On 3rd May 1536, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote a letter to King Henry VIII. He was shocked as he’d heard of the allegations made against Queen Anne Boleyn. However, he was careful in what he said to the king.
Also, the investigation into the queen wasn’t quite going according to plan…
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At her infamous trial it was noted that the so called evidence was mere gossip and hearsay, he said she said type of thing, the game of courtly love was misinterpreted deliberately to sound like the queen was being unfaithful, pity poor Weston indeed whose name was innocently brought into the frame by an unsuspecting and agitated queen, this was also the day her friend and faithful retainer Thomas Cranmer wrote to the king on her behalf, ‘ sheer amazed for never better opinion of woman have I had in her’, yet he knew of the kings plans to discard Anne he had been in conference with him previously and suspected this was a mere plot to bring her down, Cranmers heart must have been heavy with sadness Anne was his patron and he found her to be a very noble pious queen, a woman who had turned her household into a godly place where her attendants all had to be as pious as she was, she had forbidden her men to attend houses of ill repute, her women had to behave themselves and it was said afterwards, her household was the most best run out of all Henry’s queen, no wonder Cranmer had been so shocked when he heard the allegations, his letter to the king is cautious we can see he wished to represent his queen to defend her, but dare not anger the king by showing too much support, Cranmer in the next two weeks was to be dismayed as the queen he revered above all others was to have her title of stripped from her and her marriage made invalid, he was the kings servant first but this queen was the most noble lady the most spiritual one he was bound to, the one he held in high esteem, it is to his credit he dared to speak in her defence that day.