Alison weir the lady in the tower the fal eyn (v5 0)

ALSO BY ALISON WEIR Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy The Six Wives of Henry VIII The Princes in the Tower The Wars of the Roses Children of Henry VIII The Life of Elizabeth I Eleanor of Aquitaine Henry VIII: The King and His Court Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley Queen Isabella This book is dedicated to a dear friend, Father Luke (Rev Canon Anthony Verhees), to mark his eightieth birthday PREFACE This is where my interest in history began, many years ago, with Anne Boleyn and the dramatic story of her fall That interest has never abated—I have written at length on Anne in two earlier books, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Henry VIII: King and Court, and in a number of unpublished works—and I know that it is shared by many: the crowds who visit the Tower of London to see the supposed site of her scaffold, or flock to Hampton Court, where Anne stayed in happier days, or to Hever Castle, her family home, or Blickling, the place of her birth The fascination is evident in numerous sites on the Internet, the almost-regular appearance of biographies of Anne Boleyn, films and television dramas about her, and the numerous letters and e-mails I have received from readers over the years Yet never before—surprisingly—has there been a book devoted entirely to the fall of Anne Boleyn, and it has been a deeply satisfying experience having the scope to research in depth this most discussed and debated aspect of Anne’s life This has allowed me to achieve new insights and to debunk many myths and misapprehensions It has been an exciting project, and I have constantly been amazed at what I discovered Coming to this subject afresh, I have—as always—questioned all my preconceptions and assumptions, and sometimes had to revise them, which of course exposes errors in my own previous books, and indeed in nearly every other book on Anne, however diligently researched In writing a full biography, the historian does not have the opportunity to go into such detail—in research, narrative, and analysis—as I have had the good fortune to be able to in a book that essentially covers a period of four months I wish to stress that this book is based largely on original sources, and that the conclusions in it are my own, sometimes reached objectively after reading the various theories This might sound like a statement of the obvious, but in some aspects, my conclusions coincide with others’ That has often been pure coincidence I purposely put off reading all the modern biographies of Anne until my research from contemporary sources was completed and the book was in its penultimate draft I have gratefully given due credit to historians whose theories and interpretations have informed my work, but otherwise all conjectures, inferences, and conclusions are my own, independently reached without reference to the biographies I wish in particular to pay tribute to those by Professor Eric Ives, whose theories about the reasons for Anne Boleyn’s fall have been particularly illuminating Since contemporary sources are key factors in studying Anne Boleyn’s fall, readers may wish to look at the section “Notes on Some of the Sources,” which appear after the main text, before reading the book Historians must always decide what weight to give each source, and this guide is there to evaluate the reliability and veracity of the chief ones for the period The approximate modern worth of monetary amounts has been given in brackets after each sum mentioned in the text Above all, this book has been a labor of love, as well as an exciting quest for the truth—or as near as anyone can get to the truth I am deeply grateful for the help and support of many kind and generous people: firstly, two dear friends and fellow historians, Tracy Borman, for so generously lending me the first chapter of her forthcoming book on Elizabeth I, for hours spent in convivial discussion about aspects of Anne and Elizabeth that are common to both our subjects, and for joining me for sell-out events mischievously entitled “The Whore and the Virgin;” and Sarah Gristwood, for so thoughtfully obtaining for me the one rare biography of Anne that I had no time to track down, and for showing me a better way to write a book! I should also like to thank Glen Lucas and Karen Marston, for so generously giving of their time, without charge, to translate documents from Latin and French; Patricia Macleod of Sutton Library, for putting me in touch with Glen Lucas and for organizing such wonderful events; Sue Wingrove of BBC History magazine, for very kindly sending me photocopies of out-of-print articles; Canon Anthony Verhees (Father Luke), for advice and information on funeral masses in the sixteenth century and other issues raised by Anne Boleyn’s fate; the historian Christopher Warwick, another dear friend, for advice, and for photographing a model of the Tower of London based on the 1597 map; Monica Tandy and Alan Mudie, for information on ghost stories about Anne Boleyn; Samantha Brown and Ann Morrice of Historic Royal Palaces, for their wonderful enthusiasm for Tudor history and for making it possible for me to speak about Anne and Henry VIII at Hampton Court, which has been an enormous privilege The list of people who have supported me in various ways whilst I was writing this book is a long one, but I wish especially to mention my agent, Julian Alexander; my commissioning editors, Will Sulkin at Jonathan Cape in London and Susanna Porter at Ballantine Books in New York; my editorial director, Anthony Whittome, his assistant James Nightingale, and the dedicated and helpful publishing teams at Random House in the United Kingdom and the United States I am tremendously grateful to you all More special thanks must go to my family and friends, who have all had to put up with me during the writing of this book, in particular my wonderfully supportive husband, Rankin; my son, John; my daughter, Kate; my mother, Doreen Cullen; and my cousin, Christine Armour I wish also to express my gratitude to (in no particular order) Ian Robinson, Kate Williams, Siobhan Clarke, Anthony Cunningham, Leza Mitchell, Richard Foreman, Alison Montgomerie, Roger England, Joan and John Borman, David Crothers, Richard Stubbings, Kathleen Carroll, Ian Franklin, Jean and Nick Hubbard, Nicholas and Carol Bennett, Anthony and Jackie Goodman, Pauline Hall, Karin Scherer, Gary and Barbara Leeds, Rose Lukas, John and Joanna Marston, Anita Myatt, Josephine Ross, Burnell and Shelley Tucker, Monica and John Tyler, Peter Taylor, Frank and Janet Taylor, Nicola Tallis, Alex von Tunzelmann, Jane Robins, Alice Hogge, Justin Pollard, Nellie Verhees, Kenneth and Elizabeth Weir, Ronald and Alison Weir, Martha Whittome, Jessie Childs, Helen Rappaport, Lynn and Anne Saunders, Jane Furnival, Mavis Cheek, Molly Bradshaw, Dave Musgrove and many more!! You have all been wonderful in so many ways—thank you Alison Weir, Carshalton, Surrey, Christmas 2008 CONTENTS PREFACE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS GENEALOGICAL TABLES PROLOGUE The Solemn Joust CHAPTER Occurrences That Presaged Evil CHAPTER The Scandal of Christendom CHAPTER The Frailty of Human Affairs CHAPTER Plotting the Affair CHAPTER Unlawful Lechery CHAPTER Turning Trust to Treason CHAPTER To the Tower CHAPTER Stained in Her Reputation CHAPTER The Most Mischievous and Abominable Treasons CHAPTER 10 More Accused than Convicted CHAPTER 11 Fighting Without a Weapon CHAPTER 12 Just, True, and Lawful Impediments CHAPTER 13 For Now I Die CHAPTER 14 When Death Hath Played His Part CHAPTER 15 The Concubine’s Little Bastard CHAPTER 16 A Work of God’s Justice APPENDIX: Legends NOTES ON SOME OF THE SOURCES SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY NOTES AND REFERENCES LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Anne Boleyn, as she probably looked at the time of her fall, artist unknown, sixteenth century, Nidd Hall, Yorkshire © The Trustees of the 16th Viscount Mountgarret Will Trust Henry VIII, painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, c 1536-7, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid, Spain/The Bridgeman Art Library Jane Seymour, artist unknown, 1540s, the Society of Antiquaries of London/The Bridgeman Art Library Sir Nicholas Carew, workshop of Hans Holbein, 1530s, by kind permission of the Trustees of the 9th Duke of Buccleuch’s Chattles Fund The Lady Mary, painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, c 1536, The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond, miniature by Lucas Horenbout, c 1534-5, The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, c 1539, The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, Tomb brass, c 1539, St Peter’s Church, Hever, Kent, photograph reproduced by kind permission of H Martin Stuchfield Signature of George Boleyn, Lord Rochford © British Library Board, Royal MS 20 B XXI, f.2v Signature of Mark Smeaton © British Library Board, Royal MS 20 B XXI, f.98 Henry Parker, Lord Morley, painting by Albrecht Durer, 1523 © The Trustees of the British Museum Thomas Cromwell, “Master Secretary,” School of Hans Holbein the Younger, c 1533, Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Clowes Fund Collection Sir William FitzWilliam, painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, c 1536–40, The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth Browne, Countess of Worcester, Tomb effigy, St Mary’s Church, Chepstow, photograph © Archie Miles/Collections Picture Library 120 Chronicle of King Henry VIII 121 Froude, Note D in Thomas (LP 911) 122 LP 123 Milherve; Histoire de la Royne Anne de Boullant 124 SC 125 Erickson: First Elizabeth 126 Carles 127 Froude, Note D in Thomas (LP 911) 128 Anthony; Abbott 129 Carles Annabel Geddes, the former Director of the London Tourist Board who founded the London Dungeon, has suggested that Anne’s head was sewn back onto her body by her women before burial, as Charles I’s was in 1649, but no eyewitness account mentions this 130 LP 131 Wriothesley 132 Wainewright; Wriothesley 133 Maria Hayward; Ives 134 Lisle Letters 135 LP 136 Froude, Note D in Thomas (LP 911) 137 Harleian manuscripts 138 Bell CHAPTER 14: WHEN DEATH HATH PLAYED HIS PART LP Ibid Ibid Corpus Reformatorum SC State Papers LP Ibid Ives; “Faction” 10 LP 11 Ibid 12 LP; Erickson: First Elizabeth 13 LP 14 Friedmann 15 Ives: “Frenchman” 16 LP 17 Constantine 18 Friedmann 19 Williams: Henry VIII and His Court 20 LP 21 Jenkins 22 Lisle Letters 23 Rawlinson manuscripts 24 Gross 25 Additional Manuscripts; Fraser 26 History of the King’s Works; Fraser 27 Coverdale’s Bible, with Anne Boleyn’s initials embossed on the binding, is now in the British Library 28 LP 29 Lisle Letters 30 LP 31 Hall 32 LP 33 Ibid 34 Ibid 35 LP; Warnicke 36 LP 37 Ibid 38 LP 39 Foxe 40 Lisle Letters; LP 41 Harleian manuscripts 42 LP 43 LP; Lisle Letters 44 LP; Lisle Letters; Complete Peerage 45 Wriothesley 46 Journals of the House of Lords 47 Lisle Letters; LP 48 LP; Wriothesley (editorial notes); Kelly 49 LP 50 Statutes of the Realm 51 Elton: Policy and Police 52 LP 53 Ibid 54 Lisle Letters; LP 55 She died at Reading Place, a tenement of the Abbot of Reading, in the Ward of Baynard’s Castle in London, and was buried in the Howard aisle in St Mary’s Church, Lambeth (LP; Nichols) 56 LP 57 Ibid 58 Dictionary of National Biography; Complete Peerage 59 Cavendish: Metrical Visions 60 LP 61 Ibid 62 LP The original is Cotton manuscript Vespasian, FXIII, f199 63 Porter 64 LP 65 Ibid 66 LP; Fox 67 Smith: Tudor Tragedy 68 Cited by Williams in Henry VIII and His Court 69 Smith: Tudor Tragedy 70 Statutes of the Realm 71 SC 72 LP 73 Original Letters 74 By Julia Fox in Jane Boleyn 75 LP 76 Lisle Letters 77 LP; Lisle Letters 78 Henry VIII: A European Court in England 79 LP 80 Ibid 81 Ibid 82 Ibid 83 Ibid Later, in 1538, Audley was given Walden Abbey in Essex, which he converted into Audley End House; the present house was built on its site in the early seventeenth century 84 Murphy 85 LP 86 The Renaissance at Sutton Place; LP; Royal manuscripts 87 LP 88 Ibid 89 Murphy CHAPTER 15: THE CONCUBINE’S LITTLE BASTARD Neale: Elizabeth Williams: Elizabeth; LP LP Perry Waldman LP Neale LP Cotton manuscript Otho 10 LP 11 Ibid 12 Ibid 13 Ibid 14 Excerpta Historica (LP 1107) 15 LP 16 Ibid 17 Erickson: First Elizabeth 18 LP 19 VC 20 Clifford; Prescott 21 VC 22 SC 23 VC 24 SC 25 LP 26 Cited by Neale in Elizabeth 27 Lisle Letters 28 Cited by Somerset 29 Ridley: Elizabeth I 30 Strype 31 Cited by Somerset 32 Relations Politiques de France avec l’Ecosse 33 SC 34 Erickson: First Elizabeth 35 Gristwood 36 Foxe 37 Arnold 38 VC 39 Ibid 40 Erickson: First Elizabeth 41 Jenkins It is often stated that she made only two recorded references to Anne Boleyn, but that is not true 42 Somerset 43 Statutes of the Realm; Ridley: Elizabeth; Neale: Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments; Johnson 44 Dunn 45 VC 46 Somerset 47 Ibid 48 “Household Expenses” 49 Parker 50 Calendar of State Papers, Foreign; Borman I am indebted to Dr Tracy Borman for drawing my attention to this reference 51 Ives; Somerset; Ives: “Fall Reconsidered” 52 Elizabeth: Exhibition Catalogue 53 LP 54 Ibid 55 Ibid 56 Ibid CHAPTER 16: A WORK OF GOD’S JUSTICE Ives: “Faction” LP “Vitae Mariae” Clifford Cavendish: Metrical Visions Friedmann VC Bruce; Loades: Henry VIII and His Queens Warnicke: “Fall” 10 LP 11 SC 12 Ives: “Fall Reconsidered” 13 Somerset: Ladies in Waiting 14 Loades: Henry VIII and His Queens 15 Ives: “Faction” 16 Loades: Henry VIII and His Queens 17 Smith: Henry VIII 18 Loades: Henry VIII and His Queens 19 Loades: Mary Tudor 20 LP 21 Strickland 22 Lofts; Strickland 23 Warnicke; Cutts 24 Brewer’s British Royalty 25 Abbott 26 Bell 27 This plan is reproduced in Younghusband’s The Tower From Within 28 Dodson 29 LP 30 Bell 31 VC 32 Bell 33 Abbott 34 Bell 35 Abbott APPENDIX: LEGENDS Forman; Jones; Underwood; Westwood and Simpson Underwood Foister Forman Forman; Underwood Forman; Jones Underwood Ibid Ibid 10 Abbott 11 Jones; Matthews; Underwood 12 Underwood 13 Ibid 14 Forman; Abbott 15 Underwood NOTES ON SOME OF THE SOURCES LP; Bernard: “Fall” Ives: “Faction” About the Author ALISON WEIR is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth, and several historical biographies, including Queen Isabella, Henry VIII, Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Life of Elizabeth I, and The Six Wives of Henry VIII She lives in Surrey, England, with her husband and two children Copyright © 2010 by Alison Weir All rights reserved Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc Originally published by Jonathan Cape, a division of Random House Group Limited, London, in 2010 Title page art : detail from The Tower of London, painting by Michael van Meer, Album Amicorum, 1615, Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections, ms.La.III.283, fol.346v Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Weir, Alison The lady in the tower : the fall of Anne Boleyn / Alison Weir p cm eISBN: 978-0-345-51978-8 Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507–1536 Great Britain— History—Henry VIII, 1509–1547—Biography Queens—England—Biography Henry VIII, King of England, 1491–1547—Marriage I Title DA333.B6W45 2010 942.05′2092—dc22 [B] 2009042748 www.ballantinebooks.com v3.0 ... pinning his ninety-five theses against indulgences and other doctrines to the door of the Schlosskirche The purpose of the delegation was to seek the friendship and support of the German princes,... born there in 1491 It was a warm day, and pennants fluttered in the breeze as the courtiers crowded into their seats to watch the contest.1 At the appointed time, the King took his place at the. .. www.suffolkchurches.co.uk Sir Thomas Wyatt, painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, c 1535, The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II “To the King from the Lady in the Tower : a disputed letter ©