King Henry VIII couldn’t believe the news. He had been
assured that these men were guilty of their crimes; that his marriage to Anne
Boleyn would rightfully be annulled due to her infidelities.
Now, on May 12, 1536, he had learned that the four men
accused of sleeping with his wife had been found innocent. He would have the
heads of the jurors. How could they find the men innocent? One had even
confessed to having sex with Anne on multiple occasions.
It later turned out that Mark Smeaton had recanted his confession.
He shared with the court that the only reason he confessed was so that the
torture would stop. He didn’t want to be left a cripple permanently. But in the
end he couldn’t see an innocent person die because of his lies.
But that wasn’t all. To make it very clear that this recant
was real, he had opted to tell the court that he was a homosexual. He couldn’t
have sex with Anne before he preferred to sleep with men. Sure it was a death
sentence for him, but Anne would be found innocent on charges against her
involving himself.
Thomas Cromwell’s evidence started to fall apart. He had
dates and places all laid out in front of him, but soon the jurors realized
that the dates were fabricated. The men couldn’t have been with the queen
because she would have been elsewhere; with the king, pregnant, or unchurched
and laid in bed.
King Henry VIII Furious with Thomas Cromwell
When Henry learned of the truth about Mark Smeaton’s
confession, he made sure a court found him guilty of sodomy and whatever other
charges they could put against him. His death would be painful—there would be
no mercy shown at all. Smeaton had embarrassed the king, as once he was found
innocent the others were too.
The people of England laughed. He could hear them from
behind his walls. They wanted their queen freed from the Tower of London, but
Henry wanted her gone. He didn’t love her and he certainly didn’t trust her.
Rumors came from some sort of truth. They had to.
But while he couldn’t go after Anne’s head right now and
Smeaton was already going to face the chopping block, he could go after another
person. The one person who made a promise that Anne and her followers at court
would be taken down: Thomas Cromwell.
Cromwell had clearly lied. He couldn’t have someone who
would fabricate evidence and not learn the deep truths of those accused of
sleeping with the queen. After all, what would happen to a future bride once
Henry took another?
Cromwell attempted to save his own life, but it was in vein.
He was arrested and locked away in the Tower. Henry would come to him later.
For now he could stew in filth and have only rats for company. Cromwell would remain in prison and die from unknown causes.
Queen Anne Learns the Truth
Preparing for her own trial three days later, Queen Anne
would learn of the truth. Sir William Kingston came with the news that her
trial would not go ahead. The evidence had fallen through. Sir Henry Norris,
Sir William Brereton, and Sir Francis Weston would be released in due course.
There was a fourth name missing from the list. She knew Mark
Smeaton was to face the court too. If her trial wasn’t going to happen—would that
mean she was found innocent of the false charges?—then why would Mark be released?
Poor Mark. She had liked him. He was funny and an excellent musician. But she
would never betray the king. She had worked hard to get to where she was.
Kingston shared that Mark was facing other charges, and Anne
knew that wasn’t good. While she didn’t ask for more, she said a prayer for his
soul.
Despite no trial, Anne was confined to the Tower for now.
Was this just normal or would Henry search for another way to get rid of her?
Anne had hoped that Henry would see the truth and agree to send her to a
nunnery instead. There was hope now, as there not?
No, she wouldn’t hope just yet. There was still a chance
that Cromwell would find a way to take her down.
Jane Seymour Angry at the Outcome
Another woman to hear the news late was Jane Seymour. Days after
the trial, she finally got word from Henry that the men were found innocent.
Anne would have to be found innocent too—after all, who would she have
committed adultery with—and she would still be viewed as queen by many of the
reforming people.
To say she was angry was an understatement. She had been
relying on this, getting her hopes up that she would be the next queen. It hadn’t
helped her father and brother were pushing her in this direction. Instead she
was left as “the other woman;” the person Anne was viewed as during the “King’s
Great Matter” all those years ago. She didn’t want to be that woman.
It would be days later that her brother Edward had found a
way to take down the Boleyn faction. While the adultery charges were dropped,
there were still incest charges against Anne and George. And there were
witchcraft charges against Anne. Unfortunately, the incest charges were no
longer holding up. With Cromwell in the Tower, witnesses were coming forward to
say that he had forced false confessions from them. The witness who had seen
George and Anne together shared what she had really meant—that George was a
caring, kind brother who helped Anne emotionally.
There were only the witchcraft accusations left. But there
was no evidence at all to back those up. Rumors of Anne having dark marks
spread around England, but surely Henry would have seen them. Just in case he
was bewitched, Edward convinced Charles Brandon to have Anne’s body searched
for dark marks. Were there any signs of dark magic on her?
Anne Found Innocent of All Charges
When Anne was ordered to undress in front of five men, she
was embarrassed and angry. How could Henry allow such a thing? But rather than
fight back, she stood strong and dignified. She knew they needed to find some
sort of evidence that she was a witch—her ladies had shared the rumors—and she
wasn’t going to let the men believe she had anything to hide.
They wouldn’t find anything of course. She had no dark marks
anywhere. She knew that and so did Henry. This search was all in vain—and pointless
attempt to find her guilty of something.
When the men left disappointed, Anne quickly dressed and
allowed herself to shed the tears of embarrassment and deep fear. Even if they
couldn’t find a mark, they could easily claim they had. Would she be subject to
that in front of the people? Would they sneer and laugh at the sight of their
queen naked in front of them?
After a week of wondering and fear, Kingston returned to her
chambers to tell her that she was to be escorted out of the Tower. She was
certain that she would face public humiliation. Would Henry spare no expense to
see their marriage dissolved and her position as queen taken away?
Remaining dignified, she followed Sir Kingston out of her
chambers and through the Towers. She waited to hear the sneering crowds, but
there was silence. Nobody was there except for Charles Brandon, Duke of
Suffolk. So he would be the one to lead her to her public shame. He didn’t even
look sorry for doing this. There was no emotion in his eyes, but there was a slight
bow of the head.
Without word, Brandon led Anne through the courtyard and
into court. Would she face humiliation in front of all lords and dukes instead?
Would Henry be there to see how everyone reacted?
She was surprised when she found herself in front of Henry.
He sat proudly on this throne, with just Brandon in the room. Where was that
snivelling Cromwell? She would have his head if she could for everything he had
done to her. But first, she needed to bow deeply and show her husband and lord
respect and find out her fate.
It was then that she finally learned she and her brother had
been cleared of all charges. They were free—although George was banished from
court. Anne didn’t care to find out why. She wanted to know what would happen
to her.
Anne Boleyn Arranges a Divorce
Henry wasn’t exactly apologetic for what had happened. A
king never apologized, even if he was in the wrong. Anne new that, but as a
husband she had hoped that he would show some humiliation and repent. Instead,
he remained stone-eyed and calm. All he wanted now was an annulment. Anne would
be free to go to a nunnery of her choosing should she agree.
Did she want to agree? Part of her knew that would be better
than facing a trial, but she didn’t want to back down. After all this time, she
wanted to prove to Henry that she loved him. If she annulled her marriage now,
it would show the world that they were never right. Elizabeth would be a
bastard.
No, she couldn’t do to her daughter what had happened to
Mary—Lady Mary would be someone Anne would need to see after this, if she
could. Anne wanted to make sure her daughter was provided for and kept her
birth right as the future Queen of England. Anne wouldn’t settle for a marriage
to some prince or duke overseas.
Instead of agreeing to an annulment, Anne wanted a divorce.
This would mean that the two did marry and Elizabeth would remain a legitimate
child of Henry VIII. She would be a legitimate princess, still. Initially
angry, Henry did decide to accept the terms. These terms also made it clear
that Anne would return to her title Marquis of Pembroke, and she would live in
the Welsh lands, away from court. However, she would be allowed a residence
near London to see her daughter.
It was a win-win situation for them both. Henry got a
legitimate divorce that would be accepted by both the Protestants and
Catholics, Elizabeth would remain legitimate, and Anne would keep her head and
have the right to marry again if she found someone. She had a feeling that she
never would.
Henry VIII and Jane Seymour Marry
Once the divorce was finalised in June 1536, Henry and Jane
were free to marry. They would marry at the end of June but it would take a
while for Jane to conceive. When she finally did, she gave birth to a son but
died soon of childbed fever. England mourned the loss of a queen, but they had
a prince. Edward would be placed before Elizabeth in the line of succession,
but the two continued to displace Mary from the throne.
Mary Tudor tried to love her siblings. She favored Edward
more than Elizabeth. Even if she had remained princess, Edward would always
become the heir apparent. They lived in a man’s world. What annoyed her the
most was that Elizabeth had kept her position. The concubine had managed to
avoid death and humiliation.
As for Anne, she and Henry did end up on speaking terms
again. Henry even started to fall in love with her again, but she wouldn’t let
him continue that. He needed to find another wife to give England another male
heir. She wouldn’t be the one to go through that again. His council found him a
few options and Henry agreed to the marriage to Christina of Milan, the
granddaughter of Joanna and Philip I of Castile.
There were some questions about this marriage. Christina was
the great-niece of Catherine of Aragon. Henry brushed them off. Christina was
still young, still in her teens. Of course, Henry wanted to marry her. She didn’t
quite want to marry him, but a brewing war between France and Spain meant that
she didn’t have much of a choice. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor effectively
made her accept Henry’s proposal.
The two were married in December 1538. The marriage would
lead to one more son, Henry, who wouldn’t last past his first birthday. Henry
blamed her for the lack of heirs. It was Anne who helped Christina through
Henry’s mood swings and encouraged her to keep trying with him. Henry’s health
was failing and she would be set well as the dowager queen.
In 1547, the inevitable happened. Henry VIII died and
Christina was made a widow for the second time. Young Prince Edward was now
King of England. Without Katherine Parr there to help, Mary had been kept out
of the line of succession.
After Edward’s death in 1553, Elizabeth inherited the
throne. Edward’s reign hadn’t been without its ups and downs, of course. Both
his uncles had been executed for treason—one of those uncles had attempted to marry
Elizabeth. One Lord Protector had attempted to coerce the king into marrying
the Lady Jane Grey off to his fourth son, but Edward wouldn’t have it. Instead,
he considered the marriage to Jane himself.
Queen Elizabeth I Ascends to the Throne
When Edward died in 1553, Elizabeth would become Queen of
England. Elizabeth placed her uncle into the privy council, trusting him to
guide her. Anne returned to court, placing herself in the proud position as
Queen Mother. Many compared her to Margaret Beaufort, which she definitely didn’t
mind. In fact, she had respect for her late grandmother-in-law.
Now all that mattered was arranging a marriage for
Elizabeth, as Henry had failed to due his duty while alive. There were plenty
after her hand, including Lord John Dudley’s fifth son Robert. While Elizabeth
enjoyed his flirtations, she had her eyes set on Spain. While her mother
favored France, the French dauphin was betrothed to Mary, Queen of Scotland.
When Elizabeth looked towards Spain, there were suggestions
that she married Edward Courtenay, the currently imprisoned member of the
Courtenay family. It would take some work, as Edward’s father had been executed
for treason. The more Elizabeth looked into it, the more she realized that
Edward was a good match. He was a descendent of Edward IV of England.
Anne Boleyn wasn’t too happy that Elizabeth wasn’t
considering a French marriage, but extremely happy that it wasn’t a Spanish
one. The marriage did help to unify most of England. With Edward’s lands and
titles restored and a posthumous pardon given to his father, the English people
viewed him as a legitimate heir to the throne. However, Elizabeth refused to
allow him the Crown Matrimonial—something she later learned another cousin,
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was pushing for with the Scottish Queen Mary.
Their marriage had been relatively happy, despite no Crown Matrimonial.
They did have three children, and Edward was there to support Elizabeth when
Anne and George died in 1562 and 1568 respectively. Elizabeth’s only wish was
that her mother had got to meet her daughter, Anne Tudor, the eldest of the
three children. The other two were sons, Henry and George, who would go on to
continue the Tudor dynasty; first Henry and then George after his brother’s
untimely death.
When Mary, Queen of Scots did turn to Elizabeth for support
after losing her throne, Elizabeth opened her arms and court to her cousin. She
wasn’t about to see a queen in her own right lose her throne. The problem was
Scotland and England were now Protestant nations. Elizabeth offered Mary a
marriage into a good family, but Mary wanted her throne back. Knowing how
Elizabeth would be if the tables were turned, she offered financial help and an
army. While Mary never got her throne back, she did become regent for her young
son with the backing of Elizabeth. The Scots attempted a couple of uprisings
but they were pushed down until James VI of Scotland came of age.
Elizabeth helped to secure the position and support for Mary
through the marriage of her daughter to the young king. It would be their line
who would one day join the English and Scottish thrones and create what would
be known as Great Britain.
[All images in the public domain]
