The Vixen Line

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Anne Boleyn

Born circa 1501*, Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, at this time simply a gentleman of a rising family. The second daughter, her sister Mary Tudor had arrived a year of two prior, and several children, including her only other surviving sibling George, were born in the intervening years. While it has been written that she was, most likely, born at Hever Castle, it seems likely that the Queen of England was born in Norfolk, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, claimed she and he hailed from the same area. Thus we can assume Anne was born during a time in which her mother had chosen, perhaps, to stay at her family home while her husband made his fortune.

The youth of the Queen is recorded consistently in documentaries and biographies based off her life, but it is perhaps the least well documented part of her life. Raised partially at the court of Margaret of Austria in Brussels, she travelled to France sometime in 1514, although not with the initial group with the Princess Mary Tudor, who would later marry the Duke of Suffolk. Arriving shortly before Louis XII of France’s death, she was quickly moved into the service of Queen Claude of France**, the wife of the new King, Francis I of France. This would be her home until being recalled to home to England in 1521, during a time which Henry VIII of England was planning to invade France, and diplomatically it was not right for an Englishwoman to serve in that court.

A marriage was to be made between Anne and James Butler, her father’s rival for the Earldom of Ormond, an Irish noble title Thomas Boleyn claimed through the right of his mother. However, Anne did in 1523 attempt a greater match with the future Earl of Northumberland, the man Henry Percy. The product of one of England’s most prestigious lines, the future Earl and his love*** would find their plans foiled and Percy was made to marry the Lady Mary Talbot, a miserable union that would produce no children. Anne, meanwhile, saw the Butler match fall to pieces and no other major moves were made for her marriage at this time. Fast approaching the an age where marriage would be even more difficult to contract, another suitor would have major consequences for the Englishwoman.

It may have been as early as 1524, during her sister’s first pregnancy, that Anne Boleyn was propositioned by the King of England. However, it seems she refused and the first major time we hear of their relationship in 1527, when the King announced his intention to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled and remarry. While Anne was not explicitly named by the King, their relationship had begun in earnest earlier that year and Henry obtained a dispensation to ensure his relations with her sister would not put the future marriage in jeopardy. However, 6 long years would pass before the marriage took place.

During this time, Anne would survive the Sweating Sickness, face vicious insults and person attacks and, at many points, actual threats made to her. She also had to hold back the King, keeping their relationship celibate to ensure when children did come, they were unquestionably legitimate. Unfortunately, this was not a success idea, but a good one all the same. Anne kept herself a maid up until their secret marriage late in 1532, and thus, at least in her and the King’s mind, kept their children wholly legitimate.

*While some have tried to deny this date in favour of a 1507 date, the timelines do not match up, as neither do the evidence we have. Although, yes, her daughter Cecily later claimed she died at the age of 52, many other pieces of evidence speak against this date. A major piece of evidence supporting the 1501 date is the inscription on her joint tomb with Henry VIII of England, which refers to her as dying at 58. Anne would also be referred to as an “old woman” in 1537, which would have been quite a stretch for a woman just then entering her 30’s. Her time spent as a maid of honour in Brussels in 1513 also brings the 1507 date in suspect, as a maid was meant to be around 12/13 years old, and if the 1507 date is to be believed she would have been 6 at the oldest. The main reason for the confusion, other than the statements made by her youngest daughter, is that her last pregnancy occurred in 1543, when she would have been 42. Many have claimed that the pregnancies line up much better with a 1507 date, as that puts her last child at the age of 36, which is close to the age her rival Catherine of Aragon had her last child. But Anne Boleyn was not Catherine of Aragon, and the fact her sister Mary had children late into the 1530’s and possibly later with her second husband is proof in itself that the notion of having a child in her 40’s is not insane.

**Many have made the claim that, during her time in France, Anne Boleyn may have served Marguerite d’Angouleme, who at this time was the Dowager Duchess of Alençon. And while Anne later claimed a close relationship with Marguerite, the Duchess and later Queen of Navarre never reciprocated her claims of kinship. Thus, it is possible Anne served for a time for Marguerite, but due to her presence in the ladies of Queen Claude at the time that she left France in 1521, it is probable that the position was minor or short lived and that she returned to her usual mistress soon after.
 
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Henry VIII of England

The birth of a daughter, named Elizabeth, in 1533 did little to end the passion between the King and his Queen. While Anne was at this point 32, of an age where her rival had begun to slow on the birth of children, she herself was new to the practice and of a different family. Thus, it was not with disappointment but joy that the Princess Elizabeth was christened, with her father, now Earl of Wiltshire, in attendance. Plans were made for the eventual and unquestionable existence of a future son, and it was soon after the birth that Anne was pregnant a second time.

During this time of her second pregnancy, Anne attempted a reconciliation with the Lady Mary Tudor, the only child of Henry VIII of England from his first marriage with Catherine of Aragon. A mistake, this meeting only proved to add fuel to the fire and Mary would continue her humiliating position, waiting on her new baby sister. Anne would also, during this time, apparently attempt to contact the former Queen Catherine to keep the conflict from escalating***. Unfortunately, this was an unsuccessful venture.

A miscarriage midway through 1534 was damaging for Anne’s position, but not ruinous. Henry VIII of England had, of course, begun to keep his mistresses again and Anne, even later in life, claimed it was her great love for him that had caused the miscarriage, as she was so hurt by the betrayal it had caused her actual, physical harm. Indeed, the stress of a rival in a similar position to herself a few years prior may have indeed caused Anne to miscarry, although it is just as likely to be a failure of 16th Century medicine and prenatal care****. Whatever the cause of this first miscarriage, Anne would go on to begin her third pregnancy late in the year.

This pregnancy seemed, early in the next year, to be going well. The Queen of England was healthy, with one successful pregnancy behind her, and well taken care of. However, illness midway through the year seemed to threaten the child, and when the Queen fainted in May, it seemed likely the child would not make it. However, at the insistence of doctors, the Queen was made to rest in her bed throughout the rest of her pregnancy and in August of 1535, the Prince of Wales, Edward Tudor, was born. The kingdom rejoiced for the birth of a male heir.

It was a time of joy for the Boleyn family, as it was for the royal family. Henry VIII of England’s son and heir had been born, and with him the Tudor name could continue. The occurrence of yet another pregnancy so soon after the birth of a son added to much of the triumph, although this would unfortunately end in a miscarriage in May of 1536. Whatever pain this may have caused, in general the mood of the royal family was a glorious one. The son that Catherine of Aragon had not been able to give had come from Anne Boleyn. Only success stood in their future.

Of course, this was not a time of joy for the Lady Mary Tudor or her mother. The former Queen was said to have wept bitter tears at the birth of a son, and Mary was said to have fainted. With her newly reinforced position, Queen Anne again attempted reconciliation. She knew that Henry would never place the Lady Mary ahead of her son, but the girl as an enemy was a buzzing annoyance not necessary for her. However, once again, Mary refused and attempted more digs by referring to the Prince as “my bastard brother”. Anne was said to have calming replied that that boy would be King, and Mary would remain the bastard she had been since birth. Her position was only made worse by her mother’s death, and Mary Tudor would be left in an uncomfortable position by 1537.

***This event, recorded in Catherine’s letters and often referred to as the “conciliatory letter”, has Anne promise to care for her rival’s daughter if they would just recognise her position as Queen. Catherine’s response does not exist, but was most likely not in agreement, as she would not at any point recognise Anne as more than her husband’s mistress. One of the few letters surviving from Anne, this piece shows her attempting a softer diplomatic side, a position she took less and less in the future.

****The idea that this miscarriage was based off poisoning by Catherine of Aragon, Mary Tudor or the Spanish Ambassador has been repeated again and again in texts attempting to completely sanitise Anne Boleyn’s history. The fact remains that this was not her only miscarriage. One recorded in 1536 and her third, suspect miscarriage in 1540 show that it was not an isolated incident and most likely simply based off stress.
 
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Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orleans

It was in 1537 that Anne Boleyn got her wish in an Anglo-French alliance. Francis I of France, who just a year or so previously had declined a match between the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Angouleme, allowed the match to go ahead, with the promise of “eternal peace” and an alliance against the Emperor. Ecstatic, Anne enthusiastically entertained the French Ambassador, although it was at this time that she was referred to as an “old woman” by a Danish Ambassador, who felt slighted that the match between Elizabeth and the Prince Frederick was being ignored.

The birth of a second Princess in 1538, named Cecily for her grand aunt Cecily of York, was a great boon for the Tudor royal family. With this second Princess, Henry VIII of England looked to pacify the Hapsburgs by a match between her and an Austrian Archduke, although his Queen favoured a match between her and a Protestant Prince. She did, however, concede to her husband and did indeed entertain the ambassador of the King of Hungary and Croatia, although privately she began negotiations for a backup match to a future Prince of Saxony, as the Duke Francis of Saxony was due to marry soon to his cousin, Sybille.

Anne’s illness in 1540 has been interpreted as a normal sickness by some, but the general consensus is that the Queen underwent a particularly painful miscarriage, very early in yet another pregnancy. Some have claimed that this was most likely the second miscarriage she had endured since the Princess Cecily’s birth, as she was sick for two weeks in May of that year and the illness in question took place in November. However, no evidence suggests that the illness in May was anything more than normal, and the Queen’s health scares do begin in earnest only a year later. Thus, it is likely that the sickness in May was simply a fever or the like, but evidence and rumours in November suggest that at least it was thought to be a pregnancy.

Anne’s last pregnancy, begun in middle of 1542, would be an easy one. Despite thinking herself dying merely a year previously, she seems to have found the process much easier than what she had experienced with the Princess Cecily, and the labour of Prince George Tudor, Duke of York, was a short one. The naming may seem odd here, but the Prince came shortly after the death of his uncle due to Sweating Sickness, which also took the Countess of Wiltshire and countless others. Grieving for her brother, who had had no children, Anne had been allowed by the King to name her last son after her brother. With her final child, Anne would find peace in her married life.

The King had, in 1541, taken a mistress in the Queen’s cousin, Catherine Howard. A beautiful young girl, many had briefly hoped that the girl might take her cousin’s place and bring Catholicism back in with her, but when the King discovered his “perfect rose” had been playing around on him with a few of his gentlemen, he sent her away. Thus, it was with Anne that Henry sought comfort with in his later years. Despite the great love they bore each other, the royal couple had fought hard throughout the 1530’s and early 1540’s. Anne, always jealous of her husband’s mistresses, was finally appeased once her husband lost interest in having multiple intimate relationships.
 
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Edward VI of England

It should be said that, until her husband’s death in February of 1548, Anne Boleyn had only a minor role in England’s politics past her marriage. Rather conventional in her position outside her beginnings, it was not until her son’s minority, begun at age 12, that the Queen had a chance to take an opportune role in England’s political sphere. As her son’s appointed Regent*****, Anne had unprecedented power and attempted to use this to both better England and further her children’s position in the world, along with that of her family.

However, not all of her children were in England in 1548 to mourn their father’s passing. The Princess Elizabeth had entered France in 1545, at age 12, to marry the Duke of Orleans, who had been wounded and almost killed during an episode where he had taunted the army of the Holy Roman Emperor. However, having pulled through this episode, the Duke had met his little English bride with some grace. The Princess, a future beauty, found her husband charming, as the Valois were wont to be, and thus seems to have fallen in love almost instantly. The two would travel to England in 1548 to attend the King of England’s funeral, and Elizabeth would stay a further two months as an honoured guest at the court, where she was reunited with her siblings.

*****Anne Boleyn had, by Henry VIII of England’s will, been made Regent for her son during her minority, to be ended when the young King was fit to rule unencumbered. A vague proposition in its length, Anne would maintain constant power until 1554, and would only truly lose her influence at her death in 1559, when her son was 24.
 
I only have one hope for your story, it's that you don't deny Elizabeth Tudor her destiny. I truly believe she was destined to rule England, and become one of its greatest monarchs!

Sorry, but Edward should should still die before he's eighteen. If not from illness, than maybe from some kind of injury. But, it's your story. I don't expect everyone to have the same feelings I have about Elizabeth Ts destiny. Lol! Just something for you to consider. I'm enjoying what I'm reading, so far.
 
I only have one hope for your story, it's that you don't deny Elizabeth Tudor her destiny. I truly believe she was destined to rule England, and become one of its greatest monarchs!

Sorry, but Edward should should still die before he's eighteen. If not from illness, than maybe from some kind of injury. But, it's your story. I don't expect everyone to have the same feelings I have about Elizabeth Ts destiny. Lol! Just something for you to consider. I'm enjoying what I'm reading, so far.

I can tell right now, Elizabeth Tudor, Duchess of Orleans is at no point going to rule England, and will never again step foot in England.
 
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Cecily Tudor

Anne’s main advisor during the early Regency years was Thomas Cromwell, who had maintained a high profile at the English court and had been the one behind the marriage contract between Edward VI of England and, up until the later years of the Regency, Dorothea of Saxony. However, the proposed match would never go through, and, in 1551 the King of England was betrothed to Elisabeth de Valois, the eldest daughter of the King of France. With his sister’s French husband, this continual French peace was exactly what Anne wanted from her foreign policy. Never having made complete peace with the Hapsburgs, who had waited until 1543 to formally recognise that Anne “might” be Queen and even then, this was simply to try and arrange a marriage for the Lady Mary to a Catholic Prince, after rumours persisted the Queen of England was attempting to marry her off to a poor cousin.

Of course, this was not the course Anne as the Regent would choose to take. Although her cousin the Duke of Norfolk angled for the Lady Mary for one of his sons, it was the Queen’s decision to keep Mary single, settling on her a small household in 1549, a year after her father’s death. Although Mary had not served on her sister Elizabeth since 1539, instead journeying with her sister and later with the younger Princess Cecily, it was a definite improvement to be of her own person and one she became grateful for. This did not mean Mary ever became friendly, or even accepted Anne Boleyn as Queen. Instead, she accepted her brother as King, which was a minor distinction for Anne but a great one for the Lady Mary. She would, or course, only barely outlive her hated stepmother, dying in 1561.

Anne’s decision to have Mary leave Cecily’s household was not altogether one from kindness, however. While it was a reward for good behaviour, particularly during the succession of her brother, it was also an economic move. The Princess Cecily was, shortly after this decision, betrothed to Frederick of Denmark, heir to the Danish Throne and a former suitor of her sister. Aged 11 in 1549, the Princess Cecily was highly educated and witty, although she lacked both her mother and sister’s alluring qualities, or her father’s highly praised colouring. Swarthy and dark eyed, the Princess was not conventionally beautiful or glamorous. But her physical faults were nothing compared to her dowry or her personal attributes. Thus, in late 1550, when she had flowered, the Princess left her brother’s court for Copenhagen and married the Prince of Denmark.
 
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