Today is the date in 1536 of a very long letter that the Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys wrote to Charles V, giving all the news of the English court, which was about to play out one of its most macabre events with the accusations against Anne Boleyn. In the letter, Chapuys talks about Jane Seymour, and gives the impression that he thinks Anne Boleyn will be replaced as Queen. We also get some insight into Cromwell’s thinking. Part of the letter reads:
“ I called on Cromwell, and told him that I had purposely avoided visiting him many a time for fear of arousing his Royal mistress’ suspicions, owing to the reasons he himself had explained to me. I recollected very well his telling me that she (Anne Boleyn) would like to see his head off his shoulders. Such a threat, I said, was constantly before my eyes, causing me great care and anxiety, and I sincerely wished him a more gracious mistress than she was, one more grateful for the immense services he (Cromwell) had rendered the King. He ought to take care not to offend or over-irritate her, or else he must renounce all hope of that perfect reconciliation we both were trying to bring about. I therefore begged and entreated him, in such an event, to guard against her attacks more effectually than the cardinal (Wolsey) had done, which I hoped his dexterity and prudence would be able to accomplish. If it were true, as I had been told, that the King, his master, was now thinking of a fresh marriage, that would, no doubt, be the way of preserving him (Cromwell) from many inconveniences, and likewise the best thing for the King to do, disappointed, as he had hitherto been, of male issue. …
In this letter we also learn about the famous event with Jane Seymour:
“ …some days ago, the King being here in London, and, the young Miss Seymour, to whom he is paying court at Greenwich, he sent her a purse full of sovereigns, together with a letter, and that the young damsel, to whom he is paying court, after respectfully kissing the letter, returned it to the messenger without opening it, and then falling on her knees, begged the royal messenger to entreat the King in her name to consider that she was a well-born damsel, the daughter of good and honourable parents without blame or reproach of any kind; there was no treasure in this world that she valued as much as her honour, and on no account would she lose it, even if she were to die a thousand deaths. That if the King wished to make her a present of money, she requested him to reserve it for such a time as God would be pleased to send her some advantageous marriage.”
Things were starting to heat up at the Tudor court.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested link:
Episode 128: Tudor Fools
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
