Anne of Cleves- Unbeloved

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Anne of Cleves- Unbeloved Page 10

by D Lawrence-Young


  Then a more peaceful era came into being and the town grew and developed. It joined the important Hanseatic League, and its role as a commercial centre grew. This happened also because Bruges, its rival sister-city to the west began to decline as its port silted up. As a result, all the major guilds began transferring their offices and their trading centres to Antwerp. Because of its position on the eastern bank of the wide river Scheldt, Antwerp did not suffer from the silting problem.

  By the time Anne’s long line of carriages and wagons arrived in the city centre, over one thousand merchants had settled there. Each of them had built a fine house and each one had tried to outdo his neighbour in terms of architecture and style. These houses represented the major trading nations of Europe, but the finest one was said to be owned by Sir Thomas Gresham.

  “Just look at that house,” Anne said to Mistress Gilmyn, pointing out of her carriage window. “It’s almost as big as our castle back in Düren.”

  “Aye, milady. It belongs to Sir Thomas Gresham, an English merchant and banker and whose father is, I believe, the Lord Mayor of London.”

  Anne was suitably impressed and continued looking at the other rich buildings, gaping and gawping like a peasant who had come to town for the first time in her life. Later, Mistress Gilmyn told her that over two hundred thousand people lived in Antwerp and that hundreds of ships bearing spices, sugar, silk, gold, wine and grain sailed in and out of the port every year.

  This was the first great city that Anne was to see before she made her own triumphant entry into the city of London. Not that her entry into Antwerp was not a triumph. It was. Thousands of the city’s citizens, both rich and poor, came out to see the long ducal train and wave to the happy bride-to-be. She demurely accepted their cheers and blessings as she sat by her carriage window. Even the well-travelled Nicholas Wotton was heard to remark that he had never seen so many people gathered to receive a visitor to this town – “No, not even for a king or an emperor,” he said.

  The train of carriages and wagons slowly made its way through the twisting streets, passed the magnificent cathedral of Notre Dame with its high, delicate spire and then continued on to pass the Steen, the old castle near the riverside.

  That night the affluent English colony of merchants and traders in Antwerp arranged a splendid reception to be held in Anne’s honour, Despite her concern that she would not live up to the occasion, her natural warm personality and humility ensured she was well-acclaimed by one and all to be the future wife of the King of England. It was the first of these occasions and Anne had no reason to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. She carried off the evening well and everyone present blessed and praised her.

  Two days later, after a couple of the carriages had undergone some repairs, the wagons were repacked and the whole train set off for Bruges via Bever, Stecken and Tokkyn. Although the city fathers of Bruges were aware of their city’s gradual decline, this did not prevent them from displaying the grandeur of its most important buildings which included the beautifully proportioned Hôtel de Ville and the Halles market with its imposing 13th century square tower as well as the white-fronted Bequinage, set in its fine and well-trimmed gardens.

  As in Antwerp, Anne and her entourage were greeted by the city’s mayor and his officers. Many of the townspeople had taken time off from work to cheer the progress of her train as it made its way past the churches of St.Boniface, St Sauver and Notre Dame. The train then continued on to the town hall – an inspiring building which boasted many tall perpendicular windows set below a roof bearing several spires and turrets.

  But Anne and her retinue could not spend much time here among these picturesque and historic surroundings. Henry was impatient to see his future wife. So after staying for one more day in Bruges the long train left on the morrow travelling in a westerly direction to Dambrugh, Nieuwpoort and Dunkirk. Though much smaller, these Flemish cities mirrored the affluence and magnificence of Antwerp and Bruges. With her limited knowledge, Anne wondered how London, the city of her future husband, would be able to excel what she had seen so far.

  “Is London really so grand, as grand as this?” Anne asked Nicholas Wotton who was sitting next to her.

  “Yes, milady. It certainly is. Just wait until you see the king’s palace at Hampton Court or his other palace at Nonsuch,” he boasted. “They make these town halls look like farmer’s barns in comparison. And as for the River Thames and London Bridge, Antwerp cannot even begin to compete.”

  The journey continued slowly on its way without anything special happening. The only untoward incident which marred the general feeling of joy and expectation occurred at Dunkirk. Here a Catholic priest preached a sermon which several members of Anne’s train considered seditious. William Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Southampton, who had been dispatched by the king to act as a liaison, heard of this but did nothing about it. On his return to England he assured His Majesty that the cleric’s words ‘did not pose any danger or hazard’ but he did admit that the sermon had been ‘full of unfitting words.’

  If this minor incident had cast a rather gloomy feeling on Anne and her attendants, this was dispelled on 10 December when they entered the coastal town and sea port of Gravelines. As they passed the sea-wall, Anne asked for her carriage to be brought to a halt. This was the first time that she had seen the sea.

  “It’s so big,” she said to Mistress Gilmyn. “I just cannot believe that there is so much water in the world.”

  “It may be big, milady, but at this time of the year it is also very cold.”

  “Yes, and very windy, too.” Anne replied as she and her ladies held on to their headdresses. “I can see that by the size of the waves. But tell me, isn’t the sea supposed to be blue? In all the pictures we had at home, the sea was always blue. Here it’s dark grey.”

  “Ah, milady, that’s because those pictures were painted on a sunny day in the summer. Then the sea looks blue. It takes its colour from the sky. Now it’s grey and overcast, and that’s why the sea looks like it is today.”

  Anne thought about this for a moment, pulled her cloak around her even more tightly and then asked Mistress Gilmyn whether they could sail over to England if there were waves on the sea.

  “There are always waves on the sea, milady. The question is, how high they are. If they’re high, that means there’s a storm and so we’ll have to wait. If they’re lower and more gentle, then it’ll be safe for us to sail from Calais to Dover. It all depends on the winds.”

  “But don’t we need strong winds for the sails?”

  “Yes, milady, but if they are too strong they’ll blow the ship over.”

  “I see. So we need winds that are not too strong, so as not to make a storm and not to blow our ship over but they must be strong enough to move our ship on. Oh, I’m learning so much these days. Something new every day.”

  “Aye, milady, and what I am learning,” said Mistress Gilmyn, “is if we don’t return to our carriage now, these winds will give us a chill. You cannot afford to catch a cold, and besides, everyone is waiting for you.”

  Anne nodded and together with Mistress Gilmyn, returned to the carriage, both of them holding onto their hats with one hand while with the other they drew their cloaks more closely around themselves. Once inside the carriage, they arranged the thick travelling blankets across their laps and soon the train rumbled off over the cobbled roads into the centre of Gravelines.

  “Who are all those people?” Anne asked a few minutes later as a large crowd which had gathered in front of the carriage separated like the biblical Red Sea to let them through.

  Wotton looked up from the document he had been studying and stuck his head out of the window. “They’re some of the local nobles and their families and servants who’ve come here to greet you, milady. I recognize one or two faces, but that’s all. I also think that there are quite a few other townsfolk come to join them.”

  “I believe you’re right, sir,” Lady Lisle agreed. “I also recognize so
me of the people out there.” As wife of the resident-deputy of Calais, she had been asked to accompany Anne on the last stage of her journey, the stage that would include Anne’s triumphant entry into the city of Calais itself.

  “And after Gravelines we’ll soon be arriving in Calais?” Anne asked.

  “Yes, milady, it’s only about a dozen miles west of here along the coast.”

  “And is Calais the only English town in France?”

  “Yes, milady. I can see that you’re beginning to become very excited about this. This seeing your first English town. Believe me, it’ll be well worth this long journey. My husband has seen to it that the town has been cleaned up in your honour and that you’ll be able to have there anything you desire.”

  A few miles later Anne’s eyes lit up as she noticed the decorations strung along the sides of the road and that the retainers were wearing a livery of a different colour and style.

  Cromwell, acting in His Majesty’s name, had spared no effort in making Anne’s first contact with England impressive and memorable, even if this did take place on the other side of the English Channel. As her carriage drew to a halt on the outskirts of the town, Lord Lisle, the highest ranking local official, received her with deep bows, kind words and gracious smiles. Then the Earl of Southampton, the High Admiral of England, accompanied by thirty gentlemen of the King’s Household followed suit. These included Sir Thomas Seymour, Sir Francis Bryan and many other gentlemen. They were all dressed in blue velvet and crimson satin and the overall effect achieved Cromwell’s aim of deeply moving the somewhat naїve Lady Anne. This powerful, colourful vision was heightened further when Anne noticed that behind the blue and red clad nobles, two hundred yeomen had also appeared. Each one was clad in the same matching blue and red livery.

  Fortunately the threatening grey clouds overhead withheld their rain and the colourful parade passed beneath the recently repaired and decorated Lentern gate. From here they continued to see where His Majesty’s ships lay in shelter alongside the harbour walls.

  “Am I to sail in one of these?” Anne asked, looking at the ships close up for the first time in her life.

  “Yes, milady,” Lady Lisle replied. “We’ll sail to England in a few days when we know how the weather is. In the meanwhile, we’ll spend the next few days here in Calais. I’m sure you’ll be very happy here.”

  “I’m already very happy, “Anne smiled. “When I see how much care you’ve taken over this journey, I cannot be anything else.”

  Then, as Anne and her retinue were about to enter the town they were startled to hear a sudden cannonade which echoed and reverberated around them.

  “What’s happening?” she asked, crouching down in her carriage, her hands clapped to her ears. “Is someone attacking us?”

  “Oh, no, my dear” Lady Lisle smiled. “It’s a salute. The ships are firing their guns - a salute in your honour. Look out there in the harbour. You can still see the smoke from the ship’s cannons.”

  Anne straightened herself and looked out of the window. Sure enough, a cloud of black smoke was drifting slowly over the town from the ships. As she continued looking she could make out a party of sailors cheering her as they spotted her carriage near the sea wall.

  “So is this how the English honour me?” she asked Lady Lisle. “With noise and smoke? Will it be like this in London, too?”

  “Probably, milady, but even more so. King Henry is not known as someone who does things in a quiet and mean way. But come, dry your eyes and put your bonnet back on properly. I see it fell off when you ducked down for cover.”

  Feeling a little foolish, for Anne saw that she had been the only one who had reacted as she had done, she adjusted her bonnet and made herself comfortable again. Then her carriage and some of the train made its way to the Exchequer, the king’s official house in Calais. There she and her entourage were to eat and rest after their long slow lumbering journey from Cleves.

  As before, it became clear that Cromwell had spared no expense in entertaining his king’s wife-to-be. In the freshly painted and decorated building, everything that Anne could possibly wish for was on hand: from food to entertainment, from comfortable rooms to willing and helpful servants.

  That afternoon jousts were held in her honour and later that evening a huge banquet was also arranged to honour the king’s future queen. That night when all the nobles and their servants and attendants had retired, it was generally felt that the Lady Anne had made a good impression on everyone present. Perhaps they mistook her shyness, her lack of pushing herself forward in case she committed a faux pas, as a sign of modesty, but that only increased their approval of their monarch’s choice of a future partner.

  Now all that remained was for Anne to bid farewell to the part of her retinue that was to return to Cleves, and then board one of the royal ships that had been sent out from London. But this was not to be.

  The following day, Vice-Chancellor Olisleger, the Earl of Overstein and the Duke of Saxony’s marshal, Sir John Dulzike, were informed that owing to the high winds and stormy weather Lady Anne would not be able to cross the Channel for the next few days.

  “But fear not, gentlemen,” Lord Lisle and the Earl of Southampton said, trying to calm their impatient guests. “We’ve arranged that several of our men who are knowledgeable about the ways of the sea will maintain a continuous watch on the situation. As soon as we have a suitable wind, we’ll set sail. So please try and contain your impatience and you’ll see that all will be well in the end.”

  In the meanwhile, Lord Lisle and the Earl of Southampton laid on more banquets and entertainment for their guests to while away the time.

  “You, know, perhaps this delay is not so bad,” Anne smiled at Mistress Gilmyn. “It’s giving me more time to improve my English and also to practise playing the game of cards I’ve heard that King Henry loves to play.”

  “Do you mean ‘Cent,’ milady?”

  “Yes, I’ve started learning how to play it and I’d like to play several rounds with you and Lady Lisle. After all, haven’t you been telling me that it’ll be important for me to keep my husband happy?”

  Despite Anne’s limited schooling and her lack of sophistication in comparison with the English ladies accompanying her to London, Anne learned the rules of the game very quickly. Soon she was holding her own against the various noblewomen playing against her; and at the same time they noticed how her English was improving. Of course she could not rid herself of her German accent, but now that she was talking English all the time she was speaking much more fluently.

  All seemed to be going well until, quite unexpectedly, she caused a minor furor. The Lady Anne committed a serious breach in social and courtly convention.

  They had been waiting for several days in Calais when Lady Lisle came rushing into her mistress’ chamber on the top floor of the Exchequer. Anne was busy standing by her open window listening to and smelling the choppy grey sea below. She was wondering when she would be able to set sail when Lady Lisle addressed her.

  “Please excuse me, milady, but you cannot invite the Earl of Southampton and several of his fellow lords over to your chamber for a meal.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why not? Because it is not done, milady.”

  “What does it mean, ‘it is not done’? They have shown me every kindness while I have been here and now I wish to show them I appreciate this.”

  “Milady, in London, where I believe our court is much larger than the one you are used to back in Cleves, it is not done that queens and princesses invite noblemen to sup with them in their chambers.” Lady Lisle put a reassuring hand on Anne’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she added, “but it’s simply not the custom.”

  “Aber warum nicht, er, why not?” asked Anne, forgetting her English for a moment.

  Lady Lisle shrugged. “Why not? I don’t know the reasons for this. Perhaps there aren’t any. All I know is that a young princess or member of the royal family cannot do what you h
ave done. Some malicious people would start spreading rumours. Yes,” she concluded, “that’s probably the reason.”

  Anne was silent for a few minutes while she absorbed this information. Then she looked up and smiled at Lady Lisle. “But we’re not in London yet. We’re still in France.”

  “Yes, milady, but Calais is the English part of France. It’s just like being in London.”

  Anne was silent as she thought about this. Then smiling again she faced Lady Lisle. “I know what we’ll do. I’ll invite several of the lords to come to my chamber to eat - and you and your husband will come along as well. In that way, I’ll not be the only lady there. And yes, we can invite Mistress Gilmyn as well. She’s been so kind and helpful since I first met her in Cleves.”

  Lady Lisle did not reply but curtseyed and hurried off to consult her husband. She did not want to cause a stir, especially with the king about his future wife.

  “But that’s against the rules of the court,” Lord Lisle said.

  “I know that, my dear, but Lady Anne has persuaded me that as we’re not in England and not in London, it should be perfectly all right. She said that this was done in Cleves and as we’ve not yet crossed the Channel there should be no objection to her doing the same thing here.”

  Lady Lisle waited for her husband’s reaction. When he did not say anything, she continued.

  “Besides, she’s such a sweet lady and has borne herself so well. And also, if I’m there, together with Mistress Gilmyn and some other women, I cannot see what harm will be done.”

  “Hmm, maybe you’re right, my dear. Yes, perhaps it is a good idea after all. It will give us a better opportunity to see what Lady Anne is like if we dine with her in a smaller group. I mean that is not how we’ve been dining with her up to now, what with these large banquets.”

  Lady Lisle smiled. Her husband was usually right on such matters.

  He continued. “You know, my dear, and don’t tell anyone that I said this, but I feel that Lady Anne seems a little livelier than the king’s last wife. She’s interested in everything that’s going on around her and everyone seems to be very happy to serve her. Apart from her German accent and those unfashionable German style gowns that she wears, I quite like the lady. And I’ll tell you something else. She’s no fool. She may appear to be naїve but she’s definitely no fool.”

 

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