On 25th April 1536, Henry VIII wrote a rather strange letter to his ambassadors abroad. Less than a month before his second wife was executed, and the day after the commissions of oyer and terminer had been set up, the king was suddenly hopeful that there was “great likelihood” of him having a Prince of Wales.
Just what was going on?
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Yes absolutely I agree with you Claire, I believe it was the king who told Cromwell to extricate himself out of this cursed marriage and Cromwell and Audley were merely following orders, his behaviour where he acted with much glee when Anne was in the Tower tells us this must have been planned throughout, had he suddenly received news of her infidelity he would have been shocked outraged and acted with murderous fury, like in the case of his fifth queen, the men who were executed also did not have their heads put on spikes as traitors unlike Culpeper and Dereham, but all died by the axe including Mark Smeaton, an insignificant servant lowly born, they had served their purpose they were mere scapegoats, they will all be rewarded with a merciful death, their most revolting murders were being planned as his quill flowed across the parchment, and he must have done it with an almost cold detachment, he wanted out of this marriage he intended to marry Jane Seymour, looks nor personality nor intelligence or wit did not come into it, he looked on her as a farmer does a prize cow, suitable for breeding, his messages to his ambassadors abroad about his hopes for sons shows us he was ready to take Jane as his queen, he had lost faith in Anne, her miscarriages in January must surely have followed an earlier miscarriage as I do not believe he would have wanted rid of her after just one, he was weary of hope being destroyed with every pregnancy, thus had it been with Katherine of Aragon, yet time had been on their side sadly with Anne, I believe she was past her fertile years as she must have been over thirty four or thirty five, if we accept the 1501 birthdate, , the years of waiting had in a sense ruined her chances, as she carried on her duties as queen, meeting officials and presiding over banquets and sewing and chatting with her ladies, dancing and playing her favourite instruments and singing, walking her dogs, she did not realise her once loving husband was seeking to end their union, once forged in so much hope and need, the third queen was waiting patiently in the wings, wether Henry V111 had actually asked Jane to marry him then we do not know, but I believe he had spoken to her or her parents which must have left them in no doubt of his intentions.