Struck With the Dart of Love
Page 35
Mollified, I grumbled, “Well then, that should be acceptable to me,” and continued to peruse the lists.
The assembling of ladies who would make up my household neared completion, with many well-liked appointees and some about whom I was indifferent but whose appointments served their purpose. My closest confidantes had already been included, and then we added to the total number Nan Cobham and, somewhat grudgingly on my part, Mistress Seymour. It only remained, then, to confirm positions with Jane Ashley; Margaret Gamage, who was betrothed and set to marry William Howard in the spring; young Mary Norreys, who was the daughter of Henry’s Groom of the Stool; the very pretty Grace Newport; Eleanor Paston, Countess of Rutland and a mother of six; Mistress Frances de Vere – at sixteen already wed to Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. There then followed Elizabeth Browne, Lady Worcester, and my sister-in-law Jane Parker, Lady Rochford. All were possessed of a singular degree of beauty - apart from Seymour. It was important to me that my ladies present an exceptional appearance and, furthermore, conduct themselves with unblemished gentility, and I fully intended to duly instruct them once they were all in place.
As for the men of my royal household, there were to be numerous trusted advisers. Thomas Cromwell, already indispensable to the King, was among those whom I considered beneficial, and he would serve an important place in my retinue once I was Queen. George Taylor would continue his good work as my Receiver-General. William Coffin, long in the King’s service, would assume the position of my Master of the Horse; Thomas Burgh as Lord Chamberlain; and Sir Edward Baynton as Vice Chamberlain. Perhaps most important to me were those selected to be my personal chaplains. These brilliant men would confer with me and preach on our shared reformist views, a mission which would demand keen intelligence, a broad knowledge of theology and, perhaps above all, courage. We selected Hugh Latimer, a Cambridge scholar; Matthew Parker, another Cambridge theologian whom I had liked and trusted from the first time I met him; William Betts, who had already proved his mettle several years prior when found to be one of a group of scholars boldly circulating books deemed by our opponents to be heretical; and the redoubtable John Skypp. Skypp could be almost too resolute in the expression of his views, but I admired that about him. All in all, I intended to surround myself with a strong, outspoken assembly who would advance the cause of reform and unfailingly support Henry’s right to supremacy.
Yet there were many in and around court who remained sources of great frustration to me. My abiding perception that Henry’s chosen ambassador in Rome, Sir Gregory Casale, was apathetic had proved all too true when, late in January, we were given letters he had written boasting his self-described ‘advancement’ of Henry’s cause. After years of fruitless negotiation on the Great Matter, Casale still considered it acceptable to present letters to the King, that laid out numerous additional conditions demanded by the Pope to pronounce in Henry’s favour. First, Henry must send a mandate for the remission of the cause, along with a newly appointed legate and two auditors. Then, he must persuade François to accept a general truce for three or four years, even amongst other ridiculous requirements. This contrivance was in complete opposition with Henry’s instructions to Casale and did the Ambassador’s credentials no service in my view. Henry however, always the gracious Sovereign, still responded politely to his man in Rome, advising him to thank the Pope, and discreetly tell his Holiness that the overtures were taken in good part, and trusting the Pope would concur, only by ‘will and unkind stubbornness, with oblivion of former kindness, which be occasions of the let of the speedy finishing of our cause’.
I had looked on Henry’s temperate reply in amazement, and with no small measure of cynical admiration. It made me realize I needed to learn all I could from him, seeing that soon I was to be Queen, and would often be required to respond well and fairly to vexing situations. Learn I must, because had this particular matter been left to me, I would have delivered a tongue-lashing to Signore Casale that he would not soon have forgotten!
On occasion, I would think back - oh, not so many years - to my life in France followed by my early time in the court of Henry and Katherine, and marvel at how my existence had changed so dramatically. Upon reflection, those days were so easy and light-hearted in their simple pursuits: maintaining a young lady’s proper demeanor; hunting, dancing, playing at witty pastimes, dallying with the most handsome men and adorning oneself to play the coquette ... the threads weaving my life’s tapestry had long since become much more intricate indeed.
Ever conscious of the new life – the all-important life – growing within me, I was engaged from morn ‘til night. Details concerning the establishment of my household called for my attention; audiences were requested by those who sought my support in pleading matters to the King’s Grace; there was constant worry about the increasingly intense skirmishes between Scotland and England while the tentative relationship with France was always of concern. Above all hung the palpable hostility of my opposers. Those critics – I had begun to think of them as enemies – were becoming ever more brazen, and openly included some who had been previously close to Henry and me: his sister Mary chief amongst them, with her husband Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who precariously balanced between the opinions of his wife and his King … even my Uncle Norfolk, surprisingly – whose position could only be strengthened by the Howard bloodline on the throne, yet who openly disapproved of the dire measures being taken with the Church to achieve that goal.
At times I did wish for a reprieve, just a simple moment in time when I might revert to being Anne from Hever – but, of course, it was not to be had.
I could do naught but rejoice, however, when, in March, Cromwell delivered his carefully crafted Act in Restraint of Appeals to the Commons in Parliament, urging them to approve the statute which would enforce Henry’s supremacy in all things pertaining to his realm. Both Houses approved the Act, and on 10 April, just before Easter, a definitive blow was delivered to Katherine. She was informed by a deputation comprising Norfolk, Suffolk, Exeter, Oxford, and the royal chamberlains that we had been married and, on direct orders of Henry the King, she was no longer Queen but would henceforth be referred to as the Dowager Princess of Wales. Her daughter Mary, whom I had not seen – or frankly, even given much thought to - in many months, remained apart from her mother with a diminished household.
True, the mere fact of their continued existence presented me with a vexation - but how good it was to think no longer of Katherine, or the former Princess, now known simply as Lady Mary - as active threats to the happiness I shared with Henry!
And happy we truly were.
BUY TRUTH ENDURES NOW
and
CONTINUE THE STORY.
Sandra Vasoli, author of Anne Boleyn’s Letter from the Tower, Struck with the Dart of Love and Truth Endures, earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and biology from Villanova University before embarking on a thirty-five-year career in human resources for a large international company.
Having written essays, stories, and articles all her life, Vasoli was prompted by her overwhelming fascination with the Tudor dynasty to try her hand at writing both historical fiction and non-fiction. While researching what eventually became the Je Anne Boleyn series, Vasoli was granted unprecedented access to the Papal Library. There, she was able to read the original love letters from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn—an event that contributed greatly to her research and writing.
Vasoli currently lives in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two greyhounds.
Other Books
“Sir, Your Grace’s Displeasure and my Imprisonment are Things so strange unto me, as what to Write, or what to Excuse, I am altogether ignorant.”
Thus opens a burned fragment of a letter dated 6 May 1536 and signed “Anne Boleyn”, a letter in which the imprisoned queen fervently proclaims her innocence to her husband, King Henry VIII.
ISBN: 978-84-943721-
5-5
The last hour of Anne Boleyn’s life...
Court intrigue, revenge and all the secrets of the last hour are revealed as one queen falls and another rises to take her place on destiny’s stage.
A young Anne Boleyn arrives at the court of King Henry VIII. She is to be presented at the Shrovetide pageant, le Château Vert. The young and ambitious Anne has no idea that a chance encounter before the pageant will lead to her capturing the heart of the king. What begins as a distraction becomes his obsession and leads to her destruction.
ISBN: 978-84-943721-4-8
Anne Boleyn is accused of adultery and imprisoned in the Tower. The very next day she is due to be executed at the hand of a swordsman. Nothing can change the tragic outcome. England will have a new queen before the month is out. And yet...
What if events conspired against Henry VIII and his plans to take a new wife? What if there were things that even Thomas Cromwell couldn’t control, things which would make it impossible for history to go to plan?
ISBN: 978-84-944574-9-4
The narrow, stinking streets of medieval London can sometimes be a dark place. Burglary, arson, kidnapping and murder are every-day events. The streets even echo with rumours of the mysterious art of alchemy being used to make gold for the King.
Join Seb, a talented but crippled artist, as he is drawn into a web of lies to save his handsome brother from the hangman’s rope. Will he find an inner strength in these, the darkest of times, or will events outside his control overwhelm him?
If Seb can’t save his brother, nobody can.
ISBN: 978-84-944893-3-4
Non Fiction History
Anne Boleyn’s Letter from the Tower - Sandra Vasoli
Jasper Tudor - Debra Bayani
Tudor Places of Great Britain - Claire Ridgway
Illustrated Kings and Queens of England - Claire Ridgway
A History of the English Monarchy - Gareth Russell
The Fall of Anne Boleyn - Claire Ridgway
George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier & Diplomat - Ridgway & Cherry
The Anne Boleyn Collection - Claire Ridgway
The Anne Boleyn Collection II - Claire Ridgway
Two Gentleman Poets at the Court of Henry VIII - Edmond Bapst
A Mountain Road - Douglas Weddell Thompson
"History in a Nutshell Series"
Sweating Sickness in a Nutshell - Claire Ridgway
Mary Boleyn in a Nutshell - Sarah Bryson
Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell - Beth von Staats
Henry VIII’s Health in a Nutshell - Kyra Kramer
Catherine Carey in a Nutshell - Adrienne Dillard
The Pyramids in a Nutshell - Charlotte Booth
Historical Fiction
Struck with the Dart of Love: Je Anne Boleyn 1 - Sandra Vasoli
Truth Endures: Je Anne Boleyn 2 - Sandra Vasoli
The Colour of Poison - Toni Mount
Between Two Kings: A Novel of Anne Boleyn - Olivia Longueville
Phoenix Rising - Hunter S. Jones
Cor Rotto - Adrienne Dillard
The Claimant - Simon Anderson
The Truth of the Line - Melanie V. Taylor
Children’s Books
All about Richard III - Amy Licence
All about Henry VII - Amy Licence
All about Henry VIII - Amy Licence
Tudor Tales William at Hampton Court - Alan Wybrow
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