Demise of Anne Boleyn

Letters and Papers. 1st April 1536. The said Marchioness (age 33) has sent to me to say that by this the King's love and desire towards the said lady [Jane Seymour (age 27)] was wonderfully increased, and that he had said she had behaved most virtuously, and to show her that he only loved her honorably, he did not intend henceforth to speak with her except in presence of some of her kin; for which reason the King has caused Cromwell to remove from a chamber to which the King can go by certain galleries without being perceived, and has lodged there the eldest brother [Edward Seymour (age 36)] of the said lady [Jane Seymour] with his wife [Anne Stanhope Duchess Somerset (age 39)], in order to bring thither the same young lady, who has been well taught for the most part by those intimate with the King, who hate the Concubine (age 35), that she must by no means comply with the King's wishes except by way of marriage; in which she is quite firm. She is also advised to tell the King boldly how his marriage is detested by the people, and none consider it lawful; and on the occasion when she shall bring forward the subject, there ought to be present none but titled persons, who will say the same if the King put them upon their oath of fealty. And the said Marchioness would like that I or some one else, on the part of your Majesty, should assist in the matter; and certainly it appears to me that if it succeed, it will be a great thing both for the security of the Princess and to remedy the heresies here, of which the Concubine is the cause and principal nurse, and also to pluck the King from such an abominable and more than incestuous marriage. The Princess would be very happy, even if she were excluded from her inheritance by male issue. I will consult with them again today, and on learning her opinion will consider the expedient to be taken, so that if no good be done, I may at least not do any harm. London, 1 April 1536. Fr., from a modern copy, pp. 7.

Letters and Papers. 1st April 1536. There lately came to dine with me the young marquis, the widowed Countess of Kildare (age 39), lord Montagu, and other gentlemen; when lord Montagu, after many complaints of the disorder of affairs here, told me that the Concubine (age 35) and Cromwell were on bad terms, and that some new marriage for the King was spoken of; which agrees with what was written to me from France that Henry was soliciting in marriage the daughter of France, so as to confirm their mutual intelligence and test how matters went. I told Cromwell that I had for some time forborne to visit him that he might not incur suspicion of his mistress for the talk he had previously held with me, well remembering that he had previously told me she would like to see his head cut off. This I could not forget for the love I bore him; and I could not but wish him a more gracious mistress, and one more grateful for the inestimable services he had done the King, and that he must beware of enraging her, else he must never expect perfect reconciliation; in which case I hoped he would see to it better than did the Cardinal, as I had great belief in his dexterity and prudence; and if it was true, what I had heard, that the King was treating for a new marriage, it would be the way to avoid much evil, and be very much for the advantage of his master, who had been hitherto disappointed of male issue, and who knows quite well, whatever they may say or preach, that this marriage will never be held as lawful, for several reasons which he might sufficiently understand; and that although a more lawful marriage should follow, and male issue from it would be to the prejudice of the Princess, yet the affection I bore to the honor and tranquillity of the King and kingdom, and towards him particularly, made me desire another mistress, not for hatred that I bore to this one, who had never done me any harm. Cromwell appeared to take all this in good part, and said that it was only now that he had known the frailty of human affairs, especially of those of the Court, of which he had before his eyes several examples that might be called domestic, and he always laid his account that if fate fell upon him as upon his predecessors he would arm himself with patience, and leave the rest to God; and that it was quite true, as I said, that he must rely upon God's help not to fall into mischief. He then began to defend himself, saying he had never been cause of this marriage, although, seeing the King determined upon it, he had smoothed the way, and that notwithstanding that the King was still inclined to pay attention to ladies, yet he believed he would henceforth live honorably and chastely, continuing in his marriage. This he said so coldly as to make me suspect the contrary, especially as he said so, not knowing what countenance to put on. He leaned against the window in which we were, putting his hand before his mouth to avoid smiling or to conceal it (ou pour lencouurir), saying afterwards that the French might be assured of one thing, that if the King his master were to take another wife, he would not seek for her among them. He then said that when an answer came from your Majesty upon the subject of our communication we should discuss everything and do some good work. At last, when I was going to leave, he said to me that although I had formerly refused a present of a horse he wished to give me, that now I could not do so without suspicion of ill-will, and he offered me one that the Earl of Sussex had presented to him the day before; and for all I could say to excuse myself, I was obliged to accept it. I think that those here are not content with the appointment made by the Lubeckers with the duke of Holstein; for, happening to talk of the Lubeckers with Cromwell, he said they were false villains and canaille; and that, notwithstanding the said appointment, and that the Duke called himself king of Denmark, the King, writing lately to him for the release of certain ships, would not call him King, saying he knew there was another King alive with daughters, who might pretend to the kingdom. Hereupon Cromwell began to complain of the detention in Flanders of Dr. Adam, of whom I lately wrote, and a servant of this King, who came from Lubeck and Denmark, and begged I would write again for their deliverance. This I could not refuse to do; nevertheless, as I have before stated, it seems to me that unless your Majesty is fully informed, or the said doctor has been well examined and confessed, he ought not to be released. He is a "tres fin galant," who has been the cause of many evils, as I doubt not you are well advised.

Calendar of State Papers of Spain. 1st April 1536. Wien, Rep. P. C., Fasc. 230, 1–4. Eustace Chapuys (age 46) to the Emperor (age 36).

Just at this moment I receive a message from the marchioness [of Dorset] (age 18)¹, confirming the information I once had from Master Geliot (age 46), namely, that some days ago, the King being here in London, and, the young Miss Seymour (age 27), to whom he is paying court at Greenwich, he sent her a purse full of sovereigns, together with a letter, and that the young damsel, to whom he is paying court, after respectfully kissing the letter, returned it to the messenger without opening it, and then falling on her knees, begged the royal messenger to entreat the King in her name to consider that she was a well-born damsel, the daughter of good and honourable parents without blame or reproach of any kind; there was no treasure in this world that she valued as much as her honour, and on no account would she lose it, even if she were to die a thousand deaths. That if the King wished to make her a present of money, she requested him to reserve it for such a time as God would be pleased to send her some advantageous marriage.

The marchioness also sent me word that in consequence of this refusal the King's love for the said damsel had marvelously increased, and that he had said to her that not only did he praise and commend her virtuous behaviour on the occasion, but that in order to prove the sincerity of his love, and the honesty of his views towards her, he had resolved not to converse with her in future, except in the presence of one of her relatives, and that for this reason the King had taken away from Master Cromwell's apartments in the palace a room, to which he can, when he likes, have access through certain galleries without being seen, of which room the young lady's elder brother (age 36) and his wife (age 39) have already taken possession for the express purpose of her repairing thither. But I hear that the young lady has been well tutored and warned by those among this King's courtiers who hate the concubine, telling her not in any wise to give in to the King's fancy unless he makes her his Queen, upon which the damsel is quite resolved. She has likewise been advised to tell the King frankly, and without reserve, how much his subjects abominate the marriage contracted with the concubine, and that not one considers it legitimate, and that this declaration ought to be made in the presence of witnesses of the titled nobility of this kingdom, who are to attest the truth of her statements should the King request them on their oath and fealty to do so. The marchioness wishes that I or some one else, on Your Majesty's part, would take this affair in hand, and certainly, if my opinion on such a point is needed, I do not hesitate to say that whoever could help in its execution would do a meritorious work, as it would prove a further security for the person of the Princess, a remedy for the heretical doctrines and practices of the concubine—the principal cause of the spread of Lutheranism in this country—as well as be the means of clearing the King from the taint of a most abominable and adulterous marriage. The Princess herself would be glad of this, even if she were eventually deprived of her rights to the English crown by the birth of male children. I shall again inform her to-day of what is going on, and, with her advice, will act in such a manner that if we cannot gain, at least we shall lose nothing by the event—London, 1 Apr. 1536.

Signed: "Eustace Chapuys."

Addressed: "To the Emperor."

French. Original. pp. Almost entirely in cipher.

Note 1. "Just now, the marquise has sent to tell me what Maître Gelyot had already affirmed to me."

Eliot? the original reads thus: "Tout a cest instaat la marquise ma envoye dire ce que desia mavoit affirme maistre gelyot."

Note 2. Namely, that in these past days, while the king was in this town and the young lady Mistress Seymour, whom he serves, was in Greenwich, he sent her a purse full of sovereigns along with a letter. And that the said young lady, after kissing the letter, returned it to the messenger without wanting to open it, and, throwing herself to her knees, she begged the said messenger to beseech the king on her behalf to consider, in his wisdom, that she was a gentlewoman descended from good and honourable parents without any reproach, and that she had no greater wealth in this world than her honour, which she would not wound for a thousand deaths, and that if he wished to give her some present of money, she begged him to do so when God would send her a good match in marriage.

"A sçavoir que ces iours passez estant ce roy en ceste ville et la demoiselle maistresse Semel, la quelle il sert, a Grynuchuitz, il lui envoya une boursse plaine de souverains ensemble une lectre, et quc la dicte demoiselle ayant baise la lectre, la retourna au messegier sans la vouloir ouvrir, et se gectant a genoulx elle supplia au diet messaigier vouloir supplier au roy de sa part vouloir considerer par su prudence quelle estoit gentil femme yssue de bons et honourables pareus sans nul reproache, et quelle navoit plus grande richesse en ce monde que son honneur, le quel pour mille mort elle ne vouldroit blesser, et que sil luy vouloit faire quelque present dargent elle luy supplioit que ce fut quant dieu lui envoyeroit quelque bon party de mariage."

Calendar of State Papers of Spain. 1st April 1536. Wien, Rep. P. C., Fasc. 230, 1–4. Eustace Chapuys (age 46) to the Emperor (age 36).

The other day, as the young marquis [of Dorset] (age 19), the dowager countess of Childra (Kildare) (age 39), Monsieur de Montague, and several others, were dining with me at this embassy, the last-named Lord, after complaining of the bad state of affairs in this country,¹ went on to say that this King's mistress (age 35) and Secretary Cromwell were on bad terms just now, and that there had been a talk of a new marriage for this King. Which rumour agrees well with my own news from the court of France, where, according to letters I have received, courtiers maintain that this king has actually applied, for the hand of Francis' daughter. Hearing this, and for the purpose of procuring information, and, if possible, learning what truth there was in the report, I called on Cromwell, and told him that I had purposely avoided visiting him many a time for fear of arousing his Royal mistress' suspicions, owing to the reasons he himself had explained to me. I recollected very well his telling me that she (Anne Boleyn) would like to see his head off his shoulders. Such a threat, I said, was constantly before my eyes, causing me great care and anxiety, and I sincerely wished him a more gracious mistress than she was, one more grateful for the immense services he (Cromwell) had rendered the King. He ought to take care not to offend or over-irritate her, or else he must renounce all hope of that perfect reconciliation we both were trying to bring about. I therefore begged and entreated him, in such an event, to guard against her attacks more effectually than the cardinal (Wolsey) had done, which I hoped his dexterity and prudence would be able to accomplish. If it were true, as I had been told, that the King, his master, was now thinking of a fresh marriage, that would, no doubt, be the way of preserving him (Cromwell) from many inconveniences, and likewise the best thing for the King to do, disappointed, as he had hitherto been, of male issue. Whatever might be said or preached on that score from the pulpit, the King knew very well that his marriage to Anne could never be held as valid, for many reasons, which I left to his consideration; and although from another marriage, more legitimate than his last, the King might possibly have male issue, which would eventually turn out to the Princess' prejudice, yet the love and affection I bore the King, and him in particular, as well as my earnest desire for the peace, honour, and prosperity of England, made me wish that he (Cromwell) should have another royal mistress, not out of hatred of Anne Boleyn, for she had never done me any harm, but for his own sake.

Cromwell seemed to take my words in good part, and thanked me for the affection I professed to him, &c., saying that he was well aware of the precarious nature of human affairs, to say nothing of those appertaining to royal courts; he had for a long time back known this, having had continually before his eyes several examples of it of a domestic nature. He had, however, admitted to himself that the day might come when fate would strike him as it had struck his predecessors in office: then he would arm himself with patience and place himself for the rest in the hands of God. True, it was, as I had hinted to him, that he would have to implore God's help if he wished to escape from dangers and inconveniences of that sort; and that he did, and he would, besides, do his utmost to avoid danger. After that Cromwell began to excuse himself for having promoted the King's marriage [to Anne]. True, it was (he said), that seeing the King so much bent upon it, and so determined, he (Cromwell) had paved the way towards it. Although the King, his master, was still inclined to pay his court to ladies², yet it was generally believed that in future he would lead a more moral life than hitherto—a chaste and marital one with his present Queen. This Cromwell said to me in such a cold indifferent manner that I had a strong suspicion that he meant just the contrary. Indeed, I observed whilst he said so, that not knowing what mien to put on, he leant against the window close to which we were both standing, and put his hand to his mouth to prevent the smile on his lips, or to conceal it altogether from me should it come on; adding, shortly after: "of one thing, however, you may be sure, namely, that should the King, my master, want another wife, it is certainly not among the French that he will look for one." After which he said that upon the arrival of Your Majesty's answer to the overtures that had been made to me, we would treat of all those matters, and come to an understanding upon the whole. At last, when I was about to depart, he said that although I had once refused to accept a horse, which he wanted to present to me, now I could not, without suspicion of anger or ill-will on my part, decline the gift of one which the earl of Sussex had presented to him the day before; and I must add that, whatever my excuses, I was literally obliged to accept the present.

Note 1. "These days, the young marquis, the widow Countess of Childra, Monsieur de Montagne, and certain other gentlemen came to dine with me. The said Sieur de Montagne, after several complaints about the disorder of the affairs here, etc."

"Estant ces iours venu disner avec moy le ieusne marquis, la veufve contesse de Childra, monsieur de Montagne et certains autres gentilhomes, le dict sieur de Montague apres pluseurs querimonies du desordre des affaires dyci, &c."

Note 2. "It was indeed true that, seeing the king his master determined and resolved to do so, he had disclosed the means for it, and that despite the fact that the said king his master was still inclined to feast and serve ladies, nevertheless it is believed that henceforth he would wish to live honourably and chastely, continuing in his marriage."

"Bien estoit vray que voyant le roy son maistre determine et resolv de ce faire, quil en avoit ouuert les moyens et que non obstant que le dict roy son maistre fut encoires incline a festoyer et servir dames, toutes foys se croit il que desormais vouldroit il vivre honestement et chastement continuant en son mariage."