Read Online The Other Tudors by Philippa Jones - Free Book Online
Authors: Philippa Jones
Tags: He Restores My Soul
Ads: Link
closest to the Queen. At the start of Catherine’s reign, these ladies included:
Elizabeth Stafford, sister of the Duke of Buckingham, recently married to Robert Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter (later Earl of Sussex);
Anne Stafford, sister of the Duke of Buckingham, a widow, recently married to Sir George Hastings, heir to the Earl of Huntingdon;
Margaret Scrope, wife of Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, in the Tower since 1506 because of his Yorkist connection (the Earl of Suffolk was executed 1513);
Elizabeth Scrope, second wife of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Lord Admiral * ;
Agnes Tilney, Countess of Surrey, married to Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (later Duke of Norfolk), Treasurer * ;
Anne Hastings, daughter of Sir William Hastings, married to George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Steward * ;
Mary Say, Lady Essex, married to Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex, Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners * ;
Anne, sister of Sir George Hastings, married to Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby.
* Senior Court Officials
The next rank of ladies were the maids of honour, chief amongst whom was Dona Maria de Salinas, one of Catherine’s Spanish ladies. It was said that Catherine loved her ‘more than any other mortal.’ 5 This lady married a widower, William, Lord Willoughby d’Eresby, Master of the Royal Hart Hounds, in June 1516. She remained loyal to Catherine throughout her painful widowhood, and was with her at Kimbolton Castle, in Huntingdon, when she died. Lady Elizabeth Boleyn was another maid of honour; the daughter of the Earl of Surrey (later Duke of Norfolk), Elizabeth was married to Sir Thomas Boleyn of Hever. She was the mother of a son and two daughters, George, Mary and Anne. These ladies formed the immediate household of the Queen. Their charms and talents showed off the Court to advantage and one of their main roles was to entertain the Queen in the performing arts and with conversation, amusing her and enlivening her day.
As the Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Anne (Stafford) Hastings, a noble, young and beautiful matron, formed a part of the King’s immediate circle. She was already engaged in an affair with Sir William Compton (the King’s friend and Groom of the Stole or Stool) when Henry, having been largely kept away from sexual temptation by his father, sought her affections. If the gossip at the time was correct, Anne transferred her affections from Compton to the King.
Things became more complicated, however, when gossip began to spread about Anne Hastings, Sir William Compton and Henry. The banker Francesco Grimaldi related the story to the Spanish Ambassador, Luiz Caroz, who promptly reported it to Catherine’s father, Ferdinand of Aragon. He said that Henry’s ‘butler, Conton’ (Compton) acted as a go-between for the King and his mistress.
Anne Hastings allegedly told her sister Elizabeth about her affair with Compton – and then with Henry. Elizabeth, in turn, told her own husband, Anne’s husband and her brother. Buckingham, not unsurprisingly, saw this as a blow to the honour of the noble Staffords. He was also enraged by the fact that the affair was common knowledge: Luiz Caroz didn’t just keep this gossip for the diplomatic channels; he wrote to the Duke of Almazan in Spain on 28 May 1510, and gave him all the salacious details. His primary source was Grimaldi, whose own informant was Francesca de Carceres, a former lady-in-waiting. Tired of attending a dowager princess who seemed to be doomed to live in poverty for years, and denied a chance to return to Spain and marry, Francesca accepted the hand of the elderly but wealthy Grimaldi. Francesca, despite leaving her mistress, remained in contact with the Court so her news was at least credible.
According to Caroz, Buckingham confronted Compton when he found him with Anne in her room. He is reported to have shouted, ‘Women of the Stafford family are no game for Comptons, no, nor for Tudors neither.’ 6 On hearing this, Henry summoned
Elizabeth Stafford, sister of the Duke of Buckingham, recently married to Robert Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter (later Earl of Sussex);
Anne Stafford, sister of the Duke of Buckingham, a widow, recently married to Sir George Hastings, heir to the Earl of Huntingdon;
Margaret Scrope, wife of Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, in the Tower since 1506 because of his Yorkist connection (the Earl of Suffolk was executed 1513);
Elizabeth Scrope, second wife of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Lord Admiral * ;
Agnes Tilney, Countess of Surrey, married to Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (later Duke of Norfolk), Treasurer * ;
Anne Hastings, daughter of Sir William Hastings, married to George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Steward * ;
Mary Say, Lady Essex, married to Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex, Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners * ;
Anne, sister of Sir George Hastings, married to Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby.
* Senior Court Officials
The next rank of ladies were the maids of honour, chief amongst whom was Dona Maria de Salinas, one of Catherine’s Spanish ladies. It was said that Catherine loved her ‘more than any other mortal.’ 5 This lady married a widower, William, Lord Willoughby d’Eresby, Master of the Royal Hart Hounds, in June 1516. She remained loyal to Catherine throughout her painful widowhood, and was with her at Kimbolton Castle, in Huntingdon, when she died. Lady Elizabeth Boleyn was another maid of honour; the daughter of the Earl of Surrey (later Duke of Norfolk), Elizabeth was married to Sir Thomas Boleyn of Hever. She was the mother of a son and two daughters, George, Mary and Anne. These ladies formed the immediate household of the Queen. Their charms and talents showed off the Court to advantage and one of their main roles was to entertain the Queen in the performing arts and with conversation, amusing her and enlivening her day.
As the Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Anne (Stafford) Hastings, a noble, young and beautiful matron, formed a part of the King’s immediate circle. She was already engaged in an affair with Sir William Compton (the King’s friend and Groom of the Stole or Stool) when Henry, having been largely kept away from sexual temptation by his father, sought her affections. If the gossip at the time was correct, Anne transferred her affections from Compton to the King.
Things became more complicated, however, when gossip began to spread about Anne Hastings, Sir William Compton and Henry. The banker Francesco Grimaldi related the story to the Spanish Ambassador, Luiz Caroz, who promptly reported it to Catherine’s father, Ferdinand of Aragon. He said that Henry’s ‘butler, Conton’ (Compton) acted as a go-between for the King and his mistress.
Anne Hastings allegedly told her sister Elizabeth about her affair with Compton – and then with Henry. Elizabeth, in turn, told her own husband, Anne’s husband and her brother. Buckingham, not unsurprisingly, saw this as a blow to the honour of the noble Staffords. He was also enraged by the fact that the affair was common knowledge: Luiz Caroz didn’t just keep this gossip for the diplomatic channels; he wrote to the Duke of Almazan in Spain on 28 May 1510, and gave him all the salacious details. His primary source was Grimaldi, whose own informant was Francesca de Carceres, a former lady-in-waiting. Tired of attending a dowager princess who seemed to be doomed to live in poverty for years, and denied a chance to return to Spain and marry, Francesca accepted the hand of the elderly but wealthy Grimaldi. Francesca, despite leaving her mistress, remained in contact with the Court so her news was at least credible.
According to Caroz, Buckingham confronted Compton when he found him with Anne in her room. He is reported to have shouted, ‘Women of the Stafford family are no game for Comptons, no, nor for Tudors neither.’ 6 On hearing this, Henry summoned
Similar Books
