I don’t think so, she would have known that if she had agreed to the annulment of her marriage to Henry, then she and Elizabeth wouldn’t have lived long enough to enjoy their freedom. In short by sacrificing her own life she safeguarded Elizabeth future and she knew that. Elizabeth future was made safe when the sword chopped Anne’s head off. Anne was a remarkable woman and knew Henry inside out and back to front. She made the ultimate sacrifice. Her own life to save Elizabeth’s life and future.

Henry Percy denied that there was a contract of marriage between them, if he had of agreed it would have done 2 things.
1 Ended his unhappy marriage with Mary Talbot. If you think about it that sacrifice too makes Percy a remarkable fellow too. Bitterly unhappy and yet prepared to stay married to protect both Anne and Elizabeth from Henry’s malice.
2 Placed Anne, Elizabeth and himself in mortal danger as Henry I don’t doubt would have found a way of destroying all of the them, and stealing the land and titles that had belonged to his family for many generations.

I wonder what he would have made of Elizabeth if had lived long enough to see her become Queen?

LadyPrincess said

KayKay_KS said
I agree! I never thought about your last statement. I’m sure if Anne had survived she would have tried to gather up supporters and have her own daughter lay her claim on the throne. Who could blame her after what she would have went through?

Of course this wouldn’t have ever happened. But if it had, I suppose Anne would have had the Boleyn’s, Howard’s , her admirers, and Lutheran followers on her side. Which is not many. But perhaps Francis 1 would have supported her too. I could see him do this: just to get back at Henry.

Boleyn said
Henry Percy denied that there was a contract of marriage between them, if he had of agreed it would have done 2 things.
1 Ended his unhappy marriage with Mary Talbot. If you think about it that sacrifice too makes Percy a remarkable fellow too. Bitterly unhappy and yet prepared to stay married to protect both Anne and Elizabeth from Henry’s malice.
2 Placed Anne, Elizabeth and himself in mortal danger as Henry I don’t doubt would have found a way of destroying all of the them, and stealing the land and titles that had belonged to his family for many generations.

I never thought too highly of Percy….Does this mean that he genuinely loved Anne? If Percy did come out and say that he was pre-contracted to Anne (even if it was a lie) during her imprisonment then (as you stated) he would have saved himself from a horrible marriage yet there could have been a small chance that he might have saved Anne. Yet he did not.

I always took this to mean that he didn’t want to take the chance of getting himself in trouble — because he must have known how volatile and unpredictable Henry was…particularly during this time. I don’t think he ever really loved Anne. Or if he did, he certainly didn’t care for her more than himself, his title, family, and lands.

Like so many eldest children in families Henry Percy was under enormous pressure from his father, to carry on the family line. If he had agreed that he was indeed pre contracted to Anne yes his marriage probably would have been dissolved, but Anne would have died anyway H8 made up his mind to kill Anne the minute she miscarried. All Percy would have done would have blackened the name of Northumberland and perhaps ruined the prospects of his younger brothers and sisters marriage value. After all if you think about it.. Who would want to marry someone from the family who was once assoiciated with a royal wh*re (as Anne was called by some people).
Certainly that does make it seem as if Percy was quite cowardly, in denying everything, but in a time when the family name was everything, he was really left with no other choice.
I think he did love Anne, and I certainly think that his death just over a year later was perhaps a little bit from heartbreak. Mary Talbot from what little I have read about did seem to be a vicious old shrew at times, and it can’t have been easy living with her henpecking him every five minutes over his shortcommings.

That’s a difficult one Lady princess.Given the circumstances at the time before Henry Tulip stuck his beak in I raher think that a marriage between the Boleyn/Percy family was a very ambitious marriage, and perhaps better than Anne could have realistically dreampt of at the time.. Looking at the marrital history of her Anne’s mother and father that too was a very ambitious match. Yes I do think Anne did love Percy but perhaps not with the same passion and fire that Henry Tulip brought out in her. Again going back to marriage issues. Her sister Mary married William Carey who was just a little higher in standing as a gopher (Go for this and go for that) in Henry Tulip’s household. He was a gentleman but not of the nobility. Her second husband was a lowly country Gentleman, he had a title but it wasn’t really much of a title considering that at that time Henry Tulip had made his thoughts known to Anne. George Boleyn was married to Jane Parker, no one knows for sure if the marriage was happy or not, but I’m inclined to think that it was an amicable enough marriage. But again Jane Parker was from humble origins.

Boleyn said

That’s a difficult one Lady princess.Given the circumstances at the time before Henry Tulip stuck his beak in I raher think that a marriage between the Boleyn/Percy family was a very ambitious marriage, and perhaps better than Anne could have realistically dreampt of at the time.. Looking at the marrital history of her Anne’s mother and father that too was a very ambitious match. Yes I do think Anne did love Percy but perhaps not with the same passion and fire that Henry Tulip brought out in her. Again going back to marriage issues. Her sister Mary married William Carey who was just a little higher in standing as a gopher (Go for this and go for that) in Henry Tulip’s household. He was a gentleman but not of the nobility. Her second husband was a lowly country Gentleman, he had a title but it wasn’t really much of a title considering that at that time Henry Tulip had made his thoughts known to Anne. George Boleyn was married to Jane Parker, no one knows for sure if the marriage was happy or not, but I’m inclined to think that it was an amicable enough marriage. But again Jane Parker was from humble origins.

William Carey was in fact a cousion of Henry’s since he was descended from John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset as was Henry. While he had no high title as such , family was an important consideration when filling up royal households.

Thank you Louise and Anyanka. That was actually something I didn’t know about either Will Carey or Jane Parker..
Quite right Anyanka if Jane Parker was as black as she had been painted I doubt she would have got any place in any nobel household.

As for Will Carey that’s very interesting. Theorecticly he was a claiment to the throne a very watered down claiment I grant you but still a rival for H8.