The Other Tudors (27 page)

It was to this circle that Henry VIII gravitated. Within that group Anne, her brother George and the poet Thomas Wyatt formed a clique. Although Wyatt was married, he fell passionately in love with Anne and they played out their courtly ‘romances’ (all poems, sighs, tokens, service by the men and coy acceptance or rejection by the ladies), until Henry VIII joined in and fell in love with Anne in earnest. Thomas Wyatt was married to Lord Cobham’s daughter, Elizabeth Brooke, when he wrote a poem entitled, ‘Of his Love, called Anna’:

Anne made an instant impact on the Court. She had glossy dark hair, was a good musician, a graceful dancer and possessed exquisite French manners. She also dressed well, which was important since Tudor ladies were expected to show off the latest fashions. She invented a hanging sleeve to hide a blemish on one hand and a high collar that hid a mark on her neck (a birthmark or mole). She was reputed to be a wit, and men seemed to find her irresistible. Since she caused so much interest, we are fortunate to have several descriptions of Anne. The Venetian Ambassador said of her:

Nicholas Sander, a Catholic exile, born in 1527 and living abroad in 1561, wrote of what he had heard about Anne, a rather honest assessment:

George Wyatt, grandson of the poet who had loved Anne, wrote concerning that ‘extra finger’ and her other attributes:

Anne found herself in a strangely ambiguous position at Court. Although she was niece to the country’s premier Duke and daughter of a leading diplomat, she was also the sister of Henry VIII’s current mistress. Despite this, in September 1523, a year after her return to England, Anne was loved and solicited in marriage by Henry Percy, the son and heir of the Earl of Northumberland. George Cavendish wrote of the meeting of Percy and Anne, that he was a visitor to the Queen’s chambers where he met her ladies: ‘… when it chanced the Lord Cardinal at any time to repair to the Court, the Lord Percy would then resort for his pastime unto the Queen’s chamber, and there would fall in dalliance among the Queen’s maidens, being at the last more conversant with Mistress Anne Boleyn than with any other; so that there grew such a secret love between them that at length they were insured together, intending to marry …’
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This was a formidably good match for the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn. Despite its noble connections to Ormonde and Norfolk, the Boleyn family was not particularly rich or of the first rank of nobility. The marriage would have placed Anne Boleyn at the very centre of English society, and established her as a wealthy and powerful woman. Her suitor was young, quite good looking and very much in love – Anne could hardly have expected to do better.

However, the match was broken by Wolsey, who did not consider her to be good enough for the Percys. In the end, the young man was very unhappily married to a daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury. A record exists, written by Cavendish, of Wolsey’s approach to the young Percy. He started by pointing out that both the King and Percy’s father, the Earl of Northumberland, were angry at his clandestine behaviour and about the young lady he had chosen. Percy responded by listing Anne’s noble connections and saying that he had hoped his father would approve of his choice; he had not known that the King had any interest in the matter. According to Cavendish, the great Cardinal would not allow one of the country’s premier earls to throw himself away. He reminded Percy that the King had made his feelings known and the whole matter should be at an end. Percy tried to counter that he had already promised marriage to Anne, but Wolsey assured him that this was irrelevant. What mattered was that Percy should do as he was told. Realising he would have to give in, Percy agreed and so the betrothal was broken off.

There is no suggestion that Henry VIII was himself in love with Anne at this point, only that he, Wolsey and the Earl had all decided – somewhat ironically – that she was not of suitable rank to become the bride to the heir to the Earl of Northumberland. Anne had her affair with Percy in 1523; she left Court shortly after that, possibly ordered home by the Cardinal to keep her away from Percy, and just possibly in a fit of pique at being humiliated, rejected as an unsuitable bride in front of the Court. She returned to Court in late 1525 or early 1526.

This affair is said to have been at the root of Anne’s hatred for Wolsey. Anne saw that her chance of making a remarkably good marriage to a young man who sincerely loved her had been ruined. Since we have no way of knowing and no direct evidence, Anne may well have loved Percy in return or at least held him in great affection. She had been left in no doubt as to the reason for Wolsey’s intervention – she simply wasn’t good enough for Percy. In retrospect, it was a most unfortunate decision. On a personal level, she and Percy might have lived happily together, with a large family and Anne as a harmless ornament to the Court. As it was, Percy’s marriage was extremely unhappy: he and his wife loathed each other. She deliberately aborted her one pregnancy and they had no children.

In later years, when Anne and Henry were considering marriage, Percy stated that there had never been any formal engagement or contract between him and Anne Boleyn. This was an important issue as at the time there were considered to be three stages of marriage. The first was a
de futuro
Promise of Marriage (saying ‘I will’ rather than ‘I do’), which could be made between infants and children; this could be revoked if one or both of the parties requested it. Only cohabitation could bar a couple from withdrawing from a
de futuro
promise so it particularly applied to matches arranged between minors. The second stage was the
de praesenti
betrothal; a solemn and binding promise to marry. It could be done publicly or privately in front of witnesses. Whilst in this state, neither participant could marry anyone else; such a marriage would be illegal, and any children born would be illegitimate. It was at this point that the banns were called, allowing anyone who had any knowledge of any prior commitments to make their objections known. The final stage was the actual marriage, a religious ceremony to sanctify the union. This had to be done by a priest and before witnesses. The vows were now, ‘I do’, and wedding gifts were given.
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A precontract or betrothal was a serious matter; it was almost as binding as marriage itself. If there had been any formal promise of marriage between Anne and Percy, this would have put her marriage to Henry in jeopardy. If they had a son, in later years his legitimacy could be challenged by anyone who could prove that there had been a preconnection with another man. This explains Percy’s vehement insistence that there had never been anything formal between him and Anne. Wolsey could not have foreseen the events to come, but Anne was in a perfect position to cause him trouble. When it came to Henry’s world, Anne was related to, or friendly with, many of his circle – Charles Brandon was a friend, as were William Compton and Thomas Wyatt; Francis Bryan was Anne’s cousin and Henry Norris was a distant relation. Anne was, through her mother, related to the widespread Howard family. It was incredibly easy for her to become part of Henry’s intimate group.

In July 1527, Cardinal Wolsey wrote to the King, and made the first mention of his ‘great matter’ – his proposal for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. In 1518 Catherine had been pregnant for the last time and Henry saw he now had little chance of a lawful male heir from her. Unfortunately, in June, Rome had been sacked by a Spanish army, and the Pope was the prisoner of Charles V, Catherine of Aragon’s nephew. Henry VIII was now highly unlikely to get papal dispensation to end his marriage.

The divorce was suggested by Wolsey, partly to further reduce Catherine’s influence with Henry regarding Charles V, since the Cardinal was pro-French. Catherine had shown herself to be Wolsey’s enemy, and this was his chance to get rid of her. More importantly Henry wanted a son. Once Henry had been shown a way, nothing could save Catherine from divorce, leaving Henry free to take another, younger wife. Whether before or after making the decision to obtain a divorce, when Henry first fell in love with Anne Boleyn, he did not think in terms of marrying her. Like her sister Mary, he saw her as a potential mistress. Anne’s refusal to become just another passing fancy spurred him on with the thought that, if he were free, he could marry her. Anne also refused to have a sexual relationship with Henry since the prospect of marriage was before her as it had never been for her predecessors. The depth of Henry’s passion for Anne only served to emphasise his need for the divorce and made him more determined then he might otherwise have been.

In June 1528, Sir Thomas Heneage, the Cardinal’s Gentleman Usher, wrote to Wolsey; he mentioned the Lady Anne and her rise in the King’s esteem. However, even then, Henry was still appearing at public functions with Catherine, apparently in harmony. For some time it was uncertain as to whether the divorce would happen, and it was certainly unclear as to whom the next queen would be, if it occurred. If Anne Boleyn was considered at all, it would have been as the King’s mistress at this stage.

It was almost certainly in 1526, after her return to Court, that Henry first fell in love with Anne. A letter survives, from Anne to the King:

Her sister had already been Henry’s mistress, but Anne had no intention of being used and discarded. At first, she may just have been holding Henry off so as to make the best possible bargain when she followed Mary’s example; with the Queen’s influence in decline, Anne might have hoped to be the sole mistress and wield enormous power. If Anne had a son, he would be made a duke, like Richmond had been, and might even become heir to the throne.

One of Henry’s early letters to Anne makes it quite clear that, at least to begin with, Henry had no thoughts of marriage with her: ‘… if it shall please you to do me the office of true, loyal mistress and friend, and to give yourself up, body and soul, to me who will be and have been your very loyal servant … I promise you… that also I will take you for my only mistress, rejecting from thoughts and affection all others save yourself, to serve you only.’
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At some point, however, Henry mentioned marriage and Anne realised that this was a real possibility; after all, Edward IV had married Elizabeth Woodville and made her Queen of England. She too had had nothing but the desire of the King, and she had been the daughter of a knight. All Anne had to do was maintain Henry’s interest and keep her honour intact. Once she saw the glittering prize, Anne kept Henry interested in her for six years – it was marriage or nothing.

Seventeen of Henry’s love letters to Anne survive, ten in French and seven in English. When Henry courted Anne, the World was interested. Thankfully, Cardinal Campeggio, on his visits to England, managed to acquire several love letters written by the King to Anne, which he passed to the Pope to let him see how things were developing. They can now be found in the Vatican Library.