September of 1532 was a momentous time for Anne Boleyn; it
was the month that Henry VIII created her Marquis of Pembroke. Women were
rarely ennobled and if they were the title was almost always inherited and
passed immediately to her husband upon her marriage. The excerpt below, from
the Letter and Papers, recalls the ceremony:
“…creacion of lady Anne, daughter therle<sp> [the
earl] of Wilteshier, marquesse of Penbroke”
“Sunday, 1 Sept. 1532, 24 Hen. VIII. The lady was conveyed
by nobleman and the officers of arms at Windsor Castle to the King, who was
accompanied by the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk and other noblemen, and the
ambassador of France. Mr. Garter bore her patent of creation; and lady Mary,
daughter to the duke of Norfolk, her mantle of crimson velvet, furred with
ermines and a coronet. The lady Marques, who was in her hair [meaning she wore
her hair down] and dressed in a surcoat of crimson velvet furred with ermines,
with trait sleeved, was led by Elizabeth countess of Rutland, and Dorothy
countess of Sussex. While she kneeled before the King, Garter delivered her
patent, which was read by the bishop of Winchester. The King invested her with
the mantle and coronet, and gave her two patents, -one of her creation, the
other of 1,000l. a year. She thanked the King, and returned to her chamber.”
Anne becoming marquess is important for two major reasons;
first of all it raised Anne herself to the peerage making her a more suitable
wife for a king. Secondly, her letters patent tell us a lot about the relationship
between Anne and Henry at that point in time; the papers leave out the
customary language granting inheritance to sons “lawfully begotten” Was this a
clerical oversight [unlikely in my opinion] or a physical manifestation of
Henry and Anne’s mutual fear that an annulment was out of reach and a desperate
attempt to legitimize their children who might be born out of the protection of
wedlock? In my opinion it is high improbable that such an omission would have
been accidental. Henry and Cromwell were meticulously and analytically planning
Anne’s rise to queenship. Therefore, this piece of evidence leads me to believe
that Henry and Anne were either having a sexual relationship at this point or
near to it. The omission of the “lawfully begotten” language would have
protected Anne’s children’s inheritance should she have fallen pregnant before
Henry’s annulment was finalized. Such protection would not have been necessary
had the two not been sleeping together and/or planning to.
Interestingly enough, the elevation also has significant contextual
importance: Marquess is the second highest, non-royal title during this time period,
second only to a Duke. This meant Anne was now raised higher than her father
(Earl of Wiltshire) and her brother George (Viscount Rochford). Pembroke, the
Welsh castle from which Anne’s title originated, last belonged to Henry’s great
uncle Jasper Tudor. Jasper had been long hailed as a hero of the Tudor family
because he was instrumental in helping Henry VII rise to the throne. By making
Anne not only an important noblewoman, but also granting her one of his
ancestral titles, Henry strove to show the world that he was serious about
making Anne his wife. These honor are indicative of the high esteem he held her
in; Anne was clearly not just a fleeting fancy.
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| Anne's Letters Patent |
Do you have a link to this image? I am hoping to get a closer look at the wording!
ReplyDeleteThis is actually as large as the image can be made. You can see a more clear copy in the Letters and Papers. It is however, in black and white there.
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