“Assuredly it can. The King does not have to get a dispensation from the Pope now, does he? He is now Head of the Church, and can command archbishops and bishops to obey him when he needs them to.”
“But there would have to be reasons.”
“I will tell you this, Katherine, but it is not generally known as yet. There has been a convocation, and the matter has been referred to the two archbishops with four bishops and eight other members of the clergy; and there are reasons why a divorce is possible. The first and most important is that the Queen was precontracted to the Prince of Lorraine; the second is that the King was married against his will and has never completed the marriage; and the third is that the nation wishes the King to have more children, and in view of his feelings for the Queen, he could never have them through her.”
“But he did actually marry her.”
Lady Margaret lifted her shoulders.
“Depend upon it, the King will have an annulment if he wishes it enough. And there is no doubt in my mind, and those of many at Court, that the King will have his way.”
I thought a good deal about that talk with Lady Margaret. I had vaguely heard about the death of my uncle in the Tower and that he had been foolish enough to act unwisely with a lady.
My uncle, the Duke, was contemptuous of such conduct, although he continued to act scandalously in his own marital concerns, and was still involved in his liaison with the washerwoman, Elizabeth Holland.
But that was the way of men. I thought fleetingly of the King’s assertion that I was a good and modest girl and how he approved of such conduct at his Court; and I could not help remembering Elizabeth Blount and the Duke of Richmond and the King’s conduct with Jane Seymour, which had been seen by my cousin.
And I was very sorry for the poor Queen.
It appeared to be as Lady Margaret had said.
Some of the ladies-in-waiting on the Queen and some of the gentlemen of the King’s bedchamber were called as witnesses to the fact that the royal couple did not spend their nights together. I wondered whether Thomas Culpepper was called and what he thought about the matter.
It was clearly proved that the marriage was no ordinary one. The Queen was not present during the proceedings, as her English was not good enough for her to understand what was going on. But she had learned a little of the language and, when she was asked if she had informed Mistress Lowe or any of her ladies of the King’s neglect, she had replied that she had not done so as she received quite as much of His Majesty’s attention as she wished for.
Then came the announcement that the marriage was null and void and that both parties were free to marry again. A bill was produced to prove this. The Archbishop of Canterbury announced the end of the marriage, and the Lords passed the Bill which afterward went to the Commons, where approval was readily given.
The King had had his way.
Several of us were in the Queen’s apartment when news came that the King was sending a deputation to the Queen that she might agree to the terms which were set out.
I could not but be aware of the brooding sense of foreboding which hung over those apartments at Richmond.
The Queen, outwardly calm, sought to hide the fear which beset her. She remained in her apartments and would see none but Mother Lowe.
Lady Rochford said: “Poor lady! One can guess her feelings. Three have gone before her. One discarded as a wife after many years, another to the block, and the third no sooner married than she died in childbirth. You can understand her fears. It seems as though a curse has been laid on the King’s wives.”
“All will be well,” I said. “The King can be very kind.”
“When he gets his way,” said Jane, with a look over her shoulder.
The deputation had arrived. I was surprised, because my Uncle Norfolk was not with it. Instead there were the Duke of Suffolk, the Earl of Southampton and Sir Thomas Wriothesley—all men to inspire fear.
I was with Lady Margaret when she was told that the men were waiting. I followed her, keeping a discreet distance, so I heard what was said.
Suffolk was the spokesman.
“My lady,” he announced. “We come here on the King’s business, and would be taken without delay to the Queen.”
“I will go to Her Majesty at once and tell her of your coming,” said Lady Margaret with the dignity and authority becoming to the sister of the King. “She may wish to receive you here.”
Suffolk replied: “It matters not where, my Lady Margaret. But it is imperative that we are received by the Queen without delay.”
Lady Margaret bowed her head and left them. I followed her to the Queen’s apartment and stood at the door waiting. I should disappear before they came out, but I felt an urgent desire to know what was happening.
I heard Mother Lowe cry out sharply in those guttural tones which I could not understand. There was a brief silence and then Lady Margaret seemed to be giving orders.
Lady Rutland came to the door and saw me standing there, but she was too shocked to ask me what I was doing. She said, in a voice of shock: “The Queen has fainted.”
I said: “The King’s messengers are waiting to see her on the King’s business.”
“I know. It is for that reason. Go to them. Tell them Her Majesty will see them as soon as it is possible for her to do so.”
I went back to the hall and told Lord Suffolk and the others what Lady Rutland had told me.
Suffolk looked impatient, but he thanked me courteously, and I was amazed that he could be so respectful toward me—more so than he had been toward Lady Margaret.
I came back to the Queen’s apartments to tell them I had spoken with the Duke of Suffolk, who would be waiting with his friends until the Queen was ready.
Nobody noticed me when I entered, for all attention was fixed on the Queen, who was lying back in a chair, and one of the ladies was fanning her.
She had recovered from her faint, but she looked pale and was clearly disturbed.
The Queen stood up suddenly. She said: “I will go now. There is no sense to wait.”
Mother Lowe took her arm and they talked rapidly in their own tongue.
“Ja, ja,” said the Queen, and then she turned to Lady Margaret. “Come,” she said.
And they went down to the hall to face the King’s messengers.
As I had expected, Lady Rochford would know what was taking place.
“They have come to take the Queen away,” she said. “It was as one expects in these matters. She fainted, poor lady. That was how it was with your cousin. Depend on it, she will be in the Tower this night.”
“But why? Why? What has she done to deserve such treatment?”
“She has not been beautiful enough to suit the King’s taste.”
“Oh, no … no.”
“But yes. How did the others go? Remember? Well, you are thinking. It was not the Tower for Queen Catherine. She had the Emperor to support her, do not forget. Of course, the Queen has her brother, the Duke, but he is not the Emperor Charles, now is he? But mayhap the King will have to take a little care. And then that other Queen. We know now how it went with her. And this is the fourth. Yes, it will be the Tower for her.”
“Do not say that. Lady Margaret thinks there will be a divorce. Why should they come here to talk to her in that way if there was not to be a divorce?”
“Mayhap the King thinks a divorce is not binding enough. Mayhap he has something other in mind. There might be some to say his new marriage was no marriage at all … the one with this new Queen. I mean the one he will take next. These doubts can cause great trouble in the realm. Whereas when he married Jane Seymour, none could say that she was not really the Queen because of Anne Boleyn, because Anne was a dead woman.”