She never had much public support in her years of glory;
both the ordinary people and the nobility disliked her, on average. She was seen as the young and sexy temptress
who lured a man away from his middle aged worthy virtuous wife and as such,
seen as a frightening and controversial figure. She was also seen as
sympathetic to the cause of Protestantism -which was not very popular.
She was born probably in Norfolk around 1501 or so. The date of her birth is not clear, and some historians
gave it as 1507. However she went into
court service in 1514 and generally girls did not do this until they were about
12. Her family were considered
upstarts, since her great grandfather had been a merchant and lord Mayor of
London but over time they had retired from business, bought land and married
into the nobility and her father was a diplomat in Henry VIII’s service.
As a writer, I’ve often thought of writing a novel about
Anne, but as a romantic novelist, it is hard to fit her story into the
traditional narrative. She didn’t
achieve a happy marriage. She may have
loved the King to some extent, but the other men in her life, Henry Percy and
Thomas Wyatt, were kept from marrying her... The first because his father
disapproved and Wyatt because he was a married man. She was executed for
adultery in 1536…
But to a romantic novelist, she is a fascinating figure...
in that she was possibly the first “other woman” to succeed in marrying the man
that she “took from his wife”. There is
speculation as to what her relationship with Henry was, during the six years
before they were able to marry. It is probable
that it involved some sexual contact but not full intercourse, as she did not
become pregnant until 1532. So she is in
a way the prototype for the mistress who lures a man with her beauty and charm,
has an affair with him and then persuades him to leave his wife and marry
her... And sadly Anne got the “traditional” comeuppance of such a mistress,
because Henry deserted her for yet another woman. So she’s interesting to someone who thinks a lot about the history of “romantic love.” In the years of their marriage, Henry and Anne were often quarrelling and making up. They were one of the few royal couples at that time, who had married because of being in love and who promoted the idea that marriage should be for love. The drama of courtship, and a love match! so she’s a boon to us romantic writers.
