The 1st September 1532 was a very important day for Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s sweetheart, for it was on this day in history that she was elevated to the peerage in a special ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Not only was Anne created Marquess of Pembroke, she was also made a very wealthy woman, and all in her own right too. It was just in time for Henry and Anne’s trip to Calais too. They were going there to meet with King Francis I of France, to try and get his support for their relationship. These were exciting times for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
You can find out more about this day in 1532, the ceremony and who was there, and what Anne was given by the king, in this video:
If you prefer articles, you can read a post about this day – click here.
Here is today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, if you’re interested. He’s a fascinating Tudor man:
Anne had to have been on cloud nine. After so many years of waiting, finally light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn’t yet marriage to the king but this was big and the ultimate goal would have finally at least been in sight.
Anne must have looked a picture, long hair dressed but loosely adorned about her shoulders and wearing the velvet and crimson robes of a new noble about to be endowed with their title and coronet and the warrant of their lands and wealth and so on. The Lords and Ladies who had looked down on her accompanied her into the grand presence of her Sovereign and future husband, King Henry Viii. They would be outfitted in their own fine robes and coronets and here they were escorting the King’s sweetheart to him to make her Marques of Pembroke in her own right. She would have independent lands, power and wealth and an ancient title, one with deep connectivity to the Tudor family. Henry’s great Uncle Jasper Tudor had been given the title by Henry vi. All of the people who had looked down on her for years now had to acknowledge her as one of their own. She wasn’t as high as a Duke but she was now an independent noble woman and she would soon be their Queen. Oh I bet they just loved this! It must have caught in their throats. All these years fighting for her position and now she was all but Queen and had taken Katherine’s place. She was triumphant and they knew it. Henry led his beautiful and triumphant Lady through all the nobility of the Court and they knew they were looking at the woman who was to be their new Queen. Henry led her to a banquet and then to their chambers. Anne as they say was pretty in the pink.
The making a noble of Anne was also to make her fit for the European stage and her future as Queen. Anne was very wealthy now and she was independent as a peer of the Realm. Anne was granted £1000 a year and the title passed to her sons regardless of legitimacy. This was highly unusual, only a few females who were peers in their own right, Margaret Pole was one, now Anne was another and the future wife of Charles Brandon was a hereditary peer in her own right, even more unusual. Anne and Henry would soon set out for France, meeting in the Pale of Calais and form a new alliance with King Francis. The raising of Anne above other people was a constant bone of contention and cause of domestic conflict between Henry and his courtiers, especially when she took precedence over the two daughters of the Duke of Suffolk and his own sister, Mary, his Duchess. Suffolk blew a gasket and ended up in a row with the King but in the end he had to accept the situation. Mary was declining in health and had retired to Westhorpe in Suffolk, which is where Brandon wanted to remain when the King went to France. Henry landed on them and the poor Duke had little choice again but to accept, obey and pack up and join the party travelling to Calais. Mary remained in England and Anne wowed the King of France who was their guest. Unfortunately, Anne couldn’t travel to Francis Court there with Henry because his wife, Eleanor, sister of the Holy Roman Emperor and niece of Queen Katherine, and his own sister were not present. No female of comparable rank was present to receive Anne so she remained on the English side until Henry returned with Francis and his guests. Then she gave the performance of a lifetime. For Henry and Anne it must have seemed that at last everything was going their way and that their marriage was just around the corner. In France they were delayed and consummated their relationship. Depending on whether you believe Hall or other sources Henry and Anne were married in November in Dover or January in Whitehall 1533 and by then Anne was well and truly pregnant. Henry and Anne believed they were blessed by Divine Majesty and that Anne was carrying the Prince who was promised, the long awaited legitimate son, the heir to the crown of England. It was time to plan her coronation.