Anne Boleyn in London by Lissa Chapman

Author:Lissa Chapman [Chapman, Lissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Royalty, history, Europe, Great Britain, General
ISBN: 9781473843615
Google: yCxqjgEACAAJ
Publisher: Pen & Sword History
Published: 2017-11-15T23:52:40.612747+00:00

Chapter 7

Anne the Queen: 1533–36

By 2 June 1533 Anne Boleyn must have been tired out, both mentally and physically. She was entering the third trimester of her first pregnancy, and there is evidence that she was unwell throughout all her pregnancies. She had been on what must have been an emotional precipice for much of the past six years – it had been far from clear, probably until he knew she had had conceived, that the King would go through with the decisive step of a final break with Catherine, and with marrying her, without some form of agreement with Rome. Also, she had just been through the run-up to her coronation, in the planning of which she was fully involved, followed by four gruelling days of ceremonial, during which she was under constant intense scrutiny, much of it hostile.

Neither could she rest even then. Protocol demanded yet more celebrations – the slightest hint of a lack of honour being done to the new Queen would be gleefully leapt upon by those who wished her ill. As it was, Chapuys, clearly disappointed by the lack of overt trouble in London, was taking refuge in reporting that the coronation had been ‘cold, meagre and uncomfortable’. If any expected ceremony had been missing, not only Chapuys, but a chorus of other observers, would certainly have interpreted it either as a deliberate slight on the King’s part, or as a tacit acknowledgement of Anne’s unpopularity. So, Monday, 2 June had to feature jousting, dancing and a banquet in the Queen’s rooms. All this took place at Whitehall, with the jousting in the newly completed tiltyard. There appear to have been technical problems with the central barrier (or tilt) in the arena that meant it was difficult for the teams to land hits on each other, as the horses kept veering away. However, honour seems to have been satisfied, especially as Anne’s enemy, Sir Nicholas Carewe, was the captain of one of the teams. He was not the only one of those who had opposed Anne to put a good face on her triumph – it was only diehards like Sir Thomas More who were not present. More’s friends had clubbed together to send him £20 for a new gown to wear at the coronation: he took the money but stayed away. That, of course, was one of the purposes of the large-scale celebrations. To a great extent the strategy worked – almost everyone who was everyone was there. Later in the week the Court moved to Greenwich, where the merrymaking continued. Edward Baynton, Anne’s Vice Chancellor, wrote to George Boleyn, away on a diplomatic mission, that ‘as for pastime in the Queen’s chamber, there was never more’. The rest of June was also enlivened with the arrival of presents from well-wishers – one of the finest was a wonderfully decorated litter and three mules to carry it from the King of France. The death of the King’s sister, Mary, in late June does

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