1 post tagged “the tudors”

The Tudor's finale was last night. I'm kind of sad to have to wait a few months before seeing Henry again although I must say that I think I need some time to recover. I admit, I watched the finale earlier in the week and I cried. I cried for the injustice, for the horrific events that I knew would take place. I felt for Anne... and Patty, a recent commenter left this comment on another post of mine. I really can't express how greatful I am for comments like this. I couldn't write it better myself so I will leave it to Patty:

I watched with interest the scene last night where Anne Boleyn mentions her "little neck" to Master Kingston in the Tower. I think it portrayed part of what Henry had actually found so stimulating about Anne; that she had a "marvelous wit" is mentioned in many accounts of her in history. I think she appreciated this last subtlety of wit, if no one else with her did at the time.

Unfortunately for Anne, she made the mistake of her life when she did actually threaten Cromwell in 1535 to have him executed. Anne was a woman before her time, and didn't think far enough ahead to realize at the end of the day, Cromwell would look to protect himself; it is written that Cromwell "took to his bed" for four days at his home away from Court. When he returned, the plot had been formulated on how to bring Anne low. I would think Cromwell must have been terribly frightened on just what would happen if Anne did have a boy; she would be untouchable at that point, so Cromwell had to move fast.

It does appear that Anne was pregnant when she was executed; the normal course for a woman in the tower (if she was to be executed) was to be examined by a panel of matrons to be sure she wasn't pregnant. Lady Jane Grey went through this examination before her death, and so did others, but Anne didn't. It is also interesting that on April 25th of 1536, Henry writes a letter hinting at Anne's pregnancy, calling her "his most entirely beloved wife and Queen", yet within days she was doomed. Cromwell had returned to Court, and his ability to make Henry believe the baby she carried was not his was devastating for Anne.

It is also interesting to note that Henry's love letters to Anne reside of all places in the Vatican! During Anne's lifetime, their actually was no mention of the supposed sixth finger nail, or a "wen" on her neck. Surely, given the superstitious thinking of the times, Henry would have had nothing to do with her if she possesd such marks; they would have been considered evil. There was a great rush after her death by the Catholic faction to villify her, and this is when the supposed "wen" on her throat, and the sixth fingernail "some little show of a nail" begin to be mentioned. Of course, the Catholics did not want Elizabeth to suceed, but at the time of Anne's death, that was not even a remote possibility, or so they thought. Was is mentioned repeatedly about Anne is her eyes"which she knew how to use best to her advantage" it was said; her eyes are described as "magnificent, black, and beautiful" by many. Anne was said to be the most gracefuul woman at court; some said the most graceful woman they had ever seen.

Patty, amazing comment! You're a wealth of knowledge and I hadn't known much of the above. It is quite interesting to note where their letters reside and the lack of an examination of sorts before Anne's execution. It's a low point in English history in my humble opinion and still relevent and fascinating to this day. Thank you for an amazing comment and I hope to continue to learn from you!

I am more fascinated by Elizabeth after reading more and learning so much about her earlier years. I know it was Henry's last wife who takes the most care for Elizabeth and brings the two somewhat together again. But aside from that I really don't know much... It's interesting to see the correlation between Elizabeth and Anne and how even though she might not have ever known her mother, she certain did possess much of her spunk...