On this day in history, the 16th July 1557 (some sources say the 15th), Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves died at her home, Chelsea Old Manor, the former home of Catherine Parr. She was only 41 but she was the last surviving wife of Henry VIII and on the 3rd August 1557 Anne was taken from Chelsea to Westminster to be buried. She is the only one of Henry VIII’s wives to be buried at Westminster Abbey and her tomb is on the south side of the High Altar. It is decorated with carvings of a crown and her initials, AC, skulls and crossed bones, and a lion’s head. It is a sad fact that Anne, as Elizabeth Norton points out, “is often portrayed as the least significant of Henry’s wives” but that she was actually “an international figure of some prominence” and a woman who used her intelligence to survive the English court and become an independent woman. Just like Catherine of Aragon, she did not accept the annulment of her marriage and still thought of herself as Henry’s wife and Queen, and subsequently his widow, but she made the best out of the situation. [x]
get to know me: characters {2/?} | anne boleyn
“I know how I got there. And it was not all you. It was not all you or Norfolk or George or any other man you want to name! It was also me. He fell in love with me, he respected me and my opinions.”
favorite anne boleyn moments // 2.10; “there will be no pain,the blow will be subtle”
E D W A R D S E Y M O U R
What I Have I Hold“To run with the wolf was to run in the shadows, the dark ray of life, survival and instinct. A fierceness that was both proud and lonely, a tearing, a howling, a hunger and thirst. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst. A strength that would die fighting, kicking, screaming, that wouldn’t stop until the last breath had been wrung from its body. The will to take one’s place in the world. To say ‘I am here.’ To say ‘I am.”
― O.R. Melling
“It seems that everything the king has to give, he has given to you.”
I know of no Queen of England, save my mother. And I will accept no other queen, except my mother.
Requested by anon.
–> Favorite relationships in history: Henry VIII of England and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
Brought up at the court of Henry VII, Charles Brandon soon became a favorite to Henry VIII, notably thanks to his talent at jousting, and one of his closest friends. He married in secret Mary Tudor, Henry’s little sister and then widow of Louis XII of France, in 1515. Although Henry was furious at first, he quickly forgave them, something that would not have happened later in his reign.
Following Cardinal Wolsey’s disgrace in 1529, Brandon’s influence grew daily. Despite being opposed to the marriage with Anne Boleyn, he remained on good terms with Henry VIII during the early 1530′s and thereafter enjoyed a position of influence at court until the end of his life.
Careful with his investment in court intrigues and a strong supporter of the king’s religious policies, Brandon had little enemies and was appreciated by most. It is a testament to the strength of their friendship that Henry, deeply grieved, buried him at his own expense at Windsor in St George’s Chapel in 1545 and noticed that Brandon had “never attempted to hurt an adversary, nor had he ever said a word to injure anyone”, which was more than many at court could say.
make me choose → anonymous asked: anne neville or anne boleyn.
I know how I got there, Father. And it was not all you. It was not all you, or Norfolk, or George, or any other man you want to name! It was also me. He fell in love with me, he respected me!