For a story of this period of
history, it certainly still resonates with a very modern feel.
A family drama like no other, one full of ambition, cruelty,
betrayal, desperation, and love, lies hidden to the fates of Henry VIII’s wives.
It is a political story of such fundamental importance
to England’s advancement as a sovereign country.
It continues to be the opening
and often the last history lesson we teach our children.
Anne who was the second wife of Henry, is the protagonist.
She is still recognised as the most remarkable woman of her age.
In May of this year, it was 486 years
since this lady was beheaded in the Tower of London.
The last days of her life have been told numerous times in that period.
So join me now as we look at the latest evidence to suggest
the queen was far more notorious than we’ve ever been told.
As new information comes to light on the tragic life of Anne Boleyn.
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Our story opens with a dramatic account of the day in question,
one that could have been lifted from any recent Tudor documentary.
But the scenes we see are just the start of a more comprehensive investigation.
Although this was shocking at the time, distraught courtiers rushing through cold
palace corridors provided the backdrop for an engaging argument over
how much we know about this significant crisis of the Tudor era.
Prominent historians and, more contentiously, authors from the time
of the Tudor period have contributed their thoughts to this discussion.
Scholarly voices include David Starkey, Suzannah Lipscomb, and G. W. Bernard.
Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall, and Philippa Gregory, author of The Other
Boleyn Girl, are the two leading ladies of Tudor literature.
Yet, evidently, they only sometimes see eye to eye.
Firstly let’s review that build-up and fateful day.
Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII’s queen from 1533
until her death on May 19, 1536.
Her father was Thomas Boleyn, Viscount Rochford,
and later Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond.
Anne was beautiful, intelligent, French-educated, and sophisticated.
At a young age, Anne was secretly betrothed
to Henry Percy, heir to the earldom of Northumberland,
a union that would have made her the de facto “Queen of the North.”
But her luck changed when she grabbed the notice of Henry VIII.
The King’s long marriage to Catherine of Aragon had failed
sexually and dynastically, so he had begun looking elsewhere
for recreation and a new queen.
Anne kindly supplied it but for a king’s ransom.
And the unsettling rift between England and the church in Rome
was the price she paid to keep her throne.
It would be difficult to exaggerate Anne’s daring in pulling off her revolution.
David Starkey said “Think about the thought that someone like her
could topple the marriage of the king of England to the princess of Spain,”
“People in 1509 would have looked at you like you were crazy
if you’d said something like that to them.” It was the first time
an English monarch had ever divorced.
Even the French King
Louis XII did this only after striking a deal with the Vatican. But
it’s essential to appreciate how shattered things got
once Anne did her thing.
The King wed the
daughter of a lowly nobleman in January of 1533,
and his first marriage was declared null and void in May of the same year.
Anne was crowned on June 1, seven months
pregnant, carrying the future Elizabeth I.
Her death came in fewer than three years.
So why do you suppose that is?
It is the big question that her final days pose.
There are as many perspectives as there are authors.
According to one theory,
the King turned to Jane Seymour after a string of miscarriages
which exposed Anne to the monarch’s wandering eye.
He clarified that he wanted to “rid her” by whatever means necessary.
And yet, Thomas Cromwell, the chief minister, plotted against Anne
because of their conflicts, her seeming hold on the King,
and her inclination to intervene in state affairs.
Bernard proposed a third possibility: that Anne was guilty of adultery, incest,
and treason, all of which contributed to her execution.
Another option is that Henry “just goes mad,” as expressed by Gregory. The
man becomes a little bit crazy.” Within these final days of Anne, we
should consider all these options but not settle on a single explanation.
It does seem quite risky and one above any certainty.
But it’s not as risky as putting novelists and historians on an equal footing
in what is described as a historical dispute,
though, because the explanations for Anne’s death
and existence are based on intuition due to a lack of concise information.
It’s at this point where the story could fall apart.
Gregory thinks Anne is interesting to study because she serves
as a historical mosaic on which different people can imprint their unique ideas
and beliefs.
Gregory said, “she is a typical example of a renowned woman,
where the picture you have of her informs you what the historian
believes about women,” She continues.
“According to your preconceived notions, she is either the whore or a near-saint.
Fixing her up gets intensely personal.
You must already have formed an opinion on the weight of the historical evidence
before you begin to examine it.”
As for Starkey, he finds this completely preposterous.
He argues that we should cease treating writers of historical fiction
as though they were actual historians.
Insisting that they hold any power is a complete farce.
They have a knack
for visualising characters, which is why their works are so famous.
When it comes to dealing with historical documents however,
they have no credibility.” He argues, “Henry VIII’s
wives are too important to be relegated to clickbait.”
Their significance lies in how they affect the bigger picture of the period
and the history of every person who ever lived in England at the time
and in the future.” So was Anne an icon of feminism or a historical giant?
The second option seems more likely.
On the other hand,
Anne has never been the type to lend herself to a detached examination.
The most recent biographer, American academic Susan Bordo,
argues “that she could only channel Anne’s emotions on the day of her execution
because she was run over by a bicycle.”
It’s frustrating for historians
because Anne Boleyn’s legend persists just as fiercely as the truth.
She’s just as polarising as she was before she lost her life.
But now the new proof that Anne Boleyn had multiple encounters while married to
Henry VIII has surfaced in a poem describing
her unfaithful behaviour.
The second queen was executed because she was accused
of having sexual relations with five men, including that her brother.
Historians have claimed
that she was framed by those loyal to Catherine of Aragon, the first queen,
or that Henry invented the accusations because he was denied a son.
Still, a poem composed in France just days after her death
in 1536 has cast doubt on these theories.
Tudor historian Bernard claims that musician Mark Smeaton, courtier
Henry Norris, head of the King’s chamber, and Boleyn’s
brother George are all named in the 1,000-line poem by Lancelot
de Carles, secretary to the French ambassador to England.
It’s a poem that pulls no punches
and calls Anne a “common whore.”
Despite the poem’s reputation as a literary work and “undeserving of credit.”
Professor Bernard claims he has found evidence to substantiate
its contents in letters and other documents from the time.
Bernard names the queen’s privy chamber lady
Elizabeth Somerset the Countess of Worcester.
She is quoted in the poem as noting that her promiscuous behaviour
paled to that of her monarch, who was sleeping with her brother.
Her claims against Anne were more believable
because of their close relationship.
According to Bernard, Anne’s lady-in-waiting “would have been not only
aware of it, but more likely to have been complicit” in adulterous deeds.
Elizabeth testified against Anne Boleyn in 1536,
saying the queen’s sister had committed multiple acts of adultery
with several men, including courtier Henry Norris, musician
Mark Smeaton, and the queen’s brother, George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford.
Yet this written work
has brought what some say is the truth to the table.
It exposes the tension and lifts the lid on one of the most,
if not most, scandalous periods in Henry’s reign.
Lancelot de Carle’s poem continues, this
in its translated form, “after being cautioned by her brother,
the counsellor’s sister, who showed her not to appear promiscuous, declared, ”I’m
not the greatest offender when it comes to promiscuous behaviour.”
“But you detect a minor fault in me while disregarding a much bigger problem
that is much more devastating,”
The Countess then says, “I must not fail to mention
what seems to me to be the worst part, which is that
her brother has sexual knowledge of her in bed.”
Although many historical records agree that the claims concerning
incest between Anne and George are trumped-up,
the evidence given would all lead to the demise of Anne.
Agent of the Lord Deputy of Calais, John Hussee,
claimed, “as to the queen’s accusers, my lady of Worcester is reported
to be the principal.” This statement confirmed that Elizabeth Somerset
was the privy counsellor’s sister mentioned in the poem.
Smeaton and Norris were mentioned in the poem
as being “seduced” by the queen’s kisses and hugs.
eventually it all led to three men and two courtiers who were tried
and beheaded for “carnal love of the queen” on May 17, 1536.
Hilary Mantel says that, “Anne’s supporters hate
anyone who says this, but it is possible that she did have affairs.
The allegations seem wildly implausible to us,
but clearly did not seem so at the time.
It is the incest allegation that seems lurid overkill.
But the 16th century did not invest incest with especial loathing.
It was one of a range of sinful sexual choices.”
This evidence has now been made public. But will it enlighten
everyone who reads it or infuriate the believers that Anne was framed,
and nothing
can argue against that? Bernard said: “Experts have said it’s ridiculous
to think a queen would do something so outrageous as to commit adultery.
If the queen’s women were in on it,
it’s not so hard to imagine how it happened.”
Although David Starkey maintains that Anne Boleyn was not sexually immoral,
he said, “What Professor Bernard has to say will definitely have some value.
This man is a deadly-serious academic with an incredible depth
of period knowledge.”
During the events of Anne’s investigation, which took place
in the spring of 1536, Elizabeth Somerset was seven months pregnant.
While still imprisoned in the Tower, Anne felt concerned
about her former lady-in-waiting’s complications.
Because “her infant did not stir in her body,”
she “much regretted my lady of Worcester.” Yet while Anne Boleyn was still
languishing in jail, Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter
which she christened Anne.
Regardless of how you interpret the evidence, it is undeniable that she
was not only the controversial wife, but one that actively participated
in this period. She performed her historical role,
and many will say in reality, she changed history.
Suzannah Lipscomb has said, “The love affair between Henry VIII and Anne
Boleyn is shrouded in historical myth, romantic legend, cliché and half-truths.
Much of their story remains fiercely debated by historians, everything
from why Henry fell for Anne, to why he destroyed her
in the end.” In the end, Yet every generation discovers
its Anne Boleyn, and every generation also debates her.
Shakespeare acknowledged at the end of Henry VIII that “Tis
10 to one this play can never please all that are here.” He was the expert
on historical drama of all time, and he was quite possibly correct.
However, I think that this Anne Boleyn is still relevant today, and then
even tomorrow.