And Charles V’s sister Eleanor became the second wife of Francis I of France, who may well have been more friendly than is standard, shall we say, with Mary Boleyn, Anne’s sister (who also had the same arrangement at a different point with Henry VIII).
Thank you for sharing! For Anne Boleyn always seeming to have the mistress vibes put onto her…. Her sister really made the rounds. Although, I suppose if a King wanted you, and your father wanted power, what were you to do.
Genuinely casting no moral aspersions, history is not a morality play: Anne’s stroke of genius with Henry (for all that it ended badly) was essentially, if I can quote Beyoncé, if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it. She wasn’t content with the idea of being a disposable royal mistress, so she demanded a higher price, though sadly even being queen left her, in the end, disposable.
It’s certainly long been rumoured that at least one of Mary’s children was fathered by Henry. Of course, they would have had far less certainty in the 16th century, and it’s notable that while he not only acknowledged his child with Elizabeth Blount but went a long way towards installing him as heir, he made no such recognition of any children with Mary. But it’s not out of the question at all. What Anne made of it all… 🤷🏻♂️
For a while, but she fell out of favour when she married William Stafford in 1534; he was a younger son of a relatively modest landowner and it was regarded as a socially unacceptable union. The Queen was furious, the couple were banished from court and Henry declined to get involved despite Mary appealing to him through Thomas Cromwell.
This was helpful. I am Catholic and I didn’t even know who the Pope then actually was. Thank you!
Glad you liked it! I thought it was a fun connection for sure.
And Charles V’s sister Eleanor became the second wife of Francis I of France, who may well have been more friendly than is standard, shall we say, with Mary Boleyn, Anne’s sister (who also had the same arrangement at a different point with Henry VIII).
Thank you for sharing! For Anne Boleyn always seeming to have the mistress vibes put onto her…. Her sister really made the rounds. Although, I suppose if a King wanted you, and your father wanted power, what were you to do.
Genuinely casting no moral aspersions, history is not a morality play: Anne’s stroke of genius with Henry (for all that it ended badly) was essentially, if I can quote Beyoncé, if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it. She wasn’t content with the idea of being a disposable royal mistress, so she demanded a higher price, though sadly even being queen left her, in the end, disposable.
Do you think his relative tolerance of her is because they likely had a child together?
It’s certainly long been rumoured that at least one of Mary’s children was fathered by Henry. Of course, they would have had far less certainty in the 16th century, and it’s notable that while he not only acknowledged his child with Elizabeth Blount but went a long way towards installing him as heir, he made no such recognition of any children with Mary. But it’s not out of the question at all. What Anne made of it all… 🤷🏻♂️
Spot on description. I believe He ry stayed somewhat fond of Mary Boleyn didn’t he?
For a while, but she fell out of favour when she married William Stafford in 1534; he was a younger son of a relatively modest landowner and it was regarded as a socially unacceptable union. The Queen was furious, the couple were banished from court and Henry declined to get involved despite Mary appealing to him through Thomas Cromwell.