Beginning in 1528
She realized that he was serious when she first heard of the upcoming trial. Henry, the love of her life, was planning to set her aside for that Boleyn girl, Anne. She could hardly believe it. Henry, who’d rescued her when she was planning to return to Spain in defeat, been her knight in shining armor and been with her throughout all the trials of their marriage: the numerous children God chose not to give them, their daughter Mary – her jewel – his elevation of his bastard son Henry FitzRoy; how could he ask this of her?
But Chupuys assured her that he was, indeed, petitioning the pope for the annulment of their marriage because of her prior wedding to Prince Arthur. She didn’t understand, although she and Arthur had tried, they had never consummated their union and Henry knew she had been a virgin when she came to his bed as bride.
She had choices, of course. But she doubted that her nephew would invade England to ensure Mary’s succession, no matter what. He’d already abandoned Mary once – when he voided the betrothal with her and now was taken up with struggles in the Holy Roman Empire he ruled. So, what to do? She would not admit to being the whore of Henry VIII. Her personal knowledge of the facts, duty to God and England, and last of all, pride, would not allow her to confirm such a lie; not in private nor in public.
Cardinal Compaggio arrived in England on the 8th of October, 1528 and first attempted to induce to act against her own and Mary’s interests by asked her to withdraw to a nunnery, allowing Henry to re-wed with honor. She had refused and countered by offering to comply if Henry entered orders as well; this she knew well her carnally-minded husband would refuse.
But then, a piece of news that changed everything: Mary Boleyn Carey, while married to her husband, had engaged in an affair with Henry. Confronted alone and without warning, she admitted to Compeggio that it was true: she had carnally known the King and even that it was possible he, not her husband, was the father of Catherine, her oldest child. The Cardinal informed the King of the news, and he (at first) denied it, but when two letters from him to her were revealed, he was forced to admit the truth of it. But, he maintained, that the true matter remained: he had married his brother’s wife and had been cursed because of it. He would be quit of Katherine of Aragon, the Dowager Princess of Wales. And he was still set on wedding Lady Anne Boleyn, claiming that it was adultery, not the incestuous situation he was caught up within. (He claimed that Mary’s confession to her priest and her penance to erased his adultery with her.)
Henry made a solemn vow in the presence of the Queen, Cardinals Campeggio and Wolsey, Thomas More and Bishop Fisher that he would never again sleep in the Queen’s rooms nor enjoy the use of her body. He then re-iterated that his marriage was cursed and childless, despite Mary’s birth; that a son was needed for England. News from the Pope arrived: with the information on the King’s adultery with Mary Boleyn Carey, no annulment on the basis given could be pronounced, as the new marriage would put the King in the same position. Henry swore to break with the church and, taking the reins of the church in England, pronounce his own annulment and wed Anne Boleyn, cutting off all ties with Spain and the Spanish Princess and her bastard offspring. It was that which started Katherine of Aragon thinking: how to keep her daughter from losing her inheritance completely.
As June began in 1529, Katherine knew he was serious, there was a spark in his eyes she recognized and, after consulting with Compeggio (she trusted not Wolsey), she made a counter-offer to her husband: She would withdraw to a convent under the following conditions: that Mary would remain legitimate and titled Princess as she was conceived in good faith (as both her parents believed the marriage to be valid at the time they wed); that Mary would wed as a Princess of the blood and remain ahead of any daughters born of any marriage Henry undertook after Katherine’s withdrawal, but any son would – per custom – precede her in succession. Katherine would not mention Mary Boleyn Carey and her perfidy publicly and not comment on any of the King’s subsequent marriages but would not be required to take oaths as a nun.
Henry balked, as Henry was wont. But Anne recognized the deal for what it was: a chance to change England from within and without the strife that further argument would cause. She urged him to accept the terms: she would present him with a son and Mary would wed abroad. Meanwhile, Princess Mary could keep her own house away from court. It would also prevent her sister’s indiscretion from being used against Anne should Henry change his mind after a few years of marriage.
She realized that he was serious when she first heard of the upcoming trial. Henry, the love of her life, was planning to set her aside for that Boleyn girl, Anne. She could hardly believe it. Henry, who’d rescued her when she was planning to return to Spain in defeat, been her knight in shining armor and been with her throughout all the trials of their marriage: the numerous children God chose not to give them, their daughter Mary – her jewel – his elevation of his bastard son Henry FitzRoy; how could he ask this of her?
But Chupuys assured her that he was, indeed, petitioning the pope for the annulment of their marriage because of her prior wedding to Prince Arthur. She didn’t understand, although she and Arthur had tried, they had never consummated their union and Henry knew she had been a virgin when she came to his bed as bride.
She had choices, of course. But she doubted that her nephew would invade England to ensure Mary’s succession, no matter what. He’d already abandoned Mary once – when he voided the betrothal with her and now was taken up with struggles in the Holy Roman Empire he ruled. So, what to do? She would not admit to being the whore of Henry VIII. Her personal knowledge of the facts, duty to God and England, and last of all, pride, would not allow her to confirm such a lie; not in private nor in public.
Cardinal Compaggio arrived in England on the 8th of October, 1528 and first attempted to induce to act against her own and Mary’s interests by asked her to withdraw to a nunnery, allowing Henry to re-wed with honor. She had refused and countered by offering to comply if Henry entered orders as well; this she knew well her carnally-minded husband would refuse.
But then, a piece of news that changed everything: Mary Boleyn Carey, while married to her husband, had engaged in an affair with Henry. Confronted alone and without warning, she admitted to Compeggio that it was true: she had carnally known the King and even that it was possible he, not her husband, was the father of Catherine, her oldest child. The Cardinal informed the King of the news, and he (at first) denied it, but when two letters from him to her were revealed, he was forced to admit the truth of it. But, he maintained, that the true matter remained: he had married his brother’s wife and had been cursed because of it. He would be quit of Katherine of Aragon, the Dowager Princess of Wales. And he was still set on wedding Lady Anne Boleyn, claiming that it was adultery, not the incestuous situation he was caught up within. (He claimed that Mary’s confession to her priest and her penance to erased his adultery with her.)
Henry made a solemn vow in the presence of the Queen, Cardinals Campeggio and Wolsey, Thomas More and Bishop Fisher that he would never again sleep in the Queen’s rooms nor enjoy the use of her body. He then re-iterated that his marriage was cursed and childless, despite Mary’s birth; that a son was needed for England. News from the Pope arrived: with the information on the King’s adultery with Mary Boleyn Carey, no annulment on the basis given could be pronounced, as the new marriage would put the King in the same position. Henry swore to break with the church and, taking the reins of the church in England, pronounce his own annulment and wed Anne Boleyn, cutting off all ties with Spain and the Spanish Princess and her bastard offspring. It was that which started Katherine of Aragon thinking: how to keep her daughter from losing her inheritance completely.
As June began in 1529, Katherine knew he was serious, there was a spark in his eyes she recognized and, after consulting with Compeggio (she trusted not Wolsey), she made a counter-offer to her husband: She would withdraw to a convent under the following conditions: that Mary would remain legitimate and titled Princess as she was conceived in good faith (as both her parents believed the marriage to be valid at the time they wed); that Mary would wed as a Princess of the blood and remain ahead of any daughters born of any marriage Henry undertook after Katherine’s withdrawal, but any son would – per custom – precede her in succession. Katherine would not mention Mary Boleyn Carey and her perfidy publicly and not comment on any of the King’s subsequent marriages but would not be required to take oaths as a nun.
Henry balked, as Henry was wont. But Anne recognized the deal for what it was: a chance to change England from within and without the strife that further argument would cause. She urged him to accept the terms: she would present him with a son and Mary would wed abroad. Meanwhile, Princess Mary could keep her own house away from court. It would also prevent her sister’s indiscretion from being used against Anne should Henry change his mind after a few years of marriage.
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