George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier & Diplomat

by Ridgway, Claire

  Part 2 - Career and Influence

  10 - The Waiting Game (1527-29)

  Henry VIII first instructed Cardinal Wolsey to begin seeking an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in May 1527. On 17 May, the first formal steps were taken by means of a secret ecclesiastical tribunal that investigated the validity of the marriage. The trial took place at Wolsey's home, York Place, in Westminster. Wolsey called on the King to answer an objection which had been raised concerning his marriage to Catherine: that it was contrary to both God's law and ecclesiastical statute, and so could affect his salvation.1 The trial was of course "stage-managed", resulting from the King's objections to the marriage rather than anyone else's, but although it was adjourned before it really got anywhere, it "enabled Wolsey to start a debate" on the marriage.2 It appears that at this point Wolsey had no idea that the King had a new bride in mind and so wanted to get on with annulment proceedings as quickly as possible. While Wolsey's attention was on negotiating an alliance with France, Henry VIII took things into his own hands and began a campaign to obtain a dispensation from the Pope allowing him to marry again. Unfortunately, Pope Clement VII was taken hostage by Emperor Charles V's forces during the Sack of Rome in May 1527 and was therefore in no position to assist Henry's cause, even if he had been inclined to do so. An application was made to him in August 1527 for a dispensation to enable Henry to marry again, but a favourable response did not seem likely.

  Around the middle of that year, Anne left the court and returned to Hever. It was during this time that correspondence between the pair provides a snapshot of Henry's courtship of Anne, which was already in evidence at the time of the outbreak of sweating sickness (although the lack of dates makes it difficult to establish a precise timeframe). Anne was certainly at court at the beginning of May 1527 because she attended a reception at Greenwich for the French Ambassadors. It is likely she left court shortly after this. This was her second period of exile, the first being after the Percy affair. Eric Ives, Anne's biographer, believes that the first letter was written in the autumn of 1526, before Anne left the court.3 This dates the letters to a period between autumn 1526 and the end of 1528, which is when Anne returned permanently to court. 17 letters written during this period survive. Henry's correspondence come from the hand of a man who notoriously hated writing letters, and are filled with words of love and devotion, and schoolboy-style doodles of the couple's initials. It is difficult to imagine when reading them that in less than ten years' time he would order the execution of the woman to whom he was writing, as well as that of her brother, who acted as the courier for many of the letters.

  One of his first letters, written (as Ives surmises) in autumn 1526, is in a light-hearted style. Henry tells Anne that he "wishes for you instead of your brother".4 George's duties brought him into close proximity with the King on a daily basis. The next two letters, written shortly afterwards, are more serious as Henry seeks Anne's love. The earlier letters demonstrate that Anne had not yet returned Henry's affections, which in turn shows that when the annulment was proposed, it was not purely because of Anne Boleyn: Henry had no way of knowing that Anne would ever return his feelings. By Easter 1527, Henry was asking Anne to be his mistress, an "honour" she vehemently refused. It was not until August, when Anne had been at Hever for some months, that she succumbed to the King and agreed to become his wife, though not his mistress. This required her to remain at Hever for decency's sake, as it was no doubt anticipated that they would be married within months, rather than the five and a half years that it actually took. Knowledge of the annulment proceedings came as a bombshell to the court. Queen Catherine was extremely popular, not only at court but also with the general public. It was bad enough that the King was seeking to put her aside, but if it came to light that there was another woman involved, there would be a scandal.

  In a number of Henry's subsequent letters, it is apparent that their bearer is often George Boleyn. In one, Henry writes, "the great affection I have for you has induced me to send you this bearer, to be better informed of your health and pleasure, and because, since my parting from you, I have been told that the opinion in which I left you is totally changed, and that you would not come to court".5 He ends by saying, "beseeching you to give credence to this bearer in all that he will tell you from me"; it is more than likely that Henry is talking about George, since no mere courtier would be trusted with such personal information, and the circle of people who knew of the relationship between the King and Anne was limited. From the contents of this letter, it is also apparent that the King visited Anne at Hever reasonably regularly throughout this period. As one of his closest companions, George would have accompanied him, particularly as Hever was his home and Anne was his sister.

  Henry was well aware of the closeness of the siblings. While in exile, Anne's one continuous link with the goings-on at court would have been her brother who she would have wanted to be with her, not only for news but also for companionship. By being the King's trusted courier, George had the ideal opportunity to travel to Hever reasonably frequently to see his sister, and to spend time at home being spoiled and pampered by her, and on occasions by his mother (who acted as chaperone to her daughter).

  In other letters, Henry tells Anne that the bearer will provide her with more information than he has written, indicating that the bearer is fully conversant with the situation. In particular, there is one letter, probably written towards the end of 1528 in which Henry specifically refers to George: "I heartily recommend me to you, ascertaining you that I am not a little perplexed with such things as your brother shall on my part declare unto you, to whom I pray you give full credence, for it were too long to write."6 Henry had sent George to impart some particularly bad news relating to the annulment proceedings, and obviously felt that this was better coming from George than through lengthy correspondence. In the same letter, Henry remonstrates with Anne over leaked information regarding a visit he was planning to make to her, blaming the leak on "lack of discreet handling". It is unclear whether he blames Anne or George for this. As George would have been aware of the contents of Henry's letters, and was travelling to and fro between Hever and the court, he may well have let slip something which he shouldn't. Whatever the circumstances of the leak, neither sibling could have been in doubt of the King's displeasure.

  As we know from the fact that she was in London when the sweating sickness broke out, Anne was not at Hever for the whole of this period. She was regularly at court, but returned there permanently at the end of 1528, by which time the King's "Great Matter", as the annulment proceedings came to be called, was no further forward. It was the beginning of the end for Cardinal Wolsey. By now, it was common knowledge that the King was seeking to marry Anne Boleyn, and although she had been kept in the background, just as Jane Seymour was eight years later, now there was no attempt at subterfuge. Once again, George was propelled into being the brother of the King's new love, and this time a Boleyn was actually trying to usurp the Queen rather than just being a passing fancy. During the next four years, Anne, George, their father and their supporters took a more direct and aggressive role in the proceedings.

  The immediate effect of Henry's quest for an annulment was to undo Wolsey's 1526 reform of the Privy Chamber. Those closest to Anne Boleyn were raised to positions of prominence, and during 1527 and 1528 the Privy Chamber reformed. As Wolsey had expelled the Boleyn faction in 1526, so now those same people returned to the fold. In early 1528, George Boleyn did not have the political weight of either Wolsey or Nicholas Carew, but in addition to her brother, Anne had the more weighty support of her father, and of the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk. With the three groups jockeying for position, there was a temporary stalemate. This was not helped by the fact the Boleyns and their allies could not put forward any positive ideas of how to proceed in a constructive way. In November 1528, the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Boleyn and George Boleyn signed their names to a document to be presented to the Papal legate, Cardin
al Lorenzo Campeggio, purportedly demonstrating that the annulment had the overwhelming support of the English people. The document later disappeared without coming to anything. Eventually, in June 1530, a deposition signed by the Spiritual and Temporal Lords of England, including George Boleyn as Baron Rochford, was sent to the Pope praying him to consent to the King's desires, and pointing out the evils that would arise from delaying the divorce.7 However, until the arrival of Thomas Cranmer towards the end of 1529, the Boleyns and their supporters were clearly floundering.

  Throughout 1528 and 1529, Henry continued to believe that the Pope would yield to him, and that it was only imperial obstruction that was preventing it. By the middle of 1529, Pope Clement VII was no closer to granting Henry a divorce than he had been in 1527, and Henry believed that by obtaining a favourable judgement in England the Pope would be given the excuse he needed to accede to Henry's wishes. Enormous effort was made over a number of years to convince the Pope that his predecessor, Julius II, had exceeded his powers when granting Henry a dispensation to marry Catherine when the marriage was against divine law. Henry could not accept that the Pope had no intention of granting him an annulment, and that this had nothing to do with imperial pressure. Yet in the meantime, in England, Wolsey's loyalty was being called into question. He arranged a hearing of Henry's cause in London in the summer of 1529, at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars. The hearing commenced on 31 May and was a public-relations disaster. Catherine ran rings around the court and her husband. She famously knelt before her husband giving an impassioned speech in which she stated that she "was a true, humble and obedient wife". She told Henry, "by me you have had divers children, although it has pleased God to call them out of this world, which has been no default in me". She swore when she married him that "she was a true maid without touch of man".

  After her speech, Catherine got up, curtseyed to her husband and walked out of the court, ignoring those who tried to make her return to her seat and saying, "On, on, it makes no matter, for it is no impartial court for me, therefore I will not tarry. Go on."8 Although the case went on without her, no final decision was made and the court was adjourned, never meeting again. On 16 July, the Pope ordered that the matter should be transferred back to Rome for determination. As the Pope was still the prisoner of Charles V, a resolution in Henry's favour was no closer than it had been two years previously.

  Both Thomas and George Boleyn were present at the hearing at which Queen Catherine made a mockery of their pretensions. They would both have been humiliated by the result, as well as by Catherine's performance. She was a worthy match for Anne, and this alone would have antagonised George and his sister. In years to come, the pair displayed a noted dislike and mistrust of Princess Mary, who had inherited her mother's courage, intelligence, defiance and religious fervour.

  Wolsey had staked everything on obtaining a papal dissolution of Henry's marriage and had been unable to comply. He alone was blamed for the failure, and for the fiasco of the court hearing. He was hated and resented by his opposing factions for his wealth, power and, more particularly, his influence over the King. The Boleyn family's supporters exploited his failure to do the King's bidding, and both they and Catherine supporters worked together to destroy him. The Boleyns in particular began to put enormous pressure on Wolsey. Initially, Henry was still prepared to give his chancellor the benefit of the doubt, but in August the French ended their pressure to get Charles V removed from Italy, which would have resulted in the release of the Pope from imperial control. Although Wolsey continued to petition the King of France to provide more support, he failed. Any faith and trust Henry previously had in him dissolved. This was assisted and encouraged by Wolsey's opponents, who vilified him at every available opportunity. In truth, Wolsey, as Henry's servant, did everything he could to bring about his master's divorce, but he was in an impossible situation; "his role as legate a latere made it impossible for him to pursue to its logical conclusion the King's thesis in the matter of his divorce or to coerce the Pope or the English clergy to decide the suit in Henry's favour."9 Wolsey was not foolish enough to be deliberately obstructive, whatever his personal feelings may have been, but, he could not perform miracles and he did appear to have been stalling. On 9 October 1529, a writ of praemunire was filed against Wolsey in the court of King's Bench, on 17 October he relinquished the Privy Seal, and on 22 October 1529 he was formally dismissed as Chancellor.

  The possibility of Wolsey worming his way back into favour remained a threat, particularly should he be allowed any direct access to the King. Wolsey's two opposing factions presented Henry with a schedule of 44 charges against him, including, amongst a wide variety of alleged offences, acting on the alien authority of the Pope. The articles against Wolsey were dated 1 December, and were signed by all the leading courtiers including Thomas More, but excluding George Boleyn who was on embassy in France at the time.10 Until the end of 1529, Thomas Boleyn and Anne exerted the most pressure, Thomas due to his political experience and acumen, and Anne through her influence over the King. George Boleyn was still a very young man of around 25, with no political power or experience, and his active involvement in policy and diplomacy did not begin until the end of that year. Despite this, as a leading member of the Boleyn faction at court, he provided a supportive role, and helped popularise his sister's cause with the younger members of Henry's court. Bearing in mind his religious convictions, George had more reason than most for seeking Wolsey's downfall. Although the draft charges did not bring about Wolsey's ultimate destruction, in April the following year Henry sent Wolsey to York as Archbishop. It was in reality a move by Henry to get Wolsey as far away from London as possible.

  Wolsey had never personally supported the annulment of the King's marriage, and while in York he began communicating with Catherine and the Pope directly. When Henry discovered this in November 1530, Wolsey was arrested and charged with treason. He was ordered to be brought to London, where no doubt he would have faced trial and probable execution. However, he was already suffering from ill heath and never made it to London, dying on 29 November 1530 at Leicester Abbey while en route to the Tower. Once Wolsey's enemies had accomplished his fall, and there was no longer a need for unity, the two remaining factions once again divided into separate groups. Sir Thomas More, who as far as the Boleyns were concerned was hardly the ideal replacement, took over from Wolsey as Chancellor and Henry's right-hand man. More had previously assisted Wolsey in his efforts to stop Lutheran books being smuggled into England. Also emerging from the ashes was Thomas Cromwell, Wolsey's former employee.

  Throughout this period of political upheaval, George Boleyn continued to work his way up the court hierarchy. Despite 1529 being a traumatic year on the political front, it was to be a rewarding year for the young Boleyn, and one which kick-started his diplomatic and political career. On 15 November 1528, George secured the position of keeper of the Palace of Beaulieu in Essex. The grant also provided the power of leasing for his lifetime. On 1 February 1529, he was appointed chief steward of Beaulieu, receiving £10 a year as steward and 3 pence a day as keeper of the New Park.11 On 27 July 1529, he was also appointed governor of Bethlehem Hospital.12 The hospital had been opened in 1247 as the Priory of St Mary of Bethlehem, and became a royal hospital in 1375. By 1377 it was catering for mentally-ill patients and had become known as "Bedlam".13 The position of Governor was a valuable sinecure, requiring little work but providing much status. George remained governor of Bedlam until his death, after which the appointment went to Peter Mewys.

  In October 1529, George was knighted. The exact date is unknown, but in September of that year he was still being referred to as George Boleyn, while by the end of October official papers were referring to him as "Sir". On 8 December, he took his father's title of Viscount Rochford upon his father being made Earl of Wiltshire. This was initially a courtesy title, but ceased to be so in 1533 when he was called to Parliament as a peer in his own right. Henceforth, George and Jane Boleyn bec
ame Lord and Lady Rochford, a title Jane retained following her husband's death. That same year, George was appointed as a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber14 and in around 1530 became a member of the Privy Council, which was the court's central advisory and policy-making body, very different from the Privy Chamber. As a member of the Privy Council, George had direct influence over policy, although he was still extremely young. His advancement propelled him past older and more experienced courtiers, who understandably resented the young Boleyn upstart in the same way as they resented his sister. What made the jealousy worse was that neither brother nor sister was known for their humility. Despite their intelligence, neither of them had the sense to hide their pride and joy at their newfound power, and already-raised hackles crept even higher.

  Prior to his ultimate destruction, Wolsey had attempted to bribe George and other members of Anne Boleyn's circle of favourites. This was clearly at the suggestion of Thomas Cromwell, as can be seen from the contents of a letter written by Wolsey to Cromwell in December 1529: "All possible means must be used for attaining her [Anne's] favour... I commit me to your wise handling."15 That same month, Cromwell made out the draft of a grant to George Boleyn, bestowing on him an annuity from Wolsey's estates of £200 out of the lands of the bishopric of Winchester, and of 200 marks (£133) out of the abbey lands of St Albans.16 This was a transparent attempt to save Wolsey from total destruction by bribing Anne's brother and other favourites, including Sir Henry Norris, whose fee was increased from £100 to £200 in January 1530. Despite the ploy failing due to its inadequacy and belatedness, these grants to George transformed his financial position from that of a lowly courtier to that of a lord. The grant to George was made during his first foreign embassy, and would have been received while he was in France.17 Cromwell knew that these bribes to Anne's favourites would do nothing to help Wolsey. The recipients were made fully aware that the grants were being awarded to them on Cromwell's advice, ensuring that they were indebted to Cromwell and not to Wolsey. Up until his downfall, George Boleyn had more reason than most to be grateful to the man who would do the most to destroy him. At the time of their own downfall, it is unlikely that either Anne or George would have missed the irony of Wolsey's fall; by 1536, it was they who were hated for their wealth, power and influence over the king.