The Tudor Brandons

by Sarah-Beth Watkins

  In August, Henry decided to stay for a month at Beaulieu as part of his summer progress. He was surrounded by the Duke of Norfolk and the Boleyn family, those who would support his divorce. Charles left Mary at Butley Priory to join them. It was rumoured that Henry had refused to see Mary but it is more likely that Mary made an excuse not to go given the atmosphere and her unhappiness at her brother’s actions. She sadly knew Henry’s stubbornness of old and his authority as king would see him get his own way. Nothing she said would change her brother’s mind. Instead she spent two blissful hot summer months at the Priory. Deciding one day to eat her evening meal outside in a shady part of the garden by the Gatehouse, Mary inadvertently sparked a fashion for picnic suppers. Her own picnic was interrupted by a summer storm making the ladies bolt for cover, soaked to the skin, to seek shelter in the nearby church.

  Mary’s household was expanding with all the children and wards of the Tudor Brandons. Katherine Willoughby joined them at Westhorpe in 1528 as a future bride for their son, Henry, and Mary also welcomed her sister’s child, Margaret Douglas. She was destined to join the Princess Mary’s household but for now she could join the other girls in the Suffolk countryside. Back in 1518, Mary’s sister, Margaret, dowager queen of Scotland, had alarmed their brother, the king, with talk of divorcing her husband, the Earl of Angus. She further scandalised them by having an affair with Henry Stewart and when Angus arrived at her residence to assert his right to attend Parliament, she had gone so far as to fire cannons at him from both ends of Edinburgh Castle. Two visiting English ambassadors asked her to desist and she retorted by telling them to go home and not meddle in Scottish affairs. She eventually relented just for Angus to temporarily capture her son James, the crowned king of Scotland, who had been constantly passed between regents. She was granted a divorce from her hateful husband in 1527 and married Henry Stewart in March 1528.

  Not long after Angus fled into exile and James took his rightful place as king. It was all something of an embarrassment to her brother Henry but the cogs were whirring. If the pope had granted Margaret a divorce then perhaps he too could pursue the same route to rid himself of Katherine and take Anne Boleyn as his wife. To this end, Henry sent Edward Fox, a doctor of divinity, and Stephen Gardiner, a doctor of both civil and canon law, to Rome to speak with Pope Clement VII concerning his ‘great matter’. The pope declined to give a direct answer but agreed to send Cardinal Campeggio to England to try the king’s case with Wolsey.

  The Tudor Brandons were also in need of papal support. Margaret Mortimer, Charles’ second wife, had contacted him to ask for help with a legal case brought against her by her daughter from another marriage, concerning property. Charles had been granted a dispensation to marry Margaret in 1507 but he had failed to ask for papal confirmation of the annulment of this marriage before he married Mary. It left a question over the legitimacy of Charles and Mary’s children. An ambassador was sent to the pope and on the 12th May 1528 at Orvieto, a papal bull was issued that gave their three children, Henry, Frances and Eleanor their correct status and clarified the legitimacy of Charles’ first daughter, Anne, from his marriage to Anne Browne.

  Mary’s step-daughters now had households of their own. They had made good marriages although they would both experience their own troubles. Anne had married Edward Grey, 3rd Baron Grey of Powys, around 1525 and Mary married Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Monteagle between 1527–1529 and had given birth to Charles and Mary’s first grandchild, little William.

  The granting of the Brandon papal bull only served to give Henry more hope for his own case. His wooing of Anne was the talk of the court but so too was the sweating sickness that was rife in June. Anne was ill herself and was at the family home of Hever Castle where Henry sent her letter upon letter and gifts to show his affection was unchanged. Many must have hoped that Anne would not recover. Mary included.

  Mary may have wished Anne would go away but she was ever mindful and caring of those that had served her. As she had petitioned for the cause of Anthony Savage, she now tried to gain employment for a man who had served her in France, Antoine du Val. She wrote to Montmorency, the grand Master of France and supervisor of the French royal household:

  Monsieur the Grand Master, there is over there [in France] a person named Anthoine du Val, who, from the time of my going to France, served the king my husband, — the deceased prince, of good and blessed memory, whom God absolve, — in the office of clerk of the closet ; and since his death, has likewise attended me in the same office, in which he has conducted himself very worthily. And since I have heard that, hitherto, he has not been able to gain admission to the same position, in the house of the king my said son-in-law, for which I feel grieved, I determined to make application to you, for this Anthoine du Val; that you will be pleased, at this my request, to cause to be given to him the first vacant office of clerk of the closet, in the household of the said lord, and to hasten to him the letters of retaining, placing him speedily in attendance, so that on the occurrence of the vacancy, none may step in but himself. And what moves me to write to you is, that you have the power to do this, and also that I verily believe you will not refuse me, as I place confidence in you, as well in this, as in greater affairs…13

  But Montmorency doesn’t seem to have helped so Mary turned to Jane Poppincourt and wrote touchingly of their previous relationship and alluded to an ongoing one.

  I have received your letters that you have sent to me by my secretary De St Martin, with the ship of jet and the headdresses for my children, for which, and also for the kind remembrance you have had of me, I heartily thank you; perceiving that you do not forget the benefits of the time past, and how we two were brought up together, on which account I always regard you as one of my own relatives, and demean myself more familiarly towards you than towards any other in those parts. Wherefore I am disposed to employ you, that you may, in my name, ask the Grand Master to have in his very good recommendation, Anthoine du Val, who formerly was my clerk of the closet ; and that, from regard to me, he will procure for him the like situation, in the establishment of the king my son-in-law, as I wrote to him more fully and I pray you not to be negligent in this matter, but continually to urge it, so that I may obtain my request concerning him ; and from time to time, may be advertised by you of his reply. In so doing, you will do me a very great kindness, which I shall never forget; and of this you may be fully assured; as knows our Lord, who have you, my good friend, in his good keeping.14

  Whether Antione ever did receive a place at court is unknown but Mary had found the time, in between worrying about her brother and his treatment of his wife and managing a large household, to at least try.

  In October, Mary and Charles had some respite from the world around them and were enjoying each other’s company back at Butley Priory. It was a welcome break from court life and they were making the most of it by picnicking in Sholgrove Wood. They had such rare times together these days and they were making the most of it. Their relaxed reverie was interrupted by a messenger summoning Charles to court immediately. The papal legate from Rome had arrived. Henry and Anne were delighted that Cardinal Campeggio was finally there. Henry hoped that he would be the answer to his great matter and wrote to Anne to tell her that he hoped soon to enjoy that which he had so longed for. But Campeggio was an ill man, suffering terribly with gout, and as soon as he arrived in London he took to his bed, irritating Henry and Anne no end.

  When they finally met, Campeggio urged Henry to stay with his queen as the pope had instructed him to but experiencing Henry’s rage at the suggestion, further added that perhaps Katherine could be convinced to retire to a nunnery. It would be an easy solution if only they could convince the queen that this new role for her could be the answer.

  But Katherine was having none of it. When Campeggio and Wolsey discussed the matter with her, she refused outright, swearing that she was the king’s legitimate wife. She would not make it easy for Anne to take her place. The situation s
talled for a while with Campeggio trying to delay any final decision and Katherine refusing to cooperate. Christmas soon came around and Katherine still presided over the festivities although Anne was working away in the background to become the most favoured lady at court. Mary joined Charles there to give the king and queen their New Year gifts and was appalled at the way Katherine was being treated. She saw the queen ‘made no joy of nothing, her mind was so troubled’.15 More frightening was the way in which courtiers were flocking to Anne. Mary knew that Katherine’s days were numbered and unable to witness such a tragedy unfolding, she hastened back to Westhorpe. She would not return to court for several months.

  King Henry VIII first meets Anne Boleyn by Maclise

  Chapter Eight

  1529–1533

  The Trouble with Boleyn

  Mary could do nothing for Katherine as Henry pressed forward with his need for a divorce. The king ordered the legatine court to convene and hear his case in the early months of 1529. Cardinal Campeggio, although having to remain impartial, had no wish to see Katherine divorced from the king. He managed to delay the start of the legatine court until June but he could delay no further. Henry wanted his divorce. The sooner Katherine could be put aside, the sooner he could marry Anne Boleyn.

  Katherine was not going down without a fight but she had her dignity. England was her home and her place was beside the king. When called to speak before the court, she ignored the men around her and focused solely on Henry. Approaching the throne, she sat at his knees, imploring him with words to not forsake her.

  Sir, I beseech you, for all the loves that hath been between us, and for the love of God, let me have justice and right. Take of me some pity and compassion, for I am a poor woman and a stranger born out of your dominion. I have here so assured friend, and much less indifferent counsel. I flee to you as the head of justice within this realm.

  Alas, Sir, where have I offended you? Or what occasion have you of displeasure, that you intend to put me from you? I take God and all the world to witness that I have been to you a true, humble and obedient wife, ever conformable to your will and pleasure. I have been pleased and contented with all things wherein you had delight and dalliance. I never grudged a word or countenance, or showed a spark of discontent. I loved all those whom ye loved only for your sake, whether I had cause or no, and whether they were my friends or enemies. This twenty years and more I have been your true wife, and by me ye have had divers children, though it hath pleased God to call them out of this world, which have been no fault in me. And when ye had me at first, I take God to be my judge, I was a true maid, without touch of man; and whether it be true or no, I put it to your conscience…’1

  Katherine had sworn that her marriage to the king’s brother was never consummated. They had shared a bed six or seven times but never had sex. Nineteen men who had served the Prince had testified to the couple’s relationship and especially to the prince’s remarks after their wedding night. Sir Anthony Willoughby recalled Arthur saying the famous line ‘I have this night been in the midst of Spain’ whilst Charles, just back in time from a diplomatic mission to France, added that he had been told by the prince’s man, Maurice St John, that Arthur’s ill health had grown ‘by reason that (he) lay with the Lady Katherine’.2 There was no proof for or against, only gossip and rumour, and of course the will of the king. Although he had assured Katherine that nothing would please him more than to hear that their marriage was truly valid, it was a blatant lie to appease her. He was not going to let the matter of his divorce go.

  On the final day of the proceedings, Charles sat with the king in a gallery to hear Campeggio’s decision – that he would make no decision. The court would recess for the summer months and convene again in October. In the meantime he would discuss the king’s great matter with the Pope. Henry was so speechless with rage that it was Charles who shouted as his king stormed out ‘By the mass! Now I see that the old said saw is true – there was never legate nor Cardinal that did good in England!’

  Wolsey retorted ‘Sir, of all men within this realm, ye have least cause to dispraise or be offended with Cardinals; for if I, simply Cardinal, had not been, ye should have had at this present no head upon your shoulders, wherein ye should have a tongue to make any such report in despite of us.’3 Wolsey spoke of how his intervention in the matter of Charles’ marriage to Mary had spared the duke. It was Wolsey’s way of reminding Charles that he owed him. Charles, feeling ill after his time in France and sickened at the whole debacle, didn’t stay to argue but returned to Mary for the summer.

  The tide was turning on Wolsey’s eminence at court. Henry, goaded by Anne, blamed him for his lack of a divorce. In his impatience and anger, he ordered Wolsey’s arrest and in October, the cardinal was charged with praemunire or obeying a foreign court rather than the English crown. Wolsey wrote to Henry ‘Though I daily cry to you for mercy, I beseech that you will not think it proceeds from any mistrust I have in your goodness, nor that I would molest you by my importunate suit. The same comes of my ardent desire, that, next unto God, I covet nothing so much in this world as your favor and forgiveness’.4

  But Henry was not yet ready to forgive. Wolsey was stripped of his offices and on 17 October, Charles was sent with the Duke of Norfolk to collect the great seal. A week later it was passed to Sir Thomas More, Henry’s new Lord Chancellor, who was sworn in with many nobles present, Charles included. The Duke of Norfolk now became president of the Privy Council whilst Charles became the vice-president. The legatine court would not sit again, not only because of Wolsey but because the pope had also approved Katherine’s appeal against the court’s authority. It would be several years before Henry’s great matter was resolved.

  After Henry’s initial rage at Wolsey died down, he pardoned the cardinal in February 1530. Now it was Charles’ turn to feel his king’s wrath. In May 1530, Chapuys, the new Spanish ambassador and avid supporter of Katherine, wrote:

  It is now a long time since the duke of Suffolk has been at Court. Some say that he has been exiled for some time owing to his having denounced to the King a criminal connection of the Lady with a gentleman of the Court who had already once been dismissed from Court on such suspicion. This time the gentleman had been sent away at the request of the Lady herself, who feigned to be very angry with him, and it was the King who had to intercede for his return. Others attribute the Duke’s absence from Court to other causes with which I will acquaint Your Majesty at the very first opportunity.5

  This is intriguing because we don’t know what the ‘other causes’ could have been. Charles had however passed on rumours to Henry of Anne’s relationship with Thomas Wyatt, the poet, who would later be implicated in her downfall. It would be unusual of him to make a stand regarding Henry’s amours so it was more likely that he was just repeating what he had heard or that Mary had urged him to pass on the information in a bid to help Katherine. At this stage he was still for Henry’s remarriage, although he regretted how Katherine was being treated, but his relationship with Anne was souring. Mary’s influence over him was nothing compared to what Anne would do herself.

  Charles retired from court again. He had his estates to look after and local issues to deal with in Suffolk but there was some chance too for relaxation. Mary presided over the fair at Bury St Edmunds, an annual outing for her, where she bestowed their patronage of local produce and trade.

  She came every year with her queenly retinue in state from Westhorpe Hall, entered the town with music, and was conducted to a magnificent tent prepared for the reception of herself and train. She was present when the Abbot of Bury had his fair proclaimed; she then gave receptions to the country ladies who came to make purchases at Bury Fair, and to be present at the balls in the evenings, where the Queenduchess presided.6

  Charles too often accompanied her with some of his men to show off their jousting skills, giving the local people an entertaining display of their prowess and grandeur. Although he enjoyed his time with his
wife, he hated suffering Henry’s displeasure and being away from court. He would wait anxiously until the king called him back again. By the end of the year, Henry would have need of him; his disaffection with Charles waxed and waned but Charles would always be forgiven and recalled to his king’s side.

  In October, Chapuys reported that Henry, tired of waiting, had ‘called together the clergy and lawyers of this country to ascertain whether in virtue of the privileges possessed by this kingdom, Parliament could and would enact that notwithstanding the Pope’s prohibition, this cause of the divorce be decided by the archbishop of Canterbury. To this question the said clergy and lawyers, after having studied and discussed the affair, have deliberately answered that it could not be done’.7

  Henry was once again enraged. His great matter was not going his way. The pope wished him to return to Katherine but he absolutely refused. He took out his anger on the man he had thought would help him and on 4 November, Cardinal Wolsey was arrested again, but this time on charges of high treason. He never completed his journey to plead his innocence. Wolsey was travelling to London escorted by Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, when he died of natural causes after falling ill at Leicester Abbey. His last words were reported to have been ‘If I had served God so diligently as I have served my King, He would not have given me over in my grey hairs’.8

  Over the years Wolsey had helped the Tudor Brandon’s, acting as a go-between when Henry was displeased, so his loss was felt by Mary at least. Back in 1528 she had written to him and thanked him for the ‘manyfold kindness showed to me and my husband’.9 Charles would again push his feelings aside to be the king’s man but Mary at home in the countryside could think her own thoughts as she watched the brother she had adored in childhood become a man that she knew less and less. Wolsey’s downfall had proved that no one was safe if they came up against the king.