HOW TO K!LL A QUEEN

 

 HOW TO K!LL A QUEEN 

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 Anne Boleyn’s fall from the king’s favour was pretty rapid.

Her miscarriage of a boy in January 1536, strained her relationship with Henry even more - and would have been a traumatic experience to recover from.

Despite the setback, Henry VIII still continued to press for foreign recognition of his marriage to Anne.

 Even in the weeks before her arrest, Henry was still in talks with Spanish Ambassador Eustace Chapuys.

Henry insisted Chapuys make a bigger effort to secure Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s acceptance of Anne’s status as queen.

 For the king’s chief minister Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s preoccupation with the validity of his relationship with Anne, threatened to stall all other royal diplomatic matters.

Meanwhile, Anne voiced her opposition to Cromwell’s plans for the resources grabbed by the dissolution of the monasteries.

Anne seemed to broadcast her intention to intervene in Cromwell’s plans, and to press her own policy agenda onto the king’s ideas.

This created the route to her demise....

 Despite Anne being Cromwell’s former ally, especially in the area of religious reform, a struggle to influence the king put these powerful personalities on a collision course.

It seems likely that Cromwell decided to undermine the king’s confidence in Anne, primarily to clear the way for his own power to remain unchallenged.

 Cromwell also needed to ensure that he could outmanoeuvre and dominate whatever factions formed around the king, should Anne fall from favour.

The end to Anne’s influence had to be definitive and permanent, it needed to sweep away all her friends in high places - and weaken her family and Howard in-laws.

 It was unclear at that stage, whether Cromwell planned to orchestrate her death, or if he simply intended to undermine Anne’s allies and power.

Cromwell soon devised a plan against the queen, that used promiscuousness, adultery and secret disloyalty as its basis.

This was guaranteed to arouse the worst elements of Henry’s characteristics of pride, anger and suspicion.

 Cromwell used all his experience of the twists of Tudor power politics, to target the informal and playful aspects of Anne’s court.

He monitored and interrogated those in Anne’s social circle, such as the musician Mark Smeaton, or others like Henry Norris, who were familiar with Anne but who moved in and out of her favour.

 A case of adultery and incest was assembled.

Her brother George Boleyn, and men of the king’s chamber ~ Francis Weston, William Brereton, Henry Norris, and Mark Smeaton, became her accomplices and co-conspirators against King Henry.

 Cromwell hid his machinations from Henry until 1st May 1536.
Cromwell revealed everything to Henry at the May Day jousts at Greenwich.

This very public celebration was quickly halted, while under Cromwell’s guiding hand, Henry was told of the devastating 'truth'.

 When Queen Anne was convicted of High Treason in May 1536, the nation was deeply shocked.

Even if public opinion was still against Anne as a suitable choice for King Henry, the sentence of death was unprecedented for a crowned queen.

 Anne had been condemned to die by a court of peers under the direction of her uncle, Thomas Howard ~ Duke of Norfolk.
The very man who helped orchestrate Anne into the king's bed!

With the queen locked in the Tower, awaiting the king’s final decision on her fate, the officers of government were ready to do whatever the kings wishes were.

Or mostly, whatever Thomas Cromwell ordered them to do......

The Tudor Intruders (and more)
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 National Archives.
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 Mark Rylance as Cromwell & Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn, in 'Wolf Hall'