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| Portrait of Henry, Jane and their son Edward painted post-humously by Hans Holbein. |
Quote taken from The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Wedding of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
On May 30, 1536 Henry VIII married his third wife Jane Seymour. The wedding was small and took place in the Queen's Closet at Whitehall. Henry thought that Jane Seymour was actually his first "true wife" because his other marriages had been marred by incest and adultery. He believed that God would now grant him a son and heir; something he desperately hoped for. Jane made her public debut as Queen just three days later on June 2, 1536 at Greenwich. Her appearance was described in a letter to Lord Lisle by John Russell. He said, " On Friday last the Queen sat abroad as Queen, and was served by her own servants, who were sworn that same day. The King came in his great boat to Greenwich that day with his privy chamber, and the Queen and the ladies in the great barge..." Jane was officially proclaimed Queen the next day on Whitsun, the 3rd anniversary of Anne's coronation.
Quote taken from The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Quote taken from The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
This Day in Tudor History
On May 29, 1533 Anne's coronation celebration began. Her marriage to Henry VIII had been declared legal and binding by the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, the day before. Anne's victory celebration was to last four days. On this day a river pageant rowed the pregnant Anne, who was dressed in cloth of gold, from Greenwich Palace to the Tower of London where she was to stay in the sumptuously remodeled queen's apartments. Her barge was lavishly decorated and was accompanied by a wherry that flew her badge, the crowned falcon, and had a choir of women singing as the procession went downriver. All along the river crowds watched the new queen as she waved from the deck of her barge. Reports say there were over 300 watercraft on the River Thames that day as nobles turned out to fly their arms in a show of wealth and power. Gun salutes also followed the queen for two hours until she landed at the Tower Wharf where she was greeted by dignitaries, statesman, nobles and her husband who "...laid his hands on both her sides, kissing her with great reverence and a joyful countenance..." This day began the three year reign of Queen Anne Boleyn.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Reader Questions
This week I had over 30 question submissions! I am so glad that you guys are submitting and showing how curious you are about Anne and Tudor England! I am splitting this week's questions up in to two posts to make answering them all more manageable.
Q: Do you think Catherine of Aragon was a virgin when she married Henry VIII like she claimed?
A: It truly is impossible to know. Yet from my research and understanding of the primary source documents, I doubt it. The papal dispensation granted to Catherine and Henry said that her first marriage "might" have been consummated. Arthur and Catherine were bedded in front of the court, as was customary for the time, he made a joke about "...being in the midst of Spain" and that having a wife was "a good past time...". There was never any mention of there being sexual problems in the relationship until after Arthur's death. However, this is just my opinion and every person should research it and come to their own conclusions as it can never be proved one way or another.
Q: Why do portraits of Anne vary so much?
A: Well first off let me start by saying there is no absolutely authenticated portrait of Anne. I believe that the NPG and Hever portraits are most likely her. You can read my full article on the subject here.
Q: Did Anne have a relationship with Mark Smeaton? My instructor seems to think so.
A: Absolutely not, all three dates when Mark and Anne supposedly slept together have been disproven by historians. The first two dates were prior to Anne's official churching ceremony, meaning she was still in seclusion after the birth of Elizabeth, carefully watched by her ladies for signs of post-partum illness or distress. There is no way she could have "snuck out" to meet him. The third date was supposedly a meeting at Hampton Court in her closet, when court records prove that Anne was actually far away in Richmond.
Q: Did Anne and Henry really wear yellow to celebrate the death of Catherine of Aragon?
A: Great question! I don't think so, but it has been interpreted many ways. Some say they wore yellow in celebration, others say they wore yellow because it was the official mourning color of Spain. I have also heard that they wore yellow because it was often associated with the hierarchy of Ireland and Henry was trying to assert his claim as King of Ireland. Once again, this is a matter of opinion because they never told anyone of their exact reason for wearing yellow.
Q: What crimes was Catherine Howard convicted of?
A: Treason, she never admitted to adultery. I do not feel well enough informed to speculate on whether or not Dereham raped her as she claimed. I am however reading a great book on the subject right now called Catherine Howard: The Adulterous Wife of Henry VIII. I'll try to write a post on it when I feel more confident on what I think of her.
Q: Who is Catherine de Eresby?
A: Catherine de Eresby was the third wife of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk and best friend of Henry VIII. People often are not aware that de Eresby is Catherine's last name because she is almost always referred to as Catherine Willoughby. Willoughby was actually her father's title, Baron Willoughby. She was called Catherine Willoughby in much the same way Anne Boleyn was referred to as Anne Rochford. Catherine later became an outspoken advocate of religious reform and the guardian of Kateryn Parr's daughter Mary.
Q: What exactly did Henry VIII die of?
A: We don't know exactly but he was suffering from severe gangrene in his feet, infection in his leg ulcers and he had several strokes prior to his death. It was most likely a combination of a bunch of health problems.
Q: Why couldn't Mary I have children?
A: Well as we have clearly explored on this blog, fertility problems ran in Mary's family. She also did not marry until well into her forties, likely after she had stopped ovulating. Even if she was still capable of conceiving after her marriage, her husband Phillip spent much time away from England often returning to Spain for extended periods of time making having a child nearly impossible.
Q: Do you think Catherine of Aragon was a virgin when she married Henry VIII like she claimed?
A: It truly is impossible to know. Yet from my research and understanding of the primary source documents, I doubt it. The papal dispensation granted to Catherine and Henry said that her first marriage "might" have been consummated. Arthur and Catherine were bedded in front of the court, as was customary for the time, he made a joke about "...being in the midst of Spain" and that having a wife was "a good past time...". There was never any mention of there being sexual problems in the relationship until after Arthur's death. However, this is just my opinion and every person should research it and come to their own conclusions as it can never be proved one way or another.
Q: Why do portraits of Anne vary so much?
A: Well first off let me start by saying there is no absolutely authenticated portrait of Anne. I believe that the NPG and Hever portraits are most likely her. You can read my full article on the subject here.
Q: Did Anne have a relationship with Mark Smeaton? My instructor seems to think so.
A: Absolutely not, all three dates when Mark and Anne supposedly slept together have been disproven by historians. The first two dates were prior to Anne's official churching ceremony, meaning she was still in seclusion after the birth of Elizabeth, carefully watched by her ladies for signs of post-partum illness or distress. There is no way she could have "snuck out" to meet him. The third date was supposedly a meeting at Hampton Court in her closet, when court records prove that Anne was actually far away in Richmond.
Q: Did Anne and Henry really wear yellow to celebrate the death of Catherine of Aragon?
A: Great question! I don't think so, but it has been interpreted many ways. Some say they wore yellow in celebration, others say they wore yellow because it was the official mourning color of Spain. I have also heard that they wore yellow because it was often associated with the hierarchy of Ireland and Henry was trying to assert his claim as King of Ireland. Once again, this is a matter of opinion because they never told anyone of their exact reason for wearing yellow.
Q: What crimes was Catherine Howard convicted of?
A: Treason, she never admitted to adultery. I do not feel well enough informed to speculate on whether or not Dereham raped her as she claimed. I am however reading a great book on the subject right now called Catherine Howard: The Adulterous Wife of Henry VIII. I'll try to write a post on it when I feel more confident on what I think of her.
Q: Who is Catherine de Eresby?
A: Catherine de Eresby was the third wife of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk and best friend of Henry VIII. People often are not aware that de Eresby is Catherine's last name because she is almost always referred to as Catherine Willoughby. Willoughby was actually her father's title, Baron Willoughby. She was called Catherine Willoughby in much the same way Anne Boleyn was referred to as Anne Rochford. Catherine later became an outspoken advocate of religious reform and the guardian of Kateryn Parr's daughter Mary.
Q: What exactly did Henry VIII die of?
A: We don't know exactly but he was suffering from severe gangrene in his feet, infection in his leg ulcers and he had several strokes prior to his death. It was most likely a combination of a bunch of health problems.
Q: Why couldn't Mary I have children?
A: Well as we have clearly explored on this blog, fertility problems ran in Mary's family. She also did not marry until well into her forties, likely after she had stopped ovulating. Even if she was still capable of conceiving after her marriage, her husband Phillip spent much time away from England often returning to Spain for extended periods of time making having a child nearly impossible.
Monday, May 20, 2013
The Betrothal of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
On May 20, 1536 just one day after the execution of his wife Anne, Henry promised himself to Jane Seymour. Despite assertions that Jane was the most virtuous and discreet of Henry's wives, most Londoners believed that their relationship had been happening for a while. In fact, sometime between the arrival of Jane at Chelsea Palace and Anne's execution Henry wrote her a letter talking about the pamphlets and letters being circulated that condemned their relationship. Gossip and support of Anne were both on the rise suggesting that Henry was cruel for engaging in an extra-martial affair while his wife awaited trial in the Tower. He wrote:
"My dear friend and mistress:
The bearer of these few lines from they entirely devoted servant will deliver into they hands a token of my true affection for thee, hoping you will keep it for ever in your sincere love of me. Advertising you that there is a ballad made lately of great derision against us,which if it go abroad and is seen by you; I pray you to pay no manner of regard to it. I am not at present informed who is the setter forth of this malignant writing; but if he is found out, he shall be straitly[sic] punished for it.
For the things ye lacked, I have minded my lord to supply them to you as soon as he could buy them. Thus hoping, shortly to receive you in these arms, I end for the present,
Your own loving servant and sovereign,
H. R."
Despite this general sense of disapproval on the part of his subjects, Henry and Jane went forward with their betrothal, planning a wedding that would take place very, very soon.
"My dear friend and mistress:
The bearer of these few lines from they entirely devoted servant will deliver into they hands a token of my true affection for thee, hoping you will keep it for ever in your sincere love of me. Advertising you that there is a ballad made lately of great derision against us,which if it go abroad and is seen by you; I pray you to pay no manner of regard to it. I am not at present informed who is the setter forth of this malignant writing; but if he is found out, he shall be straitly[sic] punished for it.
For the things ye lacked, I have minded my lord to supply them to you as soon as he could buy them. Thus hoping, shortly to receive you in these arms, I end for the present,
Your own loving servant and sovereign,
H. R."
Despite this general sense of disapproval on the part of his subjects, Henry and Jane went forward with their betrothal, planning a wedding that would take place very, very soon.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Anne Boleyn's Scaffold Speech
"Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, according to law, for by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I come here only to die, and thus to yield myself humbly to the will of the King, my lord. And if, in my life, I did ever offend the King’s Grace, surely with my death I do now atone. I come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of whatof I am accused, as I know full well that aught I say in my defence doth not appertain to you. I pray and beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the King, my sovereign lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the earth, who has always treated me so well that better could not be, wherefore I submit to death with good will, humbly asking pardon of all the world. If any person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge best. Thus I take my leave of the world, and of you, and I heartily desire you to all pray for me. Oh Lord, have mercy on me! To God I commend my soul.”
(Taken from Eric Ives' The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn)
Anne Boleyn 1501- May 19, 1536
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