Background I have included this letter, which refers to the wardship of a member of the Pointz family, simply because it is the typical sort of letter Anne would have written as queen of England. Anne Boleyn had been granted the lucrative wardship of the Pointz heir by Henry VIII, but one of Cromwell’s associates […]
Letter from Anne Boleyn to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey 1529
Background The tone of this letter differs remarkably from the preceding letter. The disastrous and humiliating legatine hearings at Blackfriars in May 1529 had finally convinced Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn that Cardinal Wolsey could not secure the annulment. Anne now believed, and with good reason, that the Cardinal had never intended for her to […]
Letter By Queen Anne Boleyn to her husband, King Henry VIII 6 May 1536
Background First of all, this letter may be a fake. Then again, it may not. The debate over its authenticity continues and no definitive answer is possible. The original no longer exists; a copy was said to be found amongst Thomas Cromwell‘s papers after his execution. Most of Anne’s modern biographers believe it to be […]
Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her husband, King Henry VIII 7 January 1536
Background This is the last letter Katharine wrote to Henry. Its magnanimity is proof that the queen’s much-vaunted piety was sincere. However, she was not averse to a few rebukes. Henry had treated her horribly and she had not seen their daughter for years. But Katharine’s capacity for forgiveness was great, as was her self-delusion; […]
Queen Catherine Howard to Master Thomas Culpeper
Background This is the only surviving letter written by Henry VIII’s fifth wife. It was written in the spring of 1541, roughly eight months after she married the king. After Catherine’s fall from grace, Culpeper was among the men charged with committing adultery with the queen. It was a treasonable offense, and he was executed […]