Mary Boleyn The True Story of Henry VIII's Favourite Mistress by Josephine Wilkinson

Posted by Sarah
Mary Boleyn The True Story of Henry VIII’s Favourite Mistress by Josephine Wilkinson

Mary Boleyn, 'the infamous other Boleyn girl', began her court career as the mistress of the king of France. François I of France would later call her 'The Great Prostitute' and the slur stuck.
The bete-noir of her family, Mary was married her off to a minor courtier but it was not long before she caught the eye of Henry VIII and a new affair began. Although a bright star at Henry's court, she was soon eclipsed by her highly spirited and more accomplished sister, Anne, who rapidly took her place in the king's heart. However, the ups and downs of the Boleyn sisters were far from over. Mary would emerge the sole survivor of a family torn apart by lust and ambition, and it is in Mary and her progeny that the Boleyn legacy rests.

I have always been fascinated with Mary Boleyn. Compared to her sister Anne she may be the unknown Boleyn sister, but for me there is so much more to Mary Boleyn. For me Mary is a woman of depth and substance, a woman whom defied the common rules of the time, defied her parents and ultimately followed her heart.

Unfortunately there has not been a great deal of information recorded about Mary. What has been recorded is scant but I felt as though Josephine Wilkinson did a marvellous job of compiling the small details about Mary’s life together to create a broader picture of his incredible woman. Wilkinson writes about Mary’s early years, where she was born and where she spent her youth. There are records that show Mary Boleyn went to France to serve as a lady in waiting to Princess Mary Tudor and Wilkinson talks about what Mary may have experienced and learnt during her time in France. She also looks at how Mary became a mistress to King Francis I, although for how long it is impossible to say.

Wilkinson then moves on to talk about Mary’s return to England, her marriage to Henry Carey and how she caught the eye of Henry VIII and became his mistress. It is believed that she was the King’s mistress for approximately three or so years, during which time she bore two children, Katherine Carey and Henry Carey. There is a great deal of debate as to whether the two children are Henry VIII’s illegitimate children and Wilkinson goes into a lot of detail outlining the pros and cons as to why they might or might not be the children of Henry VIII. The reasons proposed that both children might be fathered by Henry VIII is that during the time when Katherine and Henry were conceived Mary was the mistress of Henry VIII and sleeping with the King. Also there were rumours that Henry Carey looked quite a lot like Henry VIII and that Henry VIII gave Mary’s husband Henry Carey a series of grants and appointments around the time each child was born. On the other hand the suggestions against the two children being fathered by Henry VIII are that it is quite possible during the time Mary was the King’s mistress she may have also been sleeping with her husband. Henry VIII never acknowledged Katherine or Henry as his children, where had had acknowledged Henry Fitzroy, a son he bore with his previous mistress Bessie Blount. Wilkinson also proposes that Henry VIII may have had low fertility and that the grants given to Henry Carey could have just been to keep him silent and happy about his wife sleeping with the King.

There are many reasons for and against Katherine Carey and Henry Carey being or not being the children of Henry VIII. Wilkinson draws the conclusion that both children were probably fathered by Henry VIII but personally I do not believe they were. I just do not think there is enough evidence to prove that the children were fathered by Henry and one of the biggest reasons is that he never acknowledged them as his own, especially Henry Carey a male child.

After this Wilkinson writes about how Mary’s husband Henry Carey died of the sweating sickness and left Mary with two young children. The wardship of Mary’s son was granted to her sister Anne who went about providing a good upbringing and education for the boy.

Wilkinson also details Mary’s second marriage, a marriage which shocked quite a few people including Mary’s sister and family. In 1534 Mary Boleyn married again, but this time her husband was not chosen for her by her father, nor was he even a man of equal status. In fact William Stafford was nothing more than a soldier and a gentleman usher to the King. He was man far below Mary in status and this combined with the fact she married without her father’s consent, found Mary and her new husband banished from court. I find this utterly incredible in a time when women were often reliant upon their fathers or family to make a marriage match for them, Mary took matters in her own hands and married for love. She followed her heart and although she faced the consequences we learn that she would have gladly repeated her actions all over again.

In the book is included a beautifully written letter by Mary outlining her plight, begging Thomas Cromwell for some financial assistance since she and her husband had been banished. She also wished for him to intercede with her sister and father because she is upset she has lost their affection. Yet she also states in the letter that she loves her husband and would gladly lead a poor woman’s life to be with him.

I think Mary’s letter to Thomas Cromwell is one of the most eloquent, most beautiful letters I have ever read. Even though Mary’s letter was written over four and a half centuries ago you can still feel the passion, the despair, the longing and the love contained within her words. It is a beautiful letter which tugs at the heart strings even to this day.

Wilkinson then moves on to look at Mary’s relationship with her sister Anne. Once again there is not a great deal recorded about Mary during her sister’s courtship with Henry VIII or her time as Queen. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing written about Mary’s feelings on the charges of incest, adultery and treason brought against her brother and sister and we do not even know if Mary was allowed, or even wanted to visit them while they were in the Tower. My thought is that Mary probably would not have even been allowed to visit her siblings and she was probably kept away from court during this quite intense time.

After the death of her brother and sister Mary seems to slip into obscurity for a period of time. Wilkinson notes that her daughter Katherine became a lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves and that over the years Mary and her second husband William inherited some property and lands from Mary’s father after his death and were also granted some money from the King. It seems that in the end, even though Mary was banished from court for her marriage and at one stage was near financial ruin, she managed to live the last years of her life in at least some financial stability. Mary Boleyn died on July 30th 1543 and her place of burial is unknown.

At the end of this book I was left feeling both happy and sad. I greatly admire Mary Boleyn. Here is a woman whom dared to stand out on her own, she defied her father, her sister the Queen of England and her family, and married for love. She seems to have been the type of woman who followed her heart and although she faced many ups and downs overall it appears as though she ended her days happily. Yet the other part of me felt a little sad. Mary Boleyn was just as brave and ambitious as her sister Anne, but because she never became Queen of England, because her heart was set on love rather than the crown, so much of her life has been lost to history. Not even her final resting place has been recorded. I think Mary Boleyn deserves more recognition and credit than she has received and I am so glad that Josephine Wilkinson has written a book to shed a little more light on this fascinating woman.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Mary Boleyn. Wilkinson has a very smooth writing style which flows and draws the reader in making them want to learn more. I was so captivated by this book that I ended up reading it all in one day! I strongly recommend this book to any lover of Tudor history. Mary Boleyn is a fascinating person and one that people should learn more about.




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Mary Boleyn My Thoughts On An Extraordinary Life.

Posted by Sarah
Mary Boleyn
My Thoughts On An Extraordinary Life.

Mary Boleyn was the older sister of Anne Boleyn, the famous second wife of Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn may be one of the most famous women in history but her sister Mary was also a very interesting and a very passionate woman and should not be over shadowed. In this piece I aim to outline what is known about Mary Boleyn’s life and then give some of my own thoughts about this extraordinary woman. 
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A portrait thought to be Mary Boleyn, hanging in Hever Castle.

Mary Boleyn was the oldest daughter of Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard. Over the generations the Boleyn’s had progressively being doing better for themselves. Mary’s ancestor Sir Geoffrey Boleyn was a Mayor in London; he wed a lady named Anne who was the daughter and heiress of Lord Hastings. It was though this marriage that Geoffrey acquired Blickling Hall and Hever Castle. Anne and Geoffrey’s son William ended up being knighted and made a baron by Richard III. He married Lady Margaret, daughter of Thomas Butler, the Earl of Ormond. Mary’s father Thomas was the oldest son born to Sir William Boleyn and his wife Margaret. Thomas Boleyn went on to create quite a good marriage for himself by marrying Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. There is little recorded about Elizabeth Howard, she was a lady in waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon and believed to be of some beauty. Thomas Boleyn on the other hand was fluent in many languages including French and well educated. He was also quick witted and very good at sports, especially jousting which Henry VIII also enjoyed. He used his intellect and talents to work his way up through the English Court and throughout his early years at court received a number of rewards including being made a squire of the body and Knight of the Bath. 

There is some debate over when the Boleyn children were born but it is generally believed that Mary was the older sister born in approximately 1499/1500 at Blickling Hall, Norfolk. In 1597, Mary’s grandson Lord Hunsdon wrote a letter to a Lord Burleigh inquiring about the return of the Earldom of Ormond and referring to his grandmother as the older sister. Lord Hunsdon would not have been entitled to the Earldom if his grandmother Mary had not been the older sister, as the title was passed down through the line of the oldest child. If Anne was indeed older then the title would have gone to her decedents, namely her daughter Queen Elizabeth. Hunsdon must have been very sure that his grandmother was indeed the older sister to inquire about this title.  Also when Anne Boleyn was created Marquess of Pembroke in 1532 the letters patent referred to Anne as one of the daughters of Sir Thomas Boleyn. If she were the older surely the letters would have stated such. With Mary as the older sister, Anne followed in possibly 1501 and her brother George several years after.  There is also strong belief that there were two other Boleyn children born, Thomas and Henry but either both boys died in infancy or only Thomas lived until adolescence. 

During her time at court, Mary has been described as being beautiful, of a giddy nature, high spirited and enjoying all the trappings of court life. She is not however thought of as being as intelligent as her sister Anne or brother George. Despite this Mary was most probably given a good education along with her brother and sister and learnt all the necessaries of being a good and proper lady of the time including reading, writing, sewing, singing, dancing and playing a musical instrument. 

In 1514 Mary was sent to the French court to become a lady in waiting to Princess Mary Tudor, whom was to wed King Louis XII. However Mary’s time as a lady in waiting was to be short as after only a few months Louis XII died. After the death of King Louis XII, Princess Mary married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk before returning home to England. There are two trains of thoughts regarding Mary’s whereabouts between this time and 1520. Some historians suggest that Mary also returned with the Dowager Queen to England and became a lady in waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon. While others propose that Mary, as with her sister Anne, stayed in in France to serve the new King’s wife, Queen Claude. 

Whether she stayed only a short time or several years in France it is known that during her time in the country Mary famously became the mistress to Francis I, the new King of France. Her sexual activities, some say, were so well known that even the French King referred to her as ‘The English Mare’ and she was said to be ‘a great wanton and notoriously infamous.’ If Mary did become the mistress to King Francis I then surely she must have had something, beauty, charm, allure about her to capture the attention of a King. Unfortunately it is not known how long her relationship with the French King lasted. 

It is known that by 1520 Mary was back in England for on February 4th 1520, in the Chapel Royal at Greenwich, she married Sir William Carey, a handsome young man who became a gentleman of the privy chamber. The King was present at the marriage and gave the couple 6s and 8d as a wedding present. William Carey was the second son of Thomas Carey and Margaret Spencer; he was distantly related to the King as his mother was a cousin of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII’s grandmother. He was also a favourite of the King and he shared many sporting interests with Henry VIII including a love of jousting, riding and hunting. 

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Sir Henry Carey, Mary’s first husband.

Sir Carey is known to have introduced Lucus Horenbolte, a Dutch artist, to England. One of Horenbolte’s most famous miniatures is of a woman believed to be Anne Boleyn, painted in 1525. Yet there is some debate now as to whether the portrait is of Anne Boleyn or of her sister Mary Boleyn. Francesco Sanuto, a Venetian diplomat described Anne as 

‘not one of the handsomest women in the world; she is of middling stature, swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, a bosom not much raised and eyes which are black and beautiful’. (Ives 2005, p. 40).
In her book The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir also  describes Anne as being ‘slender and dark’, whereas the woman in the Horenbolte portrait appears to have a much rounder face and has a pale complexion with perhaps light brown eyebrows and possibly the same coloured hair. Anne Boleyn was also known to often wear a French style hood, whereas the sitter of this portrait is wearing a gable style hood. 
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A miniature by Lucas Horenbolte. Could this be Mary Boleyn rather than her sister Anne?

During her marriage to William, Mary became the mistress to Henry VIII; Mary Boleyn had now caught the attention of not only one King, but two! It is believed that Mary’s relationship with the King may have started around 1522 when her husband William Carey suddenly started to receive a number of grants. Could these grants have been the King’s way of keeping Mary’s husband happy? Her relationship with Henry VIII lasted approximately three years and is thought to have ended sometime before 1526. Most probably the relationship fizzled out on its own accord sometime during the end of 1525 when Mary was pregnant with her second child. It has hard to accurately date the relationship as Henry VIII conducted the affair with the upmost discretion and it is likely due to this that dates and encounters were not recorded.  There are no accounts of Mary seeking personal gain during her time as the King’s mistress, however her husband received a number of grants and her father continued to rise at court over these years. Thomas Boleyn was made Knight of the Garter and Treasurer of the Household as well as being made Viscount Rochford in 1525.  

There is little known about the relationship between Mary and Henry VIII but two accounts of Mary’s life during this time do exist. The first being that during the Shrovetide of 1522, when Mary was still the mistress to Henry VIII there was a lavish celebration entitled the Chateau Vert or the Castle of Green. In the castle eight beautiful ladies dressed in white silk were held captive. The ladies represented virtues and Mary Boleyn played the role of Kindness while her sister Anne ironically played Perseverance. The virtues were guarded by eight vices played by boys from the Chapel Royal. Several Lords, including the King, charged the castle and rescued the ladies. The second account of Mary’s life during her relationship with the King is again during the Shrovetide Joust in 1522, Henry VIII rode out wearing on his horse wearing the motto “elle mon coeur a navera” which means “she has wounded my heart”. Could he be referring to Mary with this statement, after all this was about the time when the King started his relationship with Mary. 

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Henry VIII approximately 1520.

During the time that Mary was the mistress to Henry VIII Mary gave birth to two children, a daughter named Catherine in 1524 and a son named Henry in 1526. Since Mary was sleeping with the King during the period in which her children were conceived, many people believe that there is a strong possibility that both Catherine and Henry or one or the other could be the illegitimate children of Henry VIII.

The reasons proposed that both children might be fathered by Henry VIII is that during the time when Catherine and Henry were conceived Mary was the mistress of Henry VIII and sleeping with the King. It has also been suggested that Henry would not have wished to have shared Mary with her husband, keeping her to himself during the entire period of their relationship. Also there were rumours that William Carey looked quite a lot like Henry VIII and that Henry VIII gave Mary’s husband Henry Carey a series of grants and appointments around the time each child was born in an attempt to keep him happy. It has also been proposed that because Queen Elizabeth was very close to both Catherine and Henry Carey, it must have been because they were in fact half-brother and half-sister rather than just cousins. Queen Elizabeth knighted Henry Carey and also made him Baron Hunsdon; she also visited him on his death bed giving him the Earldom of Wiltshire (once owned by his grandfather Thomas Boleyn).  For her part Catherine Carey was one of Queen Elizabeth’s senior ladies and upon her death Elizabeth paid for a lavish funeral for her. 

On the other hand the suggestions against the two children being fathered by Henry VIII are that it is quite possible during the time Mary was the King’s mistress she may have also been sleeping with her husband. Henry VIII never acknowledged Catherine or Henry as his children, where had had acknowledged Henry Fitzroy, a son he bore with his previous mistress Bessie Blount. Wilkinson also proposes that Henry VIII may have had low fertility and thus there would be a low probability he impregnated Mary. It has also been suggested that the grants given to Henry Carey could have simple been to keep him silent and happy about his wife sleeping with the King. Also the reason that Queen Elizabeth showed great favour and kindness to Catherine and Henry Carey was simply because they were related, specifically that they were the children of Mary Boleyn, Elizabeth’s mother’s sister.  
Unfortunately since DNA testing was not available during the Tudor period, history will never know if Catherine and Henry were or were not the children of Henry VIII. Therefore it is left up to each reader to examine the evidence and to decide for themselves who they think the father of Mary’s children was. 
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Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys, 1524 – 1569

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Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon 1526 – 1596

Mary’s husband William died on 22ndh June 1528 of the sweating sickness. The sweating sickness had first struck in the 15th century and appeared on and off, one of the worst times being in 1528. The symptoms appear to be something like influenza or phenomena, with the patient having pains and aches all over the body, headaches, a great thirst and also breaking out in a horrible sweat. Many people that caught the sweat were dead within twenty four hours. With William’s death Mary was left a widow with two young children. She was left with a number of debts and the wardship of her son Henry was given to Mary’s sister Anne. No word is made of Catherine but it is presumed that she stayed to be raised by her mother. Mary was luckily granted an annuity of £100 by the King which had previously been granted to her husband.

There seems to be little written about Mary’s life during the period between 1528 and 1534; however we can place Mary in late 1532. It is known that Mary accompanied her sister Anne and King Henry VIII to France in late 1532 when they went to meet King Francis I, as there are records that she was one of the ladies participating in a masquerade to entertain the French King one night.  We can also place Mary at court during New Year’s 1533 as records show she was given a gift by the King and in return she gave the King a blackwork collar she had made herself. Mary also pops up again during her sister Anne’s coronation. During the procession Mary rode in the third coach behind Anne with their mother Elizabeth and she wore a dress of seven yards of scarlet velvet. Records also show that during the coronation ceremony Mary attended her sister wearing a gown of scarlet velvet and an ermine cloak and bonnet. It is also believed that after her sister’s marriage to the King, Mary became a lady in waiting to Anne, now the Queen Consort of England. 

After this there are scant details about Mary until she appears once more towards the end of 1534, this time to cause quite a scandal! In 1534 Mary did something quite unthinkable for a woman of her status, she married a soldier named William Stafford. William was a man far beneath Mary’s station in life with only a small income. It is believed that William was born in about 1500 (around the same year as Mary) and was an owner of some land in Essex. He was also a soldier and a gentleman usher to the King. The fallout of this marriage was utterly disastrous for Mary as she was banished from court, most probably for two reasons, first marrying without her family’s permission (her sister now being the Queen of England) and for marrying far below her status. Not only was Mary now married to a man below her status but she may have also been pregnant!

On the 19th December 1534 Eustace Chapuys, Ambassador for Charles V wrote to his master stating..

“The Lady’s sister [Mary] was also banished from Court three months ago, but it was necessary to do so, for besides that she had been found guilty of misconduct, it would not have been becoming to see her at Court enceinte [pregnant].” (Wilkinson 2010, p. 148).
When banished the money situation became very tight for Mary and her husband. Mary’s father Thomas Boleyn had not only disowned Mary but he had also stopped her allowance. Desperate Mary wrote to Thomas Cromwell asking for help…

“Master secretary,
After my poor recommendations, which is smally to be regarded of me, that I am a poor banished creature, this shall be to desire you to be good to my poor husband and to me. I am sure it is not unknown to you the high displeasure that both he and I have, both of the king’s highness and the queen’s grace, by reason of our marriage without their knowledge, wherein we both do yield ourselves faulty, and do acknowledge that we did not well to be so hasty nor so bold, without their knowledge. But one thing, good master secretary, consider, that he was young, and love overcame reason; and for my part I saw so much honesty in him, that I loved him as well as he did me, and was in bondage, and glad I was to  be at liberty: so that, for my part, I saw that all the world did set so little by me, and he so much, that I thought I could take no better way but to make him and to forsake all other ways, and live a poor, honest life with him. And so I do put no doubts but we should, if we might once be so happy to recover the king’s gracious favour and the queen’s. For well I might have had a greater man of birth and a higher, but I assure you I could never have had one that should have loved me so well, nor a more honest man; and besides that, he is both come of an ancient stock, and again as meet (if it was his grace’s pleasure) to do the king service, as any young gentleman in his court.
Therefore, good master secretary, this shall be my suit to you, that, for the love that I well know you do bear to all my blood, though, for my part, I have not deserved it but smally, by reason of my vile conditions, as to put my husband to the king’s grace that he may do his duty as all other gentlemen do. And, good master secretary, sue us to the king’s highness, and beseech his highness, which ever was wont to take pity, to have pity on us: and that it will please his grace of his goodness to speak to the queen’s face for us; for, so far as I can perceive, her grace is so highly displeased with us both that, without the king  be so good lord to us as to withdraw his rigour and sue for us, we are never like to recover her grace’s favour: which is too heavy to bear. And seeing there is no remedy, for God’s sake help us; for we have now been a quarter of a year married, I thank God, and too late now to call that again; wherefore it is the more alms to help. But if I were at my liberty and might choose, I ensure you, master secretary, for my little time, I have tried to much honestly to be in him, that I had rather beg my bread with him than to be the greatest queen in Christendom. And I believe verily he is in the same case with me; for I believe verily he would not forsake me to be a king.
Therefore, good master secretary, seeing we are so well together and does intend to live so honest a life, though it be but poor, show part of your goodness to us as well as you do to all the world besides; for I promise you, you have the name to help all them that hath need, and amongst all your suitors I dare be bold to say that you have no matter more to be pitied than ours; and therefore, for God’s sake, be good to us, for in you is all our trust.
And I beseech you, good master secretary, pray my lord my father and my lady to be so good to us, and to let me have their blessings and my  husband their good will; and I will never desire more of them. Also, I pray you, desire my lord Norfolk and my lord my brother to be good to us, I dare not write to them, they are so cruel against us; but if, with any pain that I could take with my life, I might win their good wills, I promise you there is no child living would venture more than I. And so I pray you to report by me, and you shall find my writing true, in all points which I may please them in I shall be ready to obey them nearest my husband, whom I am most bound to; to whom I most heartily beseech you to be good unto, which, for my sake, is a poor banished man for an honest and godly cause. And seeing that I have read in old books that some, for as just causes, have by kings and queens been pardoned by the suit of good folks, I trust it shall be out chance, through your good help, to come to the same; as knoweth the (Lord) God, who send you health and heart’s ease. Scribbled by her ill hand, who is your poor, humble suitor, always to command,
Mary Stafford.’ (Wilkinson 2010)
In her letter Mary admits that she did wrong by her family by marrying William Stafford. She also speaks of losing the favour of not only the King but her sister and her father and this appears to be a great loss for Mary. She also pleads with Cromwell to intercede with the King on her and her husband’s behalf, asking him for pity and assistance. A very interesting point that Mary makes in her letter is that if she had the choice she would marry William all over again, perhaps it is from this and Mary’s situation, that it can be thought that in this marriage Mary married for love. 

Some stories have it that Mary Boleyn was a rather slow, dim witted woman who followed her carnal lusts. This letter in itself proves that Mary was far from dim witted or slow. She pleads her case with such passion and intelligence that it is hard to believe she was a dumb witted fool. Her wording is passionate, eloquent and nearly five hundred years after it was written the determination, worry and passion still seeps through the pages. This is not the writing of a dim witted woman but clearly shows the intellect and passion of a very interesting woman. 

Thomas Cromwell’s reply to this letter does not exist, at some level Mary and her husband William must have been able to survive financially as they both appear in court records after the fall of Mary’s sister.

On May 2nd 1536 Anne Boleyn was arrested and taken to the Tower of London, charged with treason, incest and adultery. Her brother George was also arrested and charged with having slept with his sister and for treason against the King. Both were found guilty of their crimes and George was beheaded upon Tower Hill on May 17th and Anne was beheaded on May 19th 1536 on Tower Green. There is no evidence that Mary visited her sister or brother during their imprisonment. This is not to say that Mary did not want to, or that perhaps she was not allowed to, in fact there are no surviving records to tell us of Mary’s thoughts or actions at all during this time. Meyer writes in his book The Tudors The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty, that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer had Anne’s marriage to the King annulled due to consanguinity, that is because Henry had a previous relationship with Anne’s sister Mary and thus Anne’s relationship with the King was incestuous. One can only wonder if Mary knew about this reason, and if she did what her thoughts were on the matter.
 
The following years appear to be relatively quiet for Mary and her husband William. Catherine Carey, Mary’s daughter became a lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves (Henry VIII’s fourth wife) and married Sir Francis Knollys. William Stafford became a squire of the body and Mary inherited some lands and property from her father after his death including Rochford Hall in Essex. Mary and William were also granted the manors of Southboram and Hendon in Hendon Park and well as some lands in Hever and Bransted, Kent. William Stafford also sold some land to the King. Life may have been a little more financially stable for the couple having several manors and some land and money. 

Mary died on either the 19th July 1543 (according to Alison Weir) or 30th July 1543 (according to Josephine Wilkinson) aged approximately forty three. She outlived her more famous sister and brother by seven years. Her place of burial has not been recorded. 

I adore Mary Boleyn, I think she is one of the most interesting, most inspiring women in all of history. Yes it is her sister Anne who is known for her wit and her talent, her ability to charm and woo people but to simply sweep Mary aside is a huge understatement to the real person who Mary was. I think it is very interesting to note that Carolly Erickson proposes that Mary may not have been as dim as many have suggested her to be. Instead she theorises that perhaps Mary chose her less bright role compared to her sister in an attempt not to provoke fate too far. For as Erickon goes on to say, out of the Boleyn children it was only Mary who lived to middle age and died a natural death. Maybe then Mary’s heart was not set upon riches and glory but rather, as her life shows, on love and happiness. She may be less known than her brother and sister, but through her choices she certainly managed to outlive them.
When looking at Mary’s letter to Thomas Cromwell I cannot help but feel moved. I think it is one of the most beautiful, touching, sincere and honest letters I have ever read in all my life. 

This letter shows me just how much Mary loved her new husband. She clearly writes that she knows that she has dishonoured her father, sister and the King – she admits that she has done wrong, but she did it for love. She loves her husband and I get the impression that she loved him passionately. ‘But if I were at my liberty and might choose, I ensure you, master secretary, for my little time, I have tried to much honestly to be in him, that I had rather beg my bread with him than to be the greatest queen in Christendom. And I believe verily he is in the same case with me; for I believe verily he would not forsake me to be a king’ If she had the choice again, knowing that she had lost the favour of her King, her sister and her beloved father, she would marry all over again. If this is not a cry of love then surely I do not know what is. Love is one of the most powerful of all emotions and Mary’s words, I believe, show that she too felt strongly in love and following her heart. 

I also think that this letter shows how deeply Mary was hurt by her banishment from court and how she simply desired her father, sister and brother’s love again and also their forgiveness. Mary would gladly take all the pain she would bear just to have her families forgiveness. I do not know if the Boleyn sisters were very close, there are no records of Mary’s thoughts on her sister and only a few negative words in regards to Anne’s feelings for Mary after Mary’s remarriage. I would like to think that growing up the sisters were close but I think that as they grew their desires and goals drew them apart. At whatever level their relationship there must have been some sort of connection as in the letter Mary is pleading for her family’s forgiveness. I found this very touching and extremely moving. 

These thoughts bring up the question of what Mary’s childhood was really like. As the oldest child what did she think of her sister and brothers? Did Thomas Boleyn, another son born to Thomas and Elizabeth, survive? If so was he close with Mary? We know from records and gifts that Anne and George were close, but what was Mary’s relationship with her siblings? What did her mother think of her? What did her father think? Did he love her in his own way or push her aside for Anne who appeared to be smarter and had more talent? So many questions that are brought to mind and unfortunately I do not think we shall ever know the answers. Unless perhaps a magical day comes when a lost diary or long hidden documents and reports are finally uncovered, but until then we shall never know.  

The Mary Boleyn I see was strong and bold and she is more like her sister Anne than many people give her credit for. Mary Boleyn followed her heart, no matter what the consequences were – just as Anne did in her determination to marry Henry VIII and become Queen of England. Unlike the social rules of the time where Mary was just a woman, needing a marriage to be arranged for her, she followed her heart and married for love. William Stafford was far below her social status but she married him anyway. Why? Because she loved him, her letter shows that clearly. She was bold and strong enough to defy the King of England, to defy her sister the Queen of England, to defy her mother, to defy her father… she followed her heart and married for love. If that, in a time where love could be a dangerous thing, was not the strength of an independent and strong willed woman then I do not know what is.

Anne and Mary Boleyn may seem like chalk and cheese, one smart and witty, charming, and captivating, the other appearing a little slow, lusting after men with no real desire to climb the social ladder – but I think this is just a myth. Anne and Mary are very similar, both women were strong and determined and both women followed their heart and desires no matter the consequences.
Mary Boleyn was an extraordinary woman. From the little that has been recorded about her life we can learn that she was an intelligent woman who appeared to love life and she put her faith in love. In a time when women had to tread carefully regarding the decisions and actions they made, Mary defied the social laws of the time and ultimately followed her heart, and in my opinion that is one of the bravest and boldest things to do. 

References

Erickson, C 1984, Mistress Anne, St. Martin’s Griffin, New York. 

Fraser, A 2002, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Phoenix Press, London. 

Friedmann, P 2010, Anne Boleyn, Amberly Publishing, Gloucestershire.

Hart, K 2009, The Mistresses of Henry VIII, The History Press, Gloucestershire.

Ives, E 2009, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.

Meyer G.J 2010, The Tudors The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty, Delacorte Press, New York. 

Rigeway,  2011, ‘The Anne Boleyn Files’, viewed 18th June 2011, Available from Internet .

Starkey, D 2003, Six Wives The Queens of Henry VIII, Vintage Books, London.

Weir, A 1991, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Grove Press, New York. 

Weir, A 2009, The Lady in The Tower The Fall of Anne Boleyn, Jonathan Cape, London.

Wilkinson, J 2009, The Early Loves of Anne Boleyn, Amberly Publishing, Gloucestershire.

Wilkinson, J 2010, Mary Boleyn The True Story of Henry VIII’s Favourite Mistress, Amberly Publishing, Gloucestershire.
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Book List #4

Posted by Sarah




Book List #4



Anne Boleyn A Biography by Marie Louise Bruce
Was she a tragic heroine of Henry’s “monstrous great whote”? Anne Boleyn, the seductress who changed the course of British history, comes vibrantly to life in this marvellously entertaining, opulently illustrated biography – a fascinating evocation of a personality at once wily and whimsical, irresistibly charming and infuriatingly indiscreet, cunning, yet curiously naïve.
Tutered in ambition by her father, schooled in the suble art of courtly love at the brilliant but profligate French court, both inspired and repelled by her sister’s celebrated liaison with the King, whose towering, spectacular presence she had only once glimpsed, Anne Boleyn arrived in London an accomplished, fashionably French and exceedingly impressionable girl of fifteen. Her impact was immediate and prophetic, as she made her triumphant debut in a royal entertainment, an allegory in which Henry portrayed “Ardent Desire,” a role he was soon to assume in earnest.
Perusing her with lavish gifts and torrid love letters in French, Henry was overwhelemed by a passion that Anne enflamed with her artful attentions to his infatuated courtiers. So began the King’s “Great Matter,” the long arduous campaign for his divorce that imperilled Henry’s kingdom – and his soul – and resulted, at great personal cost, in Anne’s accession. A brilliant, but bitterly brief, victory – and then, the fall… stunning, swift and cruel, equally as dramatic as her dazzling rise to power.
A superbly crafted and objective portrait of a woman who often reviled than charitably remembered, this eloquent biography explores the personal motivations and political forces that brought Anne Boleyn to the throne and presents startling new evidence about the role of sex in her career. Retelling a story of consistent fascination from a wholly new perspective, it reveals a finely drawn likeness of Anne Boleyn – an ambitious, resolute but tragically short sighted girl who achieved her goal only to become prisoner of the very qualities that had made her queen.

Anne Boleyn by Hester W. Chapman
Following her highly praised biography of Queen Caroline Matilda of Denmark, Hester Chapman in her new book turns to the sixteenth century to portray the life of the most controversial of Henry VIII’s wives – the enigmatic Anne Boleyn.
Anne came to Court at the age of eighteen, as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. She fell in love with a young nobleman only to have her hopes of marriage cruelly shattered by Cardinal Wolsey and her lover’s father. No one, not even Anne herself, imagined the dizzy heights to which she would ascent, although her vivid looks and strange charm were already attracting the King’s eye and were eventually to retain his lover for some nine years. Henry would shake the very foundations of his kingdom to make her Queen, yet eventually he discarded her for failing to produce a male heir.
Against the rich background of the Court, Hester Chapman gives us a shrewd analysis of the great figures of the age – Wolsey, Norfolk, Cromwell, Katherine of Aragon, and Henry and Anne themselves. Included is a compelling study of Henry’s love-letters to Anne, which do much to reveal the true nature of their extraordinarily complex relationship. Rejecting as quite false the familiar image of Henry as an insatiable lecher, the author brings fully to light evidence supporting the view, only hinted at by a few historians, of the King as a mysterious man, easily persuaded of the truth of his own convictions, who nevertheless remained sexually cold and himself kept Anne from his bed for six years. Anne, eager for marriage and the role of Queen, may be thought of as Henry VIII’s Dark Lady. Accused of incest, adultery and high treason, she perished. But was she guilty?

Anne Boleyn A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen by Doanna Denny
No English queen has enjoyed such notoriety, and none has been so persistently vilified. In this powerful new biography, Joanna Denny reveals the truth about Anne Boleyn, presenting a picture of the woman – highly literate, accomplished, and a devout defender of her Protestant faith – that differs radically from the unsavoury and unflattering accounts that have come down through history. A tragedy set in motion by her allure and her attraction of England’s violent and paranoid king, Anne’s life found her trapped in the vicious politics of the Tudor court, confined to a path that would lead her to execution.
Plunging into the intrigue, romance, and danger at the heart of King Henry VIII’s court, Anne Boleyn is a compelling account of the turbulent times that would change England forever, and a passionate portrait that will ultimately alter our perception of this much-maligned queen.

House of Treason The Rise & Fall of a Tudor Dynasty by Robert Hutchinson
This history of the Howard family—the Dukes of Norfolk—is marked by treason, beheadings, and incarceration—a dynasty whose pride and ambition secured only their downfall. The wealthiest and most powerful aristocrats in Tudor England—regarding themselves as the true power behind the throne—they were certainly extraordinarily influential, with two Howard women marrying Henry VIII—Anne Boleyn and the 15-year-old Catherine Howard. But in the treacherous world of the Tudor court no faction could afford to rest on its laurels. The Howards consolidated their power with an awesome web of schemes and conspiracies, but even they could not always hold their enemies at bay.
This was a family whose history is marked by treason, beheadings and incarceration – a dynasty whose pride and ambition secured only their downfall.

The Other Tudors Henry VIII’s Mistresses and Bastards by Phillipa Jones
Everybody thinks they know the tale of King Henry VIII's wives: divorced, beheaded died; divorced, beheaded, survived. But behind this familiar story, lies a far more complex truth. This book brings together for the first time the 'other women' of King Henry VIII. When he first came to the throne, Henry VIII's mistresses were dalliances, the playthings of a powerful and handsome man. However, when Anne Boleyn disrupted that pattern, ousting Katherine of Aragon to become Henry's wife, a new status quo was established. Suddenly noble families fought to entangle the king with their sisters and daughters; if wives were to be beheaded or divorced so easily, the mistress of the king was in an enviable position. While Henry VIII has frequently been portrayed as a womanizer, author Philippa Jones reveals a new side to his character. Although he was never faithful, Jones sees him as a serial monogamist: he spent his life in search of a perfect woman, a search that continued even as he lay dying when he was considering divorcing Catherine Parr thus leaving him free to marry Katherine d'Eresby. Yet he loved each of his wives and mistresses, he was a romantic who loved being in love, but none of these loves ever fully satisfied him; all were ultimately replaced. "The Other Tudors" examines the extraordinary untold tales of the women who Henry loved but never married, the mistresses who became queens and of his many children, both acknowledged and unacknowledged. Philippa Jones takes us deep into the web of secrets and deception at the Tudor Court and explores another, often unmentioned, side to the King's character.

Anne Boleyn In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her by Elizabeth Norton
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, caused comment wherever she went. Through the chronicles, letters and dispatches written by both Anne and her contemporaries, it is possible to see her life and thoughts as she struggled to become queen of England, ultimately ending her life on the scaffold. Only through the original sources is it truly possible to evaluate the real Anne.
George Wyatt's Life of Queen Anne provided the first detailed account of the queen, based on the testimony of those that knew her. The poems of Anne's supposed lover, Thomas Wyatt, as well as accounts such as Cavendish's Life of Wolsey also give details of her life, as do the hostile dispatches of the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys and the later works of the slanderous Nicholas Slander and Nicholas Harpsfield. Henry VIII's love letters and many of Anne's own letters survive, providing an insight into the love affair that changed England forever. The reports on Anne's conduct in the Tower of London show the queen's shock and despair when she realized that she was to die. Collected together for the first time, these and other sources make it possible to view the real Anne Boleyn through her own words and those of her contemporaries.

Life in Tudor England by The Pitkin Guide
A magnificent addition to our delightful historical series, Life in Tudor England sparkles with colourful illustrations and a lively text. Discover what life was really like during more than 100 years of Tudor rule in this pivotal period of English history: how industry became an alternative to agriculture as a means of employment; the lavish fads, fashions and fun enjoyed by the rich; the hardships suffered by the poor as inflation spiralled. All is revealed in this enticing taste of days gone by.

A Brief History of The Tudor Age by Jasper Ridley
Beginning with the arrival of Henry Tudor and his army at Milford in 1485 to depose Richard III, and ending with the death of the great Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, this incisive and informative brief history provides a vivid account of England’s most eventful and contradictory age. Its presentation of the life both in the burgeoning capital of London and in the countryside includes 16 pages of full-color and black-and-white photographs, as well as discussion of the costumes of the period, modes of travel, food and medicine, sports and pastimes, and the amazing explosion of English drama that would make the name of William Shakespeare a household word for all time. Nor does this volume overlook the stultifying narrowness of peasant life, the harsh treatment of heretics and traitors, the intrigues and machinations at the court, and the miseries of the plague. In all, A Brief History of the Tudor Age paints an astonishing panorama of an England of great beauty and violence, of splendor and squalor, of achievement and despair.

Man & Monarch Henry VIII by David Starkey and Susan Doran
2009 marks 500 years since Henry VIII took the throne and to mark this important anniversary, historian and broadcaster David Starkey has guest curated a major exhibition at the British Library.
This catalogue of the exhibition examines the extraordinary transformation – personal and political, intellectual and religious, literary, aesthetic and linguistic – that took place in Henry’s reign. It does so using the astonishingly rich holdings of the British Library, for at the heart of the Library’s collection is Henry’s own library: the books that he chose, read and annotated, and the documents and letters that he wrote. These are accompanied by descriptions of items loaned by other museums and collections, including portraits, tapestry, nautical instruments and sculpture, to create a book which is visually stunning and offers a new insight into this Tudor monarch who continues to cast a spell over the public imagination 500 years after his accession.
Henry is not only England’s best-known king, with his sex wives, his girth and his bloodthirstiness. He is also one of England’s most important rulers. When he came to the throne, Henry was the Pious Prince who ruled an England at the heart of Catholic Europe; when he died, he was the great Schismatic, who had created a national Church and insular, xenophobic politics that shaped the development of England for the next half a millennium.
This handsomely produced catalogue includes colour illustrations and descriptions of all the exhibits as well as an introduction by David Starkey and essays by leading scholars – James Carley, Susan Doran, Steven Funn, Ralph Houlbrooke, Eric Ives, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Peter Marshall, Richard Tex and Glenn Richardson.

The Early Loves of Anne Boleyn by Josephine Wilkinson
Anne Boleyn is perhaps the most engaging of Henry VIII's Queens. For her he would divorce his wife of some twenty years standing, he would take on the might of the Roman Church and the Holy Roman Empire; he would even alienate his own people in order to win her favor and, eventually, her hand.
But before Henry came into her life Anne Boleyn had already wandered down love's winding path. She had learned its twists and turns during her youth spent at the courts of the Low Countries and France, where she had been sent as a result of her scandalous behavior with her father's butler and chaplain. Here her education had been directed by two of the strongest women of the age - and one of the weakest.
Returning to England she was courted by three different suitors in three very different circumstances. The first was James Butler, with whom an arranged marriage was designed to settle a family dispute over the earldom of Ormond. Anne then captured the heart of Henry Percy, whose genuine love for her was reciprocated and would have lead to Anne becoming countess of Northumberland had the couple not been cruelly torn apart in the interests of politics and worldly ambition. Lastly, Thomas Wyatt, the dreamy young poet and ambassador who was captivated by Anne but who stepped aside when he saw that he had a rival: none other than the great King Henry VIII himself.

Mary Boleyn by Josephine Wilkinson
Mary Boleyn, 'the infamous other Boleyn girl', began her court career as the mistress of the king of France. Franois I of France would later call her 'The Great Prostitute' and the slur stuck.
The bete-noir of her family, Mary was married her off to a minor courtier but it was not long before she caught the eye of Henry VIII and a new affair began. Although a bright star at Henry's court, she was soon eclipsed by her highly spirited and more accomplished sister, Anne, who rapidly took her place in the king's heart. However, the ups and downs of the Boleyn sisters were far from over. Mary would emerge the sole survivor of a family torn apart by lust and ambition, and it is in Mary and her progeny that the Boleyn legacy rests.
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Tuesday's Tudor Tableau

Posted by Sarah
Tuesday’s Tudor Tableau #2



This week I have taken a photo of my bedside table where I keep any book that I am reading. I must admit that I don’t get to read as much as I would like, but that’s what you get when you work full time and are a mother and wife (and also currently battling sinusitis and bronchitis!) Despite this I always like to have a book on my bedside table that I can pick up if I do find a moment to myself.

I have two books I’m currently reading are ‘Anne Boleyn In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her’ by Elizabeth Norton and ‘Mary Boleyn The True Story of Henry VIII’s Favourite Mistress’ by Josephine Wilkinson. I started reading Norton’s book on Anne and then paused when I was looking at my bookshelf this morning and decided I wanted to look at Wilkinson’s book on Mary Boleyn. I opened the book, read a few pages and have been unable to put the book downsince! I’m thoroughly enjoying it and although I’m not sure that I agree with everything Wilkinson writes I do find myself falling more and more in love with Mary Boleyn with every word that I read!

So that’s my bedside table, I love reading and try my best to always have a book on the go that I can pick up whenever I find a rare moment of peace and quiet!
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Tuesday's Tudor Tableau #1

Posted by Sarah
Tuesday’s Tudor Tableau #1

Welcome to the first edition of Tuesday’s Tudor Tableau! Each week on a Tuesday I will be posting a photograph or a picture of something Tudor related that is of importance or has some significance to me. I chose Tuesday because it rhymes with Tudor and well, this entire blog/facebook page is related to my love of Anne Boleyn and the Tudors! I selected the world Tableau because first it rhymes with Tuesday and Tudor but also because it is a French word which loosely translates to picture or scene. This word has a double significance because Anne Boleyn spent many of her formative years in France, learning the skills, charm and manners of the French court and of French women. When she returned back to England it was even suggested of her that in characteristics and style she was more French than English!

The aim of Tuesday’s Tudor Tableaus is for me to share something Tudor related of importance in my life with you all. Everyone contributes to my blog and facebook page by leaving comments, sharing notes of interest, having chats and discussions etc. and I am lucky enough to read and participate. I wanted to share with you all something of my life so that you might be able to get to know me a little better.

The first ever Tuesday’s Tudor Tableau is a slight cheat as I will be posting two photos instead of one. This week I have taken photos of my Tudor book shelves. Essentially they are the shelves that hold my greatest love… all my books about Anne Boleyn and Tudor history.


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First Shelf

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Second Shelf

And yes I am an organisation freak! All my books have to be lined up from tallest to shortest and neat and tidy! *G*
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I Pledge...

Posted by Sarah
Read the Printed Word!


I love the internet. I get all of my daily news from online sources. I love blogs, facebook, twitter, webpages etc. they are extremely interesting and informative. Heck I spend a lot of my time dedicated to my facebook page! But at the end of the day there is nothing like holding a book in your hands as you read. I love curling up in bed on a cold winter's evening with a drink and a book about Anne Boleyn. And old books... oh how I love the smell and feel of old books! I love my book shelf, looking at the books on my shelf and trying to decide which one I want to read next. While I love modern technology there is nothing like holding a good book in your hands!
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The Ghosts of the Mary Rose

Posted by Sarah
The Ghosts of the Mary Rose
Ghosts of the Mary Rose uses the latest forensic techniques to investigate one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in British history: the identity of the crew of the Mary Rose. It reveals a startling new explanation for why the Mary Rose sank.

The Mary Rose sank to the bottom of the sea on 19 July 1545. Almost the entire crew of around 400 sailors and soldiers died. Yet despite the massive loss of life, only one name for certain is known of the ill-fated crew: the Vice Admiral George Carew.
This film follows Dr. Hugh Montgomery, a former diver on the Mary Rose, and an intensive care doctor at Whittington Hospital NHS Trust, as he tries to learn more about the men of the Mary Rose. Hugh takes three skeletons recovered from the wreck, and, with the help of leading osteoarchaeologists and forensic scientists, attempts to find out what jobs these men did, and what they were doing at the time the ship sank.
The first skeleton was found in the hold of the ship. This man has an unusual shoulder injury. Was he a sailor who injured himself climbing the rigging? Or could he have been one of the archers on board?
Divers recovered the skeleton of the second man in the ship’s galley. The location suggests he was a cook, but his bones tell a more complex story.

One of the most intriguing skeletons was found on the main deck alongside a bosun’s whistle. Was he an officer? And what role did he play in the sinking of the ship? 

This documentary looks at Henry VIII’s great flag ship the Mary Rose which sank in 1545. The main focus of this documentary is not the extraordinary artefacts which were recovered when the Mary Rose was found and brought above the surface of the water. Instead this documentary chooses to look at and examine the thousands upon thousands of human bones which were found still onboard the great ship. Specifically three skeletons are chosen to examine in closer detail.

When the Mary Rose met her fate and sank she was thirty four years old, one of Henry VIII’s greatest war ships and she carried magnificent guns and had a crew of over four hundred men. But the question is who were these men? Where did they come from? The only man who was accurately able to be identified was George Carew, the admiral sailing the ship to battle.

The documentary shows a brilliant computer generated re-enactment of the sinking of the Mary Rose and looks at why the great ship sank in the first place. The show suggests that one possible reason the Mary Rose sank was because she was making to tight of a turn and that the gun ports close to the water level were still open thus letting water into the hull of the ship. The show also proposes that there was disorganisation and unruly men aboard the ship either not taking orders or due to the chaos unable to hear and understand the orders.  

Breathtaking footage was shown of the raising and restoration of the great hull of the Mary Rose. It really is quite remarkable that close to five hundred years after this magnificent ship sank there are still huge parts of it left. So many incredible artefacts and bones were salvaged which can give us such a powerful and detailed look into Tudor life.

On board the Mary Rose at the time of its sinking were 185 soldiers, 200 mariners and 30 gunners as well as the admiral and other important crew. During the battle in which the Mary Rose sank the soldiers should have been on the top deck ready for action and the gunners should have been manning the guns below decks. However when the Mary Rose was discovered and the skeletons and artefacts examined it was found that there were archers and soldiers below decks, so it is quite possible that men were all over the ship rather than their designated areas.

The documentary moved on to examine some of the bones found onboard of the Mary Rose when it was discovered. Many of the bones were all mixed together and it was quite a task to sort out individual skeletons. I have to say it was quite haunting watching the people pick up and examine bones of men whom were almost five hundred years old!  Of the almost four hundred men whom lost their life on board the Mary Rose when it sank, only ninety two skeletons had enough bones to be collected and put together. Of these ninety two complete skeletons the narrator of the documentary chooses three to examine further.

Skeleton 1: The first Skeleton is of an English man found in the hull of the ship which was used for storage. He was about six foot tall and his bones were examined and it was determined that due to the wear on his shoulders he may have been an archer. They also used image technology to recreate what his face would have looked like. Seeing this man’s face on the screen gave me chills down my spine! This is the face of a man who drowned aboard the Mary Rose four hundred and sixty six years ago! If that is just not incredible I don’t know what is!

Skeleton 2: The second skeleton was of a either an Irish man or English man approximately five foot four inches in height who was in his twenties. His bones were found in the galley. With him were found one of his shoes still intact, a knife handle and a comb! Once again the bones were examined and it was suggested that due to the extreme wear and tear on the bones the man might have been a gunner. But the question remains, if he was a gunner, why then was he found in the galley?

Skeleton 3: This skeleton was of a Spanish man in his late thirties, early forties and was found on the main deck along with the great guns of the ship. Alongside the skeleton was a whistle which was used to issue commands and may suggest the man was an officer, either the bosun or master gunner. When the Mary Rose made a tight turn during battle the gun ports were still open and took on water causing the great ship to sink. Was this man, an officer found on the deck with the canons responsible for not ordering the gun ports to be shut?

This documentary proposes several factors which all worked together to cause the sinking of Henry VIII”s great warship. An examination of the teeth of the skeletons shows that many of the men, approximately half, were not native Britain’s but rather from southern Europe, possibly Spain. We are also reminded that the admiral called out to another ship just before the Mary Rose sank “I have the naves I cannot rule.” It is proposed that these men from Spain did not have very good English and possibly did not understand the orders being given to them. This combined with all the chaos of the battle, men shouting, cannons firing, smoke filling the deck, could be possible that the order to close the gun ports was simply not heard or understood. Due to this fateful lack of understanding and chaos may have caused the sinking of the Mary Rose and the tragic loss of so many hundreds of men.

This was an absolutely FASCINATING documentary about the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s Great War ship. I had always assumed that the men on board the Mary Rose were all English, but with the discovery that many of them may have been Spanish in origins certainly adds new insight as to why the ship may have sank. I learnt quite a lot from watching this documentary and for me it really brought to life such a tragic loss of life and what a huge loss this was in English history.


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Book Give Away

Posted by Sarah
Just a reminder that I am currently holding a book give away on my facebook page. To enter all you have to do is ‘like’ my facebook page for a chance to win a brand new copy of Joanna Denny’s book ‘Anne Boleyn A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen’.

Here is a link to my facebook page:



Anne Boleyn: From Queen to History
 


Thank you for your support!
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Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn Notes by JO Phillips

Posted by Sarah
Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn Notes by JO Phillips
An unabridged, illustrated edition with end-notes by J. O. Phillips, including the presumed first letter, and only one known to survive, from Anne to Henry (July, 1525)

I know that the love letters Henry VIII wrote to his second wife Anne Boleyn before their marriage are available for free online, but for me there is nothing like having them all compiled into one little book. I admit that I have read this book several times but this is the first time that I have sat down and written my thoughts and feelings as I read.

What I love most about these letters is how you can literally feel the passion and desire Henry held for Anne. It’s almost as though that passion seeps into your fingertips as you hold the book and read. Henry was completely and utterly smitten with Anne, as though no other woman in the world existed to him but her. They are also very romantic and this is a different side of Henry VIII, far from the tyrannical obese monster most people imagine him to have been. Here is a very passionate, very romantic man writing words of love and devotion, promising to be Anne’s loyal and faithful servant. Giving her his heart and wishing so desperately that time were shortened so that they might be together again. Henry was a King of England, a larger than life ruler literally putting himself at the very feet of Anne Boleyn. These letters are such an extraordinary insight into the mind of Henry during the time he was courting Anne.

What I also find very astounding about these letters is that history tells us that Henry did not particularly like to write letters, and yet here he is pouring out his heart onto paper because of the love and affection he held for Anne. Even more than this the letters seem to suggest that Anne often promised to write back to Henry but many times did not. She left him hanging, the King of England! For me this is truly incredible and helps to show just a little of the magnetism and attraction that Anne Boleyn must have had about her. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in her presence, a woman whom could hold the attention of a King for so long and through so much. I think these letters in themselves prove that there was more to Anne than just a bit of French skill and charm. She truly was a captivating, intriguing and compelling woman.

When I read Anne Boleyn’s letter to Cardinal Wolsey asking of his health and of the great matter my mind was struck with an image. I imagined Anne Boleyn sitting at her desk in her chamber, the window close by casting the orange glow of the afternoon sun upon the paper. I imagined Anne writing, her long slender fingers holding the quill as it moved across the paper, pausing only to dip into the black ink. For some reason this image really stuck with me and I felt so connected to Anne through reading her letter. If she only could have known then what a huge impact her life has on mine.

I cannot help but wonder if Henry wrote anymore letters to Anne than the seventeen that have survived today? We tragically have only one letter that Anne Boleyn wrote to Henry and that letter was probably very early on in their relationship during the late summer of 1526. Anne’s letter is beautifully written, so humble and thankful for the great wonders the King has shown her. And yet there is also something else in her letter, a hint of something more, a promise of a kiss? Or the promise of something even more meaningful like her heart? It pains me greatly to wonder what ever happened to the letters that Anne wrote to Henry. How many did she write? When did she write them? What was she thinking and feeling when she wrote them? Whatever happened to them? I think, in my little fantasy, that Henry kept the letters with him. After Anne’s arrest and fall I imagine that he took the letters out late one night and cast them one at a time into the crackling fire, watching as they burnt and turned to ash. I guess that is one of the greatest mysterious of all time, one question that perhaps may never be answered… what happened to the letters Anne wrote Henry?
I’ve read the Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn countless times and yet every single time they still pull me in and I find myself lost in a history of love and passion. So many wonderful and detailed images and places fill my mind as I read and I think of the passionate, happy times Anne and Henry would have spent together. A time when it seemed as though it was just them against the world. We all know about Anne’s fall and her execution but sometimes, especially when I read these letters, I like to reflect upon the happier, promising times of her life with Henry VIII. Even after hundreds of years there is just something about these letters, as though when they were written the writer poured so much of himself into the paper that that passion, desire and longing can still be felt today. There’s such a mystic and power about these love letters that I will forever be drawn to them… like a moth to a flame. 





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