The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown Read Online Free PDF Page A

bore the child's long train.
    It was a wonderful time for the Boleyns. Anne was queen, her successful pregnancy had shown her fertility and her ability to carry children successfully and there was hope for a future son and heir. Royal favour had also brought the family wealth. Although one historian writes of cracks appearing in the royal marriage as early as August 1533, there is actually no evidence of this. It is indisputable, however, that there were many pressures on the marriage – Anne's new role as queen/wife/mother, Henry's wandering eye, Mary's refusal to recognise her new stepmother as queen, Anne's unpopularity and the need for an heir. Furthermore, it was a very unusual royal marriage in that it was based on love and passion, rather than diplomacy. Volatile and passionate doesn't begin to describe it.
    Anne was determined to succeed where her predecessor had failed, by providing Henry with a son and heir. She became pregnant again quickly after the birth of Elizabeth but unfortunately lost the baby late in the pregnancy.
    Anne Boleyn was far more than just Henry's wife and consort; she was a patron of the Arts, a keen religious and social reformer and an influential woman in her own right. Henry shared his ideas for renovations and building campaigns with her, she had a close relationship with Thomas Cromwell, she acted as a patron to the likes of Hans Holbein and she used her power to help petitioners and to influence her husband.
    In January 1536, everything was looking good for Queen Anne Boleyn. Her Nemesis, Catherine of Aragon, was dead, and she herself was pregnant again. Henry may have had a new flame, but that was to be expected, and Anne had no reason to fear a mere flirtation when she was carrying his heir. Storm clouds were gathering but the Boleyns had every reason to pin their hopes on a rosy future.

Summer 1535 - The Royal Progress and Wolf Hall
    In the summer of 1535, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn carried out a royal progress (tour) to the west and south-west of England. It was traditional for the King and Queen to go on progress in the summer months as it was a chance for them to get out of the smelly city of London with its risk of plague and other diseases. This particular progress was also an opportunity for the couple to gain support for their marriage, to promote the Reformation and to visit the households of people seen as "pro-Reform". 1 It was a political and social progress, and far more than a chance for the couple to get away and have a break. The plan seemed to work; evidence for this can be found in a letter written by the imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, on 10th August 1535:-
"This King is still on the borders of Wales, hunting and visiting that principality with a view to gain popularity with his subjects. This he attempts by all possible means and ways, and it is reported that a large number of peasants in the villages through which he has passed, after hearing the preachers who follow the Court, have been so deceived as to believe that God inspired the King to repudiate his legitimate Queen owing to her having once been married to his brother." 2
    This royal progress led Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn from Windsor, to Reading, through Oxfordshire to Gloucestershire, through Wiltshire to Hampshire, and then back through Hampshire towards London. 3 Historian Eric Ives 4 writes of how the King was enjoying himself so much on this progress that the consecration of three new bishops (Edward Fox, John Hilsey and Hugh Latimer), planned for 19th September at Winchester, became a bit of a last minute panic. Eventually, Henry VIII signed the necessary documentation while staying at Wolf Hall, near Marlborough in Wiltshire.
    Wolf Hall was the family home of the Seymour family. In fiction and on TV it is often the setting of Henry VIII's first meeting with Sir John Seymour's daughter, Jane Seymour. If we are to believe fiction, then Henry fell in love with the meek and mild blonde as soon as