aBKU_XYt_C4xrgYpSc92rUNJU7eIwR5zXKXW0ay6pH8Ywjo0kkUHG2rI5t5Z3DkrmfR1Dq7MC4nqHG7hDG4NMNEEQbuuYHI4TBvLaAjtpt3pBsA3nuV8ms/s1600/detail1426.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ctTmd8Ot5N7l9KQZ-u1A7aBKU_XYt_C4xrgYpSc92rUNJU7eIwR5zXKXW0ay6pH8Ywjo0kkUHG2rI5t5Z3DkrmfR1Dq7MC4nqHG7hDG4NMNEEQbuuYHI4TBvLaAjtpt3pBsA3nuV8ms/s1600/detail1426.png" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
I find no significance in the grant being "in tail male." That was a normal part of the wording of grants of the era. Secondly, there's no way Henry could have known the upcoming baby was a boy, so there's no "coincidence." Why wouldn't the king have for the birth itself if it was a celebration of his child, or waited to see if the baby turned out to be a boy if the intent was to give a grant to his son? Considering the high infant mortality of the day, and the equally high possibility the child could have been a girl or a stillbirth, it's likely the grant had nothing to do with Mary's current pregnancy.<br />
<br />
If Henry wanted to hide his relationship with Mary, why "pay" her husband openly in the form of grants, which were recorded for posterity? Why wouldn't Henry just secretly slide some cash across the table to Carey?<br />
<br />
There is no reason to assume that the grants were on Mary Boleyn's behalf. William Carey was Henry's second cousin, and a highly favored member of his court. He received grants in roughly the same pattern and amount as others of Henry's favorites - there was nothing unusual about this stream of gifts from the king's hands, so it did not have to be in "payment" of anything.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19jq0BkOVnFRRf01oQV90qtArPBGOp_GcMeTw3WOVJzbl6NROpe-P4SoyPtKcIGb-IaMMrQyWI1VWkVqDKTNUTiEz07y27Wr-xN6ducGCcOW6boYnWcNRYyKlqeK-2eVD8kD1COgyjS4/s1600/detail1190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19jq0BkOVnFRRf01oQV90qtArPBGOp_GcMeTw3WOVJzbl6NROpe-P4SoyPtKcIGb-IaMMrQyWI1VWkVqDKTNUTiEz07y27Wr-xN6ducGCcOW6boYnWcNRYyKlqeK-2eVD8kD1COgyjS4/s1600/detail1190.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Another point I've seen mentioned is the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-dispensation-to-marry-anne-boleyn.html">dispensation</a> Henry requested to marry Anne Boleyn. He asked in it to be freed of any impediments arising from both illicit intercourse and consanguinity, which people say wouldn't have been necessary without children from the relationship. This is incorrect. Firstly, Henry was trying to be as vague as possible in the dispensation because he didn't want to openly name Anne as the woman he was seeking to marry, and so he phrased the wording as widely as possible to cover a lot of different scenarios. Secondly, Anne and Henry were related, and so the dispensation was needed to absolve them of the blood relation of their common descent. Henry also needed a dispensation to clear himself of the illicit intercourse with her sister, whether or not there had been any children from the union.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbNM0E1sSd2fUijyhnvc6P-E8pgFAKc-tB1Z0w07hArbLP9Zw3noGmnP6l0vTcuELq64WsfoW1sfHFoUulEMqq82okFmA4vlH3pLLxzErFroKZIIzJbtPKHcNhOGSH0XUYCSUWttverI/s1600/detail1512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbNM0E1sSd2fUijyhnvc6P-E8pgFAKc-tB1Z0w07hArbLP9Zw3noGmnP6l0vTcuELq64WsfoW1sfHFoUulEMqq82okFmA4vlH3pLLxzErFroKZIIzJbtPKHcNhOGSH0XUYCSUWttverI/s1600/detail1512.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></div>
<br />
The other "evidence" for the Carey children being Henry's comes from snippets of recorded gossip. An <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=erO0w4IkOkUC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=Ludovico+Falias,+%E2%80%9Cnatural+son+born+to+him+of+the+widow+of+one+of+his+Peers;+a+youth+of+great+promise,+so+much+does+he+resemble+his+father.%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=dFHno2VxPb&sig=xoqnbN7FxtNWUTC6xc4PL_k6Y20&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FJz2VK_EJIujyQSWq4GICQ&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Ludovico%20Falias%2C%20%E2%80%9Cnatural%20son%20born%20to%20him%20of%20the%20widow%20of%20one%20of%20his%20Peers%3B%20a%20youth%20of%20great%20promise%2C%20so%20much%20does%20he%20resemble%20his%20father.%E2%80%9D&f=false">ambassador</a> mentioned a promising "natural son" of Henry's in 1531, who was the son of a widow of one of his peers. But this could easily refer to <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/henry-fitzroy.html">Henry FitzRoy</a>, since Bessie Blount had been widowed the previous year.<br />
<br />
A court case in 1535 contained the following <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75531">statement</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Moreover, Mr. Skydmore dyd show to me yongge Master Care, saying that he was our suffren Lord the Kynge's son by our suffren Lady the Qwyen's syster, whom the Qwyen's grace myght not suffer to be yn the Cowrte."</i></blockquote>
<br />
However, Mary had been welcome at Anne's court and given positions of honor until she secretly re-married in 1534 and was banished because of her violation of the social order. So Anne's supposed banishment of Mary out of being unable to bear her jealousy does not seem to ring true. Secondly, Hale was confessing to slanderous talk about the king for which he was in a lot of trouble. He says he was ill and doesn't remember half of what he said.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbj-RQYZTtZN0sdDPQq-EYgeS2wgs_sBH6IRVMv5aGzjErXgWZYmQ8ONDiSetyAg88qjXMtk1Xz9SycnMuNPBOc8w1RuUxOUBXP6u8nnqblAVlpkaZf6pFkSPemg-QPuMO3l5AzGlOsZk/s1600/cropped-portrait-of-edward-vi-as-a-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbj-RQYZTtZN0sdDPQq-EYgeS2wgs_sBH6IRVMv5aGzjErXgWZYmQ8ONDiSetyAg88qjXMtk1Xz9SycnMuNPBOc8w1RuUxOUBXP6u8nnqblAVlpkaZf6pFkSPemg-QPuMO3l5AzGlOsZk/s1600/cropped-portrait-of-edward-vi-as-a-child.jpg" height="86" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> I had several falls from my horse, from one of which I was troubled in my wits, as also by age and lack of memory.</i></blockquote>
<br />
It shows only that there was current gossip about the king's relationship with the queen's sister, nothing more. The same standard could be used to "prove" that Henry had an affair with <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/elizabeth-howard-boleyn.html">Elizabeth Howard</a>.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Steven_van_Herwijck_Henry_Carey_1st_Baron_Hunsdon.png/360px-Steven_van_Herwijck_Henry_Carey_1st_Baron_Hunsdon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Steven_van_Herwijck_Henry_Carey_1st_Baron_Hunsdon.png/360px-Steven_van_Herwijck_Henry_Carey_1st_Baron_Hunsdon.png" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't see it myself, personally</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The last bit of evidence centers on a supposed resemblance Henry Carey had to the king. But this, too, is easily explicable. Henry and William Carey were both descendants of the Beauforts. (William Carey's grandmother was the niece of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/margaret-beaufort.html">Margaret Beaufort</a>'s father.) The Carey children had red hair, but red hair ran in the Howard family (Elizabeth Howard was Mary and Anne Boleyn's mother.) Katheryn Howard had red hair, Anne Boleyn herself may have been a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/08/anne-boleyn-redhead.html">redhead</a>, and we don't know what color Mary Boleyn's hair was.<br />
<br />
In my opinion, there isn't any conclusive evidence that Mary Boleyn's children were Henry's, and the evidence they <i>weren't</i> is actually stronger.<br />
<br />
Finding Mary a husband seems to have marked the end of Henry's involvement with her, as it did with <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/henry-fitzroy.html">Bessie Blount</a>. There's no evidence his involvement with either woman extended after her marriage. The king was the one who decided when these women would marry - their families would not risk angering him by arranging a marriage to another man while the king was still interested in their daughter. There was no reason for the king to marry off either woman before he was "done" with her, either. He had no embarrassment in claiming Bessie Blount's bastard as his own, or he would have hurriedly tried to marry her to someone else as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Instead, he waited until after the child had been born and their affair was over.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2KEbdlBvjBo_nNBJ3h_hQLrGbehMdIgptX7ztV4lEfuTmg9iFt1Ud5-6QLaL222cQ797T1Tp9iiCfs7XjH1-yygHkD8PoR9R4-WmEgq5EQmqTq_niNVKfXmDV8XAIrlUZsjJTY7smGzw/s1600/detail392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2KEbdlBvjBo_nNBJ3h_hQLrGbehMdIgptX7ztV4lEfuTmg9iFt1Ud5-6QLaL222cQ797T1Tp9iiCfs7XjH1-yygHkD8PoR9R4-WmEgq5EQmqTq_niNVKfXmDV8XAIrlUZsjJTY7smGzw/s1600/detail392.jpg" height="281" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
When Mary Boleyn was widowed in 1528, the king showed little or no interest in the fate of her children until Anne Boleyn interceded and urged the king to get her father to support Mary. Author M.L. Bruce believes the Boleyn family disliked Mary because of her immoral behavior with Henry (and possibly King Francis before him.) Henry wrote to Anne, who was still recovering from the same epidemic of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/11/anne-boleyn-nearly-dies-of-sweat.html">the Sweat</a> that had killed her brother-in-law, and assured her that he had contacted Thomas Boleyn.<br />
<br />
One of his statements in the letter is especially poignant, given the situation:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>... for surely, whatsoever is said, it cannot so stand with his honour but that he must needs take her, his natural daughter, now in her extreme necessity.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PDm5p60FQbApKahh1BmITpsVkHjuRgHZe1xwtIjEodZUamqRPObfB-15G5LsXKhDpElQFTydYZwq8hypbH0o9O_4n23qfO_AYap6cfsZM2piUe19agGEOFbogCs94kbnh8V1_UFFTPU/s1600/detail900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PDm5p60FQbApKahh1BmITpsVkHjuRgHZe1xwtIjEodZUamqRPObfB-15G5LsXKhDpElQFTydYZwq8hypbH0o9O_4n23qfO_AYap6cfsZM2piUe19agGEOFbogCs94kbnh8V1_UFFTPU/s1600/detail900.jpg" height="320" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
His own "natural daughter" and "natural son" would have been in extremity, too, because of Mary's poverty if they were Henry's children. Henry was later guilty of gross, extreme hypocrisies, but it's hard to imagine that Anne wouldn't have pointed out his own honor compelled him to support the children if they were his.<br />
<br />
The Boleyn family eventually settled a pension on Mary of £100 per year, and Mary's son, Henry Carey, became Anne's ward. She would see to his education and upkeep as a man of gentle blood, reducing Mary's financial burdens. Some have painted this in the light of Anne acquiring an "heir" for Henry if she wasn't able to provide him with her own son, but this is illogical. Wardship was simply a financial guardianship. Plenty of people actually married their wards, such as Charles Brandon marrying Catherine Willoughby, so making the boy her ward did not make him Anne's son any more than Catherine Willoughby was Brandon's daughter. Secondly, Henry Carey would still be an unacknowledged bastard, worse off than Henry FitzRoy, who at least was acknowledged by his father - it didn't matter that Anne was the sister of his mother, or that he was her ward.<br />
<br />
One wonders what Mary Boleyn would have thought if the king wouldn't even publicly acknowledge her children, while giving his son with Bessie Blount <i>two</i> dukedoms in 1525, then leaving her in poverty when her husband died three years later. This disparity in the treatment of his supposed children is problematic when there's no real reason for it. I've seen explanations that he didn't really "need" a second illegitimate son, but this was at a time in his life when Henry had begun proceedings to rid himself of his wife based on the fact he couldn't have children with her.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs591H6SMGthuLXekOhK9XfCYO3IWBk6yiht4VZc6oTk0e8sU3UxzVccRI2Ag8qI9sofZdaStlpcgUY1jg0pbuH4g3uEsv1-Re8KpyenJQTXNavtMW8PelSj5i6DC83WDhbFXPqapFJUg/s1600/detail622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs591H6SMGthuLXekOhK9XfCYO3IWBk6yiht4VZc6oTk0e8sU3UxzVccRI2Ag8qI9sofZdaStlpcgUY1jg0pbuH4g3uEsv1-Re8KpyenJQTXNavtMW8PelSj5i6DC83WDhbFXPqapFJUg/s1600/detail622.jpg" height="320" width="89" /></a></div>
<br />
Henry VIII was sensitive about the perception of his fertility. As soon as Bessie Blount gave him a son, Henry publicly claimed the boy and ennobled him - something no king had done for hundreds of years. Why would he not have claimed Mary Boleyn's children, as well, even if he didn't go to the extra step of ennobling Henry Carey? It seems odd that he would not even have mentioned fathering a son with Mary Boleyn when he was busy pointing out his marriage with his queen was "cursed" by God with infertility but he could easily father male children with other women.<br />
<br />
Another bit of evidence lies in Reginald Pole's chiding <a href="http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/the-great-divorce">letter</a> to Henry about the hypocrisy of annulling his marriage to Katharine of Aragon in order to marry Anne when his relationship with Mary created the exact same kind of incestual relationship.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[Anne] <i>had learned, I think, if from nothing else, at least from the example of her own sister, how soon you got tired of your mistresses; and she resolved to surpass her sister in retaining you as her lover</i> . . . </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisC-DFJ6RqiBF0onfKhClIC4HEpdDb0xB2HmODBlLO4LVN0ZwJNUZXKiUq0zEwWOm7A10I1mItoPWRCqofi7UwjENazVo557pdWPIIfBwQgg1R0yNd4xQSzZ4Z0qL7Wx2XL80j9enU1TU/s1600/detail483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisC-DFJ6RqiBF0onfKhClIC4HEpdDb0xB2HmODBlLO4LVN0ZwJNUZXKiUq0zEwWOm7A10I1mItoPWRCqofi7UwjENazVo557pdWPIIfBwQgg1R0yNd4xQSzZ4Z0qL7Wx2XL80j9enU1TU/s1600/detail483.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Pole's letter says nothing about Henry having children with Mary, and he mentions Henry growing quickly tired of his mistress. A relationship of six years (the high end of the estimate of how long Henry's affair with Mary lasted, giving him time to father both children) doesn't really fit with Pole's description of Henry quickly tiring of a lover.<br />
<br />
Henry never attempted to find fine marriages for Mary Boleyn's children, which one would think would be the least he could do if they were his. The two Carey children married well, but the king didn't provide Catherine with a fine dowry, or intercede to find Henry Carey a better bride than a simple country gentlewoman.<br />
<br />
In short, Henry never behaved as an interested father toward these children, taking interest in their education or in seeing them set up with good marriages. They were on their own, as far as he was concerned. Mary Boleyn was able to fund their careers at court once she received her inheritance from the Boleyn family, and they did well, but it doesn't seem the king did them any special favors. It wasn't until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who favored her Boleyn relatives, that Henry Carey was ennobled, being created a baron and Catherine was given important positions at court.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXViAI_AnJdnZ_nCtD9ifU58YlCtpl7bKuPmL65u3NRxyY0DLF9D7acWNZWaPK3DqRd_Sj7J1FiJaQ40xChwSnVpS3j2DhfOiRmtieH2tmPEDu9YWZ8DKhKuk0yJJFjCoJ2pO2iO34aIw/s1600/detail917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXViAI_AnJdnZ_nCtD9ifU58YlCtpl7bKuPmL65u3NRxyY0DLF9D7acWNZWaPK3DqRd_Sj7J1FiJaQ40xChwSnVpS3j2DhfOiRmtieH2tmPEDu9YWZ8DKhKuk0yJJFjCoJ2pO2iO34aIw/s1600/detail917.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Henry was hypocritical at points and a sociopathic jerk, but he was proud of the children he had and saw them as extensions of himself. I doubt he would have utterly abandoned his children with Mary Boleyn.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-51624021677093852052015-02-24T21:18:00.002-05:002015-02-24T21:18:57.400-05:00Anne Boleyn's Role Models<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhFg3QNPwE4nF_7R2Q1srrnoxFi37mfy50cx1dlKB-w_RXgFNSEM_axBN6oB7aRhIxvFoDogeFuKjHcmICDAzlIb3wbROHLGuUYwwjrkw9dLyWPa9zuB6SB24Owi6iIk6Nbf0TNtP8s0/s1600/anne+boleyn+miniature+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhFg3QNPwE4nF_7R2Q1srrnoxFi37mfy50cx1dlKB-w_RXgFNSEM_axBN6oB7aRhIxvFoDogeFuKjHcmICDAzlIb3wbROHLGuUYwwjrkw9dLyWPa9zuB6SB24Owi6iIk6Nbf0TNtP8s0/s1600/anne+boleyn+miniature+detail.jpg" /></a></div>
Anne Boleyn was very fortunate in her educational opportunities. She lived in an era when education for women was becoming fashionable after a long dark age in which it was considered downright dangerous to educate a female.<br />
<br />
Katharine of Aragon had opened many doors for women's education in England. She was erudite, well-read, and pious. English scholars went agog when she came to England, and she soon changed their minds on the capability of women's mental faculties, and of the wisdom of educating women.<br />
<br />
It was into this new era of educated females that Anne was born. Anne's father, <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/thomas-boleyn.html">Thomas Boleyn</a>, was a well-educated man himself. Erasmus dedicated his book on the Apostle's Creed to him, and described him as "<i>outstandingly learned</i>." High praise, indeed, from one of the era's leading intellectuals. Thomas decided he wanted the best possible education for his daughters. It would give them better prospects for a position at court, and possibly lead to better marriages for them.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Margaret of Austria</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXnBca5W76YyZUwCe6NOXINU2VAW-QbjWrou8VWdo2k4KB3nw5Aui8xevABVEu93YJra29_w6_Gd8U5NtUGfGpaXH_4V25HbngGEYqDcmu_0oTpvprVgR5Znk-YbJdOIg3zhj6YWIp1c/s1600/detail350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXnBca5W76YyZUwCe6NOXINU2VAW-QbjWrou8VWdo2k4KB3nw5Aui8xevABVEu93YJra29_w6_Gd8U5NtUGfGpaXH_4V25HbngGEYqDcmu_0oTpvprVgR5Znk-YbJdOIg3zhj6YWIp1c/s1600/detail350.jpg" height="320" width="122" /></a></div>
Thomas Boleyn became a friend of Margaret of Austria during his time as ambassador, and she agreed to take his younger daughter into her court, seemingly as a personal favor. Anne may have been <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-age-of-anne-boleyn.html">younger</a> than the average maid of honor at the time, because Margaret notes how charming Anne is for her "<i>young age</i>" in her letter to Thomas.<br />
<br />
Children in the Tudor era were often sent to other households for their education, ideally to one of a lord or lady of higher rank, where they could benefit from better tutors, and learn manners and the courtly arts. Anne had hit the jackpot by being accepted into Margaret's court. It was essentially her era's version of an Ivy League university, where she received not only a stellar education, but on-the-job training for the sixteenth century's version of the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/was-anne-boleyn-victim-of-sexual.html">corporate ladder</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wJ8yIocTbBGB2HkrZzZ_zzSBS3cn0utUik2CWj8_fIIHbhPGr6dG6z_Y80fMXSIs4mqBzZ-hD5sju6goxLW38sfUyT05YGhOxN2WU3tObSRO6f4Djk6fQLhfZ3_hfY6qzs3Ou0mZkbs/s1600/detail292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wJ8yIocTbBGB2HkrZzZ_zzSBS3cn0utUik2CWj8_fIIHbhPGr6dG6z_Y80fMXSIs4mqBzZ-hD5sju6goxLW38sfUyT05YGhOxN2WU3tObSRO6f4Djk6fQLhfZ3_hfY6qzs3Ou0mZkbs/s1600/detail292.jpg" /></a>Margaret was deeply respected internationally for her intellect and her skills as a politician. Twice married and widowed with no children from either union, Margaret had vowed she was done with matrimony, and devoted herself to statecraft. She became guardian of her nephew and regent of his dominions. She was only woman to be elected as a ruler in her own right when she became the Governor of the Low Countries.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> The part she took in politics from the date of her investiture as Governess of the Netherlands until her death belongs to European history. By her talents, ability, and rare aptitude for business she eclipsed more powerful rulers, and soon became the pivot of political life in Europe.</i></blockquote>
<br />
At her palace in <a href="http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2013/06/23/anne-boleyns-departure-from-england/">Mechelen</a>, she maintained an incredible library, and her court was visited by the most famous humanists of the day. She patronized musicians and painters, so her court was a lively place of learning, music, and art - a fertile ground where a bright mind like Anne Boleyn's could grow.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MQs318TM3PlHTHKy-V8w25MgQNDRwFG_hdrJsr6tm_UySYyAZREU6FP4lCnEr9xqE9fCjaIYBRsQniiOLY-UcGPeAKyuPKqFXzvG2hNUDXhleSikzmFLoAYUQPDKJ2sxa5D_EDkkQJg/s1600/detail1063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MQs318TM3PlHTHKy-V8w25MgQNDRwFG_hdrJsr6tm_UySYyAZREU6FP4lCnEr9xqE9fCjaIYBRsQniiOLY-UcGPeAKyuPKqFXzvG2hNUDXhleSikzmFLoAYUQPDKJ2sxa5D_EDkkQJg/s1600/detail1063.jpg" height="320" width="263" /></a>Whether Anne was only seven or fourteen years old, as others insist, she was spending her formative years with a woman who ruled quite competently in her own right, and had a passion for learning and the arts. It's said that when Anne and Henry were remodeling Whitehall, Anne tried to emulate Margaret's palace of Mechelen. Anne was also later a patron of Flemish miniature portrait artists, which was the foundation of the art in England.<br />
<br />
But Anne did not stay long at Margaret's court. A little over a year after she had been placed in Margaret's care, Thomas Boleyn wrote a letter asking Margaret to release Anne from her service. Princess Mary Tudor was being sent to wed the elderly French king, and Anne had been selected to serve her, likely because she was fluent in both English and French. Thomas writes in an apologetic tone that he did not know how to refuse the offer, and so Anne must go.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Claude of France</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gT7rHP8NZldK1Gp7dIVY2-SLGnnTF_qWhenJ66ZzwoxTRvF96X1up1uS3k5w3xFAOQcsAn-l6G6ry6AR3f8PxxvaEeEMaala6Cfnzp9gHn8BG8n1NGBukQbxZYbl_9XIaEcjUrtKyt0/s1600/detail520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gT7rHP8NZldK1Gp7dIVY2-SLGnnTF_qWhenJ66ZzwoxTRvF96X1up1uS3k5w3xFAOQcsAn-l6G6ry6AR3f8PxxvaEeEMaala6Cfnzp9gHn8BG8n1NGBukQbxZYbl_9XIaEcjUrtKyt0/s1600/detail520.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a>We know nothing of Anne's short time serving the new Queen Mary. The records are silent. It seems likely that Anne was one of Mary's peripheral servants, and their contact was slight. Later in life Mary would refuse to attend Anne Boleyn's <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/06/june-1-1533-anne-boleyns-coronation-day.html">coronation</a>, but it wasn't necessarily because of a history of personal dislike between them. Mary was a fierce partisan of Katharine of Aragon and saw her brother's marriage to Anne Boleyn as sinful.<br />
<br />
After the soon-widowed Mary <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-mirror-of-naples.html">returned</a> to England, Anne remained behind to serve the new queen, Claude. Why she remained behind when the other English ladies returned, we can only speculate. Perhaps Claude liked Anne Boleyn and wanted her to stay. Claude was very young herself, only fifteen years old. Salic Law had prevented her from inheriting the crown when her father - Mary's husband - died. Claude's husband (also her cousin) inherited it in her stead, and became King Francis.<br />
<br />
Anne's sister, <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/mary-boleyn.html">Mary Boleyn</a>, was also at the French court between 1514 and 1519. It was said she became the short-term mistress of King Francis, though it's impossible to say whether it really happened or was merely a rumor later created to slander Anne. If Mary was Francis's mistress, how did Anne feel about it? Was she outraged on behalf of the sweet, pious Claude? Mary was sent home to England in 1519 - in disgrace, writer M. L. Bruce claims - but Mary went to the court as a maid of honor to Katharine of Aragon instead of home to Hever, so disgrace doesn't seem the likely motive.<br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQDGegRc_V-v4OO4Wz3AnHZ-x4vcc3uxQMxYBlPApFZBeCTsVqJQTKdBC7-D4m8Ajq9BCzZiEwkE0idZeUbTvpxK8Z_-VHuPoBA626dGWaJNetV4hTxVIKgJ1s0LbgMBxRmCIRGBmH3Q/s1600/detail1507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQDGegRc_V-v4OO4Wz3AnHZ-x4vcc3uxQMxYBlPApFZBeCTsVqJQTKdBC7-D4m8Ajq9BCzZiEwkE0idZeUbTvpxK8Z_-VHuPoBA626dGWaJNetV4hTxVIKgJ1s0LbgMBxRmCIRGBmH3Q/s1600/detail1507.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a><br />
Claude was not a glamorous queen. She was very short of stature and afflicted by what was likely juvenile onset scoliosis (the same ailment which affected <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/the-real-will-somers.html">Will Somers</a>, my hero in <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/about-book.html"><i>Under These Restless Skies</i></a>.) She was once bluntly <a href="http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/Five_Famous_French_Women_1000692176/85">described</a> as "<i>delicate, plain, and lame</i>." Despite her poor health, Claude would give her husband seven children during their ten year marriage. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Descriptions of Claude laud her piety and good works, as well as her gentle nature. But she was strict when it came to moral decorum in her court. In some respects, Anne's court would resemble Claude's in the queen's insistence on circumspect behavior and religious devotion.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTz6R_89uZ-SgCGMIMmQbcrRPoUWBvduf2jczmTmvF26erjjGK6DaK4FijEbDrGcAcn4TyabAXiLGHaSSQfS6TXoiey-IWjPRbxgSGL5S-cHQ1pelRaAl90pk3kSsL8G_CDS1TygbfPA/s1600/detail971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTz6R_89uZ-SgCGMIMmQbcrRPoUWBvduf2jczmTmvF26erjjGK6DaK4FijEbDrGcAcn4TyabAXiLGHaSSQfS6TXoiey-IWjPRbxgSGL5S-cHQ1pelRaAl90pk3kSsL8G_CDS1TygbfPA/s1600/detail971.jpg" /></a>Claude was also an art lover, and Anne Boleyn would later have illuminated manuscripts made in the same style that Claude favored. Leonardo da Vinci lived near Claude's court at Chateau Blois, and Eric Ives thinks it's highly probable that Anne met him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anne likely attended Claude's coronation at St. Denis in 1516 and may have went with her to the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520 because she could translate. Anne's father, brother, and sister Mary were all at this event, so it must have been a joyful family reunion. Surely the Boleyns must have been impressed with Anne, and the continental polish she had acquired. </div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Margeurite d'Angoulême</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenauSEcOJ6n_XFpuEiyQ62wkLddn9ctmzY6kTC_y1VAZTXDZZ8gWK1egsxcOVLvYTfGBHLuV9C-QV89cEwEZtPm2jEnjU7PKJoaHpcLenjNzBtscM47St3KIPYZEwt0JMIDlgANaGvtQ/s1600/detail1078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenauSEcOJ6n_XFpuEiyQ62wkLddn9ctmzY6kTC_y1VAZTXDZZ8gWK1egsxcOVLvYTfGBHLuV9C-QV89cEwEZtPm2jEnjU7PKJoaHpcLenjNzBtscM47St3KIPYZEwt0JMIDlgANaGvtQ/s1600/detail1078.jpg" height="316" width="320" /></a>Claude was not the only woman at the French court who provided Anne with a role model. Anne later expressed strong affection and respect for Margeurite d'Angoulême, the king's sister, who may heavily influenced Anne's reformist faith.<br />
<br />
Margeurite was a poet and playwright of renown, author of <i>The Mirror of the Sinful Soul</i>, a manuscript that Anne's daughter, Elizabeth would one day translate as a gift for her step-mother. Margeurite's work expressed reformist ideas that offended the old-school Catholics. Her brother, King Francis, had to force an apology from a monk who said she should be sewn into a sack and thrown in the Seine, and a college class that essentially satirized her as a hellbeast. Margeurite was a protector of reformists and tried to dissuade her brother from intolerant policies.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8EkPYnweCMsdm8omHSTprS_T8f8YIiUbkdwKO09BbquCDVqQp6XrjvElAHbLLi_dpMwuxl9l9vElbH2VLsSxFUvUC9ivhbOcKB4E3iTLOhCSiZqb2RmYDxXPk7SsHp3b0drFqFKI60w/s1600/detail2337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8EkPYnweCMsdm8omHSTprS_T8f8YIiUbkdwKO09BbquCDVqQp6XrjvElAHbLLi_dpMwuxl9l9vElbH2VLsSxFUvUC9ivhbOcKB4E3iTLOhCSiZqb2RmYDxXPk7SsHp3b0drFqFKI60w/s1600/detail2337.jpg" /></a>Marguerite was also strongly influential in the politics of the day. She worked in diplomacy, at one time negotiating the release of her brother, who had been captured by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. She was a patron of the arts, and supported writers. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Erasmus said of her:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"For a long time I have cherished all the many excellent gifts that God bestowed upon you; prudence worthy of a philosopher; chastity; moderation; piety; an invincible strength of soul, and a marvelous contempt for all the vanities of this world. Who could keep from admiring, in a great king's sister, such qualities as these, so rare even among the priests and monks?"</i></blockquote>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Louise of Savoy</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Louise-de-savoie1.jpg/330px-Louise-de-savoie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Louise-de-savoie1.jpg/330px-Louise-de-savoie1.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a>The king's mother Louise served as the king's regent during his absences. She negotiated peace treaties, and began building the Franco-Ottoman alliance, and so Anne would have learned much from watching this example of female political power. Louise was once painted literally taking the rudder, with Suleiman the Magnificent lying at her feet.<br />
<br />
Louise had lost her parents at age seven, and had been married at age eleven, though the marriage was not consummated for a further four years. After her husband died, she tried to solve an inheritance dispute over the Bourbon duchies by proposing to Duke Charles III. When he insultingly declined her proposal, she set out to destroy him, using every bit of power and influence she had to undermine him until he lost his lands. When he rebelled against the king in consequence, he was crushed.<br />
<br />
Intellectually curious all her life, she died in 1531 from a cold she caught while studying a comet.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNyih3AZa_tdBqRzcxhNmO8FPQav_1EaSUqKZ7vkpvwHrCd1x-fT4noe7pjeYW-QiPzPnKzL8VCFxlE0Gi6lglgS46THmA7pQ-mNJymK9e8BoLSjYuu1uPD2K2v4NIQ4XCBtOeSo43No/s1600/anne+boleyn's%2Beyes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNyih3AZa_tdBqRzcxhNmO8FPQav_1EaSUqKZ7vkpvwHrCd1x-fT4noe7pjeYW-QiPzPnKzL8VCFxlE0Gi6lglgS46THmA7pQ-mNJymK9e8BoLSjYuu1uPD2K2v4NIQ4XCBtOeSo43No/s1600/anne+boleyn's%2Beyes.png" height="131" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anne was called home from the French court in 1522 because her father was negotiating a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/henry-percy-anne-boleyns-first-love.html">marriage</a> for her. She had gone to Margaret's court a young girl who spoke clumsy French, and left an <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/was-anne-boleyn-bitch.html">elegant courtier</a>. She could now speak French like a native, played several instruments, was well-read, and a witty conversationalist. Anne was instantly popular at court, and the young men are said to have swarmed around her, despite the fact she was not a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-real-face-of-anne-boleyn.html">conventional beauty</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadQ3nFFSXWU0wSKRdPGFso2z2h-R6aJSzJ4mGKmYNSeZsntMrV8bu9X6Y-4bpq9PUYpJw6JmS84XoAg79i_-MYSBZOVs7bKLbIKkcqBPy7d6bh8B-xjK_BishXLq1re24VKaie2G9HKU/s1600/detail454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadQ3nFFSXWU0wSKRdPGFso2z2h-R6aJSzJ4mGKmYNSeZsntMrV8bu9X6Y-4bpq9PUYpJw6JmS84XoAg79i_-MYSBZOVs7bKLbIKkcqBPy7d6bh8B-xjK_BishXLq1re24VKaie2G9HKU/s1600/detail454.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
<br />
Anne always remembered her time on the continent fondly, and her own reign would exemplify the qualities she had learned from Margaret, Claude, Margeurite, and Louise. She had seen how women could exercise power in the mostly male political sphere. She saw their triumphs and mistakes, their fortitude and grace under fire. These were not the passive, silent queens of the past, but women who were taking an active role in shaping the world.<br />
<br />
These four exemplary examples of female rulers helped shape the young Anne into the courtier - and the queen - she would one day become. Anne's court was a lively place of art, music, and literature, but while it was glamorous and fashionable, it was also pious, and Anne was strict about moral decorum in her ladies. And while Anne was the "<i>glass of fashion</i>," leading her court in revelry and patronizing artists, she was also helping to guide England's policy, meeting with ambassadors and council members, and laying the foundation of the Church of England by appointing reformist bishops to key positions.</div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-80647575846563850542015-02-22T17:13:00.000-05:002015-02-22T17:13:07.227-05:00The Sad Tale of Henry VIII's First Son, Henry Duke of Cornwall<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMbs8SbbebWnLgLHIJTb1ur71Yd_YD2WDwYqvGrNUWnkMDFGzqdEBN20jcYT7UuMYnWN2ACqzSpUol1v_LoM7V3JfBoe0Dsir_GifKy06w9mm2CDQ8YrduARb9JQ6hRnT9mLOOIgmZKo/s1600/tumblr_n1yuk3rgT11rz5qxqo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMbs8SbbebWnLgLHIJTb1ur71Yd_YD2WDwYqvGrNUWnkMDFGzqdEBN20jcYT7UuMYnWN2ACqzSpUol1v_LoM7V3JfBoe0Dsir_GifKy06w9mm2CDQ8YrduARb9JQ6hRnT9mLOOIgmZKo/s1600/tumblr_n1yuk3rgT11rz5qxqo1_500.jpg" height="320" width="306" /></a>When Henry, Duke of Cornwall was born on January 1, 1511, England erupted in celebration.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He was the second child born to Henry and his young queen, Katharine of Aragon. The first had been a daughter, stillborn, who was delivered 33 weeks after their marriage. She was never given a name.<br />
<br />
Almost a year later, Katharine was brought to bed and delivered the little prince. King Henry must have felt God was smiling down upon him. Katharine, too, for she had fulfilled the duty of a queen to give her husband and new homeland an heir to the throne. Here was the future King Henry IX, the Tudors’ shaky claim to the throne upheld by the noble blood of the House Trastámara, and Katharine’s own descent from John of Gaunt.<br />
<br />
The public fountains ran with free wine for the populace, and bonfires were lit in celebration. The cannons blasted from the top of the Tower walls and churchbells rang for hours. It was a public holiday, and all of England joined in the party.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmS4sNxfG2itKoKlG9gnKK0ryTruiin2hnksi9rKQRIekKcqQCkgy9xg6bY0_w8v-ya4AsISbcIosg84y3JbS8UdR_mmFovMYO4qNdddNjyaZJ-OUeuxIZyfAGeF9Z1LbjJ08MkgIVow/s1600/detail1599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmS4sNxfG2itKoKlG9gnKK0ryTruiin2hnksi9rKQRIekKcqQCkgy9xg6bY0_w8v-ya4AsISbcIosg84y3JbS8UdR_mmFovMYO4qNdddNjyaZJ-OUeuxIZyfAGeF9Z1LbjJ08MkgIVow/s1600/detail1599.jpg" height="320" width="164" /></a>The “New Year’s Boy” as the baby was called, was baptized in a grand ceremony - one that his mother could not attend, because she had not yet been “churched” (ritually blessed) and allowed to re-enter public life. He was named Henry after his father and grandfather, and given the title Duke of Cornwall. The title of Prince of Wales was never officially given to him, but it would have been later in his life.<br />
<br />
One of his godfathers was King Louis XII of France, who sent a gift of a salt cellar and cup made of almost a hundred ounces of gold. King Louis gave to the child’s nurse, Elizabeth Poyntz, a gold chain worth £30 and £10 to the midwife who had delivered the child. Margaret of Austria - who would see to the education of a young Anne Boleyn in just a few years - was one of Prince Henry’s godmothers.<br />
<br />
While his wife was still in seclusion after the birth, Henry made a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Walsingham to give thanks for the safe arrival of his prince. According to writer Henry Spellman, King Henry rode to Barsham, where he dismounted and walked the rest of the way to the shrine barefooted. There, he prostrated himself on the ground before the statue of the Virgin, and gave an offering of a valuable necklace. Later, this same shrine would be denounced, pillaged, and dismantled by the king during the Dissolution.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaknGstHURB4riud_k3grzigg0-5dtyzxsHaRyunDDod_jjqzxImf6URfI2-qn3rg5cFk212j_NGN9pJHbn6E6WUHxNEnc8KXTrZQDIEJ_kmM-bZn73paVBTmv2QrHOinX6jNZ6O8Wbk/s1600/detail1633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaknGstHURB4riud_k3grzigg0-5dtyzxsHaRyunDDod_jjqzxImf6URfI2-qn3rg5cFk212j_NGN9pJHbn6E6WUHxNEnc8KXTrZQDIEJ_kmM-bZn73paVBTmv2QrHOinX6jNZ6O8Wbk/s1600/detail1633.jpg" height="320" width="158" /></a></div>
<br />
As soon as Katharine was “churched” and could resume life with the court, the prince’s birth was celebrated with a tournament, by far the most lavish that had been seen in England in living memory. Some scholars have said it was the third most expensive event of Henry’s reign thus far, after his father’s funeral and Henry and Katharine’s joint coronation. It wouldn’t be surpassed until the extravaganza of the Field of the Cloth of Gold.<br />
<br />
Sir <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/thomas-boleyn.html">Thomas Boleyn</a> was one of the knights who rode on the second day of the tournament, but he’s not listed among those who were given prizes.<br />
<br />
Henry jousted as “Sir Loyal Heart” in lists that were decorated to look like an enchanted forest. Katharine distributed the prizes to the valiant knights. It was was followed by a sumptuous banquet in Westminster Palace, which ended up getting a bit out of hand when the crowd swarmed the king and stripped his person of the jewels and gold stitched to his clothing. But Henry was in a jovial, permissive mood, as he always was when things went his way.<br />
<br />
Henry began setting up his son’s separate household by appointing the dozens of servants appropriate to his princely status. It included forty men at arms for protection, and food tasters, to make sure that none of his nurse’s food was poisoned. His nurse, Elizabeth Poyntz was supervised by a Lady Mistress, and he had four “rockers” to keep his cradle moving.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAT0ZhPNBuySP7ZNJK83v5rdaFVed5zJWxOfTS1lHCvHpRx1q335LMTWmCBkWaWAlrTc00UZk43_Z24ccqbyOZUWM4vTNqqZ0YPvjO-rkwOkwlX-RLvrjLgdHMFAEkBGIh2UK2c49bJZU/s1600/detail1503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAT0ZhPNBuySP7ZNJK83v5rdaFVed5zJWxOfTS1lHCvHpRx1q335LMTWmCBkWaWAlrTc00UZk43_Z24ccqbyOZUWM4vTNqqZ0YPvjO-rkwOkwlX-RLvrjLgdHMFAEkBGIh2UK2c49bJZU/s1600/detail1503.jpg" height="320" width="141" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The names of divers persons which were daily waiters upon the Prince," viz.:—Carver: Edw. Wylloughby. Sewer: Edm. Losell. Gentleman usher: Edm. Gray. Gentlemen waiters: Wm. Harrys, Nic. Wykes. Chaplains: Mr. William Underwood, Mr. Chr. Browne, Mr. Th. Pekesall, clerk of the Closet.Yeomen of the Chamber: George Sutton, yeoman usher, Wm. Lambert, Maurice Alyde, Wm. Bendish, Wm. Clerke, John Smythe. Grooms of the Chamber: John Cowper, Wm. Holyns, Edw. Forest, Ric. Braybroke.Countinghouse: John Waliston, gentleman. Bakehouse: John Downer, yeoman, one conduct. Pantry: Th. Blythe. Cellar: Th. Parker Buttery and Pitcherhouse: John Appulby and John Parre, grooms. Ewery and Chamber: Rob. Spurnell, groom, David ap John, yeoman. Kitchen: Wm. Blacnall, clerk of the Kitchen, Wm. Bolton, groom, Wm. Dully, groom, and a child. Larder, Boilinghouse and Scalding-house: Th. Skelton, groom, Rob. Lynton. Accatry: Th. Raudon. Poultry: Wm. Botell, yeoman. Scullery: John Barnabee, groom,—Fitton, page. Saucery: Wm. Larke, groom, Th. Salkyll. Hall: Wm. Benson.Porter: Simon Symmys, groom. Almonry ("Awmery"): John Hamlet, groom.Grooms of the King’s chamber: Ric. Chachemay, Wm. Wyndslowe. Clerk of the Works: Walter Foster (per mandatum Domini Camerarii).</i></blockquote>
But these latter appointments would end up lasting only a few days. On the 22nd of February came the terrible news that the New Year’s Boy had died. He had lived only 52 days.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpAy7b9vYMbd3l4RsYEUt3-hKYSzEfwXtcabto-2gj_VTMN4Lg_j_c_tOX40PlAmpWxYfq0TX71JiFiLN6KiT0pFbEKfr-aoc7n3zVwlyJsgpDRdpgl2uhuKR5aExATKFU7vNnVsH29Q/s1600/Portrait+of+the+newborn+Federigo+di+Urbino+Federico+Fiori+Barocci+or+Baroccio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpAy7b9vYMbd3l4RsYEUt3-hKYSzEfwXtcabto-2gj_VTMN4Lg_j_c_tOX40PlAmpWxYfq0TX71JiFiLN6KiT0pFbEKfr-aoc7n3zVwlyJsgpDRdpgl2uhuKR5aExATKFU7vNnVsH29Q/s1600/Portrait+of+the+newborn+Federigo+di+Urbino+Federico+Fiori+Barocci+or+Baroccio.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Nothing survives in the records to tell us the cause of death. He seemed to be hale and hearty enough at birth - enough so that the baptism had been performed five days after birth, whereas sickly infants were baptized immediately. No mentions in the records are made of him being ill. His death seems to come from nowhere, sudden and shocking. Crib death, or respiratory infection (the Tudors had notoriously weak lungs) have been suggested. It’s likely we’ll never know. It was an era of high infant mortality, and the Tudor <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/babies-in-tudor-era.html">child-rearing practices </a>didn’t help matters.<br />
<br />
Prince Henry’s funeral was nearly as lavish as the tournament that celebrated his birth. His father paid £400 for the black cloth for the mourners’ clothing, and the covering of the hearse. Another 186 yards bedecked the three barges that carried the mourners downriver to the church, and 327 yards were used to drape the choir in Westminster Abbey. The candles that burned day and night by the hearse required 974 pounds of wax.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvrNR-WzGdIbgUzBssA0oZ5r3IKh_J0Rd10iPNmTVYHAXX4HH6ATXy9UuAk6elseZjxL_ryf5zeEmwZ_JQbdkbFsnK0yDzeSxnXBmrmOH9CIqJ0p7PkA5wMXsRII7OeZ3LwsI2Mnh1rk/s1600/funeral+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvrNR-WzGdIbgUzBssA0oZ5r3IKh_J0Rd10iPNmTVYHAXX4HH6ATXy9UuAk6elseZjxL_ryf5zeEmwZ_JQbdkbFsnK0yDzeSxnXBmrmOH9CIqJ0p7PkA5wMXsRII7OeZ3LwsI2Mnh1rk/s1600/funeral+6.jpg" height="320" width="191" /></a></div>
<br />
Sir <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/thomas-boleyn.html">Thomas Boleyn</a> had ridden in the celebratory joust, and was now noted as one of the mourners who marched in the funeral procession. He would have been given a black suit of clothing - the fineness of its cloth suitable to his rank - as was tradition.<br />
<br />
Prince Henry was buried in Westminster, on the north side of the sanctuary near the entrance to the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor. The grave, however, was never given a marker or monument. The general location of his grave is <a href="http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/henry-son-of-henry-viii">known</a>. During excavations for the new High Altar in the 1860s, a small lead coffin of a child was discovered - it may have been the coffin of the prince.<br />
<br />
It wasn’t unusual for the graves of infants to be unmarked in the Tudor era, and when they were, their monuments were usually very simple, like the markers on the graves of the infant children of the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-other-boleyn-boys.html">Boleyn</a> family. The choice seems to have been up to the parents, and there was no societal pressure to mark the graves of small children. None of Katharine’s infants were given grave markers - perhaps it simply hurt her too much to think of it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTja28fko_SBqGKJlao_jbuvZPPapdF1eN31sib0NDbAKY1beF5Dwcoj-2nVHoFnBP_4xvNE5Gq8acW5r8lCNBRtuBvqMv6wmuLOMumNxbzUcjvJro-_QIFDRPBeGi_qYKDyoIs-ucU0/s1600/detail1283.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTja28fko_SBqGKJlao_jbuvZPPapdF1eN31sib0NDbAKY1beF5Dwcoj-2nVHoFnBP_4xvNE5Gq8acW5r8lCNBRtuBvqMv6wmuLOMumNxbzUcjvJro-_QIFDRPBeGi_qYKDyoIs-ucU0/s1600/detail1283.png" height="320" width="245" /></a></div>
<br />
The queen was crushed with grief. Edward hall said of her:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Like a natural woman, [she] made much lamentation, howbeit by the king’s good persuasion and behavior, her sorrow was mitigated, but not shortly.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Katharine, always pious, intensified her religious devotion, reportedly spending hours kneeling on bare stone floors to pray. She fasted arduously, made offerings at shrines, and begged God to send her another child, but it was two years before she became pregnant again.<br />
<br />
The little lost New Year’s Boy makes one final appearance in the records. In <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol1/pp455-465">September</a>, 1511, Elizabeth Poyntz was <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=rTFpyIYLi2oC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=%22late+nurse+unto+our+dearest+son+the+Prince,%22&source=bl&ots=urm00OYqXG&sig=fszufvK0Sp5xNoZB-Yx83wm3OJY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9DXqVN7wHNecygS0qoKoDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22late%20nurse%20unto%20our%20dearest%20son%20the%20Prince%2C%22&f=false">given an annuity</a> of £20 for life - Henry didn’t blame her for the death of his beloved son. Later, Elizabeth Poyntz’s own son would host Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII at his home in <a href="http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/anne-boleyn-places/palaces-and-houses/acton-court/">new rooms</a> he had built onto his home just for their visit.</div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-10507962863466658342015-02-16T13:08:00.002-05:002015-02-21T22:40:26.426-05:00The Real Face of Anne Boleyn?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34OqKUHhwk7DSy8-QQwTEDxP9GJ354twNIS2vtB5Y6EhcFnNYz-KPmUFQVj7b7YKX77MhXiikOUfPvroXvD60D9kHb-IoHoTqow4BNUPoAM7LMYU9Gtsy7c6w4eQMzM96ObBHihaP7UQ/s1600/anne-boleyn-medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34OqKUHhwk7DSy8-QQwTEDxP9GJ354twNIS2vtB5Y6EhcFnNYz-KPmUFQVj7b7YKX77MhXiikOUfPvroXvD60D9kHb-IoHoTqow4BNUPoAM7LMYU9Gtsy7c6w4eQMzM96ObBHihaP7UQ/s1600/anne-boleyn-medal.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></div>
The "Moost Happi" medal is the sole surviving contemporary portrait of Anne Boleyn that we know of. It's badly damaged, so it's a source of frustration for people who want to know the true appearance of Anne Boleyn.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOyQeRmJar4EHuqaGDVdk7RhwHrrxgDozBcnnwiBxK27M1i2TjAJZZNrKXZSDerbMfWCsKY6Nnpofuxz_-5raIv-j2OZRijJwIIhahKknJKPBFvRyW8yiV55dniB_AjskGGKkXNLKrt4/s1600/anne+and+elizabeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOyQeRmJar4EHuqaGDVdk7RhwHrrxgDozBcnnwiBxK27M1i2TjAJZZNrKXZSDerbMfWCsKY6Nnpofuxz_-5raIv-j2OZRijJwIIhahKknJKPBFvRyW8yiV55dniB_AjskGGKkXNLKrt4/s1600/anne+and+elizabeth.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>The most commonly recognized portraits of Anne - the National Gallery portrait and the Hever Castle portrait - were created during the reign of her daughter, and may have been intentionally designed to look like Elizabeth. They may bear very little resemblance to the real Anne Boleyn.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfT1ZAiUflNYWnG57Pzkd3i_aGw6b208HNtLVkhgq5ralbGvkaWd1d3anNmAnYSOysN5q6ys4s_JN_q1A80-e3oEQK-LQE5F47Bh1i6V-WMXfpyX12QCC9E3foZbEPs5xQO3qHDjZ8Gg/s1600/Anne+Boleyn+Holbein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfT1ZAiUflNYWnG57Pzkd3i_aGw6b208HNtLVkhgq5ralbGvkaWd1d3anNmAnYSOysN5q6ys4s_JN_q1A80-e3oEQK-LQE5F47Bh1i6V-WMXfpyX12QCC9E3foZbEPs5xQO3qHDjZ8Gg/s1600/Anne+Boleyn+Holbein.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></div>
Another portrait - a sketch by Holbein - is labeled as being Anne Boleyn (and is <a href="http://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/894_Anne_Boleyn_regains_her_head">accepted</a> as being an authentic portrait of her by the Royal Collection) but many people insist it can't be Anne because the heavy jawline, double chin, and light auburn hair do not match the more "accepted" version of her appearance. Go to <a href="http://ruthstacey.com/2015/02/20/holbein-sketches-of-anne-boleyn/">this website</a> to see a side-by-side comparison of the two Holbein sketches labeled as Anne Boleyn.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Elizabeth seems to have accepted something close to the Holbein portrait as an authentic likeness of her mother, if her portrait ring is to be believed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPM_IE4VTDfwNCEgKCgouWiTRGy2p4CNs42y1Sotxi85dMdwESe7pmiip8458tDBifOMFDXnAV3yq1gLR0rDvw9hu013SEenO8d9XksOMDCuZUhj0Zpx-qmyMNJ9FAz5yzblbUL1Pv_zM/s1600/checquers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPM_IE4VTDfwNCEgKCgouWiTRGy2p4CNs42y1Sotxi85dMdwESe7pmiip8458tDBifOMFDXnAV3yq1gLR0rDvw9hu013SEenO8d9XksOMDCuZUhj0Zpx-qmyMNJ9FAz5yzblbUL1Pv_zM/s1600/checquers.jpg" height="320" width="160" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9Bn6P9yskuDjwTRGfEuYiaKUBxQ7beodkAdS-T5OTx-9S8AOG8cGSJzeDnhjLPAZ2KMR7XBZby1Giwq4zPY_OCxEz8WuZy2XeL3uxXKRqd6iWkZxL0_u0z9b4tCI9Qydja4ZIsPFWDw/s1600/anne+boleyn+nidd+hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9Bn6P9yskuDjwTRGfEuYiaKUBxQ7beodkAdS-T5OTx-9S8AOG8cGSJzeDnhjLPAZ2KMR7XBZby1Giwq4zPY_OCxEz8WuZy2XeL3uxXKRqd6iWkZxL0_u0z9b4tCI9Qydja4ZIsPFWDw/s1600/anne+boleyn+nidd+hall.jpg" height="320" width="269" /></a></div>
But now, we may be closer to the true face of Anne Boleyn. Using facial-recognition software, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/16/anne-boleyn-portrait-found-using-facial-recognition-software">Amit Roy-Chowdhury</a> of the University of California, Riverside, has matched the portrait medal to an extant painting of Anne Boleyn. And the closest match to the medal is a portrait that has been long-dismissed as being a true likeness: the Nidd Hall portrait. Research on the subject is <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/update-nidd-hall-portrait-1534-anne-boleyn-medal-press-articles-not-correct/">not complete</a>, but the association is very interesting.<br />
<br />
The Nidd Hall portrait isn't flattering. The sitter wears an English-style gable hood, and is identified as Anne by the AB brooch pinned to her gown. But the face with its long nose and receding chin is so different from our "accepted" image of Anne that for a long while, <a href="http://www.oocities.org/rolandhui_2000/ab_portraiture.htm">experts</a> have suggested that it was a portrait of Jane Seymour re-touched during the reign of Elizabeth to turn it into a portrait of Anne.<br />
<br />
This link has a superimposed <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/anne-boleyn-portrait-facial-recognition-technology-verifies-nidd-hall-image-20150216-13ftef.html">slider</a> which allows you to compare the image to the portrait medal.<br />
<br />
Some of the jewelry the sitter wears shows up in portrait of Henry's other queens.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QJdtXTViKi0EzHICJzdgSy3MFQJgZbDu_5KsGOnFsk6D_j872p4dcXrYC1bv_ZLJe8qYbPT5RtsPHF11DE9cX3Et20klnEC2fPgAAtyZ44yQkSQnLYwBAwdMO7Oez78wjxMSL1SWP-M/s1600/jane_seymour+tau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QJdtXTViKi0EzHICJzdgSy3MFQJgZbDu_5KsGOnFsk6D_j872p4dcXrYC1bv_ZLJe8qYbPT5RtsPHF11DE9cX3Et20klnEC2fPgAAtyZ44yQkSQnLYwBAwdMO7Oez78wjxMSL1SWP-M/s1600/jane_seymour+tau.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQaSgvm1l476-WX1Si0dYP9d7zYzoKvZ6SILqJR9pfUzHPkEFgqxWdY1jJHWPMa7nrhLmeu-K2iT5QHouJFynmTenjglaoKZaE8ob5GMWXoBqM6lnM_2mN2L13iBtTHXmAI3hh8OF8DAs/s1600/Kateryn+Parr+necklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQaSgvm1l476-WX1Si0dYP9d7zYzoKvZ6SILqJR9pfUzHPkEFgqxWdY1jJHWPMa7nrhLmeu-K2iT5QHouJFynmTenjglaoKZaE8ob5GMWXoBqM6lnM_2mN2L13iBtTHXmAI3hh8OF8DAs/s1600/Kateryn+Parr+necklace.jpg" /></a>Jane Seymour wears the ropes of pearls across her bodice, and Kateryn Parr wears the tri-stone pendant.<br />
<br />
The Nidd Hall sitter may also be wearing the "<a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/recycling-queens-jewels.html">consort's necklace</a>" all of Henry's queens after Anne were painted wearing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aHUO6XDyxdLpIKX1annuiv-d9UCkNUT7XNaWm0Zw6cZEi6rJstiJEmUKKlyuWybISF5KEgFpLSgZVt_uwLC6EKENLs1mT_WNjiR8KgAevbyNcRk7AqQUulQaZkdDS2eHm_Ac113-L84/s1600/anne+boleyn+9+-+Copy+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aHUO6XDyxdLpIKX1annuiv-d9UCkNUT7XNaWm0Zw6cZEi6rJstiJEmUKKlyuWybISF5KEgFpLSgZVt_uwLC6EKENLs1mT_WNjiR8KgAevbyNcRk7AqQUulQaZkdDS2eHm_Ac113-L84/s1600/anne+boleyn+9+-+Copy+-+Copy.jpg" height="320" width="318" /></a></div>
Like the National Portrait Gallery version and the Hever Castle portrait, the Nidd Hall painting was created at least fifty years after Anne Boleyn's death. Unlike the prior two examples, the Nidd Hall portrait was obviously based off of a different "pattern."<br />
<br />
The NPG and Hever portraits are supposed to be based off of the same painting ("B" necklace pattern) as the Hoskins miniature. Some suspect the original was a lost Holbein, or the portrait which belonged at one point to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumley_inventories">Lord Lumley</a>.<br />
<br />
It's possible that the positive identification of the Holbein sketch, <a href="http://www.lucychurchill.com/AnneBoleynMedal.php">Lucy Churchill</a>'s reconstruction of the portrait medal, and the identification of the Nidd Hall portrait have brought us closer to the true face of Anne Boleyn.<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-38388096422747900502015-02-14T19:47:00.001-05:002015-06-23T11:52:43.148-04:00Henry and Anne Boleyn: A Love Story?<blockquote>
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/7ae0f726e9f76cc2c181beb729338552/tumblr_inline_njscr0g91F1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/7ae0f726e9f76cc2c181beb729338552/tumblr_inline_njscr0g91F1rcv18h.jpg" /></a><i>While I believe the facts support my assertions in this article, it is merely my opinion. It was inspired by this <a href="http://khylieesis.tumblr.com/post/110961087202/happy-valentines-day">Tumblr</a> post I saw this afternoon.</i></blockquote>
<br />
There have been movies and books that paint Henry VIII's relationship with Anne Boleyn as a grand romance, a story of passion between two people that ended in horrible tragedy. He fought to make Anne his wife for almost seven years, after all!<br />
But is the tale of Henry and Anne actually a love story?<br />
<br />
It is my opinion that Henry VIII was not capable of real love. He fits almost all of the clinical markers for <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/the-real.html">dissocial personality disorder</a>; or, to put it in colloquial terms, he was a sociopath.<br />
<br />
Anyone capable of real love would have been unable to do the horrific things that Henry did to the people in his life.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/58b7b3e78f26bda83508644d36c31784/tumblr_inline_njsczhnkTJ1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/58b7b3e78f26bda83508644d36c31784/tumblr_inline_njsczhnkTJ1rcv18h.jpg" /></a>Henry first became interested in Anne Boleyn in late 1525 or early 1526. In 1525, Anne was <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-age-of-anne-boleyn.html">eighteen years old</a> , a "<i>fresh and young damsel</i>" as contemporary descriptions have it, with elegant charm and a vivacious personality. Henry wanted her as a mistress, but Anne <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-home-wrecker.html">refused</a>. Despite her flirtatious nature, Anne was a deeply pious woman and would sleep with no man outside the bonds of matrimony.<br />
<br />
For over a year, he coaxed and cajoled her, but Anne managed the delicate balance of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/was-anne-boleyn-victim-of-sexual.html">refusing his advances</a> without offending him. In my opinion, his actions are more accurately described as sexual harassment instead of "courtship" because the court was Anne's workplace, he was the boss, and Anne was trying desperately to gently shake him off without endangering her career or that of her family.<br />
<br />
Some have put this down to strategy, that Anne somehow instinctively knew that the best way to keep his interest was to ignore him, but Henry had always lost interest before when a lady indicated she wouldn't welcome his advances any further. In this case, though, Henry continued his pursuit.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/07b9bca5de4e6ce1858e02d8f79b9c42/tumblr_inline_njsd0qfvkq1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/07b9bca5de4e6ce1858e02d8f79b9c42/tumblr_inline_njsd0qfvkq1rcv18h.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a>He wanted Anne - badly - and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from having her - but obsession is not love. Obsession is a greedy, destructive thing - and indeed, the story did end with Anne's destruction.<br />
<br />
Henry certainly spent a lot of effort on making Anne his. He wrote her love letters in his own hand, he put aside his wife and child, and executed long-time friends as he destroyed a thousand years of religious tradition to marry her, but I don't believe it was the power of "love" as much as it was the power of his <i>will</i>.<br />
<br />
By 1527, Henry had decided that he wanted to end his marriage to his now-infertile wife Katharine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. Anne had little choice other than to accept his proposal. After being the subject of the king's public attentions for a year, Anne's reputation was in tatters, and no other man would offer for her hand while the king was interested in her.<br />
<br />
It was every noble-born girl's duty to marry well to advance her family, but in this case, records indicate Anne's father may have been a little reluctant for his daughter to marry the king, despite the astounding boon to the family fortunes. Maybe Thomas Boleyn could see the dark clouds gathering, but there was nothing he could do but obey the king's will and support his daughter as best he could.<br />
<br />
Henry probably thought the small matter of his annulment from Katharine would be concluded quickly, but it took seven years to end his marriage.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/96e3014003c4da685f5096cdc2ed14df/tumblr_inline_njsd30Xu0R1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="320" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/96e3014003c4da685f5096cdc2ed14df/tumblr_inline_njsd30Xu0R1rcv18h.jpg" width="270" /></a>What would keep Henry so determined for more than half a decade? Various chroniclers have put it down to great manipulative skill on Anne's part, because she "managed" to keep him interested in her - and some have hinted that Anne must have brought him <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122872854">sexual satisfaction</a> without giving up her virginity in order to "keep him on the line." This combines the assumptions that it was Anne's ambition all along fueling the relationship and she had to work very hard to keep Henry's interest, because surely he wouldn't have stayed with her unless she did <i>something</i> to keep him in her entangled in her nets.<br />
<br />
Others have said it was the strength of Henry's love for her that kept him dedicated to making her his bride.<br />
<br />
But the truth seems much more mundane. Henry's determination wasn't borne out of his grand passion for Anne. It because once he had made a decision, nothing would convince him to change his mind. When decided his marriage to Katharine was invalid, no earthly force or amount of argument could dissuade him. Cardinal Campeggio, sent on the behest of the pope, <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol4/pp2089-2103">wrote</a> wearily to the pontiff about it:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>He told me plainly that he wanted nothing else than a declaration whether the marriage is valid or not,—he himself always presupposing its invalidity; and I believe that an angel descending from Heaven would be unable to persuade him otherwise.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/a2ac28034280f3f6065b540e7b102995/tumblr_inline_njsd6lzivj1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/a2ac28034280f3f6065b540e7b102995/tumblr_inline_njsd6lzivj1rcv18h.jpg" /></a>Likewise, once Henry had decided he wanted to make Anne queen, he stuck to that decision, and the opposition to the idea only made him more determined. He wasn't going to go back on one of his positions because that would force him to admit he'd been wrong about something. It wasn't really a matter of emotion as much as it was sheer stubbornness on Henry's part.<br />
<br />
Henry truly believed that his desires and God's will were one in the same. He was the kind of fellow who could say with a straight face that God's will and his conscience were perfectly agreed, so if he wanted something, it was because God was steering him in that direction. Once Henry wanted Anne as his queen, God wanted Anne to be queen, and Henry was going to do anything and everything to accomplish the lord's will.<br />
<br />
<figure><a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/2be9e77075969f5255588d9fa726556f/tumblr_inline_njsdtkiQIa1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="312" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/2be9e77075969f5255588d9fa726556f/tumblr_inline_njsdtkiQIa1rcv18h.jpg" width="320" /></a></figure><br />
Anne, too, was convinced that it was the hand of God at work in making her queen. She said that God was raising her to the throne to reform His church, and so she probably encouraged Henry in this line of thinking. It's known that she gave him Tyndale's works, with select passages she had marked with her fingernail, which taught that kings were God's chosen representatives on earth, leading their nations according to God's will. Henry really liked the idea.<br />
<br />
Henry also believed the prophecies of soothsayers that Anne would bear him a son. Anne was young and fertile, and came from a family of at least <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-other-boleyn-boys.html">five children</a>, three of which had been sons. When Anne became pregnant almost immediately after their <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/when-did-anne-boleyn-and-henry-viii.html">marriage</a>, Henry must have thought it was evidence that God was raining blessings down upon his union.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/8a9bc8c40859a0b1f5b91b9606653771/tumblr_inline_njsd94NoYH1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/8a9bc8c40859a0b1f5b91b9606653771/tumblr_inline_njsd94NoYH1rcv18h.jpg" /></a>If Henry and Anne's relationship was a grand love affair, it <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/henry-and-anne-what-went-wrong.html">soured</a> very quickly after Henry finally held Anne in his arms.<br />
<br />
Within three years of their marriage, Henry hated her. Anne had not given Henry his promised son, and every one of the sparkling traits that had drawn Henry to Anne in the first place now annoyed him. Her intellect, her boldness, her determination to reform the church... (Anne wanted to use the money from the dissolved monasteries to found schools and Henry wanted to keep it for himself.) His infatuation with Anne had faded. He felt Anne hadn't kept her promise and resentment began to grow in its place.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/ae5852ab1c97dd4b303367bedfa84b3a/tumblr_inline_njsda4xVxc1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/ae5852ab1c97dd4b303367bedfa84b3a/tumblr_inline_njsda4xVxc1rcv18h.jpg" /></a>Henry began a campaign of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-1536-conspiracy-to-destroy-queen.html">cruelty</a> against her, rubbing it in her face that she had lost his favor. The Seymour family became the focus of the "opposition party" and Henry began heaping honors and gifts on them while making a point of snubbing Anne and her supporters.<br />
<br />
In late 1535 or early 1536, Henry decided God was telling him his marriage to Anne was invalid, and leading him toward the outwardly meek and submissive Jane Seymour. But he didn't want to go through another long annulment battle, especially if it might bring up the pesky question of whether his first marriage had been valid. He knew he would have sons with Jane and he didn't want their legitimacy questioned by anyone who thought his annulment from Anne was invalid. There was only one conclusion.<br />
<br />
Anne must die.<br />
<br />
<br />
Some historians have painted Henry as though he may have believed the allegations against Anne, or that her licentious behavior made them believable. Neither is true. A casual glance at the dates of the indictment would have shown that in two-thirds of the cases, Anne had an iron-clad alibi and could not possibly have been guilty. (And this is just based on the scanty records that have survived.) Anne was carefully circumspect in her behavior because she knew her enemies were always watching for any impropriety on which to attack her.<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/5ce9196fc18293899c87a69c935aca02/tumblr_inline_njsdd4DmLD1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/5ce9196fc18293899c87a69c935aca02/tumblr_inline_njsdd4DmLD1rcv18h.jpg" /></a><br />
Cromwell later admitted to being the <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75436">architect</a> of the plot, but an architect doesn't draw up a plan unless it's been ordered. Henry spent hours in closeted meetings in the days before Anne was accused. Cromwell never would have acted unless it was what the king wanted. They came up with a plan that would take Anne and her supporters unaware and destroy her before anyone could mount a defense.<br />
<br />
Henry knew his wife and the men accused with her were <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/was-anne-boleyn-guilty-of-adultery-and.html">innocent</a> of the allegations. He simply didn't care. Anne was now in the way of what he wanted, and she had to die. So did a man who had been his <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/henry-norris.html">close friend</a> for over twenty years. <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/william-brereton.html">And</a> <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/mark-smeaton.html">a</a> <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/francis-weston.html">few</a> <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/george-boleyn.html">others</a>. It didn't really matter to Henry. He exhibited no regret whatsoever. In fact, he was ostentatious in his <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-in-tower.html">celebrating</a>, taking his barge up and down the Thames with torches blazing and musicians playing as he went to visit Jane Seymour. Even Ambassador Chapuys, who despised Anne and everything she stood for, <a href="http://elizabethnortonhistorian.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-anne-boleyn-papers.html">thought</a> it was in poor taste.<br />
<br />
This is not the behavior of someone capable of love or real friendship. While those with broken hearts will sometimes lash out in pain, they don't kill half a dozen people they know are innocent of any crime. Henry's actions were not those of a man with a broken heart - they were acts of deliberate cruelty by someone with little or no emotional attachment to the victims.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/4a9f7c86ad04ec384866e3d8ed64b9d3/tumblr_inline_njsde1i05I1rcv18h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/4a9f7c86ad04ec384866e3d8ed64b9d3/tumblr_inline_njsde1i05I1rcv18h.jpg" /></a><br />
The difference between how he behaved during Anne's fall and when <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2015/02/katheryn-howard-condemned-to-die.html">Katheryn Howard</a> was accused is chilling. When Katheryn was arrested, he screamed and cried and mourned so bitterly that his council feared for him. Even months later, he could not bring himself to sign her death warrant. But with Anne he was "the most cheerful cuckold" that could be imagined, flaunting his indifference to her fate, and partying like a frat boy.<br />
<br />
Henry and Anne's story isn't romantic. It's the story of a man pursuing an uninterested woman for a year before presenting her with an offer she literally couldn't refuse, and then <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-19-1536.html">murdering</a> her once he was tired of her.<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-20320124148239154812015-02-13T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-13T11:21:45.686-05:00February 13, 1542: Katheryn Howard's Bloody Valentine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_gB1Ij1R041665l1fVFqf9gItnX-ToxwNsTiGRxHbGOSk4El48GOSQQQ3hgHiuPPJy-j7Z0IguvxSxDnsZG8Krve7cZqAeiV46gJ_eUB5i5MPa1ibHJDvd2KGHMe72sbm_24FBYUFsg/s1600/detail1162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_gB1Ij1R041665l1fVFqf9gItnX-ToxwNsTiGRxHbGOSk4El48GOSQQQ3hgHiuPPJy-j7Z0IguvxSxDnsZG8Krve7cZqAeiV46gJ_eUB5i5MPa1ibHJDvd2KGHMe72sbm_24FBYUFsg/s1600/detail1162.jpg" height="265" width="320" /></a></div>
Seven or eight thousand people crowded the Tower green on a cold February morning. It was the day before Valentine's Day, 1542, and the people were gathering to see a rare spectacle, the execution of a Queen of England.<br />
<br />
When Anne Boleyn was awaiting the executioner, her jailers fretted that she would declare her innocence before the crowd. To try to keep the audience small - and limit those who might be exposed to her words - they attempted some <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-18-1536.html">confusing tactics</a>. This time, they had no such concerns. The young woman lodged in the royal apartments was resigned to her fate.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxIi6EH-CSLC_lVH8pwGAmJ5U0LnRhtt3Z2CtApzXXS_KidxSeYaW49R9x2yZ6f8RwGCiJkKn4c0xhYtLgKogSvdDiYsJXF-zyOTGf91juzn9sBMBDKe-pcuHBT0dBP99xOzzIa8GqKs/s1600/detail1415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxIi6EH-CSLC_lVH8pwGAmJ5U0LnRhtt3Z2CtApzXXS_KidxSeYaW49R9x2yZ6f8RwGCiJkKn4c0xhYtLgKogSvdDiYsJXF-zyOTGf91juzn9sBMBDKe-pcuHBT0dBP99xOzzIa8GqKs/s1600/detail1415.jpg" height="287" width="320" /></a><br />
Katheryn and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/jane-parker.html">Jane Parker</a> had been condemned by an Act of Attainder on Saturday and brought to the Tower that afternoon for execution. The stories say Katheryn struggled and cried when the council came to escort her to the Tower, and the weeping young girl had to be physically forced onto the barge.<br />
<br />
But the following day was Sunday, a day on which an execution could not take place. They would have to wait until Monday morning. Considering the anguish she had been in since her arrest, one wonders if Katheryn was grateful for one more day of life, or if it merely added to her torment.<br />
<br />
The curious people flooded through the gates of the Tower to watch her die. This was no innocent martyr to Henry's desires, as the people saw it. Katheryn Howard had sinned, and now she would pay for it with her life. It was the kind of execution parents loved to bring their children to, illustrating the wages of sin to impressionable young minds.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtE0qLAD1rFLuQyLfyE5lrYKxBpYCtY5TMLw61iBh610CVyc3fO50obWdPlVSy-j4x0vZVA56R9KO7w2iZD8RyMokd811YWeAW9WxkH_rCCcQSFwlnE1ZLNMuStoWr06FN8Hqs06Z3MZU/s1600/detail1231.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtE0qLAD1rFLuQyLfyE5lrYKxBpYCtY5TMLw61iBh610CVyc3fO50obWdPlVSy-j4x0vZVA56R9KO7w2iZD8RyMokd811YWeAW9WxkH_rCCcQSFwlnE1ZLNMuStoWr06FN8Hqs06Z3MZU/s1600/detail1231.png" height="320" width="320" /></a>The doors to the royal apartments opened and Katheryn stepped out into the cold morning air. She was a tiny girl, plump and pretty, possibly only sixteen or seventeen years old. That morning, she wore a black velvet gown, chosen from among the six she had been allowed. Its fabric suited her rank; its color suited the solemn occasion to which she wore it.<br />
<br />
Katheryn had been shamed before all of England. The salacious details of her pre-marital affairs had been aired to the public, all of her secrets known. They had never proved adultery, only managing to wrest a confession from Thomas Culpepper that he <i>would</i> sleep with the young queen if given the opportunity.<br />
<br />
That intent was enough to condemn them.<br />
<br />
Henry VIII alternated fits of weeping and rage at the "betrayal" of his teenaged bride, that "<i>rose among women</i>" whose petals had been caressed by others. When Anne had <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-in-tower.html">languished in the Tower</a>, Henry had partied like a frat boy, cheerfully indifferent to his cuckold's horns, claiming openly that Anne Boleyn had slept with a hundred men.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVi0Tl5kcKjG4HexEPgIpPY9cz1ZeC-F5okFsewt8k39ZDZROvBazpDuik1SHMk9-NLHhEKtNPcwIntBjp3ibpVDNrqpNjk_XfbtFy0Y0iI0oaKhSkH9tIfXzoggCP2Boo5M3QGpJnEw/s1600/detail1574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVi0Tl5kcKjG4HexEPgIpPY9cz1ZeC-F5okFsewt8k39ZDZROvBazpDuik1SHMk9-NLHhEKtNPcwIntBjp3ibpVDNrqpNjk_XfbtFy0Y0iI0oaKhSkH9tIfXzoggCP2Boo5M3QGpJnEw/s1600/detail1574.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a>Now, learning that Katheryn had intercourse with one man, and had been intimately touched by another before she married Henry was enough to send him screaming for a sword to kill her himself and mourning so bitterly that his council feared for him. Chapuys writes that Henry blamed his council his lamentable fate of marrying such "<i>ill-conditioned wives</i>." Their response to that is not recorded, but perhaps it's best left to the imagination.<br />
<br />
In the end, Henry couldn't even bring himself to sign Katheryn's death warrant. The council had done it for him, adding <i>The king wills it</i> at the bottom, dubiously legal, but no one was arguing that particular point.<br />
<br />
The men accused with her were dead already. Francis Dereham - whose only crime had been to sleep with an unmarried girl before she came to the king's attention - had suffered a horrid traitor's death of disemboweling. Thomas Culpepper, once one of Henry's favorites, was given the more merciful death of beheading. His crime had been to meet with the queen for whispered conversations and furtive exchanges of gifts.<br />
<br />
Behind Katheryn walked Jane Parker, Lady Rochford, who had arranged these secret meetings. Both Katheryn and Culpepper had tried to put the blame squarely on her shoulders, insisting Lady Rochford had goaded them into meeting. Lady Rochford had broken down under the stress and appeared to have gone insane, but she had apparently found peace, because she walked with quiet dignity behind Katheryn as they headed to the scaffold.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13NmveXVAfL53TbqTfnK8U4UO3jizjjH1f_hxa9Qb2BZDCR_rISNksnxtsZ6aOKrQ7-vy7Bxfi3eALSf3NLfmm9b4D7kVLzDgo4VRCw4Xjj5u0eOLlxI121GrGP1kqiPkfkA4FI_z9ic/s1600/map+tower+of+london+marked+locations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13NmveXVAfL53TbqTfnK8U4UO3jizjjH1f_hxa9Qb2BZDCR_rISNksnxtsZ6aOKrQ7-vy7Bxfi3eALSf3NLfmm9b4D7kVLzDgo4VRCw4Xjj5u0eOLlxI121GrGP1kqiPkfkA4FI_z9ic/s1600/map+tower+of+london+marked+locations.jpg" height="295" width="320" /></a>They likely followed the same route as Anne Boleyn, moving from the royal apartments (marked in red) around the Jewel House and through the Coldharbour Gate (marked in green), until they reached the north corner of the White Tower. The scaffold was erected where the black X is marked on the map. The Chapel of St. Peter-ad-Vincula is indicated in blue. Today, the spot of the scaffold is where visitors to the Tower gather to see the Crown Jewels.<br />
<br />
Katheryn had to be terrified. She was not to be granted the elegant, swift death delivered by a swordsman as her cousin had before her. No, Katheryn would bow her head to the block under the brutal blade of an axe.<br />
<br />
Frightened she might be, but Katheryn remembered she was a Howard, and she was determined to die with dignity. The night before, she had asked her jailer, Sir John Gage, to bring the block to her chambers so she could practice laying her head on it and not fumble before the crowd. Reportedly, she asked the ladies serving her which position made for a better presentation. She may have had the hideously botched execution of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/05/lady-margaret-pole.html">Margaret Pole</a> in mind.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBaEzgDQ4IEDnHay-O0qRvbI6abXOcVPe0ot6RdAyn8wWMLX2ErIIxFK0yQwoVbEs_Els0FvpDG11Hy3_4SwagFqcztZmIPnJ9N1VqGg65-QheYkxeIL60UfcdAEfUjaz-3V8oWlOezzA/s1600/detail1179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBaEzgDQ4IEDnHay-O0qRvbI6abXOcVPe0ot6RdAyn8wWMLX2ErIIxFK0yQwoVbEs_Els0FvpDG11Hy3_4SwagFqcztZmIPnJ9N1VqGg65-QheYkxeIL60UfcdAEfUjaz-3V8oWlOezzA/s1600/detail1179.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a>She climbed the few steps of the scaffold now. It was likely the same one used for Anne Boleyn - stored away and reassembled when needed - but this time, the niceties hadn't been observed. There's no mention of the yards of expensive black velvet that had adorned the scaffold like a macabre parade float when Anne died. Anne had been an anointed Queen; Katheryn had been stripped of the rank that had been a courtesy title due to her marriage to the king and was now "<i>merely Katheryn Howard</i>." She had been granted her last request for a "private death" inside the walls of the Tower, but that was all.<br />
<br />
Katheryn walked across the raw boards covered with a thick layer of straw meant to absorb her blood and faced the crowd.<br />
<br />
She had not been raised as a courtier, and taught from birth how deal gracefully with public scrutiny as Anne Boleyn had. Katheryn was just a simple gentlewoman with scant education, and little adult supervision in her formative years. She'd only reigned as queen for one year, a position she had to learn "on the job" as it were, completely unprepared for court etiquette. Certainly, nothing in Katheryn's short life had prepared her for this. But in her last moments, Katheryn comported herself like a queen.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWV9oZR7J3BNIHFn33-OZQygYchA8u6GLBictJPDbs2HKL1A4BQ4psVA1UDpOTBgYKU1yDS7fyDgoFeukGL1I86mb8033uUDiiQ-8TUoIRshUD2ugnBD5PSHzmN35jJCzw3DmS0nPeWE/s1600/detail295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWV9oZR7J3BNIHFn33-OZQygYchA8u6GLBictJPDbs2HKL1A4BQ4psVA1UDpOTBgYKU1yDS7fyDgoFeukGL1I86mb8033uUDiiQ-8TUoIRshUD2ugnBD5PSHzmN35jJCzw3DmS0nPeWE/s1600/detail295.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Some accounts say Katheryn looked pale and frightened - one says she seemed so weak that she could barely speak. The French Ambassador had written that Katheryn spent her last days in constant tears, but now she stood solemn and composed, though she could not completely conceal her fear. God knows how hard it was for her, but she did her duty, and she did it with grace and dignity.<br />
<br />
A witness <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=76641">wrote</a> of her last moments in a tone of pride, saying that Katheryn<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywpAb8v_-zfybX68btVLlSmmkBZiJ_CZcnWPJIxSXHL7YYClGPB2PhL6tPl6puLB1ZyzcKlNVY-WzqM9_KttmKQdMxQSO008lm9DCalMVATNLKgbE1880HPpCTMtFxhb74MIW36TZZAg/s1600/detail911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywpAb8v_-zfybX68btVLlSmmkBZiJ_CZcnWPJIxSXHL7YYClGPB2PhL6tPl6puLB1ZyzcKlNVY-WzqM9_KttmKQdMxQSO008lm9DCalMVATNLKgbE1880HPpCTMtFxhb74MIW36TZZAg/s1600/detail911.jpg" /></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>[...] made the most godly and Christian end that ever was heard tell of (I think) since the world's creation [...]</i></blockquote>
<br />
We don't have an exact record of her words, but Katheryn said the things that were expected of a condemned traitor. They were so ordinary that no one bothered recording the exact wording, just the gist of it. She would have thought long and hard about what she would say, knowing it would be publicized far and wide, and her words could have repercussions on her family if the king was displeased by them. Katheryn praised the king for his goodness to her, confessing that she deserved death, and exhorting the people to take example from what happened to her, and amend any sin in their own lives.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0SK1E-mWPyk5P3LnwQ_IR_-Klb35tRm2T4C_T7-me6Jb7w5Sk01VSmLSBBExdz-a3YOJTtAFaTwSsYhLzJgSfFm9vau0XTNgA1ZtU73xOftKGDP1-_RwkDPGZn2GmNuHSqqQBKEk9OU/s1600/tumblr_nbw0l0vtRe1rcf6qlo1_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0SK1E-mWPyk5P3LnwQ_IR_-Klb35tRm2T4C_T7-me6Jb7w5Sk01VSmLSBBExdz-a3YOJTtAFaTwSsYhLzJgSfFm9vau0XTNgA1ZtU73xOftKGDP1-_RwkDPGZn2GmNuHSqqQBKEk9OU/s1600/tumblr_nbw0l0vtRe1rcf6qlo1_1280.png" height="320" width="244" /></a>When she finished speaking, Katheryn disrobed, stripping off her outer gown and sleeves. She had no jewelry to remove, it having been seized as soon as the investigation into her affairs began. But the fabric was costly and the French hood she wore had valuable gold trim. The garments would be laid aside for the executioner as part of his payment.<br />
<br />
Unlike Anne Boleyn, there's no mention of the council buying the clothing back from the executioner, or redeeming the items Katheryn had left behind in her rooms in the royal apartments, which now belonged to John Gage. The council let both men keep their prerogatives, apparently having no concern souvenirs would be made.<br />
<br />
Wearing only her kirtle, petticoat, and chemise in the February chill, Katheryn prayed as knelt down in the pile of straw in front of the block. Her auburn hair would have been tucked up into a white linen cap to leave her little neck bare. She laid her throat on the bare wood as she had practiced. Tradition was that the condemned would thrust out their arms as a signal that they were ready. Sometimes, a friend would take their hands and hold them stretched forward, but Katheryn's friends had been taken from her when she was brought to the Tower.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKzOeqx_tjt-eZZGyBfSBQecjbjz2ZKI1Tz6toR1BBurq6HJok0NhwgzHHEmuEyu1LEnwgolJ2VIsPoIusonxRX1XX0_Jp36pxszu6dwkjgBuj3hX2ghPPiRr37uodDkwwaxvbanczRk/s1600/execution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKzOeqx_tjt-eZZGyBfSBQecjbjz2ZKI1Tz6toR1BBurq6HJok0NhwgzHHEmuEyu1LEnwgolJ2VIsPoIusonxRX1XX0_Jp36pxszu6dwkjgBuj3hX2ghPPiRr37uodDkwwaxvbanczRk/s1600/execution.jpg" height="320" width="307" /></a>The axe rose and fell. The executioner was good - it took only one blow before Katheryn's head was severed. Anne Boleyn's ladies had rushed forward to throw a cloth over her head as soon as it left her shoulders to protect her dignity. There's no mention this was done for Katheryn.<br />
<br />
Chapuys records that Katheryn's torso was covered by a black cloak and pulled aside for the next occupant of the block. Lady Rochford stepped forward.<br />
<br />
Chapuys had written she had periods of lucidity during her spell of madness. The legislation passed to make it legal to execute the insane had implied Lady Rochford was faking. Either way, she was calm and dignified now, and she made a speech similar to Katheryn's before she knelt down in the bloody straw and laid her neck on the dripping block.<br />
<br />
The witnesses all reported both women made a "<i>goodly end</i>." Katheryn had done her name proud in this last, as had the much maligned Lady Rochford. Later, a legend would arise that Katheryn had declared she died a queen but would rather have died as Culpepper's wife, and that Lady Rochford had said she deserved to die for lying about her husband and Anne Boleyn. Fanciful nonsense, and nothing more.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrB_8mwZsQlAvxf-ygOdtowHNej2bm_UceoVa9a5t1PbcVrxKRB69pgkRm_iKZUvgkLpEclko0uEPg2LbEhuNR-gTakHAFf1JKC1-Y2P22Ob2QhDTk1OwNKXfWU-yJaj3tF0HtRVYrSI/s1600/detail1304.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrB_8mwZsQlAvxf-ygOdtowHNej2bm_UceoVa9a5t1PbcVrxKRB69pgkRm_iKZUvgkLpEclko0uEPg2LbEhuNR-gTakHAFf1JKC1-Y2P22Ob2QhDTk1OwNKXfWU-yJaj3tF0HtRVYrSI/s1600/detail1304.png" height="320" width="266" /></a></div>
It was over. The crowd wandered away, leaving behind the two bodies which lay on the scaffold while their blood drained out through the boards, dripping onto the grass below.<br />
<br />
Sometime later - how long the records do not say - Katheryn and Lady Rochford's bodies were were carried to the chapel of St. Peter-ad-Vincula where Anne and George had been <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-19-1536-body-of-queen.html">buried</a>. There is no mention of them being wrapped in cerecloth - the heavy white, waxed cloth used for burial shrouds - only the black cloak with which Katheryn had been covered after death. Since the cloak was valuable and would not have been buried with her, the implication is that the bodies were put directly in the earth. I hope it is simply an omission and both Katheryn and Lady Rochford were given at least the scant courtesy of a shroud.<br />
<br />
A few feet beneath the paving stones to the right of the altar, hasty graves were scratched out for both of them and they were buried with no marker above them.<br />
<br />
But someone wanted nothing of Katheryn Howard to remain. Her grave was filled with lime, meant to hasten decomposition. This was - by no means - an ordinary part of the burial process. It raises the question of who gave the order and why. It seems we'll never know for certain, but there was one person who wanted to erase the "<i>rose without a thorn</i>" from memory.<br />
<br />
Three hundred years passed, and the little chapel fell into a pitiful state of disrepair. Thomas Babington Macaulay, in his <i><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=h-kOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=In+truth+there+is+no+sadder+spot+on+the+earth+than+that+little+cemetery.%22&source=bl&ots=MwUQkgDvAw&sig=LevMyxyHpCg3O-p4xRU8wuQbewI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7EZ2VJn8HJLnoASk_oKgCg&ved=0CD4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=In%20truth%20there%20is%20no%20sadder%20spot%20on%20the%20earth%20than%20that%20little%20cemetery.%22&f=false">History of England</a></i> wrote in 1848:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDv7JjBATZy_5h4dKxGmdmzqdIYZk74AKUzPKBCPk0AYj-RwUzoFnNt3sIaGv_VTTX8H6LIeSuJOai5FDgi5ltGSco_y1wDCu48PqotjRXRW4PV-GtCgORWQmBQN_uu4BBtyNmzrPhXs/s1600/detail331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDv7JjBATZy_5h4dKxGmdmzqdIYZk74AKUzPKBCPk0AYj-RwUzoFnNt3sIaGv_VTTX8H6LIeSuJOai5FDgi5ltGSco_y1wDCu48PqotjRXRW4PV-GtCgORWQmBQN_uu4BBtyNmzrPhXs/s1600/detail331.jpg" /></a><i><br />In truth there is no sadder spot on the earth than that little cemetery. Death is there associated, not, as in Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul's, with genius and virtue, with public veneration and with imperishable renown; not, as in our humblest churches and churchyards, with everything that is most endearing in social and domestic charities; but with whatever is darkest in human nature and in human destiny, with the savage triumph of implacable enemies, with the inconstancy, the ingratitude, the cowardice of friends, with all the miseries of fallen greatness and of blighted fame. Thither have been carried, through successive ages, by the rude hands of gaolers, without one mourner following, the bleeding relics of men who had been the captains of armies, the leaders of parties, the oracles of senates, and the ornaments of courts.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84smqxutEUGhSgDBpF5_-nJQ_rMSWkGVRQFJ3Jyh6WD23zjT_oEWthk-fpimjO7rTVLmz7xhBvT06KM-TCSXYiZcSS6JYhivbpX9oG_3tK2K_WGUuqipUEizcVcygU4kt9zaaOQueMr4/s1600/detail1423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84smqxutEUGhSgDBpF5_-nJQ_rMSWkGVRQFJ3Jyh6WD23zjT_oEWthk-fpimjO7rTVLmz7xhBvT06KM-TCSXYiZcSS6JYhivbpX9oG_3tK2K_WGUuqipUEizcVcygU4kt9zaaOQueMr4/s1600/detail1423.jpg" height="320" width="266" /></a></i></div>
<i>Thither was borne, before the window where Jane Grey was praying, the mangled corpse of Guilford Dudley. Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, and protector of the realm, reposes there by the brother whom he murdered. There has mouldered away the headless trunk of John Fisher, bishop of Rochester and Cardinal of Saint Vitalis, a man worthy to have lived in a better age, and to have died in a better cause. There are laid John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, Lord High Admiral, and Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex, Lord High Treasurer. There, too, is another Essex, on whom nature and fortune had lavished all their bounties in vain, and whom valour, grace, genius, royal favour, popular applause, conducted to an early and ignominious doom. Not far off sleep two chiefs of the great house of Howard, Thomas, fourth Duke of Norfolk, and Philip, eleventh Earl of Arundel. Here and there, among the thick graves of unquiet and aspiring statesmen, lie more delicate sufferers; Margaret of Salisbury, the last of the proud name of Plantagenet, and those two fair queens who perished by the jealous rage of Henry. Such was the dust with which the dust of Monmouth mingled.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgPvAlR2WzMyHxeFlSpmu2JFKhtt1vkYQzIWa_SF1Uj8xBMmOmHTDGNO9aucVP7anbn2awPbJ7oUMGM5rt6yNK_OYBIWD6PvZ-LAhYodue8n57a8O_5rHGo1NV9wlz-r9dIvasaRt6bo/s1600/detail306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgPvAlR2WzMyHxeFlSpmu2JFKhtt1vkYQzIWa_SF1Uj8xBMmOmHTDGNO9aucVP7anbn2awPbJ7oUMGM5rt6yNK_OYBIWD6PvZ-LAhYodue8n57a8O_5rHGo1NV9wlz-r9dIvasaRt6bo/s1600/detail306.jpg" height="320" width="98" /></a>His words helped bring the sad condition of the chapel to public attention, and soon Queen Victoria gave her permission for a <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=aGjSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA10&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false">restoration</a>. She ordered that an attempt be made to identify the famous persons buried in the chapel, a task which proved more difficult than anticipated, because the tiny chapel had been in continuous use as a parish church, and there were over a thousand within its walls. The bones of a grave's prior occupant would be pushed aside to make room for another.<br />
<br />
The bones believed to be Anne Boleyn's had been pushed aside for a lead coffin occupied by a woman who had died in 1760. In other places, the bones of unknown persons mingled with older burials.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Close by, somewhat in a south-east direction, and nearer to the wall of the chancel, gathered together in two distinct groups, were found the bones of two females; these were examined and carefully sorted, they appeared to belong to a person of about thirty to forty years of age, and to another who must have been considerably advanced in years. It is worthy of note that these latter remains were a little to the south-east of the younger female.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>These groups had been much disturbed, and many bones are missing: the younger female had been of rather delicate proportions, the elder had been tall, and certainly of above average height.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorqrMP9A4pjy3DAUMrpaYefDZL0-PpxJcUwqNvyE6nr1brUcerEKriCKnFL7VMvr101OxY4K_47c1kM1QSLrG5333lSG6QIjgscFGIYGEE_N6ZEUAdx4SUVnh8GFBbnfcaN2EjGhMtdg/s1600/detail1603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorqrMP9A4pjy3DAUMrpaYefDZL0-PpxJcUwqNvyE6nr1brUcerEKriCKnFL7VMvr101OxY4K_47c1kM1QSLrG5333lSG6QIjgscFGIYGEE_N6ZEUAdx4SUVnh8GFBbnfcaN2EjGhMtdg/s1600/detail1603.jpg" height="320" width="163" /></a><i>These remains are believed to be those of Lady Rochford and Margaret of Clarence, Countess of Salisbury: and, as was subsequently discovered, they had been removed somewhat to the east of their original resting places, in order to make room for two unknown persons, who had been buried close to the step of the chancel, probably about one hundred years ago.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Search though they might, they found no trace of Katheryn Howard. They speculated that the lime had dissolved her young bones to dust.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>No remains which could be identified as those of Queen Katharine Howard were found; it should, however, be borne in mind that lime has been most extensively used in these interments, and as Katharine Howard was only twenty years old when she was beheaded (at which age the bones have not become hard and consolidated), it is very possible that even when Judge Jeffreys was interred in the chancel, her remains had already become dust. It was at first supposed, as she had been buried on this spot, that her remains had been discovered, when the group of female bones were found lying near the Duke of Northumberland; but a closer examination showed that the age and size of the bones (Katharine Howard is said to have been very small in stature) would not support that supposition, and these are now believed to be the remains of Lady Rochford.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Only Katheryn Howard's memory remains.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDMni5QlaTLnXw4uxqcEUpyGQoU2OK6VHhiKC5G_Jh5iNNRsk7C-vL9UNWzfzAj1z-WtGKLajSpxADc-8ZM0hhJS_tUOrZDuLMd8idsNxUqmLTxgYSwpW2DP8l_WZiSw3vv8_xqWnp1M/s1600/1119_2008_detail04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDMni5QlaTLnXw4uxqcEUpyGQoU2OK6VHhiKC5G_Jh5iNNRsk7C-vL9UNWzfzAj1z-WtGKLajSpxADc-8ZM0hhJS_tUOrZDuLMd8idsNxUqmLTxgYSwpW2DP8l_WZiSw3vv8_xqWnp1M/s1600/1119_2008_detail04.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a>History has tended to judge her harshly, and even today, she is thought of as the queen who <i>deserved</i> her execution, a foolish little adulteress that had the misfortune of getting caught. Even those who accept she may not have been "technically" guilty charge her with terminal stupidity in putting herself into the situation with Culpepper.<br />
<br />
But we don't know why Katheryn chose to meet with him. Some have suggested she might have been being blackmailed to keep her past hidden. Or it could be as simple as Katheryn being a teenage girl in the throes of love who never imagined talking with a man in secrecy could get her in such dire straights.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8bh5tgw31H0yVZmmhaS1MDMDP8sOXU_QE6VoeNSOH3gVs3V41NOoNONXj3j-v8RQh7IK8qZTdYrf_SvUBxhMo-jWb1h03Eyo9oNIfs1rMGShfOy6DMOjc9Qsmq7wfTba2AcodxnS2RQ/s1600/detail26.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8bh5tgw31H0yVZmmhaS1MDMDP8sOXU_QE6VoeNSOH3gVs3V41NOoNONXj3j-v8RQh7IK8qZTdYrf_SvUBxhMo-jWb1h03Eyo9oNIfs1rMGShfOy6DMOjc9Qsmq7wfTba2AcodxnS2RQ/s1600/detail26.png" height="320" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
In the end, Katheryn Howard died because she had premarital sexual experience. The king passed a law that made it treason for a woman to conceal her sexual history if the king showed interest in marrying her. The meetings with Culpepper were just icing on the proverbial cake. She died because Henry could not stand the thought of her being touched by others, and she broke his heart.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskxj24QRJzRQQTs5aj_K0g0NTZLC_pMMwXwrAKzvLfl3ShVNg1lVfp2l85fTsnXWJu8owmE1UXufgK2jklOWc1ZTnY-8A0eqAS48pklL4HHUR0xTq9I00QSNijGCCwuaGbPNjYtTULqQ/s1600/detail246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskxj24QRJzRQQTs5aj_K0g0NTZLC_pMMwXwrAKzvLfl3ShVNg1lVfp2l85fTsnXWJu8owmE1UXufgK2jklOWc1ZTnY-8A0eqAS48pklL4HHUR0xTq9I00QSNijGCCwuaGbPNjYtTULqQ/s1600/detail246.jpg" /></a>Despite her paltry education, there is evidence Katheryn tried to be a good queen to her people. She pleaded with the king for mercy towards convicted criminals. And despite her image as a silly girl only interested in fashion, one of the largest expenses on her privy purse accounts was purchasing warm clothing for the elderly Margaret Pole.<br />
<br />
In recent years, the legacy of Anne Boleyn has begun to be re-examined. Even Lady Rochford has been the subject of new scholarship, sweeping away the layers of myth that have clung to her memory. Perhaps it's time we do the same with Katheryn Howard.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-35614911301440205892015-02-07T10:05:00.000-05:002015-02-07T10:05:21.800-05:00Katheryn Howard Condemned to Die<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/ec418ec33ec733081f5a5a3a32649233/tumblr_inline_nf04vbt06Z1rcv18h.jpg" /></span><br />
On February 7th 1542, ambassador <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/eustace-chapuys.html">Eustace Chapuys</a> reports that the ladies Katheryn Howard had been allowed to keep with her through these dark days of her arrest and imprisonment had been dismissed by Sir John Gage, the Comptroller of the Tower. The <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=76639">Bill of Attainder</a> that would make her death into law was being prepared for final vote and its passage was not in question. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaK1TCt-OXI21IcxfRYzwRPDBwhMcqjauOKefbIPUj6oDb45u3_j8nenZWvA3tp0LDTQ2WqZj59Cu8-iItM3eXp7vkSZLSNjkDL4NXzFBa0frRlBJiKbGJ2Ie-DxVZt4WIMveBWeEETc/s1600/detail1332.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaK1TCt-OXI21IcxfRYzwRPDBwhMcqjauOKefbIPUj6oDb45u3_j8nenZWvA3tp0LDTQ2WqZj59Cu8-iItM3eXp7vkSZLSNjkDL4NXzFBa0frRlBJiKbGJ2Ie-DxVZt4WIMveBWeEETc/s1600/detail1332.png" height="94" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Attainder of Katharine Howard and others.—Katharine Howard whom the King took to wife is proved to have been not of pure and honest living before her marriage, and the fact that she has since taken to her service one Francis Dereham, the person with whom she "used that vicious life before," and has taken as chamberer a woman who was privy to her naughty life before, is proof of her will to return to her old abominable life. Also she has confederated with lady Jane Rocheford, widow, late wife of Sir Geo. Boleyn, late lord Rocheford, to "bring her vicious and abominable purpose to pass" with Thos. Culpeper, late one of the King's Privy Chamber, and has met Culpeper in "a secret and vile place," at 11 o'clock at night, and remained there with him until 3 a.m., with only "that bawd, the lady Jane Rocheford."</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2H_I_J189oXWcbAHuYm1LMTUWPhUiP27JQ9gByz81NsdnraKyvHPc26aoHUJfhb4Cs0JsN_eyBONVEXM0cvvEWR-mNDTgtQ2BVcr0cv5tP6OT6zD22tH1QwXjQSXN6nU-XyTatGaYJw/s1600/detail125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2H_I_J189oXWcbAHuYm1LMTUWPhUiP27JQ9gByz81NsdnraKyvHPc26aoHUJfhb4Cs0JsN_eyBONVEXM0cvvEWR-mNDTgtQ2BVcr0cv5tP6OT6zD22tH1QwXjQSXN6nU-XyTatGaYJw/s1600/detail125.jpg" height="320" width="83" /></a></i></div>
<i>
</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>For these treasons, Culpeper and Dereham have been convicted and executed, and the Queen and lady Rochford stand indicted. The indictments of such as have lately suffered are hereby approved, and the said Queen and lady Rochford are, by authority of this Parliament, convicted and attainted of high treason, and shall suffer accordingly; and the said Queen, lady Rocheford, Culpeper, and Dereham shall forfeit to the Crown all possessions which they held on 25 Aug. 33 Hen. VIII. </i></blockquote>
<br />
It must have been so difficult for Katheryn to say goodbye to the last friends she had. Henry had been unusually merciful in allowing her to keep her ladies with her. They had been with her since her <a href="http://lissabryan.tumblr.com/post/102327106402/falling-katheryn-howard-imprisoned-at-syon-abbey">imprisonment</a> at Syon Abbey in November, and though no official sentence had yet been given, they were all aware it was likely a final goodbye.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwbWqhdJOa2COnIngS8_j4dRlU7eFelfwoMCcMz_tJC8b34bFsWAxGOY4JKcCEW2Ll1AIm3DKbzrJ2zB6v58ybCpC4shUQCfMpDxjWDg8veOP6pFHa6wX2O0W0ka3_4RjXHgBGaJn-ks/s1600/detail1664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwbWqhdJOa2COnIngS8_j4dRlU7eFelfwoMCcMz_tJC8b34bFsWAxGOY4JKcCEW2Ll1AIm3DKbzrJ2zB6v58ybCpC4shUQCfMpDxjWDg8veOP6pFHa6wX2O0W0ka3_4RjXHgBGaJn-ks/s1600/detail1664.jpg" /></a>In her last days, Katheryn would be served by the wives of the officers in the Tower. They're not named in the records, and there was probably only a few of them to see to her basic needs. She was<a href="http://lissabryan.tumblr.com/post/102693737339/falling-queen-katheryn-howard-stripped-of-her"> no longer a queen</a>, and was not entitled to a household contingent of servants. She was now "<i>merely Katheryn Howard</i>" and would leave this world as she had come into it.<br />
<br />
There's a tradition that there may have been some offers of clemency or mercy if Katheryn would admit to being married to Francis Dereham, but she stalwartly insisted she had never been Dereham's wife. Maybe she knew it wouldn't save her anyway. Anne Boleyn had been made a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/05/after-trial-what-did-anne-expect-would.html">similar offer</a> and had knelt for the sword all the same.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67zhMqnd7D3EIPkCqFaHYHVxIHsLdZCv7SXs8-X99RrEEs15WNjUImN3yTl6arGlp6yQt33jHVbsvm5jmxwg59DR0VBhedpii1qWg4GvV3wIao8iSKAY04yrhUhC9iLo6QSz52O4t-S0/s1600/detail14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67zhMqnd7D3EIPkCqFaHYHVxIHsLdZCv7SXs8-X99RrEEs15WNjUImN3yTl6arGlp6yQt33jHVbsvm5jmxwg59DR0VBhedpii1qWg4GvV3wIao8iSKAY04yrhUhC9iLo6QSz52O4t-S0/s1600/detail14.jpg" height="318" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
There seems to have been some discomfort with the idea that Katheryn was to be condemned without a chance to defend herself, which the council decided to deal with by visiting her at Syon.<br />
<br />
Chapuys <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=76640">described</a> the meeting and said that Katheryn admitted to them she was guilty and expected she would be executed. She asked that the execution be private and made two <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=R-l2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA435&lpg=PA435&dq=katherine+howard+final+request+recompense&source=bl&ots=bB-K-UXivR&sig=WzEyKmLZjPKqBT4RUObGDVEvIjk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kGN2VL66COSHsQSu_4HoCw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=katherine%20howard%20final%20request%20recompense&f=false">final requests</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>How she conducted herself the first night in her new prison-lodging, no pen has detailed; but on the following day, the lord chancellor brought the bill to the lords, signed by the King, with the great seal appended to it; and whilst the commons were being summoned to attend, the Duke of Suffolk arose, and said that he and several others had that morning visited the Queen; that she acknowledged her offence against God, the King, and the nation, implored his Grace not to punish her brothers, or family, for her faults; and, as a last request, desired permission to divide her clothes amongst her maidens, as she had nought else to recompense their services with. The Earl of Southampton confirmed this statement, and added more which has not been entered on the journal of that day's proceedings, —the clerk, unaccountably, having began the entry with these words: </i>hoc etiam adjidens [this too shall pass]<i>—and added nothing more.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmA3KQkydmWhiW0AhbYVGlRYno1JByrgA7ptiESzXyIQAcFyxsdL1bNpJH4jsHegIesq6g8BXhb53Tu4nZJ00KHaCsP-1RW4ypzW3yctNgtU7fYHlXiAKXt_YoN7QLUJ_6JZJ-KnUiXY/s1600/detail120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmA3KQkydmWhiW0AhbYVGlRYno1JByrgA7ptiESzXyIQAcFyxsdL1bNpJH4jsHegIesq6g8BXhb53Tu4nZJ00KHaCsP-1RW4ypzW3yctNgtU7fYHlXiAKXt_YoN7QLUJ_6JZJ-KnUiXY/s1600/detail120.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></blockquote>
The Bill passed on February 11th. Katheryn Howard and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/jane-parker.html">Jane Parker</a>, Lady Rochford were sentenced to death as traitors, stripped of all titles and property.<br />
<br />
But at this very last, the king could not bring himself to actually sign the bill. His council eventually affixed the phrase, "<i>The King wills it</i>" - dubiously legal, but no one was arguing that point. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbf3JGkCneCYIRkUjtHVhbECS_ub-Bfa60Rs9Y7-4VKvPsTLqbgNMj1YJKWvKdgGDjn6uVPgauFaPIsbxo62htPQXxjdJCyIQr5gZyrW28d5h77E6Igoo3ItHXDAhnYdRKD1tPZasCDw/s1600/detail1067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbf3JGkCneCYIRkUjtHVhbECS_ub-Bfa60Rs9Y7-4VKvPsTLqbgNMj1YJKWvKdgGDjn6uVPgauFaPIsbxo62htPQXxjdJCyIQr5gZyrW28d5h77E6Igoo3ItHXDAhnYdRKD1tPZasCDw/s1600/detail1067.jpg" height="320" width="170" /></a>That very day, Katheryn and Lady Rochford were taken to the Tower to prepare for execution. We don't know how Lady Rochford reacted when she was taken from Russell House on the Strand, where she was being cared for in her mental breakdown by Anne Russell, wife of the Admiral. But the descriptions of Katheryn's move are heartbreaking.<br />
<br />
Reportedly, a terror-stricken Katheryn struggled and cried when the council came to escort her to the Tower and to her death. Gone was the resigned, almost cheerful woman Chapuys had <a href="http://lissabryan.tumblr.com/post/104447652222/falling-katheryn-howards-last-winter">described</a>, and in her place was a badly frightened teenage girl. She had to be physically forced onto the barge that would transport her by river, and sobbed during the entire journey. <br />
<br />
It's not recorded if she looked up at the rotting heads of Dereham and Culpepper as they rowed her below London Bridge - hopefully, she didn't realize they were still there.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclodUMeZjxZVkBFOAwoL9Jh7OEP6M0sRMuE7q3pH6dZLs-AwFNMPlP3z3DDej8C_f9mYdHHqio7GehBrbWF5FYNnqdgHIdNcLtDZoYm8zu7FpRZUbCwZS4EWYTFoetHTvdUPn1il6LY0/s1600/detail1192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclodUMeZjxZVkBFOAwoL9Jh7OEP6M0sRMuE7q3pH6dZLs-AwFNMPlP3z3DDej8C_f9mYdHHqio7GehBrbWF5FYNnqdgHIdNcLtDZoYm8zu7FpRZUbCwZS4EWYTFoetHTvdUPn1il6LY0/s1600/detail1192.jpg" height="320" width="92" /></a>They probably brought Katheryn to the Byward gate, as they had done with Anne Boleyn, instead of the more public Traitor's Gate. Sir John Gage tried to be as kind as he could to the weeping young lady who stepped from the barge onto the gray stones of the Tower.<br />
<br />
She would never leave.<br />
<br />
Katheryn was taken to the royal apartments that had been constructed for the coronation of her cousin, Anne Boleyn. Here, too, Anne Boleyn had spent her <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-in-tower.html">last days</a>. The rooms hadn't been occupied in the six years since, and were probably already beginning to show signs of neglect.<br />
<br />
I don't know where Lady Rochford was housed, but I imagine for convenience's sake, she was housed with Katheryn. Both were technically commoners now that they had been attained and stripped of all titles and worldly goods, but they would still be treated as gentlewomen in Sir John Gage's care.<br />
<br />
The next day was a Sunday, on which an execution could not occur. Katheryn and Lady Rochford had a day's time to prepare for death. Considering Katheryn's anguish, one wonders if she was grateful for one more day of life, or if it added to her torment.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9i9-52jfcgGxWEAtqloEVvSmgKrhz4zUwEWY3gKvyUOJ-GoItVpLSeQYnhOfyJXmHRg2Fi6y0IjVwWj7xE4h599NgRWCsW3qhYzxzNQDPqELJqjSDp9mTFKOhfZvYggizNOt2fRxefg/s1600/detail691.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9i9-52jfcgGxWEAtqloEVvSmgKrhz4zUwEWY3gKvyUOJ-GoItVpLSeQYnhOfyJXmHRg2Fi6y0IjVwWj7xE4h599NgRWCsW3qhYzxzNQDPqELJqjSDp9mTFKOhfZvYggizNOt2fRxefg/s1600/detail691.jpg" height="320" width="291" /></a></div>
<br />
The Bishop of London arrived, and it was likely in the chapel of the royal apartments where Katheryn quietly made her last confession. Anne Boleyn had used this occasion to help clear her name, calling her jailer to <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-18-1536.html">witness</a> her swearing on the host that she was innocent of adultery. Katheryn didn't do this - she had a more unusual request in mind.<br />
<br />
She called Sir John Gage, and asked that the block be brought to her lodgings. She wanted to practice kneeling and laying her head upon it so she wouldn't embarrass herself by fumbling it in front of the crowd.<br />
<br />
Supposedly Katheryn asked her ladies as she practiced which position made for a better presentation.<br />
<br />
This wasn't vanity - Katheryn was a Howard and she was determined to die with grace and dignity. She had been shamed before all of England, but in this last, she could make an honorable end.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-71244598463377797002015-01-25T19:16:00.002-05:002015-01-25T19:22:58.463-05:00January 25, 1533: Henry VIII Marries Anne Boleyn (For the Second Time)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecyHq89x-gLvUDueiQrlqGrXaHJXIwsN7DJX17U1MoNjZ9Cwk8xFofV3Pn31DhfE0WaXvMJF7VUurPVVdU5gnjmnBlyK38sofyMEQ9M1BKeUTmZg8khQdKnQ5D78JgchMFvlseZobIpw/s1600/anne+boleyn+ha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecyHq89x-gLvUDueiQrlqGrXaHJXIwsN7DJX17U1MoNjZ9Cwk8xFofV3Pn31DhfE0WaXvMJF7VUurPVVdU5gnjmnBlyK38sofyMEQ9M1BKeUTmZg8khQdKnQ5D78JgchMFvlseZobIpw/s1600/anne+boleyn+ha.jpg" height="320" width="317" /></a>In the pre-dawn darkness of January 25, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn slipped out of Whitehall Palace to the gatehouse, accompanied by a few selected friends. It was a <a href="http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases1501.html">new moon</a>, and so their movements would have been covered by darkness - I've wondered if they chose the date for that reason.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=z_gIAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA234&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false">Nicholas Harpsfield</a> wrote a narrative description of the events later. The dialogue is probably imagined, but it's likely that some similar exchange did take place.<br />
<br />
Dr. Rowland Lee, Henry's chaplain, was nervous. What the king was asking him to do could get him excommunicated, after all.<br />
<br />
The king had asked Lee to come perform his wedding to Anne Boleyn - a wedding that was illegal in the eyes of the church because Henry was still married to Katharine of Aragon.<br />
<br />
Lee said to the king, "<em>Sir, I trust you have the Pope's license, both that you may marry and that I may join you together in marriage</em>." <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8i2lcHbgZ1cJsiXpOaEC9yTldWgVuPDfXTyPLgs52UIjK5mdSfgfiQPsjcNecKII1B_cRXg71qA4cdiyIsiK5UEDo6RfkCKEhFL4fK_eJsfCHG6l8R8z2Q-4teKtiV0AivgXW5JWzmqw/s1600/detail285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8i2lcHbgZ1cJsiXpOaEC9yTldWgVuPDfXTyPLgs52UIjK5mdSfgfiQPsjcNecKII1B_cRXg71qA4cdiyIsiK5UEDo6RfkCKEhFL4fK_eJsfCHG6l8R8z2Q-4teKtiV0AivgXW5JWzmqw/s1600/detail285.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
"<em>What else</em>?" Henry replied, lying through his teeth.<br />
<br />
Lee wasn't mollified. And he was right to suspect the king was lying. After all, if the pope had actually agreed to give Henry his annulment, it would have sent shockwaves through all of Europe. The news would have set every tongue wagging and been known by everyone from king to stableboy. The king would have celebrated his triumph with feasts and jousts for weeks.<br />
<br />
And yet, here he was, saying he had a license from the pope that no one knew had been issued.<br />
<br />
<span style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><br />
You can almost hear his timorous tone as Lee asked to see the actual paperwork.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXCi_UeUE08j08rPu4ERwmnnTanBa4VFYoK3NfyBOAOO06P9EAmfkxYT8h6kYxqF68uDtPYKqqTkpDOnm44b10DtPMVwQvEiCGcZf8WugMm4BL4Gw6Bq0HYdKwhPSn0tjYBld6rJNR7w/s1600/detail418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXCi_UeUE08j08rPu4ERwmnnTanBa4VFYoK3NfyBOAOO06P9EAmfkxYT8h6kYxqF68uDtPYKqqTkpDOnm44b10DtPMVwQvEiCGcZf8WugMm4BL4Gw6Bq0HYdKwhPSn0tjYBld6rJNR7w/s1600/detail418.jpg" height="267" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"<em>This matter touches us all very near, and therefore it is expedient that the license be read before us all, or else we run all — and I more deep than any other — into excommunication in marrying your grace without any bans being asked, and in a place unhallowed, and no divorce as yet given of the first matrimony</em>." <br />
<br />
Harpsfield writes that the king seemed amiable in his response, but you can imagine a steely look in his eyes.<br />
<br />
"<em>Why, Master Rowland, think you me a man of so small faith and credit? You know my past life well and have heard my confession. Do you think me a man of so small and slender foresight and consideration of my affairs that unless all things were safe and sure I would enterprise this matter? I have truly a license, but it is stored in another safe place where no man goes but myself, which, if it were seen, should reveal us all. But if I should, now that it waxes towards day, fetch it, and be seen so early abroad, there would rise a rumor and talk. Go forth in God's name, and do that which appertains to you. I will take upon me all other danger."</em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdN4xOA2HRYosqUfBdwbiVbSBYeR5uN_0h3i2m7VXGyEFxmoXPuJLKEpB-CslnCzvwgRzUKvADwhmkoruLv36gJVCmAhQ1DxE7v1YexyEP1RfO1rXoUZr66wzkOFwytBjQ_BluIT-AE4I/s1600/tudor+henry-anne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdN4xOA2HRYosqUfBdwbiVbSBYeR5uN_0h3i2m7VXGyEFxmoXPuJLKEpB-CslnCzvwgRzUKvADwhmkoruLv36gJVCmAhQ1DxE7v1YexyEP1RfO1rXoUZr66wzkOFwytBjQ_BluIT-AE4I/s1600/tudor+henry-anne.jpg" height="320" width="301" /></a>Lee must have felt backed into a corner. He couldn't tell the king to his face that he thought he was lying, especially with the king saying he would take all of the repercussions on his own shoulders.<br />
<br />
And so, Lee performed the ceremony.<br />
<br />
Anne and Henry had already <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/when-did-anne-boleyn-and-henry-viii.html">married</a> in late November, and she had likely discovered by this point that she was pregnant. However, the ceremony at <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-winter-honeymoon-for-anne-boleyn-and.html">Dover</a> had stayed <em>too </em>secret.<br />
<br />
Henry and Anne may have also been giving a nod to traditional marriage customs, in which a foreign princess was married once by proxy, and then had a second ceremony once she reached her new husband's side.<br />
<br />
In a few months, Henry would have his bride also doubly <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/06/june-1-1533-anne-boleyns-coronation-day.html">crowned</a>: as consort, and as a monarch in her own right using the crown of St. Edward.<br />
<br />
Three years later, Henry would also have his marriage to Anne doubly <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/05/after-trial-what-did-anne-expect-would.html">ended</a>, first with an annulment and then with the stroke of a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-19-1536.html">sword</a>.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-63574319485236301352015-01-24T15:57:00.000-05:002015-01-24T16:00:22.164-05:00The Mysterious Nan Cobham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4b6d0yOEvi9yCfcwT8TFa4dKukEGdpm8KGaYc4tBf2Jz2umNMfRkRyszc-uUXYidzgJccB5qVf6GqHfsD5N9GzHf8Of8mIoKPvItix0DgPPjnliXSApWZL55oSA05s08P6eBrTJoahsk/s1600/detail94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4b6d0yOEvi9yCfcwT8TFa4dKukEGdpm8KGaYc4tBf2Jz2umNMfRkRyszc-uUXYidzgJccB5qVf6GqHfsD5N9GzHf8Of8mIoKPvItix0DgPPjnliXSApWZL55oSA05s08P6eBrTJoahsk/s1600/detail94.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
When Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery and treason, John Husee <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75432">wrote</a> to Lady Lisle and identified her primary accusers:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The first accuser, the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/elizabeth-browne-somerset-countess-of.html">lady Worcester</a>, and Nan Cobham with one maid mo; but the lady Worcester was the first ground."</i></blockquote>
<br />
Historians aren't really sure who Nan Cobham was, and we don't know what testimony she gave to seal Anne's fate. The <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/05/erasing-anne-boleyn-from-history_22.html">records</a> of her trial were either intentionally destroyed, or Anne was convicted on verbal testimony that was never recorded.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQTs7ke7q-PDh5ipOL7XbiZSnC3QgG06xMAFhW9Cesp2EnFbiJb8hs4Yo7XuzKALsZgAbgmPXZNF17Ad8Q3zUX1BBUb3MC7rr1oCy30AqGpccFNRkq9rddmE2C0Rd6fQPfuL2xNlKCfA/s1600/detail135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQTs7ke7q-PDh5ipOL7XbiZSnC3QgG06xMAFhW9Cesp2EnFbiJb8hs4Yo7XuzKALsZgAbgmPXZNF17Ad8Q3zUX1BBUb3MC7rr1oCy30AqGpccFNRkq9rddmE2C0Rd6fQPfuL2xNlKCfA/s1600/detail135.jpg" height="310" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
There are several possibilities for Nan's identity. Retha Warnicke, in her <i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_iUIzcXV4toC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=%E2%80%9Cmakes+it+unlikely+that+she+was+of+high+aristocratic+birth%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=-j5NoU_pL2&sig=avOfYN9neYcmdZBNSbNIsjC9Brg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tunDVKKfEYywyASSv4LoBA&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cmakes%20it%20unlikely%20that%20she%20was%20of%20high%20aristocratic%20birth%E2%80%9D&f=false">Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn</a></i> speculates that Nan was Anne's midwife. Warnicke embraced the theory that Anne's last pregnancy was abnormal, and that the fetus she miscarried of was deformed, leading to allegations of witchcraft or sexual sin. However, there's no shred of contemporary evidence that Anne's fetus was abnormal.<br />
<br />
Warnicke does make a valid point in one respect. The use of the nickname "Nan" indicates that the woman was "<i>unlikely to be of high aristocratic birth</i>," as Warnicke writes. This is true - if Nan had a title, Hussee would almost certainly have used it instead of her nickname. Aristocratic people might use nicknames in a casual conversation with one another, but it was unlikely he would have used it when identifying the woman in a letter, even if they were personal friends.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33evwcRkxi0_mIxaAEYepcYY6cUQ4pzBLs2W2H9O6VsNV_HtBIqfufNM6BsIwV4t1BXa4qqi4uLs7dfi_HhMwJSDPUh1DzblQQ0_uv6J4Uhr-jF_Y6SoBpK9WxuDb_DZZ4S9U5j_OL5E/s1600/detail1944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33evwcRkxi0_mIxaAEYepcYY6cUQ4pzBLs2W2H9O6VsNV_HtBIqfufNM6BsIwV4t1BXa4qqi4uLs7dfi_HhMwJSDPUh1DzblQQ0_uv6J4Uhr-jF_Y6SoBpK9WxuDb_DZZ4S9U5j_OL5E/s1600/detail1944.jpg" height="320" width="167" /></a></div>
<br />
This would seem to eliminate one of the suspects: Anne Bray, Baroness Cobham. Anne Bray was <a href="http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com/lists.htm">recorded</a> as one of the attendants at Anne's coronation, and her husband sat in Anne's jury.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8hK0igxSD1UC&pg=PT225&lpg=PT225&dq=nan+cobham&source=bl&ots=_9ggnTqBN8&sig=na9p8-uKtX3hEYTZVhHcdOGAFi8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lejDVKzzAderyAScv4LoDQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=nan%20cobham&f=false">Some speculate</a> that Nan was the sister of Elizabeth Brooke (daughter of <a href="http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/BROOKE1.htm#Thomas BROOKE (3° B. Cobham)">Baron Cobham</a>) who had married <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/thomas-wyatt-tudor-poet.html">Thomas Wyatt</a>. However, I do not see an Anne listed among Baron Cobham's children. The only option in this scenario is Elizabeth's sister-in-law, Anne Bray.<br />
<br />
A "Mrs. Cobham" is <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol7/pp4-12">recorded</a> as one of those who gave a New Year's gift to the king in 1534, and she appears in a list of Anne's "maidens," though that is not certain proof that she was unmarried. Anne Cobham, a widow, is recorded in 1540 as being given <a href="http://home.olympus.net/~wtclark/Bridger/bfhpg2.html">Warminghurst Manor</a> for life, lands that had previously belong to the dissolved Syon Abbey. They could be one and the same.<br />
<br />
Some speculate this Nan Cobham was the same woman who was named as being one of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-body-of-queen-strange-journey-of.html">Kateryn Parr</a>'s serving women in 1547. If so, Nan retained her status at court even after Anne's fall, much like <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/jane-parker.html">Jane Parker</a> did.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1i897C1w_OzQj8B7ZVjXlgEFU8HGcYkYn2Z70W6V3vww_1EVS1IVSmctGATAQZ0ASqd8gyqGd7-aigaDkG8nb0zm2REJ3aEP93lCpZ_ETXAvIGrcX7e4wPAFF54C5I-jKQ6SlXD0r-s/s1600/detail542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1i897C1w_OzQj8B7ZVjXlgEFU8HGcYkYn2Z70W6V3vww_1EVS1IVSmctGATAQZ0ASqd8gyqGd7-aigaDkG8nb0zm2REJ3aEP93lCpZ_ETXAvIGrcX7e4wPAFF54C5I-jKQ6SlXD0r-s/s1600/detail542.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<br />
Whomever Nan was, she doesn't appear to have been one of Anne's favorites or friends. She's mentioned on the periphery of the court, and appears to have been one of Anne's many serving women, appointed because of family connections or favors to supporters. But in the end, she became part of one of the most powerful <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-1536-conspiracy-to-destroy-queen.html">conspiracies</a> in history - to destroy a queen.<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-29965198756767338472015-01-17T23:47:00.000-05:002015-01-18T12:53:32.623-05:00Sir Nicholas Carew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QezK9MVshk7k34DVcCorJIZAK3deXL6RzfLbj7mUmsk7zl6iM3RU7EoK2mGvuyWNObgRWM9q5y2X1_KbKS95xsM4qMwKdfpXM9mMpXudgQSz-ieq5nH3Hz54L6dzhJy7yRr7rzAQunU/s1600/Detail243.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QezK9MVshk7k34DVcCorJIZAK3deXL6RzfLbj7mUmsk7zl6iM3RU7EoK2mGvuyWNObgRWM9q5y2X1_KbKS95xsM4qMwKdfpXM9mMpXudgQSz-ieq5nH3Hz54L6dzhJy7yRr7rzAQunU/s1600/Detail243.png" height="320" width="309" /></a></div>
Sir Nicholas Carew was a cousin of Anne Boleyn, but he was also named as one of those directly responsible for her fall.<br />
<br />
Nicholas was born in 1496. Through his great-grandparents, he was related to both the king and Anne Boleyn. His great-grandmother was half-sister to <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/margaret-beaufort.html">Margaret Beaufort</a>, and his great-grandfather was Lord Hoo, from whom Anne Boleyn was descended.<br />
<br />
Nicholas began his career at court as a child of six, essentially being raised alongside Henry VIII. They were educated together - which might explain Nicholas's conservative religious fervor, because Henry's parents intended him for the church and his education was framed with that intent. The two young men shared a passion for jousting and sport.<br />
<br />
In 1514, Nicholas married Elizabeth Bryan, sister of <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/francis-bryan-vicar-of-hell.html">Sir Francis Bryan</a>. Elizabeth was second cousin to Anne Boleyn, and co-heir of her father's estates along with her brother. It was rumored at one point that Elizabeth was Henry's mistress, and he is known to have given her presents of jewelry. But if there was an affair, it was very short lived and there's no evidence to prove it happened. The king gave the couple a wedding gift of lands that had an annual income of forty marks.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-reeIJLNiXoVK1WZdRs0xcs8_F7uIxYBTVvDXWVU4IQD6RSiy5EUxZvtZioBQp-NSgfJfh9fcgL7QKpqcIt2SzfzKhLaWo179JeAUAexp-EMClaUsQbO9wW9OO6XeJu7s-wNOKVCQuo/s1600/detail289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-reeIJLNiXoVK1WZdRs0xcs8_F7uIxYBTVvDXWVU4IQD6RSiy5EUxZvtZioBQp-NSgfJfh9fcgL7QKpqcIt2SzfzKhLaWo179JeAUAexp-EMClaUsQbO9wW9OO6XeJu7s-wNOKVCQuo/s1600/detail289.jpg" /></a>Nicholas was knighted sometime before 1517, He served in various court position, such as Henry's cupbearer, master of the horse, and chief esquire of the body. But Wolsey and the council apparently thought Nicholas was a bad influence on Henry and overly familiar with the king. In 1519, several young men of Henry's chamber were <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol3/pp77-95">summoned</a> before the council.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[T]<i>he King and his council one day at Greenwich sent for them, and said "how the bruit was that they after their appetite governed the King;" that they should no more come to the court, but Weston and the deputy of Calais, Kingston and Jerningham, were put in their place. </i></blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2b-Ng6pC9Cbto_qj7aV5PTS0Zxt0WZbAh18dX2rp5daINGrQMBML6hMG3_IN0_w419GWjxnLPyAgtXPk555CqQjb9CPP0kK42pj-LwKRTOYqulUrZPHddbNSENndAPCcJb4hyKntQvQ/s1600/detail115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2b-Ng6pC9Cbto_qj7aV5PTS0Zxt0WZbAh18dX2rp5daINGrQMBML6hMG3_IN0_w419GWjxnLPyAgtXPk555CqQjb9CPP0kK42pj-LwKRTOYqulUrZPHddbNSENndAPCcJb4hyKntQvQ/s1600/detail115.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
But within six months Nicholas was back. He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and in 1521, sat on the jury that convicted the Duke of Buckingham. Afterward, he was appointed steward of Buckingham's manor.<br />
<br />
In late 1525 or early 1526, Henry VIII fell in <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/declare-i-dare-not-henrys-first-public.html">love</a> with Nicholas's cousin, Anne Boleyn. Henry frequently stayed at Carew's family home of Beddington while he was courting Anne because it was a convenient sixteen miles from Hever. However, Nicholas was close friends with Katharine and Princess Mary. He must have walked a fine line with the king to keep his favor, though he disapproved of the king's relationship with Anne.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILo6S9IFFmsZxweGEYx0OENQjdDLwCryZDIRTjIUyuKGT-ZHKVOmjafmkYoChpgAeqXZfWziB1a6hQ5J9FyoMxE3Uq1EKhxr78fDUmNFQf3BJsGjgfiIjyEwJolLrZcdvYhm1T4nmCeE/s1600/detail978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILo6S9IFFmsZxweGEYx0OENQjdDLwCryZDIRTjIUyuKGT-ZHKVOmjafmkYoChpgAeqXZfWziB1a6hQ5J9FyoMxE3Uq1EKhxr78fDUmNFQf3BJsGjgfiIjyEwJolLrZcdvYhm1T4nmCeE/s1600/detail978.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a>In 1532, Nicholas was sent to France to work on preparations for the king's <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/10/anne-boleyns-visit-to-calais.html">visit</a> to introduce Anne as his consort. According to Imperial ambassador <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/eustace-chapuys.html">Eustace Chapuys</a>, Nicholas went unwillingly and hinted he would rather hinder the project than support it, but he did as commanded. King Francis liked Nicholas so much, he asked Henry to grant him the Order of the Garter when the next vacancy occurred.<br />
<br />
As queen, Anne Boleyn used her influence to get Nicholas a stable position at court as a member of the Privy Chamber. It as an example of Anne doing her duty to advance her family, not personal preference. But Nicholas did not reciprocate the support. Instead, he actively worked against Anne.<br />
<br />
What happened to make Nicholas decide to conspire against Anne? Alison Weir says it was because Nicholas was outraged at the way Anne had treated Charles Brandon, who despised her, and Henry Guildford, who had retired from office in protest when Anne became queen. Their religious differences may have also contributed to the animosity. Nicholas was horrified at the changes to the church, and Anne worked hard to have Reformist bishops installed in important positions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHt7q6exwn2HtXgtNl5EXagKteG7d3BtSj93vbN-Y5AO2tEWZU_4ReNFrOlaqdm4CyMynTwQNUfpPt5D_jEbYYu3ZIsZQfSeVDEktf4LduLomzx0UmGlW0wW7tM_k843U17M4q2L9AW0/s1600/detail502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHt7q6exwn2HtXgtNl5EXagKteG7d3BtSj93vbN-Y5AO2tEWZU_4ReNFrOlaqdm4CyMynTwQNUfpPt5D_jEbYYu3ZIsZQfSeVDEktf4LduLomzx0UmGlW0wW7tM_k843U17M4q2L9AW0/s1600/detail502.jpg" height="320" width="131" /></a>In July 1535, Chapuys <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol5/no1/pp507-523">relates</a> a strange incident:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[King Henry]<i> the other day nearly murdered his own fool, a simple and innocent </i>[mentally handicapped] <i>man</i><i>, because he happened to speak well in his presence of the Queen and Princess, and called the concubine "ribaude" </i>[ribald]<i> and her daughter "bastard." He has now been banished from Court, and has gone to the Grand Esquire, who has sheltered and hidden him.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Various historians have said the fool in question was either <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/henrys-court-fools.html">Patch</a> or <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/the-real-will-somers.html">Will Somers</a>, whom the records often confuse. (I believe it was Patch, Sexton, or another one of Henry's "natural" fools.) As Carew took the fool in to his own household shield him from the king's anger, some have suggested that Carew was the one who coached the fool to make the statements in the first place.<br />
<br />
It was part of the plan, to keep reminding the king his marriage to Anne was not seen as legitimate in the eyes of the people.<br />
<br />
Sometime in early 1536, <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/11/jane-seymour-enigma.html">Jane Seymour</a> appeared on the scene. The beginning of the relationship was so quiet and subtle that it escaped notice at first. She's first <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol5/no2/pp39-52">mentioned</a> in February as being the recipient of may presents from the king. In April, Chapuys grows increasingly hopeful because he reported a dramatic scene in which the king sent Jane some money and she virtuously declined. The king was charmed and said that to prove the "honesty" of his intentions toward her, he would only court her in the presence of her relatives. Those honorable intentions could only mean marriage.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJO663D3_OWk1kWbsZs_V5fQRar6MYHnf2QXAKEeSSAVDUC0w9e11qLKIhmdL6ciLQD8x6w-U08afgxvN5_6NhArZeeQ9GQk5G7ObTWUGofUkfS11_Azjdn5qlar7r-DUDuo-L8O80kuU/s1600/jane+seymour+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJO663D3_OWk1kWbsZs_V5fQRar6MYHnf2QXAKEeSSAVDUC0w9e11qLKIhmdL6ciLQD8x6w-U08afgxvN5_6NhArZeeQ9GQk5G7ObTWUGofUkfS11_Azjdn5qlar7r-DUDuo-L8O80kuU/s1600/jane+seymour+eyes.jpg" height="115" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
From what Chapuys <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol5/no2/pp79-85">writes</a>, Jane was not a passive object in this plot.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>But I hear that the young lady has been well tutored and warned by those among this King's courtiers who hate the concubine, telling her not in any wise to give in to the King's fancy unless he makes her his Queen, upon which the damsel is quite resolved. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>She has likewise been advised to tell the King frankly, and without reserve, how much his subjects abominate the marriage contracted with the concubine, and that not one considers it legitimate, and that this declaration ought to be made in the presence of witnesses of the titled nobility of this kingdom, who are to attest the truth of her statements should the King request them on their oath and fealty to do so.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE7eFqXcOupSQi-YI1gmF5zvy1b4hRMGOpXNfM-1skSMNN8Oh2AVHTA84Eih-Ww-kZ1tr0sj8scQUuJgcGPt86EeKAymsssZdQ3UKUGnRzDTIvSuKh2yd7Js_OIZFCwxnF91E_Yv-8-8/s1600/detail1207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE7eFqXcOupSQi-YI1gmF5zvy1b4hRMGOpXNfM-1skSMNN8Oh2AVHTA84Eih-Ww-kZ1tr0sj8scQUuJgcGPt86EeKAymsssZdQ3UKUGnRzDTIvSuKh2yd7Js_OIZFCwxnF91E_Yv-8-8/s1600/detail1207.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Gertrude Blount Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter was Nicholas Carew's partner in coaching Jane. Gertrude was a relative of Bessie Blount, who had once been the king's mistress, and Gertrude's father was Katharine of Aragon's chamberlain. She was a close personal friend of both the queen and Princess Mary.<br />
<br />
Gertrude had been made one of Princess Elizabeth's godmothers at her christening, which Eric Ives regards as nasty jab on Anne's part. Gertrude was open about not wanting the honor, but was forced to fork over a suitably hefty gift for the occasion. But perhaps Anne was simply trying to pick wealthy and powerful people who could support her infant daughter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wapDbIqf5YUA5tHHfhWXcTmii2VlTB1syi9RZGtN-TskHU7N1Yo1xkwcail7F-CBvUGvTfr9Oxs-ux0sUvB1bkEFtci3-RTniAfUuWktdbCq-1KP4TdJCTDgZdhyvv0VJ54RI5o4CKw/s1600/detail1443.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wapDbIqf5YUA5tHHfhWXcTmii2VlTB1syi9RZGtN-TskHU7N1Yo1xkwcail7F-CBvUGvTfr9Oxs-ux0sUvB1bkEFtci3-RTniAfUuWktdbCq-1KP4TdJCTDgZdhyvv0VJ54RI5o4CKw/s1600/detail1443.png" height="320" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
Gertrude had gotten herself in a bit of a pickle by supporting <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/elizabeth-barton-nun-of-kent.html">Elizabeth Barton</a>, the Nun of Kent, and had to beg for the king's pardon after the nun was attained for treason. But that situation doesn't seem to have curtailed Gertrude's taste for intrigue. She met with and corresponded with Chapuys, conspiring ways to support Princess Mary and Katharine of Aragon. Chapuys says she was even willing to help raise a rebellion to make Mary queen. In November, 1535 she visited Chapuys in disguise and <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol5/no1/pp562-574">said</a> the king planned to kill both Katharine and Mary, and begged him to get the Emperor to take action. Chapuys seems not to have believed her, but used it as an example to show all of England was talking about Anne Boleyn's evil, and that it was well-known she intended to kill Katharine and Mary.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQX7Gqj3X5mWkWm-Te4-jaYMaoQ6USnEGHEhJiqxSyLj50dt7_KcEcR11Ymluyua-VojfgmMyhHVys76Y-EgthYOn_G9jKBxdB2F-wu4i5nyp84eJzbyivR4KD2HUB4uDtm_LM8vN1Fps/s1600/detail339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQX7Gqj3X5mWkWm-Te4-jaYMaoQ6USnEGHEhJiqxSyLj50dt7_KcEcR11Ymluyua-VojfgmMyhHVys76Y-EgthYOn_G9jKBxdB2F-wu4i5nyp84eJzbyivR4KD2HUB4uDtm_LM8vN1Fps/s1600/detail339.jpg" /></a>When Jane Seymour entered the picture, Gertrude quickly surmised it might be a way to pry Anne Boleyn from her position and supplant her with someone who might be more favorable to her friends' interest.<br />
<br />
Henry had the habit of showering his love interests with favor and punishing their enemies. Their friends shared in this bounty, which is why people seem to have flocked to support Jane Seymour as soon as it was common knowledge the king was courting her.<br />
<br />
Chapuys <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=87960">writes</a> at the end of April that Nicholas was given the Order of the Garter instead of the queen's brother, who had expected the honor would go to him. The reason given might have been that Henry was fulfilling his promise to King Francis, but the real reason was that Nicholas was Jane Seymour's chief supporter, and Anne's influence with the king had hit rock bottom.<br />
<div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQHMGrLemRqAubT1agNq4SCN24Ovvvt76f8_JOZEP5Ee2if4DMVh3T4_LqNYnNWXhO113mB7UT-zMXmgo7NWbW78Vuyh_X5Ix6e4hxtUkhRbeni7rjYuElyNWgmsvtmJNs9eCwGwQVu4/s1600/detail1891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQHMGrLemRqAubT1agNq4SCN24Ovvvt76f8_JOZEP5Ee2if4DMVh3T4_LqNYnNWXhO113mB7UT-zMXmgo7NWbW78Vuyh_X5Ix6e4hxtUkhRbeni7rjYuElyNWgmsvtmJNs9eCwGwQVu4/s1600/detail1891.jpg" height="291" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u0WigwBVLEyqlWMDZqneYyicHuBMhSnaTqF7rchK-5dnguBGC3MjRJTsyjVBPlxvdI5u3RKQZfGencQj2PdkX94POrhPG-hXWSN4fhWG4kWs62jEVi00J8c9U_0_y7NrffWpGmj0BoI/s1600/detail1185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #eeeeee; clear: right; color: #7479d0; float: right; font-family: 'Old Standard TT'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a><i>The Grand Esquire, Master Caro (Carew), was on St. George's Day invested with the Order of the Garter, in the room of Mr. De Bourgain, who died some time ago. This has been a source of great disappointment and sorrow for lord Rochefort[<a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/george-boleyn.html">George Boleyn</a>], who wanted it for himself, and still more for the concubine, who has not had sufficient credit to get her own brother knighted. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>In fact, it will not be Carew's fault if the aforesaid concubine, though a cousin of his, is not overthrown (desarçonee) one of these days, for I hear that he is daily conspiring against her, and trying to persuade Miss Seymour and her friends to accomplish her ruin. Indeed, only four days ago the said Carew and certain gentlemen of the Kings chamber sent word to the Princess to take courage, for very shortly her rival would be dismissed, the King being so tired of the said concubine that he could not bear her any longer.</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uiij-vHyyEHp1IxAaOlKg4cMmpUZuq1bm4LIwvpL08CGqOTHuOR8rKI4pyOHUT-f3dVGCu5ydGIKu0WPlay_2pL8S0KeHvk3q04zkLo1_MZsKiJLtVttSE3dotelxcIrVKf3-HJ-YWo/s1600/detail1346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uiij-vHyyEHp1IxAaOlKg4cMmpUZuq1bm4LIwvpL08CGqOTHuOR8rKI4pyOHUT-f3dVGCu5ydGIKu0WPlay_2pL8S0KeHvk3q04zkLo1_MZsKiJLtVttSE3dotelxcIrVKf3-HJ-YWo/s1600/detail1346.jpg" height="320" width="187" /></a></div>
<br />
Anne's <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/mayday-arrest-of-anne-boleyn.html">fall</a> was <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-1536-conspiracy-to-destroy-queen.html">swift</a> and brutal. She was arrested and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/did-anne-boleyn-have-fair-trial.html">tried</a> for <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/was-anne-boleyn-guilty-of-adultery-and.html">adultery</a> with four men - all were sentenced to <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-19-1536.html">death</a>. Did it give Nicholas any qualms that Anne and four innocent men would have to die in order to put Jane on the throne? Jane Seymour was lodged in Nicholas's house while Anne Boleyn was in the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-in-tower.html">Tower</a>, ostensibly for reasons of discretion, but every night, Henry's barge rowed down the river to visit her, torches blazing and musicians playing. Even Chapuys thought it was in poor taste.<br />
<br />
Anne and the men charged with her were duly executed and Henry married Jane Seymour. The new queen and her supporters worked to have Princess Mary raised back to her position as heir, and to restore the dissolved monasteries. But Jane was never to have the same political influence as her predecessor. Henry shot her down fast, warning her to take heed of what had happened to the last woman who meddled in his affairs.<br />
<br />
In 1537, Nicholas was given a grant of lands from the dissolved monasteries. Nothing is recorded of his reaction to that - did he feel any guilt at benefiting from the dissolution of the church he supported? In any case, he wasn't troubled enough to refuse the grant, it seems.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaSDdpi9l3j6H_L2yB5yhKHmmx1hJv5mRYM_yXqr4UYZP6BSjX__Rn9tz16Y_7fPGOtX0CP9XWM_8fttJmeOrvSFIMxkifHZzJ-lwYID6Cy-5IZLqBPUtDN-mEtT8Bg8OYcvI-iCk1yE/s1600/detail1407.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaSDdpi9l3j6H_L2yB5yhKHmmx1hJv5mRYM_yXqr4UYZP6BSjX__Rn9tz16Y_7fPGOtX0CP9XWM_8fttJmeOrvSFIMxkifHZzJ-lwYID6Cy-5IZLqBPUtDN-mEtT8Bg8OYcvI-iCk1yE/s1600/detail1407.png" height="320" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
Jane Seymour gave the king his longed-for prince. Nicholas held a position of honor at Prince Edward's christening, standing by the silver font with a towel. Gertrude carried the baby.<br />
<br />
Only a few weeks later, Nicholas's wife was one of the attendants at Jane's funeral when Jane was felled by childbed fever.<br />
<br />
Nicholas retained the king's favor after Jane's death. He hosted Henry at Beddington in 1538. But in the latter part of the year, something happened that still confuses historians today. According to <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=e_EpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA234&lpg=PA234&dq=then+at+bowls,+gave+this+knight+opprobrious+language,+betwixt+jest+and+earnest;+to+which+the+other+returned+an+answer+rather+true+than+discreet,&source=bl&ots=gFZnQcK4pI&sig=EHgGioxajohuhRcUuO7k2DPrbl8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XgS7VNe3BImmyQSNnoGAAg&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=then%20at%20bowls%2C%20gave%20this%20knight%20opprobrious%20language%2C%20betwixt%20jest%20and%20earnest%3B%20to%20which%20the%20other%20returned%20an%20answer%20rather%20true%20than%20discreet%2C&f=false">family tradition</a>, Nicholas fell out of favor because the king was grossly insulted by something Nicholas said.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Tradition in this family reporteth, how king Henry, then at bowls, gave this knight opprobrious language, betwixt jest and earnest; to which the other returned an answer rather true than discreet, as more consulting therein his own animosity than allegiance. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The king, who in this kind would give and not take, being no good fellow in tart repartees, was so highly offended thereat, that Sir Nicholas fell from the top of his favour to the bottom of his displeasure, and was bruised 'to death thereby. This was the true cause of his execution, though in our chronicles all is scored on his complying in a plot with Henry marquis of Exeter, and Henry lord Montague.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N747mdQLn0mjByQXcIhRvO90XLFGUoOJbpsnyctkSNUwFD5cim0O0269XWb_6p8cV7kRtjdndOQ_5TxtK7GS4nPqdnWj5Xw9wL7rExybEv_cRl_WY0vQC0p3fqxGlqPkOxdDip074CM/s1600/detail1888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N747mdQLn0mjByQXcIhRvO90XLFGUoOJbpsnyctkSNUwFD5cim0O0269XWb_6p8cV7kRtjdndOQ_5TxtK7GS4nPqdnWj5Xw9wL7rExybEv_cRl_WY0vQC0p3fqxGlqPkOxdDip074CM/s1600/detail1888.jpg" height="320" width="290" /></a></div>
<br />
Whether or not there's any truth to the legend that Henry's wrath was induced initially by an ill-judged remark, Nicholas soon found himself in serious trouble.<br />
<br />
The Marquis of Exeter, Gertrude’s husband, was charged with treason. He was accused of trying to get himself named heir apparent to the throne and being in contact with Cardinal Reginald Pole, one of the king’s avowed enemies. A witness claimed that Nicholas had been among the ring of correspondents. Gertrude, who definitely had been guilty of treason, if Chapuys is to be believed, was the only one of the lot to escape.<br />
<br />
The king <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9BIFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=Exeter+conspired+to+destroy+the+King+and+Prince+and+the+ladies+Mary+and+Elizabeth,+and+usurp+the+whole+rule,+which+the+said+Exeter+had+meditated+these+ten+years,&source=bl&ots=6Vf_ozeKtv&sig=vFF_uyMiZJMikA2f3C70aUdFoQQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DQW7VOfFNIWXyQS2iYHoAg&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Exeter%20conspired%20to%20destroy%20the%20King%20and%20Prince%20and%20the%20ladies%20Mary%20and%20Elizabeth%2C%20and%20usurp%20the%20whole%20rule%2C%20which%20the%20said%20Exeter%20had%20meditated%20these%20ten%20years%2C&f=false">explained</a> it as such:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Exeter conspired to destroy the King and Prince and the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, and usurp the whole rule, which the said Exeter had meditated these ten years, all which things have been disclosed by Sir Geoffrey Pole, Montague's own brother, and openly proved before their faces. Moreover, after their execution it was found, by their letters, that Sir Nich. Carew was one of the chief of that faction.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUVB-oUNDPfAR4RNyZxxw7tR_vvqE7cQCfjqtmlf6E87IUu0U6frZc7ymAXjV3a2-LTug0fW8qWkwKMeec8co-PVbbnukvOK1BqEvUFe-WbzhScEeQKR5yRqHg_TZtW1Q2HUXoErn8VQ/s1600/detail684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUVB-oUNDPfAR4RNyZxxw7tR_vvqE7cQCfjqtmlf6E87IUu0U6frZc7ymAXjV3a2-LTug0fW8qWkwKMeec8co-PVbbnukvOK1BqEvUFe-WbzhScEeQKR5yRqHg_TZtW1Q2HUXoErn8VQ/s1600/detail684.jpg" height="320" width="142" /></a></div>
<br />
Nicholas was <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol14/no1/pp107-117">indicted</a> on February 14, 1539. (Edited for readability.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Sir Nic. Carewe of Bedyngton knowing the said Marquis to be a traitor, did</i> <i>falsely abet the said Marquis and </i><i>had conversations with him about the change of the world, and also with his own hand wrote him divers letters, and the said Marquis sent divers traitorous letters to the said Carewe which the said Carewe traitorously received, which letters they afterwards, to conceal their treason, traitorously burnt, and afterwards, knowing that the said Marquis was indicted as aforesaid, the said Carewe traitorously said these words in English, "I marvel greatly that the indictment against the lord Marquis was so secretly handled and for what purpose, for the like was never seen" contrary to his allegiance.</i></blockquote>
<br />
The evidence was flimsy at best, but that was certainly no barrier to being found guilty. And found guilty he duly was.<br />
<br />
He was executed on the third of March on Tower Hill. A <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol14/no1/pp177-195">letter</a> from John Butler claims that Nicholas exhorted the crowd to read evangelical works and said that he had been brought to this point because of hating the Gospel. Hall's <i>Chronicle</i> <a href="https://archive.org/stream/hallschronicleco00halluoft#page/n849/mode/2up">elaborates</a>, implying that Nicholas had converted to the Reformed faith while he was in the Tower:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbE3sVEzB6ySozLGUrUhM9Ri2ID4byL6c9bSGzVwfLEPQKY-JtIGdCvOq61hMiUaacBDbQGev4xRBd97jxxLwK6PwetkfSUguI9b1dmH3KPL3-Ws6VMrgzAQBVeZZKmzBHYrMjNFb3SU/s1600/detail1900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbE3sVEzB6ySozLGUrUhM9Ri2ID4byL6c9bSGzVwfLEPQKY-JtIGdCvOq61hMiUaacBDbQGev4xRBd97jxxLwK6PwetkfSUguI9b1dmH3KPL3-Ws6VMrgzAQBVeZZKmzBHYrMjNFb3SU/s1600/detail1900.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[H]<i>e made a goodly confession, both of his folly and superstitious faith, giving God most hearty thanks that ever he came in the prison of the Tower, where he first savoured the life and sweetness of God’s most holy word, meaning the Bible in English, which there he read by the means of one Thomas Phelips then keeper.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Nothing more is noted about his execution, so it must have been swift and mercifully unremarkable. Some sources say that his head and body were buried in the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where Anne Boleyn's remains lay. Others state that he's buried in his family tomb in St. Botolph. Whether he was exhumed and moved there later, or was put in St. Botolph immediately, I cannot say. It could also be that he does lie in the Tower chapel and the stone in St. Botolph is a cenotaph. I have found no mention of his family vault being opened by the curious Victorians to see who rests inside.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBnP3heWF3znQPObrBCdEjzKW789rmgPpsKEAt8VRkeHWMZVEd6bnBwFP9dajlIcP6opMLpGwYey0NbUeiMQv93hgu5-vBUhJ1WZuDbWCInEhTE7ehcfXV2OK5_9Ui3ZRnBdH8ajvK2M/s1600/detail2032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBnP3heWF3znQPObrBCdEjzKW789rmgPpsKEAt8VRkeHWMZVEd6bnBwFP9dajlIcP6opMLpGwYey0NbUeiMQv93hgu5-vBUhJ1WZuDbWCInEhTE7ehcfXV2OK5_9Ui3ZRnBdH8ajvK2M/s1600/detail2032.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
John Strype's <i><a href="http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/strype/TransformServlet?page=book2_016">Survey</a></i> described the tomb in 1598:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>There is a fair Vault under Ground, purposely made (as appeareth) for the whole Family: Over which Vault (being in the East End of the Chancel, but leaning somewhat to the North) is a fair ancient Tomb of Alabaster ingeniously wrought, being the Figure of a Man in white Marble lying along, as in a Sleep, with a white Sheet lapt about him; only the Face, Breast and Arms naked: Having these Lines thereon,</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>Here lyeth Thomas Lord Darcy of the North, and some time of the Order of the Garter. Sir Nicholas Carew Knt. sometime of the Garter. Lady Elizabeth Carew, Daughter to Sir Francis Brian, Knt. And Sir Arthur Darcy Knt. younger Son to the abovenamed Lord Darcy. And Lady Mary his dear Wife, Daughter to Sir Nicholas Carew Knt. who had ten Sons and five Daughters. Here lye Charles, William and Philip, Mary and Ursula, Sons and Daughters to the said Sir Arthur, and Mary his Wife; whose Souls God take to his infinite Mercy. Amen.</b></i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPU9-JaZmFzbLUXyP3LnJM4_gPQkPuSILA1gc3CT7Xx30Np5XVA4-q9xBFjrWgBaYX_PzqTbygh6la7SghCFHVZXfb8qbNHSQZEsY5YfyNjkRwKaC8ZW0kEX4e-rlebAFakOuhK17kAE/s1600/detail496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPU9-JaZmFzbLUXyP3LnJM4_gPQkPuSILA1gc3CT7Xx30Np5XVA4-q9xBFjrWgBaYX_PzqTbygh6la7SghCFHVZXfb8qbNHSQZEsY5YfyNjkRwKaC8ZW0kEX4e-rlebAFakOuhK17kAE/s1600/detail496.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Nicholas's widow, Elizabeth, was cast into poverty because of his treason attainder, which made all of his property forfeit. She wrote a pleading <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=P3ZCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=%E2%80%9CMy+lord,+I+most+humbly+thank+your+good+lordship+for+the+great+goodness+you+shew+upon+my+poor+daughter+Carew&source=bl&ots=_cuxduPlsR&sig=WCpUihbKB5rCz6Qd1JfAs2D3pqo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CRe7VIyJJ4T3yQSVg4K4BA&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CMy%20lord%2C%20I%20most%20humbly%20thank%20your%20good%20lordship%20for%20the%20great%20goodness%20you%20shew%20upon%20my%20poor%20daughter%20Carew&f=false">letter</a> to Cromwell a week after her husband's execution.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>In the most humblest wise I beseech your lordship to be good lord to me and my poor children, to be a mediator unto the king's grace for me, for my living and my children's; and that your lordship would speak to his grace, that I may enjoy that which his grace gave me, which is Bletchingly and Wallington, trusting that his grace will not give it from me. And I humbly desire your good lordship to speak a good word to his grace for me, that I may enjoy it according to his grace's grant. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>And, to advertise your lordship, I have but twenty pounds more of my husband's lands, which is a small jointure; and if he had not offended the king's grace and his laws, I should have had an honest living, which should have been the third part of his lands; but now I cannot claim that, by reason that he is attainted. I trust his grace will be good to me and my poor children, to reward me with some part of it. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lt9Q5YLFrrsbXACzXIwtxF5T-_B5A78LkeHao-XY-9C63BP8YiPa4P5MJKEIaOup5dAgIGEzOaCGp9nsvEH-mAryVwyUAOC17ahHbCRnrlFCZzZ3Ga9AeX3mBN5cAVKd5g-P-v7auv0/s1600/detail1033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lt9Q5YLFrrsbXACzXIwtxF5T-_B5A78LkeHao-XY-9C63BP8YiPa4P5MJKEIaOup5dAgIGEzOaCGp9nsvEH-mAryVwyUAOC17ahHbCRnrlFCZzZ3Ga9AeX3mBN5cAVKd5g-P-v7auv0/s1600/detail1033.jpg" /></a><i>Also, I humbly pray your good lordship to speak to his grace to give me the lands in Sussex, which is in value six score pound and ten, to that that I have by his grace and my husband, altogether amounteth a little above three hundred marks, the which I ensure your lordship I cannot live honestly under. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>All that I have had in my life hath been of his grace, and I trust that his grace will not see me lack; but whatsoever his grace or your lordship shall appoint me, I both must and will be content. I pray your lordship not to be miscontent with me for this my bold writing, to put your lordship to so great trouble and pains. And for your lordship's aid, help, and furtherance in this my suit, you bind me and my children to pray for your lordship, and to have our poor hearts and services during our lives. And thus the Holy Ghost have you in his keeping, and send you long prosperous life.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Written at Wallington, the 11th day of March, By your poor beadwoman,</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Elizabeth Carew </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrk9UKoE7qB1wzD3U9RpzRqCHgRb0o6nu1D3cndlsHfAmmYjiNNabSAb4YU7h0WCjdLR-4GfHYRjbFLK-k_MKvxr3vDhELxUL0QoYIbEahn5Ecvwcmu12fbgdnelD8Lnw-MfZxetYL3E/s1600/detail1092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrk9UKoE7qB1wzD3U9RpzRqCHgRb0o6nu1D3cndlsHfAmmYjiNNabSAb4YU7h0WCjdLR-4GfHYRjbFLK-k_MKvxr3vDhELxUL0QoYIbEahn5Ecvwcmu12fbgdnelD8Lnw-MfZxetYL3E/s1600/detail1092.jpg" height="320" width="118" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
The king did grant her some land, but there was no house on the property for her and the children to live in.<br />
<br />
The three hundred marks Elizabeth says she could not live “honestly” under is worth about £62,000 today. Of course, “poverty” for a noblewoman was something quite different than ordinary people might experience, and her mother noted that in her letter when she wrote to Cromwell herself. Lady Bryan explained her daughter wasn’t used to “straight [budget] living,” and worried she might flat-out die of it.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>My lord, I most humbly thank your good lordship for the great goodness you shew upon my poor daughter Carew, which bindeth me to owe you my true heart and faithful service while I live. She sendeth me word that it is the king's pleasure she shall have lands in Sussex, which is to the value of six score pounds, and somewhat above, which I heartily thank his grace and your lordship for; but, good my lord, there is never a house on it that she can lie in. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Wherefore, an it would please the king's grace, of his most gracious and charitable goodness, to let her have that his grace hath appointed now, and Blechingly, which his grace gave her without desiring of her part, which grieveth her sore to forego it. And if it will please his grace to let her have those two, to her and to her heirs males, she shall be the most bound to his grace that ever was woman; for then I trust she shall be able to live and pray for the prosperous life of his grace and all his, and you, my good lord, and somewhat to comfort her poor children withal, which hath no succour but of the king's grace and you, my good lord, most tenderly beseeching your good lordship of your goodness now to comfort two troubled hearts; for, my lord, unfeignedly you have, and shall have our true prayers and hearty service during our lives. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMN9UD36bc6j7N-xpQOgJWFB01Ji3K_59lrubyZgIlsanWKLslAYfXMikiKE1_pdpj5LXzEZ8WS06fRLjy5vZqRPIEpr8yNO0CbXcsqQ2-3udjwGk2ApDyjR-pMfhoNuq7Akj4RNUi3A/s1600/detail1219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMN9UD36bc6j7N-xpQOgJWFB01Ji3K_59lrubyZgIlsanWKLslAYfXMikiKE1_pdpj5LXzEZ8WS06fRLjy5vZqRPIEpr8yNO0CbXcsqQ2-3udjwGk2ApDyjR-pMfhoNuq7Akj4RNUi3A/s1600/detail1219.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a><i>Alas! my lord, nothing have I to comfort her withal, as your lordship knoweth what case I am in, but only to sue to your lordship for her and hers, which I, being her mother, and she being so kind a child to me as she hath been, I cannot for pity do no less. My lord, next the king's grace, in your lordship is all our trust, or else I durst not be so bold to trouble you with these matters; beseeching you, my good lord, take no displeasure with me that I so do. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>I assure your lordship she liveth not (that) can worse help herself, than she can; she hath not been used to strait living; and if (she) should now begin, I shall soon be rid of her, which would sore grieve me now in my old days; for she hath been a kind child to me in all my troubles, and glad I would be to comfort her, if it lie in my power. Beseeching Jesu, that all my trust is in, to put it in the king's grace's mind to pity her and her poor children; trusting to Jesu, through the help of your good lordship, his grace will grant her this desire. </i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0QePfZIUoi3Es8rEJ8B_X7c3HZbFtuAhhL139W7EctQ7W4PN130BJjXMkzuE7hwynMwh1Uw3S9G1TEL09u3Kxuis4BDVUnPrc0HIGXNUn5H9LjkvauS9lFI87dhtIsjbx2tYSdJWElg/s1600/detail2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0QePfZIUoi3Es8rEJ8B_X7c3HZbFtuAhhL139W7EctQ7W4PN130BJjXMkzuE7hwynMwh1Uw3S9G1TEL09u3Kxuis4BDVUnPrc0HIGXNUn5H9LjkvauS9lFI87dhtIsjbx2tYSdJWElg/s1600/detail2012.jpg" height="320" width="129" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
<i>My lord, I fear me the king's grace will think that she hath no mind to sue to his grace, nor I neither. My lord, I would fain write to his grace for her, but I will do nothing without your advice, and that I may know is your pleasure and advice, that will I do unfeignedly. I assure you, my lord, her only trust is that the king's grace will be good lord to her; beseeching you, my lord, to have my pitiful desire in your hearty remembrance; praying Jesu send your lordship as much hearty joy and comfort as your noble heart can desire.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>From Hunsdon, with the ill hand of<br />Your true beadwoman and faithful servant, </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Margaret Bryan</i></blockquote>
<br />
After this, Elizabeth fades from the records. She died in 1546 and was buried with her husband in the family monument. Her son, Francis Bryan, was restored in property by Queen Mary.<br />
<br />
<div>
As with many of the tombs of the sixteenth century, the family monument fell into disrepair and its sad state of neglect was <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-environs/vol1/pp49-67">described</a> in 1792:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMf3_D8qcvW-6iQxjzV8Nj1sZYosjE__D_moEZazW6Mo_RXJCgdH8V3ur63ngH5JDyDWMmwtbpcK6gugnIt5fH0ZnEfyR23Q67L0gQIgG_3g5T9iZ2QBaNJZZ5BS9mlBjFhqYqW-ExhA/s1600/detail683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMf3_D8qcvW-6iQxjzV8Nj1sZYosjE__D_moEZazW6Mo_RXJCgdH8V3ur63ngH5JDyDWMmwtbpcK6gugnIt5fH0ZnEfyR23Q67L0gQIgG_3g5T9iZ2QBaNJZZ5BS9mlBjFhqYqW-ExhA/s1600/detail683.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Sir Nicholas Carew was buried in the church of St. Botolph, Aldersgate, in the same tomb with Thomas lord Darcy, and others of his family. A small monument to their memory, supported by Corinthian columns, was preserved when the church was rebuilt, and is placed against the west wall of the porch. The inscription merely enumerates the persons interred there, amongst whom are Sir Nicholas Carew, K. G. his wife Elizabeth, his daughter Mary, and her husband Sir Arthur Darcy. The arms and quarterings of the Darcys and Carews are almost obliterated with white paint, which has disfigured the whole monument.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNooKdqf_KHdgO6Fq_DU4Ooir4eeDpS5upRoKcYMXxb6r3t3wA-iRp3ZhQNlIFgW1rADceDJLtABs11SxjDGghny0ErCuyFOVlUN2uYtm7HWmmeOno6iq4JjteGvVyJSUGbOV1KkD9ug/s1600/detail1210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNooKdqf_KHdgO6Fq_DU4Ooir4eeDpS5upRoKcYMXxb6r3t3wA-iRp3ZhQNlIFgW1rADceDJLtABs11SxjDGghny0ErCuyFOVlUN2uYtm7HWmmeOno6iq4JjteGvVyJSUGbOV1KkD9ug/s1600/detail1210.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a>In 1889, the vicar of the church issued a circular that made its way into antiquarian magazines of the day, <i>An Appeal to the Descendants of Lord Darcy of the North and Sir Nicholas Carew </i>to help restore the monument and put it in a more suitable location than the church's porch.<br />
<br />
It appears the appeals were successful, for the marble monument is now mounted in the church, stripped of any layers of offending paint, though this restoration appears to have removed all traces of the painted quarterings, as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-39488840949828902572015-01-05T00:00:00.000-05:002015-01-05T00:00:01.104-05:00An Interview with Chase Lowell, Author of "Seducing Anne"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JcMa7b9airhrmsD7ecdYdVnuDEWVMFS98aXc2NtAIg5oJ7vPeiRJ6J9Q0iQnUwkHLf0dRm8ScbkzUfwy5DjX491yF2CYTAaqcV0WNS49KTDrtpMOOUap_l9GrqF1of1CuoIzyPAeHsE/s1600/annebolyen10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JcMa7b9airhrmsD7ecdYdVnuDEWVMFS98aXc2NtAIg5oJ7vPeiRJ6J9Q0iQnUwkHLf0dRm8ScbkzUfwy5DjX491yF2CYTAaqcV0WNS49KTDrtpMOOUap_l9GrqF1of1CuoIzyPAeHsE/s1600/annebolyen10.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Anne Boleyn is probably one of the most written-about women of history. She's been a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/anne-boleyn-most-slandered-woman-in.html">villain</a> to some, a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-home-wrecker.html">home-wrecking</a> temptress. To others, she's a tragic heroine, an early proto-feminist, a champion of education and religious reform. She's been the subject of biography, film, and fiction, all of which have helped she our image of her and her short reign.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXHWDJ0/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GXHWDJ0&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXTEqdT0L2uMOVa9FvMlWswL5_QzYp2Zxw-N4q-8hFOBX41N5EkrPMZlEG4jBeJf2E5k6bAtHoBvToWWPq_GyE3di2f6XDIkHB1xhOLPVGVTyS0o1doPr7C3P62jJf702gQmStzs2qEI/s1600/Seducing+Anne+imprint+cover+(2).jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Recently, I got the opportunity to speak with <a href="http://chanselowell.blogspot.com/">Chanse Lowell</a>, author of a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXHWDJ0/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GXHWDJ0&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">novel</a> on Anne Boleyn that explores her character from a different approach.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I had to find out more about Chanse and why she decided to write about Anne from this perspective.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
.¸¸•.¸¸.•´¯`• (¯`•♔•´¯)•´¯`•.¸¸.•.¸¸.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">First and foremost, why Anne Boleyn? What led you to your interest in this particular historical figure as the heroine of your <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXHWDJ0/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GXHWDJ0&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">SHROAG</a></i> novel?</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I’ve been fascinated with Anne Boleyn for my entire adulthood, mostly because I’m a diehard romantic, and there is no other romantic story in history that speaks to me the way Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn does. They had a very intense, passionate relationship that was explosive, and because of that, it’s probably why it didn’t last long once they married. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to him and argue, when no one else would.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">She must have been incredibly charming to find that balance. Henry hated being thwarted, yet this woman managed to tell him “no” yet avoid his anger. She wasn’t traditionally beautiful, so it had to be her personal <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/was-anne-boleyn-bitch.html">charm</a>, intellect and grace that held his attention for so long.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5v35V2ICqGGuefv6cLrUXm4iGyiRE4vdQZl-rlkALezsNB-mWvjjVYaV49o81qBzXA6MfA2F9uxCtvMyY54h8kAP3FfpByCwwAbRWADALe69-BTSERHtKfcKfdw8AhN3lN7FM99BKcM/s1600/detail201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5v35V2ICqGGuefv6cLrUXm4iGyiRE4vdQZl-rlkALezsNB-mWvjjVYaV49o81qBzXA6MfA2F9uxCtvMyY54h8kAP3FfpByCwwAbRWADALe69-BTSERHtKfcKfdw8AhN3lN7FM99BKcM/s1600/detail201.jpg" height="275" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: You’re exactly right. She was the exact opposite of what was considered beautiful in the Tudor court. They looked for milky white skin, blonde or red hair, blue eyes. Most of Henry VIII’s wives fit that description, including Catherine of Aragon. Most people think because she was from Spain she had an olive complexion and dark hair and eyes, but Catherine was a redhead, with pale skin and blue eyes. Anne was the exact opposite—long dark hair, black eyes, olive complexion and thin and tall. Most women of that age were fairly plump, or voluptuous as I like to call it since I fit in that category. <br />
<br />
I’m sure Anne caught Henry’s attention at first simply because she looked so different and stood out, but yes, ultimately, it was her charm and intellect that held his favor and attention for so long. And because he was enamored of her, she was able to find ways to say no and stand her ground.<br />
<br />
That’s the stuff true romance is built off of—strong character, wit, charm, integrity and passion. She had it all.<br />
<br />
It’s the romance of the ages to me because who else waited 7 years for a woman, being completely celibate during that time, then took on the Church of Rome? That was next to impossible, since the Catholic Church in those days was actually the supreme power in the land, not the king. On top of all that, he then created his own religion. He almost destroyed his country to have her. If that’s not a deep love, then I don’t know what is.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQB11V4RdWY_g3FEo7lkA-yOWqp6MUF1_wW_z7b_sE_nqnD6ghjy4cN-0D2DViFfWuFP_4gDwuwtsxZ9Di_ehP1qUQRergRmtqMXd89STA4FZT-8z7-UXaL8DGtqnsu7EydBFzMDjrhqA/s1600/detail1398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQB11V4RdWY_g3FEo7lkA-yOWqp6MUF1_wW_z7b_sE_nqnD6ghjy4cN-0D2DViFfWuFP_4gDwuwtsxZ9Di_ehP1qUQRergRmtqMXd89STA4FZT-8z7-UXaL8DGtqnsu7EydBFzMDjrhqA/s1600/detail1398.jpg" height="320" width="264" /></a></div>
<br />
I’ve also always felt like both Henry and Anne are completely misunderstood. She was a visionary and way ahead of her time. She inspired Henry to do so many amazing things during his time with her as his queen, that it would take pages and pages to talk about. And because of her influence, we have the King James Version of the Bible today, because Henry made that happen. He’s had a direct impact on Christianity in our day in a huge way. I actually admire him immensely, though you wouldn’t know it in my <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXHWDJ0/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GXHWDJ0&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">SHROAG</a></i> novels, since he’s made to be the villain in them, even though I see him as anything but in real life. It was fun to write him that way, though, and go with how society sees him.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">My opinion on Henry differs. I was criticized when I said in a <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=459942617458770&set=pb.100003291083440.-2207520000.1420246190.&type=3&theater">Readers Digest</a></i> article that I believed Henry fit the profile of a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/the-real.html">sociopath</a>.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000;">But I agree with you in one respect: he had more impact on Christianity more than almost anyone in history. I believe it was Anne who was the driving force behind most of the religious changes. Henry made it happen, but it was Anne’s faith that was the guiding force. I remember that in the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-in-tower.html">Tower</a>, she said she wished she had her bishops to go to the king and vouch for her. (But, of course, they didn’t. Everyone was too afraid.) She was the one who set up the new reformed church, the backbone of the Reformation.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvfOZtNac80QwXI0UHOFSb1OCQw2l-IySRBuZ8o549Vjs2pOZaVjDjlwrOK7gUxZ07ZDVm56udq7E8RtZ1fNu_jIZZs4SydgAqTK6xh5WCZa5M4sxpCqFi6ZLVMucICBgxrVD7vHB-Z8/s1600/detail1649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvfOZtNac80QwXI0UHOFSb1OCQw2l-IySRBuZ8o549Vjs2pOZaVjDjlwrOK7gUxZ07ZDVm56udq7E8RtZ1fNu_jIZZs4SydgAqTK6xh5WCZa5M4sxpCqFi6ZLVMucICBgxrVD7vHB-Z8/s1600/detail1649.jpg" height="257" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Yes, she was behind all of it. Without her influence, there is no way Henry would’ve ever bucked the system. He wouldn’t have had her guidance, her faith to give him the strength to do it. <br />
<br />
And you’re not alone in thinking him a sociopath. Most people I’ve encountered believe that as well. I’m probably the only one that thinks of him otherwise. Which is why I write about him so much. In fact, I just took a college course on creative writing and I wrote a short story about him being the good guy and how Anne’s death came about. I got an A on it and the teacher enjoyed it quite a bit as a fresh take on what could have happened.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I’m glad your teacher was so open-minded and willing to explore alternate viewpoints on history. Though we may disagree, there should always be room for open discussion and debate. Challenging established viewpoints can be difficult.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ppVM3j-LDZiYskLpputWQYHn6kmFSvWprCe8lz-iwN7M9YGRFxg1KL6lWWgnhppV-kuhZBDARHyaHQsU65uQHiHsMXhGhyeuW06ZFyuD9xiDWmgu9C-B1e-EOdNFanREwafrn2EhHwo/s1600/detail1591.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ppVM3j-LDZiYskLpputWQYHn6kmFSvWprCe8lz-iwN7M9YGRFxg1KL6lWWgnhppV-kuhZBDARHyaHQsU65uQHiHsMXhGhyeuW06ZFyuD9xiDWmgu9C-B1e-EOdNFanREwafrn2EhHwo/s1600/detail1591.png" height="320" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">I’ll admit, I had a struggle with seeing Anne Boleyn as a character in an erotic novel, because of my established viewpoint of her. Engaging in this discussion with you has challenged me to push past those self-imposed boundaries of how I see her as a woman, and as a sexual being. Because she wasn’t a bloodless paragon – she was human, a sensual, passionate woman with her own needs and desires. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Tudors certainly weren’t prudish like the Victorians. They believed a woman had to orgasm in order to conceive. And so Anne’s desires would have been a very important aspect of their relationship.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So, what was it that sparked the idea for the series?</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Well, my idea for the series hit me when I wondered what might have happened if this magnificent woman had actually lived? What other kinds of influence would she have had? What would another man feel about her if he fell in love with her? How would it have changed history, since in some ways, I believe she was the key, or the turning point in history for Western Culture. Her daughter Elizabeth was responsible for a creative time in history that gave rise to Shakespeare, who is largely responsible for our English language today. So, then I thought, what if Anne had lived and bore more children? What kind of influence would they have had as well? Clearly, this was a very powerful woman, and it’s no wonder that she had so many enemies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqALIAyEYJuMzv0ItRgbe7zIfNodutw8FqsgvbWElvztmAp0gHfuLNe4zVQ2tjrG6CKpLuOjw8wvTU3hV73eyF_3gBiSHv2G-iX3lbcZKuRUanuBEsJBBUCRH5ky4W4j1xeYLehSUw7A/s1600/detail1245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqALIAyEYJuMzv0ItRgbe7zIfNodutw8FqsgvbWElvztmAp0gHfuLNe4zVQ2tjrG6CKpLuOjw8wvTU3hV73eyF_3gBiSHv2G-iX3lbcZKuRUanuBEsJBBUCRH5ky4W4j1xeYLehSUw7A/s1600/detail1245.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">It makes for amazing speculation. If the baby in 1536 would have survived… How would the entire reformation have been different? Especially if Queen Mary never had the chance to try to set back the clock.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary is an interesting character, too… How does your Anne feel about her stepdaughter? Is she ever able to make any progress with her?</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<u>Chanse</u>: I don’t actually show Mary in the novel. There simply wasn’t time in the first novel since it was centered around Anne leaving Henry, escaping and giving birth to Elizabeth, which in the end is not Henry’s after all, but Guy Moore’s. I may have Mary show up in book 2, but I haven’t decided yet. From most of the research I have read, when Mary was little she wasn’t at court a whole lot because she was raised in her own separate household, so most of Anne’s contact with her would’ve been at holidays, or big events. I imagine Anne as a loving, caring mother because she tried so hard to always be a good Christian woman. In my mind, she cared about Mary, but because she wasn’t around her much she wouldn’t have had a deep connection with her as a mother/daughter relationship should be.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLe17vX64zsqP24UVxYbdS6_Fq7xCpAwFja3XpbxYD9pjpOoDrbukHbJmhSDBg0o-Hbr8zdUzf9FjfDvDEGyo_BGsgSUeLGNuYYit4fp4PEtx-gZlz-FaR3xMb-BlIwggTAq_VxaUZTU/s1600/detail919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLe17vX64zsqP24UVxYbdS6_Fq7xCpAwFja3XpbxYD9pjpOoDrbukHbJmhSDBg0o-Hbr8zdUzf9FjfDvDEGyo_BGsgSUeLGNuYYit4fp4PEtx-gZlz-FaR3xMb-BlIwggTAq_VxaUZTU/s1600/detail919.jpg" height="320" width="279" /></a></div>
<br />
You do bring up a good point though, on what would have happened if that <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/january-29-1536-anne-boleyns-final.html">baby in 1536</a> had survived? Yes, I believe the reformation would have been affected. I believe Mary would’ve gone to war with that sibling to establish her own reign, and I believe she would’ve failed, causing even more bloodshed than she already had. It would’ve been brutal. And I think the reformation would have been a lot shakier and the church of England would have struggled a lot longer to take root and set down a firm foundation.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">You mentioned on your blog that viewers of the <i>Tudors</i> television series sometimes felt like they wanted to save Anne. I know when I was writing my book, I had the same temptation, because I would have loved to write a happy ending for her. Did you form an emotional attachment to Anne?</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Very much so. I identify with her in so many ways, because she’s passionate, intelligent, strong and resilient. I also see her as an alpha submissive, so I feel very attached to her, especially since that’s who I am in the BDSM lifestyle. I think she was very submissive to her husband, yet she had such a strong moral character she couldn’t ever let injustices happen while she stood by, so that’s when she would stand up and say something. I believe she knew when to speak up and when to hold her tongue. The sad part is that in the very end she lost that and lost her way. It was her own mouth that got her in trouble and sealed her fate. But at that point, she was depressed and had lost hope, feeling like a failure after miscarrying twice and knowing very well her duty was to provide a male heir. What woman in her day wouldn’t be crushed after promising this man for 7 years she would absolutely give him a son since Catherine, his first wife, failed at that? And here she was, failing at it, too. It would be devastating, so because of that, she lost faith and acted out. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDc-VUet6BRKKftJcQ_QJ3TPc-a7NIShC3-oydVIXBfDHLFc7Cz5pyh9O78Siw3Av_c67bkX46Z4aG62d3UipcSWfkgWCnENs5zuC2xNJTUswb-5rNs69d5NIwA3ArSl1AuQTupkohUs/s1600/detail1377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDc-VUet6BRKKftJcQ_QJ3TPc-a7NIShC3-oydVIXBfDHLFc7Cz5pyh9O78Siw3Av_c67bkX46Z4aG62d3UipcSWfkgWCnENs5zuC2xNJTUswb-5rNs69d5NIwA3ArSl1AuQTupkohUs/s1600/detail1377.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I think both Anne and Henry began their marriage believing they were blessed by God. Anne felt she’d been raised to this position by the lord to reform the Church, and Henry believed he would finally get his son. I believe their happiest period was between January and September 1533 – right after their marriage when Anne discovered she had become pregnant so quickly. During those short few months, everything must have seemed charmed.<br /><br />I think when Elizabeth was born instead of that expected boy, it badly shook Henry’s <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/09/henry-and-anne-what-went-wrong.html">faith</a> in the idea their union was ordained by heaven itself. He rallied, saying it was no matter because the next one would be a boy, but he was shaken to his core. And then came the loss of the next two babies…</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduh5AYRm0AewWVLGZrwmcbrOULGX2sDDQHME-3L7s3Wt4qPETpRRUiwkgqhjtdifT8nPw18i-AqFfJCIY2QTCVs-hxxoZ42VJCrQdpeM3Gv7G-UcQBbfnAziBYmJp7FgyFmCuFqvy7n8/s1600/detail589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduh5AYRm0AewWVLGZrwmcbrOULGX2sDDQHME-3L7s3Wt4qPETpRRUiwkgqhjtdifT8nPw18i-AqFfJCIY2QTCVs-hxxoZ42VJCrQdpeM3Gv7G-UcQBbfnAziBYmJp7FgyFmCuFqvy7n8/s1600/detail589.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And for Anne, it had to be crushing, because, as she once said to Henry, she saw children as life’s greatest consolation. As a gentlewoman, her duty was to marry well, which she had, and to produce heirs, at which she failed. I’m sure the poor woman was bewildered as to why this was happening to her when everything had started with such promise.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I agree completely, and I think is when she had nothing left to lose and she stopped caring. She became resentful and bitter, and her tongue got away from her. It was her mouth that sealed her fate. If she hadn’t been making fun of Henry behind his back with her friends and her brother, she probably would’ve have gone on to be his queen a lot longer. And most likely she would’ve produced that son he so desperately wanted.<br />
<br />
What most people don’t understand about this time period and the pressure Anne was under, and Henry as well—up to this point no woman had ever ruled England (gives a new perspective on how amazing it is that his and Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth I, ruled as long as she did on her own—that had never happened before). It was always a King, not a queen to reign supreme. Henry wanted to avoid another 100 years war that had taken place not too long before his reign. He wanted peace and stability, and the only way to guarantee that there would no future bickering over the throne was to have an heir.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMFRC9HlTRcQSpdKVF3aMojUD4GYYiESH7zeXzq29_Ie9xMu_EeHTW7hGclTfLysvUZ15R41xbUIUeSioUyKQ-q1m68vgP8SzlMMGsgZGwl_b18yRv3bxWVLl-_O0UfPrYhRZ7pUrgAk/s1600/detail17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMFRC9HlTRcQSpdKVF3aMojUD4GYYiESH7zeXzq29_Ie9xMu_EeHTW7hGclTfLysvUZ15R41xbUIUeSioUyKQ-q1m68vgP8SzlMMGsgZGwl_b18yRv3bxWVLl-_O0UfPrYhRZ7pUrgAk/s1600/detail17.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And he knew firsthand one son was not enough. His brother Arthur was meant to be king, not Henry. He wasn’t actually raised to take the throne. He was basically the spare, throw away child. But Arthur got the sweating sickness at 15 years old, just after marrying Catherine of Aragon, and he died. Catherine survived the illness miraculously. Henry suddenly had to take on the role of future king as the younger brother. So, he knew from his own experience, if his parents had not had 2 sons, England would’ve been in a state of chaos over who the next king should be when his father died.<br />
<br />
The other underlying fact that scared Henry VIII to death about not having a male heir was that his family’s original claim to the throne was very weak. They didn’t have much to stand on, but it was really given to his father, Henry VII, at the battle of Bosworth against King Richard III because Richard was despised by his people due to the belief that he had secretly murdered and hidden the bodies of his two prince nephews who were actually in line for the throne above him. Richard’s army turned against him in this battle and joined Henry’s forces, virtually giving Henry the crown and making him King because they hated Richard so much.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRSRGA58K7PTARwoKG3HWTi_IoqMfn2LS9xesrTandz1VA5nCFdX5pohWlw4eLxBGT9S8xjnRAI3bw3J7vkHmdeithCVlf6xYTqyKYpDvWWdjx54g0DJl03OPYcky4Bqo7otqPhWrh2U/s1600/detail1406.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRSRGA58K7PTARwoKG3HWTi_IoqMfn2LS9xesrTandz1VA5nCFdX5pohWlw4eLxBGT9S8xjnRAI3bw3J7vkHmdeithCVlf6xYTqyKYpDvWWdjx54g0DJl03OPYcky4Bqo7otqPhWrh2U/s1600/detail1406.png" height="320" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
Henry VIII wanted to solidify this dynasty so there would be long standing peace. Anne knew all this as well, so there was a ton of pressure on her to produce male babies to keep things stable in the kingdom for now and later.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Have you encountered history buffs who are offended or outraged that you’ve written Anne the way you have? I know I’ve encountered some heated arguments and very strong opinions about the historical figures I wrote about. I think it ties in to that emotional attachment we sometimes form with these people, or at least our interpretation of these people.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<u>Chanse</u>: Oddly enough, no, I haven’t. I kept thinking I’d get bashed like crazy because of it and get irate messages, but none ever came. I tend to get more of that when I write Henry the way I see him—as the good guy who was cornered into killing her and under tremendous pressure, being manipulated and backstabbed by his so called loyal advisers.<br />
<br />
Most people feel bad for Anne and they sympathize with her, so really, I’m playing on that emotion that people already tend to have for her.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjej1H7Aqz5nCnVopHb1-_ccsPkf3fnZTTCoYbJ1GmDXY1c_OX9f-VsljihZwWLHfSsft1Mj-7JiwBMNekTCyMlnKgGrMOhPtfUm35fKQt80tqtNWRoR76TiRr3EQEIZZL6fDWenhPPZzc/s1600/detail1265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjej1H7Aqz5nCnVopHb1-_ccsPkf3fnZTTCoYbJ1GmDXY1c_OX9f-VsljihZwWLHfSsft1Mj-7JiwBMNekTCyMlnKgGrMOhPtfUm35fKQt80tqtNWRoR76TiRr3EQEIZZL6fDWenhPPZzc/s1600/detail1265.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I’ve encountered some people who are hostile to her. Some people essentially believe she was a home-wrecker who deserved what she got, and that she was vicious to Katharine and Mary. Fiction has had an enormous impact in that regard.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Do you think your readers will walk away seeing her in a new light?</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<u>Chanse</u>: I hope so. I hope they see her for the innovative, inspired woman that she was. She never chased after the throne. Henry pursued her, but I can see why people might think she was a home-wrecker.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Some people seem to credit her with a sort of supernatural foresight, like she knew from the outset his flirtation with her would end with her sitting on the throne. “<i>I’ll bewitch the king with my charms, and I’ll refuse to become his mistress. This will inflame him with wild desire and make him even more determined to have me (even though he’s always courteously backed off when a lady refused him in the past). He’ll leave his wife for me - even though such a thing has never happened before. You’ll see. Ignoring him is only the first step in my very complex plan for taking the throne!</i>”<br /><br />It’s preposterous, but this is the notion that has stuck in some people’s minds. This idea that she was a creature of raw, ruthless ambition is one of the hardest myths about her to dispel. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScOk4rARN-jOvSFPs5A9cB7nkTeuSK2YMl5QdXG_9QvHaxXFd3jqW0kSqs_AP-mZnxVFQdw_x1Soaasv-abaQuFCU7mAfBmVXzar7zUjuPeTuWI00E82cdODu3hqE0nhsIKZHzq7eVjY/s1600/detail121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScOk4rARN-jOvSFPs5A9cB7nkTeuSK2YMl5QdXG_9QvHaxXFd3jqW0kSqs_AP-mZnxVFQdw_x1Soaasv-abaQuFCU7mAfBmVXzar7zUjuPeTuWI00E82cdODu3hqE0nhsIKZHzq7eVjY/s1600/detail121.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I agree, that this was not the case at all, yet many people believe this of her. She did not seek his advances or plot to ensnare him. She had another man she was in love with and wanted a future with. <br />
<br />
Actually, I do have to point out that the idea he would leave his wife is very plausible because Henry’s sister had obtained a divorce very easily and so had other royal family members. It was a shock to Henry that he had to fight so hard for his divorce from Catherine. He clearly fully expected a divorce to be simple to obtain. Or at least simpler than it turned out being, so that idea of him divorcing Catherine wasn’t as foreign as we believe it was. The divorce was more of a political/religious statement by the Church to ensure their authority and ultimate power.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CjvOFAHLOCebk3UTTMcBTGA7MW2sMyxJxy87ZBQBGQrgzzNy_1Y1YDzUMhbCra-yfYtC_q7Hg8VuuQdbDlX9smxgZWcuUNaB9ZZq7zzFlqafYj9uOMBPlptgKlkCm7qDQe20JezQFls/s1600/detail1614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CjvOFAHLOCebk3UTTMcBTGA7MW2sMyxJxy87ZBQBGQrgzzNy_1Y1YDzUMhbCra-yfYtC_q7Hg8VuuQdbDlX9smxgZWcuUNaB9ZZq7zzFlqafYj9uOMBPlptgKlkCm7qDQe20JezQFls/s1600/detail1614.jpg" height="320" width="119" /></a></div>
<br />
Anne deserves much more credit than she receives. She had a great impact on more than religion. She changed the way a lot of the entire country was run in terms of fresh water supply, delivery of it and sanitation. She was odd in her day because she bathed daily, and that was considered a way to open the pores of the skin and let in disease. She also influenced architecture, music, fashion and a whole myriad of other issues. It’s incredible that a woman who was only married to him for 3 years did that much. It’s no wonder Elizabeth was such a fabulous queen—she took after both her parents. It was in her blood to be intelligent, wise, thoughtful, and creative. Her country flourished because of her influence.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Those things are often ignored in the “bitchy” portrayals of her, as is her generous charity. In fact, she might have been targeted by Cromwell because of her heated arguments with him that the money from the dissolved monasteries should go to building schools instead of into the king’s treasury.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: You’ve hit it right on the head. Cromwell was skimming off the top and a thief. Anne threatened what he was doing, so he was directly responsible for her downfall.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7KDFYC-u_xLkLkYv5pHw9qqvBSaF6pHm0Gz26ezj04p4Gf3bPegb7u-eAfI3NNKepSmfTMHSptWeRG7piUxX2RxX0sb0JJMRwlxf_oQtqL9JfEKktCpGuvXVrAYaJdofzMyPkOE12c4/s1600/detail1621.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7KDFYC-u_xLkLkYv5pHw9qqvBSaF6pHm0Gz26ezj04p4Gf3bPegb7u-eAfI3NNKepSmfTMHSptWeRG7piUxX2RxX0sb0JJMRwlxf_oQtqL9JfEKktCpGuvXVrAYaJdofzMyPkOE12c4/s1600/detail1621.png" height="124" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">How did you research the historical aspects of the novel? </span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I have been studying them both for years, so I just dusted off a few books, but mostly my main source is the Anne Boleyn files online by Claire Ridgeway, and her book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00797QXB2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theancom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00797QXB2">The Anne Boleyn Collection</a></i>. She’s the only one I’ve found that I agree with 100% on who Anne actually was. Claire is a wealth of knowledge and dedicates much of her time to unearthing facts about Anne Boleyn and sharing what she finds. I have nothing but respect for her as an author and as an Anne Boleyn historian. I have various other resources I rely on heavily as well, but she’s the main one. Claire’s a godsend if you’re an Anne Boleyn fan and want to write about her or anyone she had contact with regularly in court.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AaYUU5zCE8tP3ihNgW3qmWY2eqFkK4i_M7Yk7kmU_qFOEqQ3s3rhjUDtu2C-aofb0fhXHVribAr3GUrs-7nCEeF0DFG_lIr6bJ_sCv2dkIcbRNThG76247J86levQ3fzvYUUMAmOgss/s1600/detail1260.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AaYUU5zCE8tP3ihNgW3qmWY2eqFkK4i_M7Yk7kmU_qFOEqQ3s3rhjUDtu2C-aofb0fhXHVribAr3GUrs-7nCEeF0DFG_lIr6bJ_sCv2dkIcbRNThG76247J86levQ3fzvYUUMAmOgss/s1600/detail1260.png" height="320" width="250" /></a><u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I love <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/about/claire-ridgway/">Claire Ridgeway</a>! She has such an interesting blog.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The internet has been an amazing resource because all of these documents are now online and can be read as though you were there in person.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: It definitely makes it much less time consuming when there are fabulous websites like hers around with the facts there at a writer’s fingertips.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Considering that so many people learn about history from fiction, did you feel any pressure to get the details right?</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<u>Chanse</u>: Yes, I always take the historical facts very seriously, feeling pressured, and I always try to avoid twisting facts around if I can help it. If I do change them, I make sure to note it at the end of the novel so my readers know where I took liberties. <br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">You sound like me! When I submitted my manuscript, I had sixty pages of notes at the end. My publisher coaxed me into trimming out most of them. (“<i>Really, Lissa, do we need a full bio of a character mentioned only twice in the whole novel</i>?”) The material that came out became my Tudor blog. I can be as wordy and nerdy as I like there.<br /><br />Did you run in to any of those issues when you were going through the editing process?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGV1daPz5zzchUQ85m2uOTPhDg2tSnY6PWHncTnc7HUcSBhIsBaZiwrSQG0dcXj6Us65zpFefOETusFOr9Mp62wtAfrtzOu1hM0XI9dyaxdLRbu8-KUy-QkXP9fP8ZV9C7XdLK83AAy0/s1600/detail1955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGV1daPz5zzchUQ85m2uOTPhDg2tSnY6PWHncTnc7HUcSBhIsBaZiwrSQG0dcXj6Us65zpFefOETusFOr9Mp62wtAfrtzOu1hM0XI9dyaxdLRbu8-KUy-QkXP9fP8ZV9C7XdLK83AAy0/s1600/detail1955.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I have tons and tons of notes, where I too, could write a whole new novel just on the research I did. But no. I kept my notes short so my reader’s didn’t have to wade through a lot of info. I knew most of them weren’t going to avid Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII fans like I am.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">That was something I really struggled with in the novel, because I had these lengthy explanation sections and my editor kept trying to gently nudge me back to the realm of fiction. I have a tendency to get wrapped up in this stuff and go off on tangents. It’s just so fascinating! But I know a lot of people are like, “<i>Yes, yes, Lissa… no one cares how Henry VIII’s bathtub worked.</i>”</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Haha! But I do. I loved knowing about the garderobe and how he was one of the first people ever to develop a hot shower. He was revolutionary in so many ways, and with modern day conveniences we take for granted on a daily basis. I also found it fascinating that his toilet seat was covered in red velvet. Wow. That would the life, right? Sitting on a plush, padded velvet toilet seat? Not to mention he had someone to wipe his said tushy afterward. I think I might pass on that part, though. Lol!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2a1hQtWnz4fO-xf-qmw30Eumf02DAx2fwh1WUVESlva2oCkATSK5L1i7xs-CcizmQQw0e8tJgnJMHpl3FUjv1FU_CRpmG3tCScaHyw0AvemlR3H-9orJ1Ep4avkerldIX0aVKEMP5RSA/s1600/detail2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2a1hQtWnz4fO-xf-qmw30Eumf02DAx2fwh1WUVESlva2oCkATSK5L1i7xs-CcizmQQw0e8tJgnJMHpl3FUjv1FU_CRpmG3tCScaHyw0AvemlR3H-9orJ1Ep4avkerldIX0aVKEMP5RSA/s1600/detail2000.jpg" height="320" width="88" /></a></div>
<br />
I’m in the same boat, though, Lissa. No one wants to hear me wax on about how he cleaned out the moats around his palaces and refused to let the kitchen staff dump refuse in the moats any longer, changed the plumbing from the latrines to empty into the Thames instead of into the moats to cut down on disease and pestilence and the horrific odor. He stocked the moats with fish and made sure the water source was kept clean. Then I have to explain to people this was why the river was so nasty because it was their sewer essentially. It stunk to high heaven, was brown in color, and Henry had to burn herbs and incense while on his royal barges and wear herbs on his person to deal with the putrid stench. But hey, people in court were not getting sick as often as they used to. See how genius he was and how he suffered for his people while traveling? <br />
<br />
I find facts like these absolutely thrilling! It tickles my geek nerve in a huge way.<br />
<br />
I would never want to be accused of teaching false history and having people believe made up stuff to be fact. It’s one of the reasons Philippa Gregory has gotten such flack for her book <i>The Other Boleyn Girl</i>—she took speculation on Mary Boleyn and passed it off as fact. She also did the same with George, their brother. That being said, I still enjoyed reading <i>The Other Boleyn Girl</i>, merely for the interesting story and excellent writing style.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEnSD6aNnyCNUcfntKdoqSf5QVAY5xi2KuQBuDI1-Fvf8B_L6Bg1bQvSmGw65kVo7W1_RrfzDnWEah8JfsV5etsSj5TG1yX0k0FOaCAdiAa2pdLXIlasdM51m4LUQuDqEeKIeYh2lAng/s1600/detail1205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEnSD6aNnyCNUcfntKdoqSf5QVAY5xi2KuQBuDI1-Fvf8B_L6Bg1bQvSmGw65kVo7W1_RrfzDnWEah8JfsV5etsSj5TG1yX0k0FOaCAdiAa2pdLXIlasdM51m4LUQuDqEeKIeYh2lAng/s1600/detail1205.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I tried to stress that I’m a fiction author, and I’m not claiming to be a historian - just someone who loves history. And the great thing about history is that there’s room for multiple interpretations and it leads to some great discussions.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I try to do the same thing as well. Especially when I write Henry as I see him—as the good guy. When I present him that way I make sure people know this is merely my interpretation of the facts and my way of filling in some of the holes.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">BDSM is an interesting topic to explore in the context of the Tudor era, when women were expected to be submissive to men, and physical discipline of one’s spouse was considered to be spiritually beneficial. How does your male lead feel that he fits in with the culture of the era? </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdc8kXqSaFU5CTtwESliDKq2WeQdGgbazTCcOW02FANtPfXzjrkCPtsM7fonf0g_YIMVuss6n7wZGXydGwl0FFIvMQUZYOsF2gx8D5usnoUbBEGxj1dQwNEAw4rdsyGfsfnBh5nASrhIA/s1600/detail1454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdc8kXqSaFU5CTtwESliDKq2WeQdGgbazTCcOW02FANtPfXzjrkCPtsM7fonf0g_YIMVuss6n7wZGXydGwl0FFIvMQUZYOsF2gx8D5usnoUbBEGxj1dQwNEAw4rdsyGfsfnBh5nASrhIA/s1600/detail1454.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I wrote Guy Moore as a Dom, trained and experienced enough he could mentor and teach other SHROAG agents how to be one as well. He has a different mindset than most of the other agents who take the easy way out. He wants to explore the women he has to bed. He wants to takes his time to know them, learn what turns them on so he can seduce them, then impregnate them. His theory is that if the woman falls for him and is loyal to him, they are less likely to miscarry and lose the baby. The other agents basically drugged the historical women they had to get pregnant and then just did what we’d basically call Invitro. <br />
<br />
He fits in perfectly with the time period because he’s charismatic, cunning, suave, and in control of himself in all ways… Until he meets Anne. She stirs him up like no one else ever has, and we get to see him flounder a bit because she gets to him. A Dom would fit into the Tudor era perfectly. (By the way, I believe Henry VIII was absolutely a natural untrained Dom—no question in my mind…)<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Very interesting! I never really thought of him that way, but I certainly can see that aspect of his character.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Does submission come naturally to your Anne?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwM4UaRXzQJavUb3sE22SHyN1HHRCcPby6NG5o34nFbYbuRg2HDKtaLOa1MMqMbnhtwgpwy7wjKnMHKjSGQoHE7SrUSihY7HAKBDg2oS8M89NB8azUdYS4_mbqrLSFQ6FMB9818bz9rk/s1600/detail2317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwM4UaRXzQJavUb3sE22SHyN1HHRCcPby6NG5o34nFbYbuRg2HDKtaLOa1MMqMbnhtwgpwy7wjKnMHKjSGQoHE7SrUSihY7HAKBDg2oS8M89NB8azUdYS4_mbqrLSFQ6FMB9818bz9rk/s1600/detail2317.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Yes, submission comes completely naturally to my Anne. She doesn’t have to think about it, she just does it. It’s who she is. If you look at history, almost everything this woman ever did was to please Henry, unless she felt he was asking her to do something that would offend God. For example, being his mistress. She would never do that. But everything else she did was to please him and for the good of the country. Many people believe she had her own agenda, but that’s not really what the facts point to. The fact she actually turned to Catherine of Aragon for advice on how to spurn Henry’s advances, which most people are unaware that these two women were ever on good terms at all, shows she cared deeply for him and felt a sense of honor and duty to him. A submissive woman takes into account the Dom’s well-being because she wants to serve only him. She wants to nurture him, take care of him, make his life better and make him as happy as possible in all ways. So, even though it seems counter to his happiness to seek out Catherine’s help, it’s in fact all for him. She worried for his soul, and in the long run, that’s the happiness that mattered to her most.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Obedience was something she was trained to her entire life, as all girls were of the era. Do you think if she was raised in our modern era she would still have the same submissiveness to her temperament, or do you think it was something that came from the way she was shaped by her upbringing?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgHNiLod24HsmjjAkhjDs-pCx8N0pk971Sg_1bb1yrMLquBi28wyhugGBsBGBsw_l2s3sA7N2NTKAgUr4BJQa8dtAKegUFvd3U9OtSqFFbEuoth5FfHn4Up9QJq2aDWqTGR1ugm8sRUg/s1600/detail1423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgHNiLod24HsmjjAkhjDs-pCx8N0pk971Sg_1bb1yrMLquBi28wyhugGBsBGBsw_l2s3sA7N2NTKAgUr4BJQa8dtAKegUFvd3U9OtSqFFbEuoth5FfHn4Up9QJq2aDWqTGR1ugm8sRUg/s1600/detail1423.jpg" height="320" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
I don’t think it was her upbringing. You can’t teach someone to be a submissive at that level she was. It’s something you either are or you aren’t. Just like you can’t really train a man who isn’t naturally dominant to be a Dom. It just doesn’t work. <br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Certainly. I just wonder if the prevailing attitudes of her day created an environment where her natural submissiveness could flourish, and if she would have had more of a conflict with her nature in the modern day, where submission isn’t necessarily seen as a positive trait by society as it was then.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Yes, it would on both accounts. It’s harder to be a submissive woman in our day because especially in the US we are expected to be out in the working world, totally in charge and independent, not needing a man, and being submissive is looked down and treated as being weak or inferior. In those days, yes, it was expected and the more outwardly meek and submissive a woman was, the more she was regaled and looked up to. Anne is interesting to me because the way she displayed her submissiveness was very different than most around her. She was what we call an alpha submissive. It means she’s a very strong willed personality, and she doesn’t give her submission easily. It has to be earned by going through a lot of rigors and passing tests if you will. Henry did that by the way he fought for her, so her devotion to him was unreal. On a whole new level.<br />
<br />
A good example of what I’m referring to is if you look at the rest of Henry VIII’s wives, with similar backgrounds and upbringings, they didn’t act the way she did—not to the degree she did.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijXfdsEQFNH4OMs8nVE1QZ6YdG5xrLK6tCcjVQeze5taYm4B_1g-K0oap7U9gMW-FyCiO6il0dciIykOkIqKZhlp14WV7fj8t3Pu937ea_acEivWB5miTNK8-CWEFRz31EBhKoPWmDys/s1600/anna+von+keeles+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijXfdsEQFNH4OMs8nVE1QZ6YdG5xrLK6tCcjVQeze5taYm4B_1g-K0oap7U9gMW-FyCiO6il0dciIykOkIqKZhlp14WV7fj8t3Pu937ea_acEivWB5miTNK8-CWEFRz31EBhKoPWmDys/s1600/anna+von+keeles+eyes.jpg" height="110" width="320" /></a><u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Anna von Kleefes, especially. It took Henry about five minutes to discover this was <i>not</i> a woman who was going to suit his temperament!</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000;">What made Henry most unusual was that he had a very modern outlook to romance and relationships. He wanted to be <i>happy</i> and fulfilled and wanted out of his relationships if he wasn’t. I’m sure the court, filled with people who married virtual strangers for status or money and got along the best they could, were utterly bewildered by this attitude.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: They were indeed. He was very odd in that way. You married for political alliances and to further advance your children. He almost slapped people in the face with the way he fought for love and disgraced the women he did not have a connection with. You provided a perfect example of that. He needed a particular kind of submissive woman in addition to having love be a part of the relationship.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSZZMPjmcXaP0eHYKLzf8-36jHSw3qOY9c3NnO77d9jlNPbsqOsao4AT5kEUG7lUAVp-qxnlUCOGYBBkRY4IeWQaemRlN8rnZo9JPzj6Kb00_acxkjtspR6cFjmoXtGUQ1lIC5diEa8A/s1600/detail21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSZZMPjmcXaP0eHYKLzf8-36jHSw3qOY9c3NnO77d9jlNPbsqOsao4AT5kEUG7lUAVp-qxnlUCOGYBBkRY4IeWQaemRlN8rnZo9JPzj6Kb00_acxkjtspR6cFjmoXtGUQ1lIC5diEa8A/s1600/detail21.jpg" height="86" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Even Jane Seymour, who many think of as mousy and completely submissive, did not serve him the way Anne did. She mostly kept to what she knew she ought to do. She was a strong woman in her own right, don’t get me wrong, but there is nothing there to point to her being a submissive in my mind.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I see Jane Seymour as a much more complex woman than she gets credit for being. Yes, she was outwardly obedient, but I think there was a lot more going on behind those downcast eyes than most would suspect. She’s an enigma. She was queen for such a short time, and apparently, people didn’t find her as interesting as Anne and so she wasn’t watched and reported on with the same avidity. But we do get a few glimpses. She had a strong sense of identity and tried to establish herself as Anne’s opposite. She had ambitions of her own, such as trying to reestablish Princess Mary in the king’s favor, and making political suggestions until the king darkly warned her to take notice of what happened to the last woman who meddled in his affairs. She was smart enough to keep her head down after that, and had she lived after her little prince was born, I think she would have established herself more firmly as a political presence in Henry’s court. She was bold and firm, but within the “obedient” framework of Tudor womanhood.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EotuhqjzIa0yg4e8jzG1hP5Nr269p0si4ORh2bShKYot-SMpHqgAUa_dHDEznrmHhAwl4cIj-Bf2yQxrgAQlgvVvy8jW5NH9F3p-DeQhFWEANrZtKvBAhr43ujkrDp_41-Ggz_8t2RQ/s1600/detail1534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EotuhqjzIa0yg4e8jzG1hP5Nr269p0si4ORh2bShKYot-SMpHqgAUa_dHDEznrmHhAwl4cIj-Bf2yQxrgAQlgvVvy8jW5NH9F3p-DeQhFWEANrZtKvBAhr43ujkrDp_41-Ggz_8t2RQ/s1600/detail1534.jpg" height="320" width="129" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: I agree. Jane was a magnificent woman. Very powerful in her own right, intelligent in many ways. She knew exactly how to co-exist in peace and yet find ways to move her own agendas forward.<br />
<br />
I didn’t mean to slight her, only point out that she is not what I would call a submissive in the BDSM sense of the term, but Anne is—absolutely. There’s a difference in how they served, where their attention was at and how they thrived in their roles. They are very opposite in many ways, and Jane does not fit the mold of a Dominant’s submissive the way Anne does. I’m sure there will be many to disagree with me, but I have my reasons for believing this.<br />
<br />
<u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">I’ve always gotten the impression that Henry was somewhat conflicted and frustrated in his desires. Maybe that plays into your theory that he was an untrained dominant, and today, he’d be able to find guidance that would let him express his desires in a healthy way.</span><br />
<br />
<u>Chanse</u>: Yes, that’s exactly what I think. If he had born today, he would not have been conflicted and frustrated at all about his desires. He would have found the means to express what was in his soul in a very healthy way, and he would’ve had the peace he deserved.<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span><u>Lissa</u>: <span style="color: #660000;">Do you intend to write about other historical characters in the<i> SHROAG</i> series?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-i-LdFFz2aPToV_LUfDTwqHSzPOOH6wVPhYW8TYCmlwfjj2a8MLdNPH_yTaz9JOLa9psf_jUsJqCcUbSGCxk7y4DHE-9XG4D7Rjlj5tN0LQ9PcfXSjS_4J-gjoaYrosyEc9FHPlI5Q1w/s1600/detail1443.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-i-LdFFz2aPToV_LUfDTwqHSzPOOH6wVPhYW8TYCmlwfjj2a8MLdNPH_yTaz9JOLa9psf_jUsJqCcUbSGCxk7y4DHE-9XG4D7Rjlj5tN0LQ9PcfXSjS_4J-gjoaYrosyEc9FHPlI5Q1w/s1600/detail1443.png" height="320" width="253" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span>
<u>Chanse</u>: Yes. In fact, in the second book the main character is Nicholas Carew, and we get to see his journey, and how he becomes an active SHROAG agent. He’s a natural Dom as well, but with a very different personality from Guy. Nicholas Carew was Henry VIII’s squire of the king’s body. It was a very coveted position, and it meant you were highly trusted and favored by the king. He was also a very close friend to Henry. His position at court meant he had his constant ear, so Nicholas Carew was a very powerful man in his own right. He was also said to be quite the ladies’ man in his day. He’s another character I have become fascinated with during Henry’s reign, and once again, I wondered what would have happened to his man if he hadn’t been put on trial and beheaded in 1539, three years after Anne.<br />
<br />
There will be more scenes with Elizabeth I along the way, and William Shakespeare may make an appearance as well. I haven’t decided for certain on his involvement in the story yet, since that’s still being worked out in my head. There may be others that pop up from Henry’s court like Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and maybe Anne’s parents and siblings as well. But other than that, there won’t be any other historical figures. I may, however, in book two use current politicians because that story gets involved with American government. But again, I’m still hashing out those details in my head, so I don’t have anyone definitively that I could name.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
.¸¸•.¸¸.•´¯`• (¯`•♔•´¯)•´¯`•.¸¸.•.¸¸.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwY5FzMw16eqCVC338KlRiEn6yMKjEHDkdTPgLOaWt1RAAZ0XBx-E2SmTh_CeoP79z7nOZx18aG35Pf7qmPAX_8_loHc5t5zIaJZ3wrkAaLu3cP4OZaULOozsqE3BhwFnio3cd4UZpZ8/s1600/Chanse+ME+AVI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwY5FzMw16eqCVC338KlRiEn6yMKjEHDkdTPgLOaWt1RAAZ0XBx-E2SmTh_CeoP79z7nOZx18aG35Pf7qmPAX_8_loHc5t5zIaJZ3wrkAaLu3cP4OZaULOozsqE3BhwFnio3cd4UZpZ8/s1600/Chanse+ME+AVI.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;">Chanse Lowell grew up in the desert southwest and still lives there with her children. She’s addicted to five things—her Daddy Dom, learning more about the BDSM lifestyle, reading erotica, writing erotica and sandwiches with a side of erotica to aid with digestion before she’s tied up in black silk ropes and teased endlessly by her Sir. She grew up watching programs with science fiction and historical fiction themes, and enjoys combining her three favorite genres, creating a new breed of novel with scifi, historical and smut sandwiched in the middle.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div align="left" style="font-family: Calibri;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Contact her at:</u></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<strong></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://chanselowell.blogspot.com/">Website</a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/chanse.lowell.1"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Facebook</span></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChanseLowellWrites"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Facebook author page</span></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/ChanseLowell"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Twitter</span></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/ChanseLowell"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Goodreads</span></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<a href="http://amazon.com/author/chanselowell"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Amazon’s author page</span></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GCTRNz3lyB7ZoDUUnG3fzp7bSYllau6NgTVBWka9itB-lBM-YBmk1K0EylLiZE1Lkpw203W_wNhiMuKYaEB8t-pyIJaVx0pbjT_FhvabN4yoFkgoCv1pMx5WGLGO6WYfQrz2lVEbmjk/s1600/Seducing+Anne+imprint+cover+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GCTRNz3lyB7ZoDUUnG3fzp7bSYllau6NgTVBWka9itB-lBM-YBmk1K0EylLiZE1Lkpw203W_wNhiMuKYaEB8t-pyIJaVx0pbjT_FhvabN4yoFkgoCv1pMx5WGLGO6WYfQrz2lVEbmjk/s1600/Seducing+Anne+imprint+cover+(2).jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Buy link for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXHWDJ0/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GXHWDJ0&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Seducing Anne</a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-48016350591546135482014-12-29T22:03:00.000-05:002014-12-29T22:03:39.803-05:00Katharine of Aragon's HeartbreakDespite my obvious love for Anne Boleyn, I admire Katharine of Aragon. She was a woman of strength and courage, willing to suffer for her convictions. Her life was not easy, nor was it particularly happy, but she retained her faith and kindness through it all.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFUaE__xqTEwcxPK3xT9A1PEAHfYabmiQJQD3gb-Z5biE7eTKyXTCdlZJ8Gr2wdql9hKGAzK3W3mgD5o0JOoo_e5Yl6-00ddG2AnCAHkGkR6g2K88xWQDMEP8ryXqD39HZEHHW9u1yBw/s1600/detail45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFUaE__xqTEwcxPK3xT9A1PEAHfYabmiQJQD3gb-Z5biE7eTKyXTCdlZJ8Gr2wdql9hKGAzK3W3mgD5o0JOoo_e5Yl6-00ddG2AnCAHkGkR6g2K88xWQDMEP8ryXqD39HZEHHW9u1yBw/s1600/detail45.jpg" height="137" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Katharine deeply loved Henry VIII - possibly the only one of his wives who did. Hers was a love that grew from adversity, beginning when Henry "rescued" her from the genteel poverty and isolation thrust upon her by her father and father-in-law's bickering over her dowry and maintenance, and persisted through years of heartache and loss.<br /> <br /> Highly educated and pious, Katharine also had a warm, generous heart. She was a champion for female education, spoke five languages, and was the first female ambassador in European history. The English people adored her. She was the perfect Renaissance queen ... in all respects but one.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyhStEkYsE7hW6Nm7aOWaehLKrO-qOqR30BTpzU5w5bya397XHKEgzkuh8h7P6qVAk4YlcapHawUag5Mn8k_Cc-XBoZGyuxS4TAFbsLIkLoYmf09n8woTB_2P3JRqo8xT7IqYIb2lAk0/s1600/detail266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyhStEkYsE7hW6Nm7aOWaehLKrO-qOqR30BTpzU5w5bya397XHKEgzkuh8h7P6qVAk4YlcapHawUag5Mn8k_Cc-XBoZGyuxS4TAFbsLIkLoYmf09n8woTB_2P3JRqo8xT7IqYIb2lAk0/s1600/detail266.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Henry lied and said his father's deathbed wish was that he would wed the Spanish princess. Why? Perhaps he fancied himself in love with Katharine, then at the peak of her beauty. With her strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and flawless pink complexion, Katharine was a stunner. Her downcast eyes hid a sharp intelligence, but her gentle smile revealed her warm and generous heart. The daughter of the "Catholic Kings" of House <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Trast%C3%A1mara">Trastámara</a> was also the perfect bride to help cement the Tudor's shaky claim on the English throne. (Katharine's ancestral claim was actually stronger than Henry's.)<br />
<br />
Sir Thomas More was <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0Y7l11rNrbIC&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=Ah,+but+the+lady!+Take+my+word+for+it,+she+thrilled+the+hearts+of+everyone:+she+possesses+all+those+qualities+that+make+for+beauty+in+a+very+charming+girl&source=bl&ots=tK_zgKkzgn&sig=8bcPRa1DumMScvaDj6krSj77oU0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S76hVKaVF4jfyATai4CgDw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Ah%2C%20but%20the%20lady!%20Take%20my%20word%20for%20it%2C%20she%20thrilled%20the%20hearts%20of%20everyone%3A%20she%20possesses%20all%20those%20qualities%20that%20make%20for%20beauty%20in%20a%20very%20charming%20girl&f=false">enraptured</a> by Katharine when he first met her in 1501, and his esteem for her only grew over the years.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>Ah, but the lady! Take my word for it, she thrilled the hearts of everyone: she possesses all those qualities that make for beauty in a very charming girl. Everywhere she receives the highest of praises; but even that is inadequate.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAj7XB1sdgCSbxvpKD5EbDMYw7g0b9cmFWKSkR8Re-ErsEuCFAMclAofEBlw1CKFV9R-IjOMt5LIR-zm_lfHAk_KUbRi6ekn6D6b3TCrAwlylBTcpMPboBKko3kWDwZqmCysIkO2Xhyphenhyphenc/s1600/detail982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAj7XB1sdgCSbxvpKD5EbDMYw7g0b9cmFWKSkR8Re-ErsEuCFAMclAofEBlw1CKFV9R-IjOMt5LIR-zm_lfHAk_KUbRi6ekn6D6b3TCrAwlylBTcpMPboBKko3kWDwZqmCysIkO2Xhyphenhyphenc/s1600/detail982.jpg" height="174" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
As for Henry, it was no wonder Katharine fell in love with him. At the time, he was considered the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-handsomest-prince-in-christendom.html">handsomest prince in Europe</a>, and like many <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/p/the-real.html">sociopaths</a>, Henry could be extremely charming when he wished. He was musical, athletic, and pious. He was also very playful. Katharine always pretended to be surprised that the highwayman who burst into her chamber demanding to dance with the queen was revealed to be Henry when he took off his mask.<br />
<br />
The marriage seemed like a great success. Henry wrote <a href="http://web.viu.ca/siemensr/Teaching/Engl359-01-Henry.htm#iflove">love ballads</a> to his bride, singing that <em>I love true where I did marry.</em> He wore armor decorated with her initials and her colors tied to his sleeve, riding in the lists under the name Sir Loyalheart.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATjl4YBh27TqIM6x5sU2a3TI4OJaCABWzSURuRHn9DL1z6bKyhpz8oeMTqmyrWzm6inKtsLffoyv-5Rg7kdqs3aY9uSQgzyAzOAYrkDlOYVUgSpmCyz4PzMgbYSKcAQT8YqosV-XY8h0/s1600/tudor+court+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATjl4YBh27TqIM6x5sU2a3TI4OJaCABWzSURuRHn9DL1z6bKyhpz8oeMTqmyrWzm6inKtsLffoyv-5Rg7kdqs3aY9uSQgzyAzOAYrkDlOYVUgSpmCyz4PzMgbYSKcAQT8YqosV-XY8h0/s1600/tudor+court+3.jpg" height="107" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Through twenty years of love, loss, war, and the political machinations of Europe, Katharine was her husband's steadfast partner. When he was absent from the country, Katharine ruled as regent, and she rode out in full armor to address the troops she was sending to war against Scotland.<br /><br />
But sorrow and grief came as well. Only one of Katharine's many pregnancies resulted in a living child - and that a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/princess-mary-tudor.html">girl</a>. England erupted in celebration when a prince was born, only to see him die at less than two months old. Miscarriages and stillbirths followed, though we're not sure of the exact number. It could be as high as <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1139382/pdf/medhist00080-0057.pdf/?tool=pmcentrez">eight or nine</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1BIE4sN05XawWFCTXLmIzau9xChlvIgsmdQ3EexosmFnYnQPlc2Y2o3ET9daotcAt1uw3Q6dUuNxP5OvfNG4KLS_uJsFFOBRphBE3CqGcENyBxJYd_IVlZ7zLWch6OEsMS7cWrxmR54/s1600/detail187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1BIE4sN05XawWFCTXLmIzau9xChlvIgsmdQ3EexosmFnYnQPlc2Y2o3ET9daotcAt1uw3Q6dUuNxP5OvfNG4KLS_uJsFFOBRphBE3CqGcENyBxJYd_IVlZ7zLWch6OEsMS7cWrxmR54/s1600/detail187.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Various causes for the death of Katharine's babies have been suggested, from <a href="http://www.history.com/news/did-blood-cause-henry-viiis-madness-and-reproductive-woes">blood disorders</a> to <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/did-an-eating-disorder-prevent-catherine-of-aragon-having-a-son/">anorexia</a> on the part of Katharine, but the real truth is likely more mundane: a combination of diet, environment, and not allowing the body to rest and heal before attempting conception again. And given the sixteenth century's methods of noble <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/babies-in-tudor-era.html">childrearing</a>, it's a miracle any babies survived at all.<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXd_6WmO6n4lWtssQnBfajdm97EQAT07gRdIvu1xL0wLiwjwLfaF_hEtIhD1mdAsSMdm3_Cy7AYn3MdtPWEZ_3LPHZsTIz88Y8RfvWFvDTD5yBQTKEpl-nE28qKfzGuC_dpRJXPWqdCI/s1600/detail1173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXd_6WmO6n4lWtssQnBfajdm97EQAT07gRdIvu1xL0wLiwjwLfaF_hEtIhD1mdAsSMdm3_Cy7AYn3MdtPWEZ_3LPHZsTIz88Y8RfvWFvDTD5yBQTKEpl-nE28qKfzGuC_dpRJXPWqdCI/s1600/detail1173.jpg" /></a></div>
For a king, Henry was surprisingly faithful to Katharine. Though there were whispers of his pursuit of others, we only know of two women who were Henry's mistresses for certain: <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/henry-fitzroy.html">Bessie Blount</a> and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/mary-boleyn.html">Mary Boleyn</a>. Henry's son with Bessie may have confirmed in his mind that the reproductive problem was with Katharine, not himself.<br /> <br /> Katharine's body began to wear out from this endless succession of pregnancies. She gained weight, and her hair darkened as she aged. Her piety became almost fanatic. She fasted, made pilgrimages and offerings to shrines, and reportedly wore a hair shirt under her sumptuous gowns, begging God for heirs to her kingdom. But there was only loss. Her husband began contemplating <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-home-wrecker.html">putting Katharine aside</a> before he even met Anne Boleyn.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcV6vpo_zvxfXkoLGqg5Jk2DUMsoDaRQTfJCUcZNB_SOg45ffvDfT8Ad3jqIWxLbTPyyJ8-US_zTPm5_7355rpe-S59riufzO05BhxSfH9CL8xbpLnGdXDwQYvo85TVM6tKgmzar9unlA/s1600/detail1445.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcV6vpo_zvxfXkoLGqg5Jk2DUMsoDaRQTfJCUcZNB_SOg45ffvDfT8Ad3jqIWxLbTPyyJ8-US_zTPm5_7355rpe-S59riufzO05BhxSfH9CL8xbpLnGdXDwQYvo85TVM6tKgmzar9unlA/s1600/detail1445.png" height="320" width="228" /></a>Katharine's last pregnancy was in 1518. Henry <a href="http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item101079.html">wrote</a> to Wolsey about it, saying this "dangerous time" was the reason he chose not to move the court to London. The child was lost despite his precautions. Henry ceased to have marital relations with Katharine in 1524, around the time it was accepted that Katharine would bear no more children.<br />
<br />
In late 1526 or early 1527, Henry <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/declare-i-dare-not-henrys-first-public.html">fell in love</a> with Anne Boleyn and became <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-dispensation-to-marry-anne-boleyn.html">serious</a> about the idea of setting Katharine aside. He was certain he would have sons with Anne. All he had to do was convince the pope that his marriage to Katharine was invalid on the basis she had been married to his brother before him.<br /><br />
Katharine was stunned when Henry first suggested to her that they were not legally man and wife. Henry persuaded her he was just looking into the matter for his own conscience's sake, to make sure they were really, truly married. But behind the scenes, he was doing all he could to sever their union.<br /> <br /> Katharine claimed the marriage to Prince Arthur had never been consummated. Henry responded by finding "witnesses" who said Arthur bragged about his sexual prowess. The pope dragged his feet on making a decision for seven years. While Henry waited, stewed, fumed, machinated, and planned, he lived in a <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/katharine-of-aragon-and-anne-boleyn.html">court of two queens</a>. Katharine still took her rightful place beside him, but every day, Anne Boleyn grew in power and influence.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlVbR1wCId1Epqit1pgAyg43MbfD_z_qZhn6lN7loMx2wM8uLIHlmmH_08Bwq4jY279hFcA3ARpBF_HDpqsZbdhljBczkW3RzhIJJGGaOAtNg36lwLoM1DMNJw_nC_h99XBtQcuUAx3c/s1600/detail1358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlVbR1wCId1Epqit1pgAyg43MbfD_z_qZhn6lN7loMx2wM8uLIHlmmH_08Bwq4jY279hFcA3ARpBF_HDpqsZbdhljBczkW3RzhIJJGGaOAtNg36lwLoM1DMNJw_nC_h99XBtQcuUAx3c/s1600/detail1358.jpg" height="293" width="320" /></a>In 1531, Henry banished Katharine from court and ordered her to stop referring to herself as his wife or queen. Worse, he separated her from her beloved <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/princess-mary-tudor.html">daughter</a>. For such a loving mother, it must have been agony for Katharine not to be able to contact Mary. In the last <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter3.html">letter</a> she was permitted to send, Katharine warned Mary that Anne Boleyn might seek to have them martyred and to keep her soul prepared for it.<br />
<br />For her part, Katharine was convinced that it was all Anne Boleyn's fault. She blamed Anne for <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/was-anne-boleyn-victim-of-sexual.html">leading</a> Henry into sin. It may be Katharine's influence that convinced <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/03/eustace-chapuys.html">Eustace Chapuys</a> that it was Anne who put Henry into his "p<a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=77546">erverse tempers</a>" and if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be behaving this way.<br />
<br /> Katharine blamed his advisors for blocking her access to Henry, for clouding his head with the delusions that they weren't legally husband and wife. She blamed everyone but Henry himself. Even as late as <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=77485&strquery=chapuys">1532</a>, Katharine was still deluding herself that Henry wasn't really serious about ending their marriage.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
[Katharine]<em> said that if she could speak to</em> [Henry], <em>all that has happened would be nothing, as he was so good, and that he would treat her better than ever, but she is not allowed to see him.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvR8RKC34y4QRkVoj7ste1AkRMUJC88I3lgDWhxNGCoTX9rG0ajJq3GAGtb2z5GuE68IbxP7PwEnH9klhZ11q2uvPpGWYitaPo2JL3rO-TN27EI7j3BlFIeo1uahVzM3D8jto4eAZmvoo/s1600/detail1190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvR8RKC34y4QRkVoj7ste1AkRMUJC88I3lgDWhxNGCoTX9rG0ajJq3GAGtb2z5GuE68IbxP7PwEnH9klhZ11q2uvPpGWYitaPo2JL3rO-TN27EI7j3BlFIeo1uahVzM3D8jto4eAZmvoo/s1600/detail1190.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Perhaps Henry's public <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=6QYDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR423&lpg=PR423&dq=henry+viii+surely+chose+her+above+all+other+women&source=bl&ots=EXO34oQngZ&sig=57ksHJYSMq43RsPoQLtITjNAbVk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=23pIUuvvIpK54AOwzIGwCw&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=henry%20viii%20surely%20chose%20her%20above%20all%20other%20women&f=false">speeches</a> on the matter added to her hope.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>And as touching the queen, if it be adjudged by the law of God that she is my lawful wife, there was never thing more pleasant nor more acceptable to me in my life both for the discharge and clearing of my conscience and also for the good qualities and conditions the which I know to be in her. For I assure you all, that beside her noble parentage of which she is descended (as you all know) she is a woman of most gentleness, of most humility, and buxomness, yea, and of all good qualities appertaining to nobility, she is without comparison, as I this twenty years almost have had the true experiment, so that if I were to marry again if the marriage might be good, I would choose her above all other women.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDZwHkcYIGMoM0lGN0HpldbbSIA_x57Gi-bGaU-JjdALrzfifa6nFu51v2P34ceZcwVwSDWpgPf8_g1xbJP3EXzsdYICrxo2SbqRATL14LSX5UJYO2k-5FV7BzrKWqVGOksUWFx4eMDs/s1600/detail1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDZwHkcYIGMoM0lGN0HpldbbSIA_x57Gi-bGaU-JjdALrzfifa6nFu51v2P34ceZcwVwSDWpgPf8_g1xbJP3EXzsdYICrxo2SbqRATL14LSX5UJYO2k-5FV7BzrKWqVGOksUWFx4eMDs/s1600/detail1937.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
But the truth of the matter was that there was no way in hell Henry would accept a ruling that his marriage was valid. Cardinal Campeggio, sent on behest of the pope, <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol4/pp2089-2103">wrote</a> of meeting with the king about the matter:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em><br />Next day after dinner the King visited me privately, and we remained together alone about four hours, discussing only two things. First, I exhorted him not to attempt this matter, in order to confirm and clear his conscience, to establish the succession of the kingdom, and to avoid scandals; and that if he had any scruple, he could have a new dispensation. [...]</em></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>He told me plainly that he wanted nothing else than a declaration whether the marriage is valid or not,—he himself always presupposing its invalidity; and I believe that an angel descending from Heaven would be unable to persuade him otherwise.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYx1JPIlO1oSukYLCu9pNSP9jSuCsdtZUOgjQahT0gHgRoRyBCFZ_uupUBxLcjc421TvTuMDE1Flf_G1MUcD5MrCIXRwNPjlGUsqxCx1HCOj2f4Jpp2OBryoyL8ksh_gEtxRTwT6Tb7A/s1600/detail2030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYx1JPIlO1oSukYLCu9pNSP9jSuCsdtZUOgjQahT0gHgRoRyBCFZ_uupUBxLcjc421TvTuMDE1Flf_G1MUcD5MrCIXRwNPjlGUsqxCx1HCOj2f4Jpp2OBryoyL8ksh_gEtxRTwT6Tb7A/s1600/detail2030.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Campeggio begged Katharine to enter a convent, a neat solution for all who were involved because it would end the marriage, yet preserve the rights of Princess Mary to the throne. Campeggio was not pleased with her response. Katharine was famed for her mild temperament and obedience, but in this matter, she would not be moved by any earthly force.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em><br />The queen stated that she had heard that we were to persuade her to enter some religious house. I did not deny it and constrained myself to persuade her that it rested with her, by doing this, to satisfy God, her own conscience, the glory and fame of her name, and to preserve her honours and temporal goods and the succession of her daughter.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>I begged her to consider the scandals and enmities which would ensue if she refused. On the other hand, all these inconveniences could be avoided. She would preserve her dower, the guardianship of her daughter, her rank as princess, and, in short, all that she liked to demand of the king; and she would offend neither God nor her own conscience.</em></div>
<div>
<em><br />After I had exhorted her at great length to remove all these difficulties, and to content herself with making a profession of chastity, setting before her all the reasons which could be urged on that head, she assured me she would never do so: that she intended to live and die in the estate of matrimony, into which God had called her, and that she would always be of that opinion, and would not change it. She repeated this many times so determinedly and deliberately that I am convinced she will act accordingly.</em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iN0in0iV-8-D4L0No6B4UkonI9IZHGpbXru8JUIvbKLgAvSA4Am98M-2ZAGgVnq_0kL9QvYhXkKoCXhVb6jtZVYj76Gx9mbAWxOhvNJ6U5ZVfR4h0exKhoEsDSE7PNSWMSY87OKAv_M/s1600/detail1284.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iN0in0iV-8-D4L0No6B4UkonI9IZHGpbXru8JUIvbKLgAvSA4Am98M-2ZAGgVnq_0kL9QvYhXkKoCXhVb6jtZVYj76Gx9mbAWxOhvNJ6U5ZVfR4h0exKhoEsDSE7PNSWMSY87OKAv_M/s1600/detail1284.png" height="320" width="230" /></a></em></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>She says that neither the whole kingdom on the one hand, nor any great punishment on the other, even though she might be torn limb from limb, should compel her to alter this opinion. I assure you from all her conversation and discourse, I have always judged her to be a prudent lady. But, as she can avoid such great perils and difficulties, her obstinacy in not accepting this sound counsel does not much please.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Katharine of Aragon was the rightful Queen of England and she would not budge, would not bend, would not break. She would obey her husband in everything - except what her conscience would not allow. She would not say her marriage was invalid, because that would be a lie. She would not recognize her husband as head of the church instead of the pope, because that would be a sin. Until her last breath, she fought for her rights and those of her daughter, Mary. The price of that fight was permanent separation from the child she loved so much.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLsCNWLPsP5k56SjWblunjEL7occNO9QqNGLH6SgZQDVWcnwlEZ_6b8tH2ZpBIzshUqxlQvJNyL3QAmDZus_8-MtAMO73DWe5rK7QoFGDADEX0bEk1w2MXkNP7UKWUIa7Bzpv5e2Cqu0/s1600/detail1619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLsCNWLPsP5k56SjWblunjEL7occNO9QqNGLH6SgZQDVWcnwlEZ_6b8tH2ZpBIzshUqxlQvJNyL3QAmDZus_8-MtAMO73DWe5rK7QoFGDADEX0bEk1w2MXkNP7UKWUIa7Bzpv5e2Cqu0/s1600/detail1619.jpg" height="283" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Henry's Oath of Succession forced all of England to swear to the legitimacy of his marriage to Anne and Henry's position as Head of the Church. Most swore, but there were steadfast holdouts like <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/sir-thomas-more.html">Thomas More</a> who went to the scaffold because they would not. Whenever Katharine was moved to new lodgings, there were reports of crowds that turned out to cheer for <em>Queen</em> Katharine. She was still very much beloved by her people, and many of Henry's cruel actions toward Katharine were attributed to Anne Boleyn, whose popularity was always tenuous. To this day, there are those who blame her for what Katharine endured.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Even after Henry <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/when-did-anne-boleyn-and-henry-viii.html">married</a> Anne, Katharine still believed there was a chance he would see the light and repent and return to her arms. Reportedly, Katharine prayed every day for her husband to come back to her. She loved him, still. After all of the pain and heartbreak, all of the cruelty he had inflicted on her and her daughter, Katharine still loved Henry to the depths of her being.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2UvWFaXNaRsVEgnVgSUIn1HxdIW8VZBLP2CDrwYW8fzr8bD2rhdC-9Kv3_SC0ZaJkcELEkdBPFsXbkT4Y01Gdwg5cvR5Cj3SOv5A5euHVfzM90fkeTuUargWYhpu2D94Od-WnaC5qx4/s1600/detail1590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2UvWFaXNaRsVEgnVgSUIn1HxdIW8VZBLP2CDrwYW8fzr8bD2rhdC-9Kv3_SC0ZaJkcELEkdBPFsXbkT4Y01Gdwg5cvR5Cj3SOv5A5euHVfzM90fkeTuUargWYhpu2D94Od-WnaC5qx4/s1600/detail1590.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Slowly, Henry stripped everything away from her. Katharine ended up virtually alone. She refused to be served by anyone who would not address her as <em>queen</em> and so she ended up with a pitifully small retinue, living in the drafty, neglected Kimbolton Castle, eating food her servants prepared over her fireplace because she was so fearful of being <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-murderer.html">poisoned</a> by Anne Boleyn. The daughter of the "Catholic Kings" was reduced to living in one room, eating over the fireplace like a peasant.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In some respects, Henry was right: it was her choice. If she had agreed to his conditions, she could have lived in comfort, given the honors due a princess dowager, and been permitted to see Mary again. But agreeing to those stipulations would be agreeing to lies - agreeing to sin - in Katharine's eyes. She could not do it. And so she made the only choice her conscience would allow, despite her pain.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidekezDy8hQZswRxqX87Sk3nV9d2E0bjdUDQtxJHpoeHCpiz5hCTScasLEFDb3og_YZQcgcHamx8pbH-FuS3z83K1wpsKKeygBl6Vd742LmH7L0-DE13ep5mUhjHMkaGe3dlqgJ0NJrLg/s1600/detail1192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidekezDy8hQZswRxqX87Sk3nV9d2E0bjdUDQtxJHpoeHCpiz5hCTScasLEFDb3og_YZQcgcHamx8pbH-FuS3z83K1wpsKKeygBl6Vd742LmH7L0-DE13ep5mUhjHMkaGe3dlqgJ0NJrLg/s1600/detail1192.jpg" height="320" width="92" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the end, the reformation was as much Katharine's doing as it was Henry's. Her steadfast refusal to agree to an annulment or to enter a convent combined with the pope's refusal to act made Henry feel like he had no choice. He would get what he wanted and damn the consequences. And those consequences would echo for hundreds of years in bloodshed and strife.</div>
<div>
<br />
Katharine was horrified by what had been unleashed as she saw "heresy" sweep through the kingdom, and the heads of great men bow to the axe. As she lay dying, Eustace Chapuys ensured her the heresy wasn't deeply ingrained in the land.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>And as to the heresies here [I said] she knew well that God said there must of necessity be heresies and slanders for the exaltation of the good and confusion of the wicked, and that she must consider that the heresies were not so rooted here that they would not soon be remedied, and that it was to be hoped that those who had been deluded would afterwards be the most firm...</em></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
There is a <a href="http://the-ringing-isle.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-long-lost-letter.html">letter</a> that's purportedly from Katharine on her deathbed. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0Y7l11rNrbIC&pg=PA422&lpg=PA422&dq=%22As+with+her+letters+to+Friar+Forrest,+this+is+almost+certainly+fictitious%22&source=bl&ots=tK_zgLgAjp&sig=X1E9QeBwdJZKlKqk4k0qyyJvUXI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QNahVJjGHsWTyAT99IGgAw&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22As%20with%20her%20letters%20to%20Friar%20Forrest%2C%20this%20is%20almost%20certainly%20fictitious%22&f=false">Scholars</a> are unsure of its authenticity, but its sentiments ring true.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvwLoGtq8IKxLVv3aayEMxkU58GUGJRsYC8ZW9vYGFhnqCMLA-UBWceJ7AjtKicqE0SEX1G27JOfYFVAlsn2DFd-TP-s65pnitkAnnD1I1A4Yp3HXCPmtPqOyBshrfLudhLzvTsBHyX0/s1600/detail1527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvwLoGtq8IKxLVv3aayEMxkU58GUGJRsYC8ZW9vYGFhnqCMLA-UBWceJ7AjtKicqE0SEX1G27JOfYFVAlsn2DFd-TP-s65pnitkAnnD1I1A4Yp3HXCPmtPqOyBshrfLudhLzvTsBHyX0/s1600/detail1527.jpg" height="320" width="188" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>My most dear lord, king and husband,</em></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you forceth me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. </em></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>For my part, I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. </em></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>Katharine the Quene.</em></div>
</blockquote>
That last line is one of the most heartbreaking things ever written.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJisbvlLJkMoaa3uZAM12GyJrUNnmsRNSKkaXFC4UiRXApQsirizjA6mewXSURfs-sYco9CHBvB0oyz4kkjE-8VBQ3EidYPY4vkPDquLC6bvBdVkoMftcBxy01EMYNrPLXktjYSV-sasc/s1600/katharine+detail+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJisbvlLJkMoaa3uZAM12GyJrUNnmsRNSKkaXFC4UiRXApQsirizjA6mewXSURfs-sYco9CHBvB0oyz4kkjE-8VBQ3EidYPY4vkPDquLC6bvBdVkoMftcBxy01EMYNrPLXktjYSV-sasc/s1600/katharine+detail+1.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It had been arranged beforehand that when Katharine took her last communion, she would swear on the host that she had been a virgin when she married Henry. But, in the end, she didn't do it. Why? At the last moments of her life, did it not seem important? Or, had Henry really been telling the truth all along and Katharine did not want to meet her Maker with a lie on her lips?<br />
<br />
Around two in the afternoon on January 7, 1536, Katharine of Aragon died. Chapuys reports that Henry ostentatiously celebrated when he heard the news, exclaiming that England was now freed from the danger of war. He and Anne, arrayed in yellow, paraded baby Elizabeth around to the courtiers at the feasts and <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/january-24-1536-accident-that-changed.html">jousts</a> held afterward. However, Seigneur de Dinteville <a href="http://garethrussellcidevant.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-7th-1536-death-of-katherine-of.html">reported</a> that Anne locked herself away in her oratory and wept after she heard the news. Had she - in the end - respected her rival, despite everything?</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1ihwLAVyn-iFSzvqzbJrgowDJXo03qP094reVHHiEy-UD8n7tX42bwcLYva8K5I_p7nu4isxAS7lW6IdPAs_KcWot5D5Bkfn5l9LtxpCHTRU7JOmjXSSm2AeD3rijJPLLuAjT8h94vE/s1600/detail2033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1ihwLAVyn-iFSzvqzbJrgowDJXo03qP094reVHHiEy-UD8n7tX42bwcLYva8K5I_p7nu4isxAS7lW6IdPAs_KcWot5D5Bkfn5l9LtxpCHTRU7JOmjXSSm2AeD3rijJPLLuAjT8h94vE/s1600/detail2033.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Henry ordered that Katharine be given the <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-queen-is-dead-katharine-of-aragons.html">funeral</a> and tomb of a princess dowager - the title she had as his brother's widow - and it was probably at his behest that the funeral sermon included the claim that on her deathbed, Katharine had admitted she was never truly Henry's wife.<br />
<br />
Try though he might, Henry could never erase Katharine from the hearts and mind of the English people. Even after her death, she was still revered.<br />
<br />
One hundred years later, Katharine had a <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Zno7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT46&lpg=PT46&dq=catherine+of+aragon+tomb+katherine+clayton&source=bl&ots=u4Mg3y_RlH&sig=Ifu0q79Vk8fvZl81FAaFsFd3okU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gN-hVPOTK8qLyATDkYGoAw&ved=0CFgQ6AEwDA#v=onepage&q=catherine%20of%20aragon%20tomb%20katherine%20clayton&f=false">miracle attributed</a> to her. In 1640, a man with a tumor growing on his forehead claimed to have dreamt of water dripping on her tomb. When he visited the church and saw water on the slab, he dipped his finger into it and was cured of the growth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVhZys-7BIZeIwtkEdqEOxCHFbrkwEJeHVLzTlawU1Y7BWz2Bfo3REUXtKYyYpU_mN3XuTmrZpASv-Nj8zVIVZaQfNn-EOnuwHSUe-Zrb14lZDFnLBlqGafJrvbh5FnqDHWvA57TMLuw/s1600/detail281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVhZys-7BIZeIwtkEdqEOxCHFbrkwEJeHVLzTlawU1Y7BWz2Bfo3REUXtKYyYpU_mN3XuTmrZpASv-Nj8zVIVZaQfNn-EOnuwHSUe-Zrb14lZDFnLBlqGafJrvbh5FnqDHWvA57TMLuw/s1600/detail281.jpg" /></a></div>
Descriptions of the tomb Henry built for Katharine are somewhat vague, and it seems it was dismantled, piecemeal, over the years. Her hearse seems to have have been left in place as it's <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13618/13618.txt">described</a> as being destroyed in 1643 during the English civil war because it had an altar in it. During that period, the gilding on the tomb was stolen, and the black marble ended up being used for a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-17337318">floor</a> of one of the dean's summer houses. According to <em><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13618/13618.txt">The Cathedral Church of Peterborough A Description Of Its Fabric And A Brief History Of The Episcopal See</a> by</em> W.D. Sweeting,<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<em>Queen Katherine of Arragon was buried in the north choir aisle, just outside the most eastern arch, in 1535 </em>[actually 1536]<em>. A hearse was placed near, probably between the two piers. Four years later this is described as "the inclosed place where the Lady Katherine lieth," and there seems to have been a small altar within it. Some banners that adorned it remained in the cathedral till 1586. About the same time some persons were imprisoned for defacing the "monument," and required to "reform the same." The only monument, strictly so called, of which there is any record, was a low table monument, raised on two shallow steps, with simple quatrefoils, carved in squares set diamond-wise. Engravings of this shew it to have been an insignificant and mean erection. A few slabs of it were lately found buried beneath the floor, and they are now placed against the wall of the aisle. One of the prebendaries repaired this monument at his own cost, about 1725, and supplied a tiny brass plate with name and date, part of which remains in the floor. This monument was removed in 1792.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxxfbneQadx9tE7qyILR2LeZ3EOpSdHFWOZ5LZHlvtotDRfdx9Zx28M31ybvl9ZBLUE5IgPF_1eR3kcZ7L2EN1msG6P9aHw2azGzklHcPQ-cXhCr4N6fqY9yOkI_AO4uPgazE7B8xPjY/s1600/detail448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxxfbneQadx9tE7qyILR2LeZ3EOpSdHFWOZ5LZHlvtotDRfdx9Zx28M31ybvl9ZBLUE5IgPF_1eR3kcZ7L2EN1msG6P9aHw2azGzklHcPQ-cXhCr4N6fqY9yOkI_AO4uPgazE7B8xPjY/s1600/detail448.jpg" height="320" width="188" /></a></div>
<br />
Afterward, Katharine's grave remained mostly unadorned until <a href="https://womenwhoshapedpboro.wordpress.com/category/katherine-clayton/">Katharine Clayton</a>, the wife of one of the cathedral canons, had the idea of making an <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mO8FBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=Katharine+Clayton+appeal+catherine+of+aragon&source=bl&ots=qTBbyL0jy2&sig=RdRnpWyzPCcTC-9B-foZdgTSh14&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cdyhVLSiG4qZyASM3ICgAw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Katharine%20Clayton%20appeal%20catherine%20of%20aragon&f=false">appeal</a> to English women named Catherine to help her restore Katharine's resting place to something befitting a queen. An engraved marble slab was installed and a grille with the gilded words KATHARINE QUEEN OF ENGLAND was mounted above. Mary of Teck (consort of George V) ordered that the banners of a queen - the arms of England and Spain - be hung above, giving back Katharine's due honors after 400 years.<br />
<br />
The memorial plaque installed calls her a queen beloved by the people for her virtues. Today, visitors still leave pomegranates on her tomb, and every year, the cathedral hosts a <a href="http://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/individual-events/events/katharine-of-aragon-festival-2014-service-of-commemoration-sung-vespers.html">festival</a> in Katharine of Aragon's honor.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-83063627331476390192014-12-22T19:06:00.006-05:002014-12-22T19:06:36.557-05:00The Dispensation to Marry Anne Boleyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4CV4owRLTMA-T63LwIKYYIW19mNLu90TLyPX76s_H5Pkp5XO85CaTF4cFisKzb9TsXzMlOC96v5eVNherNe4u1R4aDgDq1TpEriwCUnuEWnDB0LTErzkBfA2oa-ZI5vVBP01EYAuFDI/s1600/detail283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4CV4owRLTMA-T63LwIKYYIW19mNLu90TLyPX76s_H5Pkp5XO85CaTF4cFisKzb9TsXzMlOC96v5eVNherNe4u1R4aDgDq1TpEriwCUnuEWnDB0LTErzkBfA2oa-ZI5vVBP01EYAuFDI/s1600/detail283.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
On December 23, 1527, Pope Clement received the draft of a dispensation Henry VIII wanted him to grant. Though Henry was still married to Katharine in the eyes of the church, he was seeking permission to wed another woman - provided he was able to dissolve his first marriage - and this dispensation was supposed to clear any impediments to that union.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Proposed bull of dispensation for Henry VIII., in case his marriage with Katharine, his brother's widow, be pronounced unlawful, to marry another, even if she have contracted marriage with another man, provided it be not consummated, and even if she be of the second degree of consanguinity, or of the first degree of affinity, ex quocumque licito seu illicito coitu </i>[from any licit or illicit intercourse]<i>; in order to prevent uncertainty in the succession, which in past times has been the occasion of war.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAaMMvn6fz4xhP_P5BhQiKumVp32n2yB5HS2q9Ln25YfQIkfJ0_KeFTwBkcO-VVx6yGSDXFxljeGJNXjIiYta-d6AeOtx-X6PGNFYXUS30R47uxXw-DZvS_miGBdfV2kTDJW3lDODl-o/s1600/detail;457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAaMMvn6fz4xhP_P5BhQiKumVp32n2yB5HS2q9Ln25YfQIkfJ0_KeFTwBkcO-VVx6yGSDXFxljeGJNXjIiYta-d6AeOtx-X6PGNFYXUS30R47uxXw-DZvS_miGBdfV2kTDJW3lDODl-o/s1600/detail;457.jpg" height="320" width="259" /></a></div>
<br />
This version, nor the one eventually approved by the pope, did not directly mention Anne, but it cleared away any possible legal objections to their marriage. The dispensation went through multiple drafts before a final one was submitted to the pope and approved in April.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>... in the event of a declaration of nullity of such a marriage, to be dispensed to marry any other woman whatever, even though she has already contracted marriage with another, as long as she has not consummated it with carnal </i>coupula<i>, or even if she be related to you in the second or more remote degrees of consanguinity, or in the first degree of affinity arising from whatever licit or illicit intercourse, as long as she is not the widow of your aforesaid brother, and even if she be related to you by spiritual or legal kinship and the impediment of public righteousness or honesty be present.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlqhKOEHocAPJQOLysjoqWFuQCE5R_D95VbLsnDF0yRPkXZfFAXlrYck9XS9G265GyT4wjnZXKQMrSJVG1oYSvm_u0WggwotdX1_1WAoJXLJbjQX1j3iv2Kk5xPmX6grW6HIYlg5Qd_g/s1600/priestdetail17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlqhKOEHocAPJQOLysjoqWFuQCE5R_D95VbLsnDF0yRPkXZfFAXlrYck9XS9G265GyT4wjnZXKQMrSJVG1oYSvm_u0WggwotdX1_1WAoJXLJbjQX1j3iv2Kk5xPmX6grW6HIYlg5Qd_g/s1600/priestdetail17.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Some scholars believe Henry was trying to frame the dispensation in such broadly general terms that it could apply to other women besides Anne Boleyn as part of his continuing efforts to disguise his relationship with her. At this point, Henry still maintained that he was just trying to ensure his marriage to Katharine was entirely valid, and Anne was simply a maiden of his court he was flirting with. Almost a year later, in November 1528, he <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=k5LYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=And+as+touching+the+queen,+if+it+be+adjudged+by+the+law+of+God+that+she+is+my+lawful+wife,+there+was+never+thing+more+pleasant+nor+more+acceptable&source=bl&ots=UwkPw6h0mh&sig=dRMRV0ilyfKQ-38ETWbgbQHKdB0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9TCXVPygNI75yQTAz4LgBw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=And%20as%20touching%20the%20queen%2C%20if%20it%20be%20adjudged%20by%20the%20law%20of%20God%20that%20she%20is%20my%20lawful%20wife%2C%20there%20was%20never%20thing%20more%20pleasant%20nor%20more%20acceptable&f=false">addressed</a> the people and said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<i>And as touching the queen, if it be adjudged by the law of God that she is my lawful wife, there was never thing more pleasant nor more acceptable to me in my life, both for the discharge and clearing of my conscience, and also for the good qualities and conditions which I know to be in her. For I assure you all, that beside her noble parentage of the which she is descended (as you well know), she is a woman of most gentleness, of most humility and buxomness, yea, and in all good qualities appertaining to nobility she is without comparison, as I, these twenty years almost, have had the true experiment; so that if I were to marry again, If the marriage might be good, I would surely choose her above all other women. </i></blockquote>
<br />
But it's questionable as to whether anyone actually believed him. By this time, everyone knew of his desire to marry Anne and make her his queen.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugo_u8RvsNR3feZ9987UmZjPgQaXKwUmPtNxU8ZNMZUaeU8lDRWQGMAcgDQ2SmuBWc8HYLzC_SbfWaYQiTBzq94RMnh-zBgf00CGrEMhzXQhRN2VIx12yEy0eaP08EBI7vdERal8jmFE/s1600/Henry+and+anne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugo_u8RvsNR3feZ9987UmZjPgQaXKwUmPtNxU8ZNMZUaeU8lDRWQGMAcgDQ2SmuBWc8HYLzC_SbfWaYQiTBzq94RMnh-zBgf00CGrEMhzXQhRN2VIx12yEy0eaP08EBI7vdERal8jmFE/s1600/Henry+and+anne.jpg" height="264" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The dispensation brings up several interesting points about Henry's proposed union with Anne. The wording that dispenses any precontracts Anne may have had is a little confusing - perhaps intentionally so - leaving it vague how far the precontract actually went. One version suggests she had entered into an actual <i>marriage</i> that was never consummated, while another suggests it was a contract entered before the unnamed woman was of legal age. As a result <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2P5KAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=henry+viii+dispensation+december+23,+1527&source=bl&ots=w9X5kFcxZL&sig=3s4_Hyu7NV95U9-V5L7QOcwTrtk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sUCWVILbJsKTyASxqoKgAw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=henry%20viii%20dispensation%20december%2023%2C%201527&f=false">scholars</a> aren't sure whether the dispensation referred to the negotiations to marry Anne to James Butler, or her aborted attempt to marry <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/henry-percy-anne-boleyns-first-love.html">Henry Percy</a>, which might be what the "public honesty" clause referred to.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTN_8AxgBfprw3W9oLPzJFbbAneCToFZmsNHZcG9yf5eGZsneoHpYJTaUnXn_XW44UsSSEjD4yp7jr_21lOX1NG5IFzyKvJRrHNwyI41hL7H8n3LMc5U7DkNd63j48x5xMP1SvHdO1RRI/s1600/detail1317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTN_8AxgBfprw3W9oLPzJFbbAneCToFZmsNHZcG9yf5eGZsneoHpYJTaUnXn_XW44UsSSEjD4yp7jr_21lOX1NG5IFzyKvJRrHNwyI41hL7H8n3LMc5U7DkNd63j48x5xMP1SvHdO1RRI/s1600/detail1317.jpg" height="142" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Next, the dispensation discusses any problems arising from affinity, or blood relation. It allows Henry to marry a woman who is even within the second degree of consanguinity. Henry and Anne weren't related by blood except by the eighth or ninth degree - seventh cousins, once removed. The dispensation was clearing the way for him to marry a woman who might be as closely related as his third cousin. Was their some confusion over whether they might share a great-great grandparent, or that her proposed betrothal to James Butler/Henry Percy put her within the forbidden degrees of relation? (Henry Percy was the king's third cousin.) The dispensation may have been meant to cut off any arguments that Anne's entanglement with these men created an issue.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfF87rAC-OrvfwE03ZAmwKvkDUnY_Dr7EeOgECz3MVvs4d88A9pMTxWpE4h1cXOFuK7Ws3HyYvvM16_eNim2RsrXyzwJoauXJql31Rsf2c5Hb1zb1TDiyvmr_XEXDpMlgfd4FooJLD8Q/s1600/priestdetail11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfF87rAC-OrvfwE03ZAmwKvkDUnY_Dr7EeOgECz3MVvs4d88A9pMTxWpE4h1cXOFuK7Ws3HyYvvM16_eNim2RsrXyzwJoauXJql31Rsf2c5Hb1zb1TDiyvmr_XEXDpMlgfd4FooJLD8Q/s1600/priestdetail11.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The "licit or illicit intercourse" the dispensation referred to was from Henry's affair with <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/mary-boleyn.html">Mary Boleyn</a>. Henry was trying to annul his marriage to Katharine based on the scriptural prohibition from marrying one's brother's widow. His affair with Mary Boleyn created - in the eyes of the chuch - the exact same incestual relationship. Cardinal Reginald Pole wrote a scathing <a href="http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/the-great-divorce">letter</a> to Henry pointing out this very fact.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Now what sort of person is it whom you have put in the place of your divorced wife? Is she not the sister of her whom first you violated? And for a long time after kept as your concubine? She certainly is. How is it, then, that you now tell us of the horror you have of illicit marriage? Are you ignorant of the law which certainly no less prohibits marriage with a sister of one with whom you have become one flesh, than with one with whom your brother was one flesh? If the one kind of marriage is detestable, so is the other. Were you ignorant of this law? Nay, you knew it better than others. How do I prove that? Because, at the very time you were rejecting your brother’s widow, you were doing your utmost to get leave from the pope to marry the sister of your former concubine.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ2OJ1dfwbys_5H6tRS8LKh1g9_oT0x4uKGFN7U-AseSM4LFgcNa0w3vDN7WkfkODla_Zaqu-FzJOzn8dqPGs5liDDkXWNjZ-0WTjmFQCkaWYgxWk9hE2s9Mabu1dn_SNtz8TDhADt2Y/s1600/pole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ2OJ1dfwbys_5H6tRS8LKh1g9_oT0x4uKGFN7U-AseSM4LFgcNa0w3vDN7WkfkODla_Zaqu-FzJOzn8dqPGs5liDDkXWNjZ-0WTjmFQCkaWYgxWk9hE2s9Mabu1dn_SNtz8TDhADt2Y/s1600/pole.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
The final version dispensed with even spiritual affinity, in case a relationship such as being the godfather of one of Anne's relatives created an issue. Once the final wording was agreed upon, the dispensation was granted by the pope. Henry had permission to marry Anne, provided he was able to get his first marriage annulled, an issue on which the pope had not decided.<br />
<br />
Henry must have been delighted at the ease with which his commissioners were able to get the dispensation. He must have thought a quick judgment on the issue of his marriage to Katharine was coming and he would soon be able to marry his sweetheart.<br />
<br />
But it was only the beginning.Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542714327031525825.post-34730122431403514242014-12-16T13:57:00.002-05:002015-02-20T21:47:14.583-05:00The Queen is Dead: The Death and Burial of Mary I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclQGVr5tFlUVU9Xjqe8vTn31OYqi9IRCSKZ1dWiWyOoCTE6cpBHB-VGkPQFNo6_78bLby0EivtsOh2r-I7KrqlTsqy1gY1j1LqQGzw95r4ge7Qjp5mpyFlURGOoKRE7qbt61Av5cmtuo/s1600/mary+tudor+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclQGVr5tFlUVU9Xjqe8vTn31OYqi9IRCSKZ1dWiWyOoCTE6cpBHB-VGkPQFNo6_78bLby0EivtsOh2r-I7KrqlTsqy1gY1j1LqQGzw95r4ge7Qjp5mpyFlURGOoKRE7qbt61Av5cmtuo/s1600/mary+tudor+detail.jpg" height="111" width="320" /></a>It's probably not unfair to say that Queen Mary I died of a broken heart, though medically it was probably ovarian cancer that lead to her demise. Mary's life was one of unrelenting sorrow and disappointment.<br />
<br />
After a golden childhood in which she was the cherished "pearl" of her father's kingdom, Mary's life was thrown into misery when Anne Boleyn <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-home-wrecker.html">entered the picture</a> and her father sought an annulment from her mother. Mary <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/12/princess-mary-tudor.html">refused</a> to accept her father's position on the divorce, or as head of the church. She believed denying the authority of the pope was tantamount to denying Catholicism as a whole, and accepting that her parents had never been married was a lie that would damn her soul. Mary was exiled from court, separated from her beloved mother and refused permission to see her, even as Katharine lay dying. She eventually broke down under her father's relentless bullying and submitted to him, but their relationship was never the same.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ouo1qNcyy1MnyWHKqmslv_i0Ygb_xkd25IjptXRpbtV6heCb4R9B7BfYrPo083ILSV-H17MYTj7VSj9Z4X2n8xmluAnMhM9lCDtmXKgTQwORqOM6-UcEPKczHmcOH6FCf24GMjxfKmU/s1600/detail1653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ouo1qNcyy1MnyWHKqmslv_i0Ygb_xkd25IjptXRpbtV6heCb4R9B7BfYrPo083ILSV-H17MYTj7VSj9Z4X2n8xmluAnMhM9lCDtmXKgTQwORqOM6-UcEPKczHmcOH6FCf24GMjxfKmU/s1600/detail1653.jpg" height="320" width="276" /></a></div>
When she came to the throne, Mary saw it as a chance to set everything right again and restore England to the enchanted, golden kingdom she remembered from her childhood. She expected her own marriage to be as happy as she remembered her parents' union as being before Henry was "<a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/01/anne-boleyn-home-wrecker.html">lured away</a>" by Anne. Mary was half in love with her husband before she even met him. She began rolling back the religious reforms of her father and brother's reigns, expecting the English people would be grateful to be taken back into the arms of the Catholic church.<br />
<br />
She was deeply disappointed on both accounts.<br />
<br />
By 1558, she was a broken woman, abandoned by her indifferent husband after two false pregnancies, and bewildered by the persistent "heresy" she fought so hard to eradicate from her kingdom. Strange that a woman who venerated saints martyred for their faith wouldn't understand why burning "heretics" didn't have the desired effects.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBwKb0qM99kgxWu9RtTJsNuVbiy31LztM_BGNoWvgidBK6ZKQTMiwJjRC_571UFHL8VR5dmy5nA33_K2VnuRl_JuSwBjkSY5y0dMbXcYHw_fOVsP3cMYpI1CdPT5YYSBUqHsccWFxEmg/s1600/mary+tudor+detail+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBwKb0qM99kgxWu9RtTJsNuVbiy31LztM_BGNoWvgidBK6ZKQTMiwJjRC_571UFHL8VR5dmy5nA33_K2VnuRl_JuSwBjkSY5y0dMbXcYHw_fOVsP3cMYpI1CdPT5YYSBUqHsccWFxEmg/s1600/mary+tudor+detail+7.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
As Mary lay in her bed in St. James Palace, the halls echoed with silence. The court had abandoned her as well, flocking to her sister Elizabeth, who would soon wear the crown. It was something Elizabeth never forgot - how Mary had been abandoned by the fickle court as she lay on her deathbed. It was one of the reasons Elizabeth always resisted naming her heir, delaying unto the last moments of her life.<br />
<br />
Mary slept longer and longer hours as her illness sapped her strength, and toward the end, her moments of lucidity were few. But she was able to make her <a href="http://tudorhistory.org/primary/will.html">will</a>. In the end, Mary couldn't quite bring herself to name her sister as heir, saying only that the throne should pass as the law dictated.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gSP9sSXZG_v_fhrAn36v_2N7QzvK47fKNEAZ6JFdJvUqRWvSI4gd9O0GB4I5okG6HSJb9AWdksINiL9BILjbLwNg_Otp0UqgBj_hM_D4YydtuAI-GiKAzAG_oP-aNKzHKAnBp3GNWd4/s1600/detail90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gSP9sSXZG_v_fhrAn36v_2N7QzvK47fKNEAZ6JFdJvUqRWvSI4gd9O0GB4I5okG6HSJb9AWdksINiL9BILjbLwNg_Otp0UqgBj_hM_D4YydtuAI-GiKAzAG_oP-aNKzHKAnBp3GNWd4/s1600/detail90.jpg" height="201" width="320" /></a></div>
John Foxe wrote of her death in his <i><a href="http://www.johnfoxe.org/index.php?realm=text&gototype=modern&edition=1576&pageid=2015">Acts and Monuments</a></i>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>As touchyng the maner of whose death, some say that she dyed of a Tympany, some by her much sighing before her death, supposed she dyed of thought and sorow. Whereupon her Counsell seyng her sighing, and desirous to know the cause, to the ende they might minister the more ready consolation vnto her, feared, as they sayd, that she tooke that thought for the kynges Maiesty her husband, whiche was gone from her. To whom he aunsweryng agayne: In deede (sayd she) that may be one cause, but þt is not the greatest wound that pearseth my oppressed minde: but what that was she would not expresse to them.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZNJ8kydGDZRm_xcqaZCxkbZpE54Nd-TNkAxqu_eIk8Zwhy3P-5wg9LKewqfHnnj96YFCnqwyacZL9ui0tw8AKeBrfdHk0PXxBm7pUeqdMiVjebZ8s4gzhoj9XzgxlAdlKtVzUPpqdPo/s1600/detail1440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZNJ8kydGDZRm_xcqaZCxkbZpE54Nd-TNkAxqu_eIk8Zwhy3P-5wg9LKewqfHnnj96YFCnqwyacZL9ui0tw8AKeBrfdHk0PXxBm7pUeqdMiVjebZ8s4gzhoj9XzgxlAdlKtVzUPpqdPo/s1600/detail1440.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></a></div>
<br />
Jane Dormer's <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qzy-buiQLGEC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA48&dq=jane+dormer+death+of+queen+mary+i&source=bl&ots=Y21bcqSzlo&sig=XOe8ocOEyqUmZaWRlyJqKDNfnQA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XHePVN3JFu3GsQS73YHAAw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false">account</a> says Mary gave her ladies pious exhortations, and had pleasant visions of angelic little children playing around her bed and singing.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Her sickness was such as made the whole realm to mourn, yet passed by her with most Christian patience. She comforted those of them that grieved about her; she told them what good dreams she had, seeing many little children like Angels play before her, singing pleasing notes, giving her more than earthly comfort; and thus persuaded all, ever to have the holy fear of God before their eyes, which would free them from all evil, and be a curb to all temptations. She asked them to think that whatsoever came to them was by God's permission; and ever to have confidence that He would in mercy turn all to the best.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>From the time of her Mother's troubles, this queen had daily use of patience and few days of content, but only those that she established and restored the Catholic Religion to her kingdoms. While she was queen, in those few years, she suffered many conspiracies, and all out of malicious humours to God's truth. She gave commandment to all, both of her Council, and servants, to stand fast in the Catholic religion ; and with those virtuous and Christian advices, still in prayer and hearing good lessons, receiving the holy Sacraments of the Church, left this world, which was the 17th day of November, 1558.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixccwioBxXVVMC5KVzZLMOJIpcOWkNEfZCT3uMaiGiZ66dUw0lr9enhxQLPs0MKP-FSH86OKoa5NxVH-s2DSI3oDBMxODcPf8zxbudnawu9c5tX43nZKKFaIo5WF3yFxwRQDLyni78Yjw/s1600/detail481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixccwioBxXVVMC5KVzZLMOJIpcOWkNEfZCT3uMaiGiZ66dUw0lr9enhxQLPs0MKP-FSH86OKoa5NxVH-s2DSI3oDBMxODcPf8zxbudnawu9c5tX43nZKKFaIo5WF3yFxwRQDLyni78Yjw/s1600/detail481.jpg" height="320" width="181" /></a></i></div>
<i> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>That morning hearing Mass, which was celebrated in her chamber, she being at the last point (for no day passed in her life that she heard not Mass) and although sick to death, she heard it with so good attention, zeal, and devotion, as she answered in every part with him that served the Priest; such yet was the quickness of her senses and memory. And when the Priest came to that part to say, </i>Agnus Dei, qui follis peccata mundi<i>, she answered plainly and distinctly to every one, </i>Miserere nobis, Miserere nobis, Dona nobis pacem.<i> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Afterwards seeming to meditate something with herself, when the Priest took the Sacred Host to consume it, she adored it with her voice and countenance, presently closed her eyes and rendered her blessed soul to God. This the duchess hath related to me, the tears pouring from her eyes, that the last thing which the queen saw in this world was her Saviour and Redeemer in the sacramental species; no doubt to behold Him presently after in His glorious Body in heaven. A blessed and glorious passage.</i></blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUf8VY3n7P6DxT1clU8SQrVmbYL3VGYr_UsB44czfmRcNTd4KG1FQpJ6Xy1tBeZxKp2upT1X6r0tFtgPkLoZykbssN8o41z8vvytfvCXYU64HPAGjsMjoLWUc-A6CmXxzODjSYpjEQRc/s1600/detail1448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUf8VY3n7P6DxT1clU8SQrVmbYL3VGYr_UsB44czfmRcNTd4KG1FQpJ6Xy1tBeZxKp2upT1X6r0tFtgPkLoZykbssN8o41z8vvytfvCXYU64HPAGjsMjoLWUc-A6CmXxzODjSYpjEQRc/s1600/detail1448.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a><i><br /></i>
Reality probably wasn't so inspiring. Mary was given last rites just before midnight on Wednesday, November 16, 1558 and mass was celebrated in her chamber for the last time at dawn the following morning. Afterwards, Mary fell asleep and died somewhere between five and seven AM. One <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/venice/vol6/pp1547-1562">account</a> says she passed so quietly that no one noticed for a while, which is why we don't know the exact time of her death.<br />
<br />
The few remaining courtiers scattered, everyone hoping to get to Elizabeth first with the news. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton pulled a ring from Mary's finger (some sources say it was her coronation ring; others say it was her betrothal ring) and took it to Elizabeth as proof of the queen's death, but was crushed when he arrived and discovered that his news was already rendered "stale" by the arrival of the council.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9E0ihJCKQtZZaHVLW3A7L2DsW90W4xpjfFtZxPOpKr9BHi3BCbTW3I8NMZ85pLzV2Eo6E5O8SGJdQd6bv1VMAZJt9XjUAZ6ls9KLiXF2m4zMzgUdUTx5pnRjnwIZ8on1ggbFZ8Bg48Y/s1600/funeral+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9E0ihJCKQtZZaHVLW3A7L2DsW90W4xpjfFtZxPOpKr9BHi3BCbTW3I8NMZ85pLzV2Eo6E5O8SGJdQd6bv1VMAZJt9XjUAZ6ls9KLiXF2m4zMzgUdUTx5pnRjnwIZ8on1ggbFZ8Bg48Y/s1600/funeral+7.png" /></a></div>
<br />
Mary's body was left with the handful of loyal household attendants who would prepare her for burial. They didn't have undertakers in the Tudor era. It was Mary's own physicians and household officers that embalmed her, rendering their final services to their queen. Her mother, Katharine of Aragon was <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-queen-is-dead-katharine-of-aragons.html">embalmed</a> by her chandler, the household officer in charge of candles and soap.<br />
<br />
Mary was disemboweled by her surgeons and her heart and lungs were removed. The Clerk of the Spicery and the chandlers packed body's cavity with spices and herbs before wrapping it in cerecloth, a wax-coated white cloth used for burial shrouds. (Agnes Strickland cites an early historian, Gregorio Leti, who claimed Mary was buried in the habit of a nun, but considering she was uxorious in the extreme, I think it's unlikely.)<br />
<br />
The cloth-wrapped body was enclosed in sheets of lead by the "s<i>erjeant plummer,</i>" and then was placed inside a coffin. It was covered in purple velvet and decorated with lace and gold gilt nails - exactly the kind of coffin that Mary would have wanted.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLofHtf1bf258XArUNO70N8jMsu4aDzqblwPtSJA0vM0FYG7Xm8hxWydZtAh_Sq-Eq2qrrg14bUOGtym2ytH2OnM8bMOtuSD5hTMazbHd3XaIsf8BsjmJWHyenpskShP6bSXo9-L4c9fY/s1600/tudor+funservice.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLofHtf1bf258XArUNO70N8jMsu4aDzqblwPtSJA0vM0FYG7Xm8hxWydZtAh_Sq-Eq2qrrg14bUOGtym2ytH2OnM8bMOtuSD5hTMazbHd3XaIsf8BsjmJWHyenpskShP6bSXo9-L4c9fY/s1600/tudor+funservice.gif" /></a></div>
As was common, the organs that had been removed were buried separately. Mary's heart was placed in a silver casket lined with velvet and buried in the Chapel Royal of St. James. Her entrails might have gone to Westminster Abbey, because this interesting tidbit is found in the<i> <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=VcNNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=%22About+the+beginning+of+the+year+1670+the+funeral+obsequies+of+General+Monk+were+celebrated.&source=bl&ots=G7iFzhAKSA&sig=MX9alcBBTA5THEM2xNcmWYPK104&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aVuPVM6EPNS3yAS4n4G4DA&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22About%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20year%201670%20the%20funeral%20obsequies%20of%20General%20Monk%20were%20celebrated.&f=false">Memoir of Richard Busby</a></i>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>About the beginning of the year 1670, the funeral obsequies of General Monk were celebrated previously to which a royal vault was opened in which were two urns; one appropriated to Queen Mary, the other to Queen Elizabeth. I dipped my hand into each. I took out of each a kind of glutinous red substance, somewhat resembling mortar. That of Mary only contained less moisture.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cVeJ8TvCygtqltMppl1H7efCHjochLeqPHGgGL3lQB4weuj3vomGnOcwZhJui1R8ToCoc5-MX4ty_vrTv1sJspDQSnZWR2wJzHwZ9aAuuKqp4sGrDsD0cnv3MEsqwvn-JdWNXufIfCI/s1600/detail427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cVeJ8TvCygtqltMppl1H7efCHjochLeqPHGgGL3lQB4weuj3vomGnOcwZhJui1R8ToCoc5-MX4ty_vrTv1sJspDQSnZWR2wJzHwZ9aAuuKqp4sGrDsD0cnv3MEsqwvn-JdWNXufIfCI/s1600/detail427.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a>For over twenty days, Mary lay in state inside St. James, candles flickering around her bier. Elizabeth had ordered the highest respects be paid to her sister, modeling the services on those performed for her father. With one difference, however - Mary's rites were fully Catholic. Her ladies prayed around the clock beside her coffin, while masses were said for Mary's soul.<br />
<br />
On December 13, the funeral began. Mary's coffin was placed on a magnificently bedecked hearse and drawn to Westminster Abbey. On top of the coffin lay a wooden effigy, dressed in one of Mary's own gowns, holding a scepter and wearing a crown. Embalming being as primitive as it was, the wooden or wax effigy would lie in view for the month-long duration of the funeral instead of the actual body, so they felt it was important for it to be as <a href="http://thetemplarknight.com/2011/06/24/funeral-effigies-how-the-dead-appeared-at-their-own-burial/">lifelike</a> as possible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2P5w1YkGtSTcBME9xce3ii83jB7EuPt-e7QDg0Jrj5RST9UYyPlhjU4bFScYvF16H9AnscHt0TS4R1nG39_00DAtgukmY5MmOBHeYmjclwpkMve2ZiCPYY_SeQbTS_DpAOkkAlu7rzE/s1600/mary+tudor+detail+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2P5w1YkGtSTcBME9xce3ii83jB7EuPt-e7QDg0Jrj5RST9UYyPlhjU4bFScYvF16H9AnscHt0TS4R1nG39_00DAtgukmY5MmOBHeYmjclwpkMve2ZiCPYY_SeQbTS_DpAOkkAlu7rzE/s1600/mary+tudor+detail+2.jpg" height="101" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Elizabeth spared no expense in <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZALAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=was+opened+by+her+Physicians+and+Surgeons,+who+took+out+her+bowels,+which+were+coffined+and+buried+solemnly+in+the+Chapel&source=bl&ots=UifsnGiZez&sig=3P4Hy3tH8UdDsh7xy1lFKW2OrDc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KICPVPLAMJHisAT8rYDYCg&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">decking out</a> the chapel for the service:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>First, the Chapel was hanged with black cloth and garnished with scutcheons. The Altar was trimmed with purple velvet, and in the Dean's place was hanged a canopy of purple velvet, and in the midst of the said Chapel there was made a Hearse 4 square of 46 great Tapers, the which did weigh 20 lbs. weight, the piece being wrought with Crowns and Rosses of the same, and beneath the same Tapers a Vallance of Sarcenet, with the'Queen's worde ' written with letters of gold, and a fringe of gold about the same Vallance, and within that Vallance a Vallance of Buckrum with a fringe of black silk. The said Hearse was richly set with 'penceles and Seochins of Arms in metall.' There was under the said Hearse a Majestie of Taffeta with a Dome gilded, and 4 Evangelists in the 4 Corners of the said Majestie. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnXxSrwu9kIGtaEUBkLWH-o5cCP-CjpeULk_sJ5eL8lU0GiCm9Xr8Ee1hyphenhyphenua6_CADJFTduXMUcw5uR0nQCjRiFWQegu2nZTPMBv7HRV2-RsAQHOtSSHWhih7Qj9h2w8nGkpwsmq4t9fE/s1600/funeral+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnXxSrwu9kIGtaEUBkLWH-o5cCP-CjpeULk_sJ5eL8lU0GiCm9Xr8Ee1hyphenhyphenua6_CADJFTduXMUcw5uR0nQCjRiFWQegu2nZTPMBv7HRV2-RsAQHOtSSHWhih7Qj9h2w8nGkpwsmq4t9fE/s1600/funeral+2.jpg" height="107" width="320" /></a><i>The 6 posts were covered with black velvet, and on every post a 'scochin' of sarcenet in fine gold, the rayle of the same hearse within was hanged with a broad black cloth and the ground within both railes covered with black cloth, also the other side of the stools, which was instead of tbe rails on each side, was hanged with black. At each end there was made a Rail over what the said Chapel, which was also hanged with black and garnished with seochins ; within the rayles stood 15 stools covered with fine black cloth, and on the same 15 cushions of purple velvett, and under the feet 15 cushions of black clothe, at the head of the Hearse, without the rayle, there was made an altar, which stood on the left-hand of the Choir, covered with purple velvet, which was richly garnished with ornaments of the Church, which Chapel being thus furnished, order was given to the Serjeant of the Vestry for the safe keeping of the same till such time as the said Royal corpse was brought down unto the said Chapell.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Some sources say Elizabeth made dark hints about her displeasure if the court didn't turn out for Mary's funeral, so it was a parade of the highest nobles in the land.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUe6HQ9S_4s96E1DdOuEer8n7WyGhPIHuKvRomIOs8LGq_QmlD636KzzCiAGIfokOExCnfD0zwM0X0QZY1kfkLKVc8CmBK8792-v8HAQNvFqF7-myQpFu9q7l2GNSBYu8ywZvhk-MLNGY/s1600/tudor+funeral.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUe6HQ9S_4s96E1DdOuEer8n7WyGhPIHuKvRomIOs8LGq_QmlD636KzzCiAGIfokOExCnfD0zwM0X0QZY1kfkLKVc8CmBK8792-v8HAQNvFqF7-myQpFu9q7l2GNSBYu8ywZvhk-MLNGY/s1600/tudor+funeral.gif" height="199" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Then the Bushope of Worcester and other bushops, with the Queen's Chapel went up to fetch the said Corpse, and the Chapel stayed in the Great Chamber and the said Bushops went into the Chamber where the corpse was, and censed it and said divers prayers, and after the said Corpse was taken up by 8 Gentlemen and all the other sett in order, that is to say the Cross and on each side a white branch (carried by boys in surplices), then the Chapel, then all the Gentlemen and Squires with the Chaplains of no dignity, and on each side went the foresaid officers with torches and the said Guard also. </i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rbXxUwUQ76XrjvHoZV_IMhYtKtdZIMUef5P_Vs7coJBudxdh9T-ljQCPmmm18BRStrf5S83F8z_Qzekz9HU68wphhWTT-jOk5MqsFeuw28nhCSydf9QSlsnxECV-b7KhWDgiEDSbjTk/s1600/detail1232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rbXxUwUQ76XrjvHoZV_IMhYtKtdZIMUef5P_Vs7coJBudxdh9T-ljQCPmmm18BRStrf5S83F8z_Qzekz9HU68wphhWTT-jOk5MqsFeuw28nhCSydf9QSlsnxECV-b7KhWDgiEDSbjTk/s1600/detail1232.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Then all Knights and after them Councillors—then Barons, Bishops (not in pontificalibus), then the Overseers, then Earls, then the Executors, then the Kings of Arms; then the Corpse covered with a Pall of Cloth of Tissue of Gold (with the Crown of Cloth of Tissue) on each side the Corpse two Noblemen, that is to say, the Marquis of Winchester, the Earl of Westmoreland, Earl of Shrewsbury, and the Earl of Derby which touched the Corpse with his hands, and over the said Corpse was borne a canopy of purple velvet with 6 blue 'knopes' borne by 6 gentlemen. Then after the Corpse the Chief Mourner the Lady Margaret Countess of Lynnoux assisted by the Earl of Huntingdon and Viscount Montague, her train born by the Lady Katherine Hastings assisted by the Vice-Chamberlain, and after her the other (14) mourners, two and two: after them the other Ladies and Gentlemen, then after followed the Garde, and in this order went into the Chapel where the Corpse was placed within the Hearse, and Mourners, on each side seven, and at the head the Chief Mourner, kneeling at the Stools and Cushions as is aforesaid.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqwR4oxzlKacEPNIsH8Q80Xx0VEpV-u8AhzUBnVPs_Y1ug9BI-68DdsKGY8iUxkWRY6QGYiV3yB6A-Cccyzc0elQ_TBrQup_TxLd0NgZ2pPyaxBMUpWY2PfMxA1SDmNCOGh47AD2I5jo/s1600/Funeral_Procession_-_15th_Century_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqwR4oxzlKacEPNIsH8Q80Xx0VEpV-u8AhzUBnVPs_Y1ug9BI-68DdsKGY8iUxkWRY6QGYiV3yB6A-Cccyzc0elQ_TBrQup_TxLd0NgZ2pPyaxBMUpWY2PfMxA1SDmNCOGh47AD2I5jo/s1600/Funeral_Procession_-_15th_Century_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16531.jpg" height="320" width="185" /></a>The services were elaborate and lengthy, as Tudor royal funerals always were. Finally, after all of the ceremonies, Mary was buried in the chapel built by her grandfather, Henry VII.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Then the corpse was taken up by them that before bare the same and was carried to the chapel which was appointed for her burial, and there the foresaid Archbishop with the other Bishops said all the ceremonies. In the meantime of the saying of these prayers the iiij gentlemen ushers took away the pall, then the corpse was let into the grave and the Archbishop cast earth on the same.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Then came the noblemen, being officers, to the grave and brake their staves over their heads and cast the same into the grave; as the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Chamberlain, the Treasurer and Comptroller, the Sergeant Porter and the Gentlemen Ushers, their rods, and then they departed again to the other noblemen. And the burial ended, the Archbishop and the other Bishops did unrevest themselves. The ceremony of the burial done, as is aforesaid, of the said noble Queen (whose soul, God pardon!) the Noblemen and Prelates then there assembled, having with them the officers of arms, then came forth unto the face of the people, and Garter, principal King-of-Arms, assisted by ij Bishops, did declare the style of the Queen's Majesty in this manner.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIUe2Zx2OshAW5wg4tKMKt1H78o_qBF3iUUZvdITN7-gitAHD6Pe2B_vznREpfMrC3BuXPCL4Gpc4BZkoK_pdvX7PJoUT_j8i5E_VrTHNyYMwM-n4optrByofWRJz-m1U9B7-kwn55eg/s1600/detail468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIUe2Zx2OshAW5wg4tKMKt1H78o_qBF3iUUZvdITN7-gitAHD6Pe2B_vznREpfMrC3BuXPCL4Gpc4BZkoK_pdvX7PJoUT_j8i5E_VrTHNyYMwM-n4optrByofWRJz-m1U9B7-kwn55eg/s1600/detail468.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a><i>"Of the most high, most puissant, and most excellent Princess, Elizabeth, by the grace of God, Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.; God save Queen Elizabeth." Unto the which word all the noblemen held up their hands and caps, and the trumpets standing in the Rood loft sounded; and this done all the estates and others departed to the Abbot's house to dinner.</i></blockquote>
<br />
All in all, this extravaganza cost over £7,662, which is the equivalent to several million dollars today. But Elizabeth insisted upon it. Any disrespect shown to a Tudor monarch disrespected her own crown, after all.<br />
<br />
Mary's widowed husband, Philip II of Spain <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol13/pp435-442">wrote</a> to his aunt about his wife's passing at the end of a letter describing his peace negotiations with France:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNdJCnI-bAaBaeLfNMWEsgMFdnRmFF4EFvycjH_nMbu7SP2vgisgonpe8TMLCpEZzclUJs7-kk2LQC9Cii5VIYThYOx-nspBkzyV8_GWVqYiin1-CCLhmm-n_m0do6nYcujxJFajLn-Y/s1600/detail332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNdJCnI-bAaBaeLfNMWEsgMFdnRmFF4EFvycjH_nMbu7SP2vgisgonpe8TMLCpEZzclUJs7-kk2LQC9Cii5VIYThYOx-nspBkzyV8_GWVqYiin1-CCLhmm-n_m0do6nYcujxJFajLn-Y/s1600/detail332.jpg" height="320" width="275" /></a><i>The queen, my wife, is dead. May God have received her in his glory. I felt a reasonable regret for her death. I shall miss her even on this account.</i></blockquote>
<br />
He instructed his agent in England to represent him at the funeral and make sure to collect an <a href="http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol13/pp435-442">extensive list</a> of jewels he had left behind in England when he last departed. He was given back <i>La Peregrina</i>, the massive pearl he had given to Mary for their wedding. (It was recently <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16161592">auctioned</a> off at the estate sale of Elizabeth Taylor to an anonymous buyer.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyG_Erwr36pYilDSZM221ghOFdMT93MCIZOt-XPTT1y_sp9uKtUD3W_K_uZusmch1u8we0P6_mTzL-su7rFHuyy_iPQ2HsofFnXb6PWje2SSqqjbks-9xLywy4LCarQsOyJEUZmdr1RQ/s1600/detail46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyG_Erwr36pYilDSZM221ghOFdMT93MCIZOt-XPTT1y_sp9uKtUD3W_K_uZusmch1u8we0P6_mTzL-su7rFHuyy_iPQ2HsofFnXb6PWje2SSqqjbks-9xLywy4LCarQsOyJEUZmdr1RQ/s1600/detail46.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Mary's <a href="http://tudorhistory.org/primary/will.html">will</a> specified that her mother, Katharine of Aragon, was to be exhumed from her humble tomb in Peterborough Cathedral and brought to lie beside Mary, and an honorable tomb be erected in memory of the both of them.<br />
<br />
Despite the honor Mary paid to her mother's memory, she had made no moves to rectify her mother's simple burial as a princess dowager during her five-year reign. She left it to the daughter of Anne Boleyn. Did Mary really believe Elizabeth would re-bury Katharine with the honors due a queen when Elizabeth's legitimacy rested upon the notion that Katharine was <i>not</i>?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UbtImUkyQaG-OirWER_aOjw2KA-eg-OTjFpR3tXFhDzYAe8q_ywHCgWIcSaXmH4SHVaYNRUexVmCsZ6a8Vcw3AX3n8GHKf042x_dKc9HKyDy2GgzIXnygjSGUQPEbjNUbl5huq_O494/s1600/mary+tudor+detail+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UbtImUkyQaG-OirWER_aOjw2KA-eg-OTjFpR3tXFhDzYAe8q_ywHCgWIcSaXmH4SHVaYNRUexVmCsZ6a8Vcw3AX3n8GHKf042x_dKc9HKyDy2GgzIXnygjSGUQPEbjNUbl5huq_O494/s1600/mary+tudor+detail+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The tomb was never built, but too much shouldn't be read into that. Elizabeth seemed to have an aversion to tomb building in general. She never marked Anne Boleyn's <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-19-1536-body-of-queen.html">anonymous grave</a> beneath the floor of St. Peter-ad-Vincula, nor did she build a tomb for her <a href="http://under-these-restless-skies.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-repose-of-king-burial-place-of.html">father</a>, nor for her little <a href="http://westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/edward-vi">brother</a>, whose grave was unmarked until 1966. She didn't even build one for herself. That fell to James I, after Elizabeth's death.<br />
<br />
Mary's grave was unmarked for nearly fifty years after her death. Sources record that rubble from altars broken up during the Reformation were piled up on top of her tomb. When Elizabeth died, she was temporarily interred with her grandfather, Henry VII until James could finish building her magnificent tomb. When it was finished 1606, James exhumed Mary and buried her within it as well.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlaxYphKDG3EcuKX_FDzyv00b8PGyLJfBx-E5tBRDve9BV99hqamPkH3JfLc2KQxDPlz5QJ92taKKz2E1mLbJDCfR1RwFFCwjhIRnAioa2WV-JlMNt6KxG7k9wwJgi4r-E5w5-oGGXRc/s1600/mary+tudor+detiail+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlaxYphKDG3EcuKX_FDzyv00b8PGyLJfBx-E5tBRDve9BV99hqamPkH3JfLc2KQxDPlz5QJ92taKKz2E1mLbJDCfR1RwFFCwjhIRnAioa2WV-JlMNt6KxG7k9wwJgi4r-E5w5-oGGXRc/s1600/mary+tudor+detiail+7.jpg" height="320" width="138" /></a>Elizabeth's carved marble effigy is the one that decorates the lid of the tomb, and it is her achievements inscribed in Latin on the sides, but an inscription on the lower portion of the tom mentions Mary's presence as well:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of the Resurrection.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Perhaps Dean Stanley's epitaph was better than any inscribed on the tomb:<br />
<br />
"<i>The long war of the English Reformation is closed in those words. The sisters are at one; the daughter of Katherine of Aragon and the daughter of Anne Boleyn rest in peace at last</i>."<br />
<br />
<br />
The two coffins were placed into the same vault below the floor, Elizabeth's coffin placed on top of Mary's. For one last and final time, Mary was placed in a subordinate position to her half-sister.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfooH5HQhx4-l4t1fX0y6FZFKRgVZWYoaM2TEzSceviQN9042gpk7-TFHGXBmjoY7f1rk63010Qcux1cJzItH98YPCMTR1yorPQ56i90buNBsVIKSLDqnIEu9rR5lpmERgQuDgjfFnbg/s1600/detail143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfooH5HQhx4-l4t1fX0y6FZFKRgVZWYoaM2TEzSceviQN9042gpk7-TFHGXBmjoY7f1rk63010Qcux1cJzItH98YPCMTR1yorPQ56i90buNBsVIKSLDqnIEu9rR5lpmERgQuDgjfFnbg/s1600/detail143.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=p_wgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA511&lpg=PA511&dq=%22There+was+no+disorder+or+decay,+except+that+the+centering+wood+had+fallen+over+the+head+of+Elizabeth%27s+coffin,+and+that+the+wood+case+had+crumbled+away+at+the+sides,+and+had+drawn+away+part+of+the+decaying+lid.+No+coffin-plate+could+be+discovered,+but+fortunately+the+dim+light+fell+on+a+fragment+o&source=bl&ots=-2GOlsPp3K&sig=2R3Vsq7ObONCAN9mOYAokt94jt4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1ZmPVJCUBMm0yATn4YKIAw&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22There%20was%20no%20disorder%20or%20decay%2C%20except%20that%20the%20centering%20wood%20had%20fallen%20over%20the%20head%20of%20Elizabeth's%20coffin%2C%20and%20that%20the%20wood%20case%20had%20crumbled%20away%20at%20the%20sides%2C%20and%20had%20drawn%20away%20part%20of%20the%20decaying%20lid.%20No%20coffin-plate%20could%20be%20discovered%2C%20but%20fortunately%20the%20dim%20light%20fell%20on%20a%20fragment%20o&f=false"><i>The Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey</i></a> mentions that Elizabeth's and Mary's tomb was opened once during the search for the body of James I:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The excavations, however, had almost laid bare the wall immediately at the eastern end of the monument of Elizabeth, and through a small aperture a view was obtained into a low narrow vanlt immediately beneath her tomb. It was instantly evident that it enclosed two coffins, and two only, and it could not be doubted that these contained Elizabeth and her sister Mary. The upper one, larger, and more distinctly shaped in the form of the body, like that of Mary Queen of Scots, rested on the other.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>There was no disorder or decay, except that the centering wood had fallen over the head of Elizabeth's coffin, and that the wood case had crumbled away at the sides, and had drawn away part Vault of of the decaying lid. No coffin-plate could be discovered, but fortunately the dim light fell on a fragment of the lid slightly carved. This led to a further search, and the original inscription was discovered. There was the Tudor Badge, a full double rose, deeply but simply incised in outline on the middle of the cover; on each side the august initials E R: and below, the memorable date 1603. The coffin-lid had been further decorated with narrow moulded panelling. The coffin-case was of inch elm; but the ornamental lid containing the inscription and panelling was of fine oak, half an inch thick, laid on the inch elm cover. The whole was covered with red silk velvet, of which much remained attached to the wood, and it had covered not only the sides and ends, but also the ornamented oak cover, as though the bare wood had not been thought rich enough without the velvet.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> The sight of this secluded and narrow tomb, thus compressing in the closest grasp the two Tudor sisters, ' partners of the same throne 'and grave, sleeping in the hope of resurrection '—the solemn majesty of the great Queen thus reposing, as can hardly be doubted by her own desire, on her sister's coffin—was the more impressive from the contrast of its quiet calm with the confused and multitudinous decay of the Stuart vault, and of the fulness of its tragic interest with the vacancy of the deserted spaces which had been hitherto explored in the other parts of the Chapel. The vault was immediately closed.</i></blockquote>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKS4C-ztbTRmqx3fCj6Hrh_sOXZiOMe2_w1jqzHwKUdMeDLoLtMg2XijKCWpXsCVRgPhuDg01F9Iq2K8c2S4sVlpSXi9txlkW7bxppYlaEyXD2aIqg-PoysqMUejBAJAEFNuwqGnblnGY/s1600/detail1221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKS4C-ztbTRmqx3fCj6Hrh_sOXZiOMe2_w1jqzHwKUdMeDLoLtMg2XijKCWpXsCVRgPhuDg01F9Iq2K8c2S4sVlpSXi9txlkW7bxppYlaEyXD2aIqg-PoysqMUejBAJAEFNuwqGnblnGY/s1600/detail1221.jpg" height="145" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
"May they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage under these restless skies."<br />
<br />
<br />Lissa Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397546855668410933noreply@blogger.com0