Truth Endures Read online

  As Anne loved Elizabeth…

  For Stacey

  TRUTH ENDURES

  Je Anne Boleyn

  Book 2

  Copyright © 2016 Sandra Vasoli

  Kindle Version

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Anne Boleyn illustrated by Dmitry Yakhovsky, based on the

  “Hever Rose” portrait of Anne Boleyn.

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  Anne Boleyn (c.1501 – 1536): Marquess of Pembroke, Queen of England from 1533 – 1536

  Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham (1501 – 1558): wife of Sir George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham. Attendant horsewoman at Anne Boleyn’s coronation; possibly an accuser of Anne in 1536

  Anne Gainsford Zouche (1495/1500? – 1545?): Anne Boleyn’s lady-in-waiting and close companion

  Anne Savage (c.1496 – c. 1546): Baroness Berkeley; lady-in-waiting and friend Anne Boleyn; one of the few documented witnesses to the wedding of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII on 25 January 1533

  Anne (Nan) Saville – mentioned in primary documents as lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn; very little known of her

  Bess Holland (d.1548): mistress of Duke of Norfolk from 1526; daughter of Norfolk’s chief steward; maid of honour to Anne Boleyn

  Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1473 – 1530): Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, and Archbishop of York

  Charles Brandon (c.1484 – 1545): KG; 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle; married to Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII

  Dowager Duchess of Norfolk - Agnes Howard (c.1477 – May 1545): second wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Anne Boleyn was her step-granddaughter

  Elizabeth Barton (1506? – 1534): known as The Nun of Kent; executed as a result of prophecies against the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn

  Elizabeth Howard, Lady Boleyn (1480 – 1538): Countess of Wiltshire; wife of Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire; mother of Anne, Mary and George Boleyn; mistress of Hever Manor

  Elizabeth Howard Lady Norfolk (d.18 September, 1534): daughter of Thomas Howard and one of six ladies who accompanied Anne Boleyn to Calais in 1532

  Emporer Charles V (1500 – 1558): ruler of Spain; crowned Emperor of Holy Roman Empire by Pope Clement VII in 1530; nephew of Katherine of Aragon

  Eustace Chapuys (c.1490/2 – 1556): the Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 to 1545; wrote detailed letters to Charles V about the politics of Henry VIII’s court; supporter of Katherine of Aragon and enemy of Anne Boleyn

  Francis Bryan (1490? – 1550): courtier and diplomat; became Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Henry VIII; cousin to Anne Boleyn

  Francis Weston (1511 – 1536): Knight of the Bath; a gentleman of the Privy Chamber at the court of King Henry VIII of England; accused of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn, tried and executed on 17 May 1536

  François I (1494 – 1547): monarch of the House of Valois; King of France from 1515 until 1547

  George Boleyn (1503 – 1536): 2nd Viscount Rochford; brother and confidante to Anne Boleyn; married to Jane Parker; statesman and diplomat; accused of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn, tried and executed on 17 May 1536

  Gregorio Casale (c.1500 – 1536): Italian diplomat; Henry VIII’s representative in Rome and at the Vatican

  Henry Fitzroy (1519 – 1536): Knight of the Garter; 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset; illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England and Elizabeth Blount; married Lady Mary Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk

  Henry Norreys (c. 1482 – 1536): courtier and Groom of the Stool to Henry VIII; accused of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn; tried and executed on 17 May 1536

  Henry VIII (1491 – 1547): King of England from 1509 - 1547

  Honor Grenville (1493/4 – 1566): Viscountess Lisle; friend to Anne Boleyn; married first to Sir John Bassett, then to Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle

  Jane Seymour (c.1508 – 1537): Queen of England from 1536 to 1537, succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort to Henry VIII. Seymour’s family estate was Wulfhall, Savernake Forest, Wiltshire. Jane was not as well educated as Anne, had some ability to read and write; was trained in household management and sewing

  Jean de Dinteville (1504 – 1555): French diplomat; associate of French humanists, most notably Lefèvre d’Etaples; the figure on the left in Holbein’s painting The Ambassadors

  John Robyns - educated at Oxford; advisor to Henry VIII on astrological matters

  John Skut - royal tailor during the reign of Henry VIII of England; served all of the King’s six wives

  John and Lady Anne Walshe - Owners of Little Sodbury, the estate where William Tyndale worked for two years (circa 1521) after leaving Cambridge, probably as a tutor to their two young sons; known in the region for hospitality to nobility and clergy; and received a visit from King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn in 1535

  Katherine of Aragon (1485 – 1536): Princess of Spain; first wife of Henry VIII; Queen of England from 1509 – 1533

  Margaret Bryan (1468 – c. 1551/52): Lady Governess to Elizabeth, also all of Henry VIII’s children - Mary, Elizabeth, Henry FitzRoy and Edward

  Margaret Wyatt, Lady Lee (1506 – 1561): sister of poet Thomas Wyatt; wife of Sir Anthony Lee; close friend and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn

  Margery Horsman (died c. 1547): maid of honour in the household of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, possibly to Jane Seymour as well

  Marguerite d’Angoulême (1492 – 1549): sister of François I; Princess of France; Queen of Navarre; French mentor to Anne Boleyn

  Mark Smeaton (c.1512 – 1536): musician at the court of Henry VIII; served in the household of Anne Boleyn; accused of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn, tried and executed on 17 May 1536

  Mary Boleyn/Mary Carey (c.1499 – 1543): sister of Anne Boleyn; mistress to Henry VIII; wife of William Carey and, after his death, of William Stafford

  Mary Scrope (d. 1548): said to have been in the service at court of King Henry VIII’s first four wives; wife of Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, in attendance on Anne Boleyn during her imprisonment in the Tower in May 1536; she and her husband were among those who accompanied Anne to the scaffold.

  Mary Tudor (1516 – 1558): daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon; Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death

  Matthew Parker (1504 – 1575): influential theologian; Queen Anne Boleyn’s chaplain; before Anne Boleyn’s death in 1536, she commended her daughter Elizabeth to his care

  Pope Clement VII (1478 – 1534): Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici, elected Pope on 19 November 1523 and served until his death; opposed the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon

  Rowland Lee (c.1487 – 1543): Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield; supporter of Henry VIII’s annulment; possible officiant at the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

  Thomas Audley (c.1488 – 30 April 1544): Knight of the Garter; Lord Chancellor of England from 1533 to 1544. Suc
ceeded Sir Thomas More as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal

  Thomas Boleyn (c.1477 – 1539): Knight of the Garter; Earl of Wiltshire; father of Anne, Mary and George Boleyn; statesman and diplomat for Henry VIII

  Thomas Cranmer (1489 – 1556): Fellow of Cambridge University; humanist and leader of the Reformation; appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1532 by Henry VIII

  Thomas Cromwell (c.1485 – 1540): Knight of the Garter; 1st Earl of Essex; advisor to Cardinal Wolsey; member of Henry VIII’s Privy Council and chief minister from 1532 to 1540

  Thomas Howard (1473 – 1554): Knight of the Garter; 3rd Duke of Norfolk; married to Elizabeth Stafford; uncle of Anne Boleyn

  Thomas More (1478 – 1535): Henry VIII’s councillor and Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532; lawyer, humanist and statesman

  William Brereton (c.1487 – 1536: Groom of Henry VIII’s Privy Chamber; accused of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn, tried and executed on 17 May 1536

  William Kingston (c. 1476 – 1540): Knight of the Garter, Member of Parliament; English courtier, soldier and administrator and Constable of the Tower of London during much of the reign of Henry VIII

  William Sandys (1470 – 1540): Knight of the Garter; 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne; diplomat; appointed Lord Chamberlain in 1526; favourite courtier of Henry VIII

  William Tyndale (1494–1536): born in Gloucestershire, a scholar who was a primary figure in Protestant reform. Known for translating the Bible into English

  Jane Ashley; Margaret Gamage, Mary Norreys, Grace Newport; Eleanor Paston, Mistress Frances de Vere Elizabeth Browne – all notated as ladies in waiting to Anne when she was Queen

  The Palace of Whitehall

  February 1533

  And ye shall knowe the trueth: and the trueth shall make you free.

  The Tyndale Bible. John 8:32

  Lo, he was something to observe - as observe I did, with pride and pleasure: my royal consort in resplendent authority, impeccably groomed and luxuriously draped in burnished sable, his broad chest weighted with a golden, gem-studded collar. He was radiant! Flush with health, his resonant voice echoing as he paced the length of the new gallery in Whitehall with his councillors. The events of recent weeks had steeped him in vigour and confidence.

  No one wore an air of aplomb as well as did my husband, Henry VIII of England.

  Unconsciously I placed my hands on my gently swelling belly. The gesture had become a habit for me of late. With a contented smile I reflected over the months since late autumn, when Henry and I had travelled to Calais to meet with the French king, François I. It had been a triumphant visit for me - Anne Boleyn - the girl who had spent her youth at the royal court of France, being groomed in the ways of royal demeanor, Christian humanism, and womanhood. Now I returned in splendour as a Marquess in my own right, accompanied by my betrothed, His Grace the King. We enjoyed a most pleasing and very successful stay, and an even more romantic trip homeward, taking our time crossing the English countryside, revelling in each other’s company before – very reluctantly on my part - returning to London just before Christmastide. Even that sojourn had been an unexpected pleasure. The winter season spent at Greenwich was jubilant despite our increased disillusionment with the Pope and his obstinate refusal to align with Henry in granting him his rightful divorce from Katherine of Aragon. Regardless of that cumbrance, I basked in the adoration of a man with whom I now lived as if we were husband and wife. Yes, I had decided before we departed for Calais to abandon my dogged stance to remain chaste before we wed. The resulting fulfilment of living as a couple was rewarding and we were happy and content with one another. Indeed, it was a Christmas to be remembered.

  During that halcyon period, I did admittedly experience one cause for anxiety - it seemed I had the beginnings of a nagging illness which I could not identify. I had eaten less and less yet remained nauseous throughout the day while feeling overbearingly tired in the afternoons. Only when my maid, Lucy, tried valiantly to lace me into the bodice of a new gown, resulting in the spillage of an unusually ample bosom from its neckline, did I finally perceive the exultant truth - I was pregnant with Henry’s child! Please be to God, with his son? Never again will there be such a gift for the New Year as was that realization. The tender scene between us when I told him the news will be forever etched in my mind’s eye. Occasionally I had allowed myself the luxury of imagining a time when I might announce a pregnancy to the King – I would create a gorgeous, elaborate tableau in which to unveil the news. The moment came, however, when Henry’s exhaustion and melancholy over years of thwarted effort to gain his freedom to marry me were etched deep in the lines on his face. In truth, at times, I had wondered why he persisted in his intent to have me – to marry me. Was it not possible with the very next obstacle thrown in his path - one more denial from the Pope - he might just give up, even though we loved one another? But then! Sweet Jesu! The pregnancy I had suspected became certain, and while we dined together alone one evening, I tenderly turned his tired face to mine, and in a voice thick with emotion, told him, simple and plain. At first, he was devoid of expression, and I held my breath, fearing he had already determined to abandon me and our hopeless suit. But then his face crumpled, and he had clung to me, weeping into my shoulder. I held my strong and powerful King and felt his shoulders heave with quiet sobs, overcome with relief and joy at the news he so desperately wanted: had waited an eternity to hear.

  The next day and those that followed were imbued with the exhilaration of an expected prince.

  In late January, then, urged on by the great blessing the Almighty had bestowed upon us, His Grace the King had taken decisive action by designating Dr Thomas Cranmer, our staunch supporter and friend, as his choice for the vacant position of Archbishop of Canterbury. This step placed in Cranmer’s capable hands the task of acquiring licenses necessary for our very secret marriage. So in the dark pre-dawn of 25 January 1533, Henry and I were wed in the northern tower of Whitehall Palace. While snow softly cloaked London’s rooftops, we had stood in the fire-lit chamber with only the fewest witnesses, looked into each other’s eyes and, prompted by the Reverend Rowland Lee, stated our vows to remain together ‘til death us depart’.

  And thus did I find myself impervious to all previous misgivings. No less powerful a man than the King of England had promised, even before God, to become my sworn protector.

  Pregnant, married at last, with a husband who doted on me? Life could not be more blissful. More secure.

  Here were now three highly competent men operating from the leading positions of power in Henry’s Council, all of them motivated to present His Highness as the ultimate determiner of all matters, political and theological, pertaining to his realm. His word would thus be supreme, and the dependency on the Church of Rome and those decisions previously considered the prerogative of Pope Clement VII conclusively broken.

  I observed with satisfaction the culmination of what had been a long and arduous campaign to gain Clement’s agreement to annul Henry’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Despite many setbacks, a combination of brilliant logic, practiced crusading and, ultimately, sheer force of will, had brought us to the present status: Henry firmly in control, and me a married woman, expecting a fully legitimate prince, heir to the throne of England.

  Before me strode the ingenious lawyer Thomas Cromwell, who, by demonstrating cunning and dedication to the King’s service, now held several illustrious titles including Master of the Jewels and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Beside him walked Thomas Cranmer, Henry’s personal nominee as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, and - of no lesser stature - His Grace’s recently installed Lord Chancellor, Thomas Audley. They, along with Henry, would appear before the House, make their case and subsequently, following negotiation, payments, and politicking would confidently await an acknowledgement from Rome on Cranmer’s appointment to the highest clerical office in the land.

  Undeniably, the tactics this
trio had devised to gain victory were worthy of the master manipulator and Florentine statesman Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli himself. We had heard much of Machiavelli and the crafty principles he espoused. Cromwell was an enthusiast of Machiavelli, and for that matter, all things Italian; especially the barbed offensives so aptly utilized by the powerful families who ruled the principal city-states. And of course, Henry had long been an admirer of the great Lorenzo de Medici and a student of the humanism flourishing in Florence. I was aware that the Florentine principles of leadership were exacting a great influence on Henry’s newfound determination to grasp and direct his destiny.

  Once formally sanctioned by the Church in Rome, it was intended that Cranmer would immediately use his newly appointed authority to exercise the conviction that the King of England was now Supreme Authority of the Church in England and that his previously held jurisdiction was no longer the privilege of the Pope. The premier directive? To officially pronounce Henry’s long marriage to Katherine of Aragon null and void, and let the Pope be damned!

  With that act of defiance, we would be sure to hear the bell toll for the Church of Rome in England.

  Until Dr Cranmer’s new position was confirmed, which would then allow him to create the necessary official documents for certification of our marriage, I was obliged to keep my two ‘secrets’, albeit there were a few in my closest circle who did know the truth … that I was the wife of the King - his new Queen - and I carried his child. Oh, how difficult it was to remain circumspect when I wanted to shout the news from the Palace towers!

  I resigned myself to maintaining the privacy of my condition, but at least felt able to share the joy with my family. My mother and my sister Mary proved great sources of comfort and advice as I became accustomed to life as a pregnant woman. It proved helpful, being able to discuss the peculiarities and subtleties of what I experienced as the early days of sickness began to wane, and other cravings took precedence. Particularly I delighted in being included in that special clan of women who smiled knowingly when pregnancy was discussed.