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Queenanneboleyn.com is celebrating the impending release of In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII on March 15, 2016 by sharing with browsers quest articles composed by both Dr. Sarah Morris and Natalie Gueninger and published previously on the website. Today, Sarah takes us on a delightful journey into a day of the life of Queen Anne Boleyn, challenging us to use our imaginations to wonder what it would have been like to be one of her ladies-in-waiting.
Be sure to join us in the coming days in celebrating the research and historical writing of both Natalie and Sarah, including Release Day, and do not forget to enter for a chance to win their fantastic new book!
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If you have an interest in Anne Boleyn, you will surely know about the dramatic events that so defined her life. Whilst her extraordinary story has often been explored in detail, perhaps fewer of us are familiar with the ordinary; the way in which Anne Boleyn spent her days as queen. When I started to write Le Temps Viendra: a novel of Anne Boleyn, this was largely uncharted territory for me. I had to educate myself about how a Tudor noblewoman would occupy her days at court. With In the Footsteps, countless hours spent reading contemporary letters, now extensively recorded in the Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, spoke often of the rhythms of court life, providing tantalising glimpses of everyday activities and conversations that bring us to a different level of intimacy with this most captivating of women. This is what we would like to share with you in today’s blog post, an ordinary day in the life of Anne Boleyn in the hope that should you wish, you too can again find yourself walking in her footsteps.
One of the most fascinating sections of In the Footsteps was charting Anne’s movements as she travelled at her husband’s side during the historic fourteen week progress that stretched across the summer of 1535. Particularly thrilling was our discovery of the Corporation of Gloucester records; records that are largely unknown to the Anne Boleyn community, but are unique in that they provide a contemporary, day by day account of how Anne and Henry were received into the city, who they met, where they visited in the area, and even gifts that they exchanged with the townsfolk of Gloucester. We shall use this as a backdrop to describe a typical day at the itinerant Tudor court. So imagine now that you are one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, a married noblewoman and a close personal friend of the queen. As such, you serve Anne at her most intimate tasks.
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Your first duty is to present yourself at the queen’s chambers before Anne rises. A little meat, bread and ale would be brought up to the queen’s chambers by her chamberers, allowing Anne to break her fast. Clothes are delivered upstairs from the queen’s wardrobe, both of which you accept at the entrance to her privy rooms, your status allowing direct, personal contact with the queen. You are staying in the abbot’s lodgings, within the precinct of the medieval abbey. Here, in the suite of chambers set aside for Her Grace, you attend your mistress in her raying chamber, assisting Queen Anne to dress for the day ahead. Let us imagine the sun streaming in through a mullioned window, falling upon Anne’s olive skin, as you help each layer of the queen’s gown to be laced and pinned into place over her linen smock. This undergarment is worn next to skin, protecting it and absorbing perspiration. As befitting Anne’s social rank, it is finely embroidered with gold thread around the cuffs and collar. Her scarlet petticoat and stockings come next, the former tied beneath a farthingale of similar colour. Afterwards, your fingers work nimbly to lace over it a long-sleeved kirtle, a rich garment fashioned from gold damask, and as it is the height of summer, the queen has chosen a light, outer gown, of the English style, made from crimson taffeta.
Having dressed and heard mass in her privy closet, Anne sweeps downstairs to meet with the king and a small riding party that will accompany the royal couple on their day’s hawking. You fall into step behind her, the swishing of your skirts accompanying your progress. Riding out alongside several of Anne’s ladies, and a similar number of gentlemen from the king’s privy chamber, are the king’s secretary, Master Cromwell; the king’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy; Abbott Parker of Gloucester Abbey and the mayor of Gloucester, John Falconer.
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In the abbey yard, the townsfolk have gathered and present the king with ten fat oxen. Henry gives them thanks, then raises his hand to signal the departure of the royal entourage. Soon the narrow streets of the bustling town give way to fine English pasture, gently warmed by the midsummer sun. Travelling in a southerly direction, the broad base of the Severn Valley eventually begins to rise sharply toward Prinknash Abbey, one of the country residences of Abbott Parker. Anne rides her horse skilfully, seated side-saddle by her husband’s side. From time to time, the king orders that the party stops to hawk. Anne takes her turn to accept a small bird, called a merlin, also known as ‘the lady’s bird’ on her gloved fist, skilfully casting the bird into flight in order to catch its prey. After falconers have retrieved the quarry from the bird’s razor sharp claws, the entourage continue to make their way through leafy lanes and woodland bathed in dappled light.
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Eventually the king and queen arrive at Prinknash, a fifteenth century manor house, fashioned from typical honey-coloured Cotswold stone. Here the abbot extends his hospitality, offering refreshment before you head off once more, a short distance to the south, to the village of Painswick. You soon realise that Painswick is a prosperous medieval village sitting pleasantly amongst rolling pastures and wooded escarpments. On the edge of the village lies the Lodge, another magnificent manor house, jointly owned by Lord Lisle and Sir John Dudley. Lord Lisle is away on business, and it is Sir John who welcomes his sovereign lord and lady with a lavish dinner, held at midday, as is customary. It is only later in the privacy of the queen’s privy chambers, that Anne herself speaks to you of court gossip, and you learn how the manor and its lands are much coveted by the likes of Master Cromwell and Sir William Kingston; for its income is generous, the pastures grazed by sheep for wool, its valleys covered with valuable oak forests.
After dinner, you walk with the queen in the garden, whilst inside the king transacts business with Sir John, for there is a dispute about the felling of trees in the surrounding parkland. But the summer days are long and the king eager to continue the hunt. With business concluded, there is more hawking to be done. In the mid afternoon, you mount your horse once more and set off to Longridge Wood set high on a ridge overlooking the manor and village of Painswick. There you hawk once more. The queen is in excellent spirits, she laughs aloud at a private exchange between her and her husband, who lifts her gloved hand to brush his lips across it. Anne’s eyes sparkle like diamonds in return, captivating the soul. You reflect on how you have not seen the king and queen so merry since the haunting stillbirth of the queen’s second child almost one year ago to the day. You are happy for her, relieved to see their intimacy rekindled once more.
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And so the rest of the day slips away; the royal party gradually wending its way back toward Gloucester. You have been out for nearly twelve hours, and as you approach the city gates, the light is fading fast. Torch bearers greet the king and queen, lighting the way back to the abbey precinct. The flames cast a welcome glow to chase away the dark as Anne glances in your direction. She looks so radiant, as if she wants to share a secret with you. And indeed she does, for once you are back within the abbot’s lodgings, the queen tells you that you must make her ready, for the king wishes to lie with her that night. She squeezes your hand and you feel her joy, for it has been many months since the devastating end to her second pregnancy drove the king into the arms of the ‘Imperial Lady’ and left Anne’s bed cold. And so you, and another of the queen’s ladies, prepare her for bed; unlacing and unpinning all Anne’s garments, leaving her to sleep only in a smock, her lustrous auburn hair plaited up and tucked beneath a fine linen coif. Just as your mistress and friend slips into bed, there is a knock at the door and the king, your sovereign lord enters. Without thinking, you lower your eyes and dip into a deep curtsey before being dismissed. Leaving the room, you close the door with a click of the latch leaving your mistress to secure her happy future.
Weary from the days’ excursion, and your duties, you retire to your own modest lodgings and there, attended by your own maid, you peel off the layers of your gown before sinking into your own exhausted slumber.
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Sarah is a creative soul, as well as an eternal optimist who generally prepares for the worst! She is an advocate of following the heart’s deepest desire as a means to finding peace and happiness. To this end, her writing is a creative expression of her joy of both learning and educating.
Drawn by an inexplicable need to write down the story of Anne Boleyn’s innocence, she published the first volume of her debut novel, Le Temps Viendra: a novel of Anne Boleyn in 2012; the second volume followed in 2013. That same year, her first non-fiction book, co-authored with Natalie Grueninger called, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn, was also published. Hopelessly swept away by an enduring passion for Tudor history and its buildings, her latest book, the second of the In the Footsteps series entitled, In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII, is due to be published by Amberley Publishing in the UK on 15th March 2016 and in the US on 19th May.
She lives in rural Oxfordshire with her beloved dog and travelling companion, Milly.
You’ll find Sarah at Sarah Morris: Making. History. Real., or via her blog, This Sceptred Isle: Travels Through Historic England.
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Buy In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII from:
Amazon US (Released on 19 May 2016)
The Book Depository (Free worldwide shipping)
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!
Natalie Grueninger, Dr. Sarah Morris, and Amberley Publishing are graciously offering a complimentary copy of In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII to one lucky QAB member or browser. If you are interested in being included in a drawing for a chance of winning this wonderful book, send the administrator a message via the website’s contact form. To complete the contact form, click here –> CONTACT US! We will draw a random winner on March 20, 2016. Good Luck!!!
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MORE GREAT BOOKS COMPOSED BY DR. SARAH MORRIS
NON-FICTION
In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn with Natalie Grueninger
FICTION
Le Temps Viendra: A Novel of Anne Boleyn Vol 1
Le Temps Viendra: A Novel of Anne Boleyn Volume II
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