Between Two Kings Read Online Free PDF

was hated by the common people because she finally had what she wanted after seven years of anticipation. Henry loved her and she loved him. What could have been better than what she had managed to achieve? At that time, Anne didn’t think that she had done anything wrong; rather she believed Henry’s marriage to Catherine was null and void.
    Catherine had strong support for her cause. Her supporters included Thomas More, Emperor Charles V, Pope Paul III, Mary Tudor, Queen Dowager of France, Henry’s own sister, and others. The majority of the English courtiers had always supported Catherine of Aragon whom King Henry wished to toss aside in favor of a younger woman whom he had courted for many years, parading her right in front of Queen Catherine and humiliating the true Queen of England, as the courtiers thought. The courtiers started to feel contempt for Anne and blame her for everything, even going so far as to suggest that she had bewitched Henry.
    Anne didn’t understand how people could have been so naive to think that she could have ordered the King of England to annul his marriage if he hadn’t wanted to do that by himself. They thought that she was an evil woman and the only reason that the saint Queen Catherine had been discarded and Mary Tudor bastardized; they didn’t understand that it was Henry’s choice to declare Lady Mary Tudor illegitimate. If Henry hadn’t wanted to punish Mary for her disobedience and unwillingness to accept her illegitimate status and sign the Oath of Supremacy, he would have never demanded from Mary to serve Elizabeth at Hatfield. It looked like the courtiers and the common people of England hated Anne for the things she couldn’t have done because she didn’t have control over Henry’s mind and his decisions.
    Henry transformed England and abandoned Catherine only because he himself wanted to do that and believed his marriage to Catherine had never been valid in the eyes of God and the law. The Boleyns pushed him to set Catherine aside, but Henry was the King of England and the final decision was his; it was not the decision of Anne, her father, or anybody else. Yet, it was Anne who was hated by the courtiers and by the common people and they blamed her rather than look into the core of the matter. But none of that mattered to Anne because she loved Henry, had the king’s love, and carried his child after the visit to Calais.
    When Anne gave birth to Elizabeth, Henry was disappointed with the gender of the child. Anne would never forget how Henry came to her chambers, frustrated that Anne had given birth to a girl. Anne said that she was sorry, and Henry replied that they were young enough to have more children.
    Then Henry left her suite, and all sad thoughts disappeared from Anne’s mind as soon as she looked down at the small bundle in her arms – her precious daughter Elizabeth. She had loved Elizabeth with all her heart from first sight. For Anne, her Elizabeth was the most precious girl in the whole country, and she wouldn’t have exchanged her daughter for anything else.
    Later, Anne miscarried her second child, and Henry stopped caring for her. He couldn’t bear to look at her and avoided her as much as he could, not willing to be in her presence for longer than fifteen minutes during rare official dinners and receptions.
    Anne became pregnant again, and Henry was overjoyed that there was another chance to have a healthy son. He didn’t dote on Anne, like he had during her previous pregnancies. But she lost her child after she saw Jane Seymour on Henry’s lap as they were sharing a kiss in January 1536; Henry didn’t even console her that time.
    Henry started hating Anne and blaming her for everything that went wrong in his life and his kingdom. Finally, he was easily manipulated by Anne’s enemies, especially by Thomas Cromwell and probably by Charles Brandon, 1 st Duke of Suffolk, who had always hated Anne and often sent numerous looks of loathing her way.