The Witch of Ormonde - A TLIAD

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Why are you doing another one of these?

Because I wanna.

Why!

Well, I have free time right now.

Fine.

The POD involves Anne Boleyn.

That's original.

Look, do you want to see this or not.

Ok then, I guess this is ok.

Cool, let's move on then.​
 
The Marriage of Anne Boleyn to James Butler (1521-1537)



On the 18th of August, 1521, Lord James Butler was married to Lady Anne Boleyn in a ceremony at Hever Castle. The ceremony, which was recorded in the journal of George Boleyn. As a wedding gift, the King of England had sent the Earl three fine horses and the bride a jewellery set including sapphire earrings and three rings. The bride, aged 19 years old, was all but a French woman born. The groom was the new Irish Earl of Ormond.

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After the wedding, the newlywed couple then left to survey their Earldom. After three months in their new home, Castle Ormond, the couple found that they were expecting their first child. The Earl immediately sent for the finest midwife in Ireland. Lady Anne patiently waited through her pregnancy as her husband fretted and worried, writing to her brother that she just felt tired all the time. Finally, on the 3rd of June, 1522, Lord Geoffrey Butler was born.

Over the next three and a half years years Lady Butler gave birth four times and had three live children (Thomas Butler -1523-, Henry Butler -1524-, Margaret Butler -1524-) until, after her husband was called to court, she left to visit Hever Castle for her brother's wedding to Jane Parker.

In 1527 Lady Butler was given the position of Lady In Waiting to Queen Catherine, who had lost another noblewoman from her service to pregnancy. Lady Anne, with her French manners and unique beauty, was welcomed with open arms.



During this time, her sister, the King's former mistress, left the court, leaving to live at Hever with her mother, who has taken ill. During this time, King Henry VIII moved to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. The Queen, who had not been pregnant in almost a decade, took a defensive stance. And her biggest supporter was Lady Butler, who took a reformist view but agreed with the Queen that her marriage was true.

In 1531 the Queen, after being sent to the More, sent a message with Lady Butler under the guise of visiting her husband. Lady Butler, upon re-entering the court, immediately got an audience with the King. When there, she gave her mistress' message. Catherine would enter a convent and their marriage would end, if her daughter was not made illegitimate and she would be allowed the title of Queen until her death. Henry VIII agreed.

After her mistress left for the convent, she was brought back to court and stayed there until her pregnancy in 1534, when she left for Hever, where she delivered twins (Claude Jane Butler -1534- and George Butler -1534-) and stayed to nurse her mother while her sister was banished from the castle after remarrying to a local merchant.

After her mother's death in 1535 and her son Henry's death early in the next year, she returned to Ormond Castle and awaited her husband's return.

Her husband, who had earned a few minor titles and lands, eventually left the court after an affair with Lady Mary Brandon, Baroness Monteagle was discovered (the affair was generally seen as still in innocent beginnings but still, the shame was too much to bear for either party). Lord Butler returned in 1536 and by the end of the year his wife was pregnant. Then tragedy struck.

Lord Butler, after years of good health, came down with a bad illness and was nearly dead three months later. Clinging on to life, he lived long enough to see the birth of his last child, a son (James Butler -1537-) and then promptly died. The death was a huge blow to all involved. But the effects on Lady Butler would not be seen for years to come.

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The Sane Years of Lady Anne Butler (1538-1560)

Lady Butler spent the next few years in general peace. After the death of her husband, she had her eldest son Geoffrey declared Earl and owner of her husband's properties. There was no major conflicts through this and she then brought her three eldest children (Geoffrey, Thomas and Margaret) to court with her, leaving her three younger children to the care of the household of Ormond Castle.

The family first settled down in Hilly Manor in 1538, a building that Lord Butler had built near London so that he had a seat nearby court. When they got there, Lady Butler watched her eldest son be married to Lady Mary Howard, the youngest daughter of Lord Edmund Howard. Not a great match, Lady Anne Butler had warded the girl for years and felt she was a noble enough girl for her son, and a pretty match at that.


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She then announced that her daughter Margaret would be the second wife of Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon. That wedding too took place in Hilly Manor, and the bride was taken to Norfolk not soon after. Now having her eldest son and daughter safely wedded, she the proceeded with her second son to court. Exceedingly gifted and handsome, Thomas Butler was brought to woe the Lady Lucy Somerset.

While he did not succeed in his goal, he did attract the attention of the Dowager Queen, Catherine de' Medici, who was lonely after her husband had died shortly after the birth of their second child (their children were Henry Tudor IX -1537- and Edward Tudor -1539-). The Queen Dowager, while considered homely and imperious, was also very rich and still young. So, after receive the permission of the privy council (who agreed on the promise that she would play a less active role in the regency after the marriage) Thomas Butler and Catherine de' Medici became Lord Thomas and Lady Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. The two welcomed eight children over their marriage (George Butler -1541-, Thomas Butler -1542-. Edgar Butler -1542-, Anne Butler -1544-, Claudia Butler -1545-, Edmund Butler -1546-. John Butler -1547-, Arthur Butler -1549-, Richard Butler -1553-, Joan Butler -155:cool:.

During this time of immense success for her family, Lady Butler merely served as a lady of the court. Entering her 50s, unable to dance as she had in her youth due to a poorly mended toe that had ruined her balance, she mostly gossiped with her sister in law, who continued to wear mourning for her lost son in 1539. She was noted as an attendant of the Duke of York when he was taken to Ireland on a peace tour in 1552. But until she returned home to Ormond Castle in 1560, she was mostly seen as a fading star in the court. Witty and intelligent, but old. Her good reputation changed however, when she returned home to her youngest child.
 
The Witch Years (1560-1576)

Lady Butler returned to find her youngest son, who had refrained from marrying many local gently born girls, was the spitting image of his father when they had first married. On top of that, the boy was devoted to his mother, having built her up in his mind as the most perfect woman (many credit this due to the many portraits of Lady Butler that filled the castle). When they met, his relationship with his now 59 year old mother grew and strengthened, who was slowly falling into a wistful, slightly mad figure.

Taking advantage of this, her son wanted her help to find a wife that perfectly mirrored his mother. While she saw this as 'a quirk that fills my heart with joy', her eldest son Geoffrey saw this as an evil thing that would end badly for the family. So, in an attempt to divert his mother and brother from their plans, he sent his wife and their five children (Henry Butler -1542-, Janet Butler -1547-, Thomas Butler -1550, Gertrude Butler -1552- and James Butler -1559-) to divert his mother. The plan works until it's obvious that Lady Anne Butler is becoming as attached to James Butler Junior as she is to James Butler Senior.

After the death of Gertrude Butler in 1563, Lady Mary Butler left for court, leaving her children in their uncle and grandmother's care. Over the next decade Lady Butler, who had until then been fairly popular, grew a reputation as a witch who used her grandchildren as magical 'things'. She was seen washing them next to streams, burning toys they had played with and drinking strange green juice.

Then, during a freak accident while hunting, her son James died. Distraught, she was heard screaming "It is like my husband has left again", which causes rumors of incest (generally seen as untrue). She clung to her grandson James. She had him dressed in out-dated clothes that she had left from her children's childhood. But when she was found watching him while he slept, he was sent to court and, within days Lady Anne Butler died. Many said she had been stealing the life energy of the young man.

In death, Lady Anne Butler was known as a crazy witch. In life, however, she was known as a strong figure who brought her family up from moderate heights to the top of the heap that was Tudor England.
 
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