It was May 1518, and Wolsey had been appointed Papal Legate; this gave him unprecedented
power and authority over the Church of England, surpassing even the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Wolsey was said to be the "proudest prelate that ever breathed."
It was now possible that the new cardinal may be in line to become pope,
but that would only be with the backing of the King of France or the Emperor.
The Treaty of Universal and Perpetual Peace
between England, France, and the Pope was negotiated
later in the year by Wolsey, who was successful in convincing Maximillian and Charles of Castille
to maintain unified European peace.
If Henry's sister Mary
were to become engaged to the Dauphin of France, it would help to cement the new arrangement.
Despite the fact that Wolsey did the majority of the negotiating,
Henry was the one who claimed credit for the agreement.
On the 25th of September, a delegation from France arrived
to inspect Princess Mary, who was then two years old.
Bonnivet, the admiral of France, would lead his party of eight noblemen into court.
After the meeting and dinner later that evening, Henry would lead with Mary by his side,
and 24 dancers, including Elizabeth Blount, which is the last time her name appears in records.
However, it is thought that the affair between herself
and the King continued for some time after this event.
Two days later, Mary was betrothed to the dauphin at Greenwich inside the queens great chamber.
Both Henry and Catherine were present alongside Wolsey and a representative
of the pope Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio.
Mary asked Bonnivet if he was "the dauphin of France because if you are, I want to
kiss you." it certainly lightened the atmosphere of what otherwise was a solemn occasion.
Henry had taken note of the French entourage
and wanted to bring his court in line with what they were doing across the channel.
Bonnivet had several young men with him known as Gentlemen of the Chamber.
This new Chamber was something the French King had introduced, and Henry,
not being one to want to miss out, decided this was a good enough reason to have a reshuffle.
On 18 September, Henry created the formal post of Gentlemen of the privy chamber.
It was an honour bestowed among some of Henry's closest colleagues and friends.
He described them as the "very soul of the king." It wasn't good news for Wolsey,
and he began to think his power might now be under threat.
His fears that he may be thrown out of government gave him the idea
that he would have to take out these pretenders at the first opportunity.
Henry, still reeling from his bad
luck of becoming a father to a son, took another nosedive in November
when Catherine gave birth but alas to a daughter, sadly the baby died before becoming christened.
More death would follow with news that the Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian had also passed away.
The following year Henry would spend St.
Georges day at Windsor before travelling to Richmond and Greenwich, where he would remain
throughout May. At this point, Wolsey pounced.
He told the privy chamber that certain members behaved in a manner not befitting their titles
with the dignity and honour the King so much wanted.
But his anger was short-lived; the chamber gazed into the eyes of Wolsey
with scorn and replied that he was the one who gambled away
large sums of money and instigated ideas well above his station.
Although the King knew about the altercation his gentle nature
at this time would quite possibly stop any rebuke of the matter.
However, Wolsey had proof, and it silenced his critics.
On a recent trip to Paris, Neville and Bryan had publicly disgraced themselves,
by throwing eggs and stones at people in the streets.
And even back in England, they had continued their lousy behaviour by drinking heavily,
poking fun at older courtiers and sneering as though they held all the bragging rights.
Boleyn, Norfolk and Worcester would ask the King to stop such behaviour
as it was reflecting poorly on him.
Henry thought about the request; after all,
he was the one who had instigated the over-familiarity with his new chamber.
As a result, Carew and Neville were sent to Calais,
with the remainder sent back to their properties to manage and carry out homely duties.
Although the men dispatched
were very aggrieved, the wiser older courtiers paid little respect to them.
Wolsey moved quickly and brought in his own men who could make great bidding for him,
but these were also men Henry liked, so it seemed a win-win situation for Wolsey.
Henry now declared he would pay less attention
to being a party king and concentrate his mind on a more political standpoint,
and for whats it's worth, he said he would become mature in his actions.
It was good news for the councillors, and with some troublesome friends
now out of the picture, life could take some semblance of state.
Although Wolsey still had his enemies at court, and Norfolk was one of his biggest attackers.
In 1519 the King had Nicolas Kratzer brought into his court.
Kratzer was a genius of the day and filled with a "brimful of wit," according to some.
Henry would utilise him as his astrologer, and Kratzer would remain with the King
throughout his reign.
Although he never fully grasped the English language, he once told Henry
that after 30 years, it just wasn't enough time to learn it.
28 June 1519, Pace returned from Germany with news that Charles of Castille had been elected as
the new Holy Roman Emperor but that he had bribed many of the electors at great expense.
When Henry heard this, he said he was "right glad that he had obtained
not the same." Henry's preoccupation over the imperial election forced the cancellation
between himself and Francis I of France, but both men agreed not to shave until they met in person.
Catherine disliked her husband's new look and pleaded with him to remove it for her sake.
The six-year age gap was now starting to show between King and Queen,
mutterings began that Catherine was looking "old and deformed"
yet the King was still more handsome than any other in Christendom.
Henry, at last, would become a father to a son.
Around June 1519, Elizabeth (bessie) Blount gave birth; he was named Henry Fitzroy.
the child had been born at Jericho house, a residence the King had purchased
from the Augustinian priory which had been established in the area since 1160.
It's said that Jericho was one of the King's houses of pleasure,
while Henry was away at the property, his servants would say in his absence,
"he had gone to Jericho." But this was great news for Henry,
he must have wondered if he'd ever have a son and illegitimate
or not he would now abandon all discretion and go with the flow.
During Fitzroy's early years, the child remained with his mother.
Wolsey was made a grandfather and present at the christening.
And so Elizabeth Blount was then to be referred to as the "mother of the king's
son" Elizabeth never returned to court, and the relationship with Henry stopped.
Wolsey arranged for her to be married to a well to do gent called Gilbert Tallboys.
Elizabeth was granted
a sizeable dowry from parliament; for Wolsey, this only aggrieved his enemies
accusing him of encouraging young gentlemen to become concubines by marriage to Bessie Blount.
But Tallboys only rose in stature; he was knighted in 1525
and became a member of parliament for Lincoln.
The couple would have three children before his death in 1530.
On 4 February 1520, the King would attend the wedding of Sir Thomas
Boleyns daughter Mary to William Carey, an up and coming gentleman at court.
Carey was well thought of by Henry with indications that the boy would go far!
Rochford Hall in Kent would be the newlyweds home.
Yet they were also given lodgings at the court near to the King, which showed every favour.
The onsite living arrangements was quite possibly due to Henrys interest in the bride, it's
not clear how when or why this twosome pulled off their affair, but Mary
would certainly replace any thought of Elizabeth who had been quite clearly put out to pasture.
Yet Mary came with a reputation which meant the King
would have to walk on eggshells to keep this one quiet!
Mary Boleyn had gone to France with Henry's sister Mary Tudor in 1514,
and after the rest of the entourage returned, she decided to stay on.
It was said that "rarely did any maid or wife leave that court innocent" Mary was undoubtedly
free with her favours, especially Francis I, who once called her
his "English mare." Mary returned to London in 1520; given her past,
she was fortunate to be allowed to match with someone of Careys standing,
but it seems Henry was the interested party in this and quite possibly the deciding factor.
There is little to no evidence of the affair.
It pops up because, in 1528, Henry had asked the pope to give him
a dispensation to marry Marys sister Anne Boleyn even though he had already
placed himself within the forbidden degrees of affinity for sleeping with her sister.
In 1523 Henry named one of his ships Mary Boleyn, not named after his mistress,
but because he had purchased it from her father alongside another vessel called Anne Boleyn.
Good news for Boleyn senior, his rank was rising, and he was soon elevated to the position of peer,
all this on the back of his daughter's interest in the King.
Mary had a daughter in 1524, followed by a son in 1526.
Many said that the boy resembled the King.
John Hale, the vicar of Isleworth,
pointed out to William Carey that the boy was the King's bastard son.
Although he had admitted his first son publicly, Henry would not be going down this road again.
Yet if it had been Henry's son, he may have taken the same course of action as before with Fitzroy.
After the furore around these children, it's considered Henry
and Mary's relationship had been over for a while by the time of her sons birth.
And anyhow, by now, the King had another interest.
Henry had fallen in love with Mary's sister, Anne Boleyn!
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