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| 9 | <title>Primary Sources - Letter of Queen Anne Boleyn to her husband, King Henry
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| 10 | VIII, 6 May 1536 </title>
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| 29 | <td width="15%" height="610"></td>
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| 30 | <td valign="top" width="70%" height="610" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
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| 31 | <p align="center"><b><FONT size=+1>Letter of Queen Anne Boleyn to her husband, King
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| 32 | Henry VIII<br>6 May 1536</FONT> </b> </p>
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| 33 | <p><FONT size=-1><b>Background<br></b></FONT>
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| 34 | <IMG height=194 alt="Queen Anne Boleyn"
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| 35 | src="anne1.jpg" width=150 align=left><FONT size=-1>First of
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| 36 | all, this letter may be a fake. Then again, it may not. The debate
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| 37 | over its authenticity continues and no definitive answer is possible.
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| 38 | The original no longer exists; a copy was said to be found amongst Thomas
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| 39 | Cromwell's papers after his execution. Most of Anne's modern biographers
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| 40 | believe it to be a forgery. Their reason? They don't believe any
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| 41 | 16th century prisoner would have been allowed to write to their monarch in
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| 42 | such a familiar manner. Yet Anne was not just any political prisoner -
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| 43 | she was Henry VIII's wife and had been his grand passion for several
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| 44 | years. Locked away in the Tower, aware of the concurrent arrests of her
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| 45 | brother and friends and worried about her young daughter, she may very well
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| 46 | have written to the king. She was in a desperate situation, of course,
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| 47 | but she also believed (as witnesses attest) that Henry would be merciful and
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| 48 | simply divorce her and send her to a convent. She was proven wrong and
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| 49 | executed thirteen days after this letter was supposedly written.</FONT> </p>
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| 50 | <p><FONT size=-1>In debating the authenticity, another point to consider is
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| 51 | Anne's personality. Her combative temperament was well-documented by her
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| 52 | contemporaries; they observed with awe that she dared to chastise and insult
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| 53 | the king. Henry VIII himself commented upon her boldness. It had probably helped to attract his attention. But the appeal of such a passionate
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| 54 | and emotional woman did not hold him forever. By the end of their
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| 55 | relationship, Henry was comparing her to a shrew and warned her to hold her
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| 56 | tongue in his presence. His next wife was the very quiet and meek Jane
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| 57 | Seymour, and a more glaring contrast to Anne Boleyn cannot be imagined.</FONT> </p>
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| 58 | <p><FONT size=-1>If Anne had written a letter to Henry from her prison, it
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| 59 | would undoubtedly read exactly like this one.</FONT> <FONT size=-1>As to
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| 60 | its authenticity..... I have included this letter because it is an interesting
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| 61 | historical curiosity, whether authentic or forged. It is up to the
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| 62 | individual reader to reject or accept it.</FONT> </p>
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| 63 | <hr>
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| 64 | <p><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Your grace's displeasure and
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| 65 | my imprisonment are things so strange to me, that what to write, or what to
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| 66 | excuse, I am altogether ignorant. Whereas you send to me (willing me
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| 67 | to confess a truth and so obtain your favor), by such a one, whom you know
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| 68 | to be mine ancient professed enemy, I no sooner received this message by
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| 69 | him, than I rightly conceived your meaning; and if, as you say, confessing a
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| 70 | truth indeed may procure my safety, I shall with all willingness and duty,
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| 71 | perform your duty. But let not your grace ever imagine that your poor
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| 72 | wife will be brought to acknowledge a fault, where not so much as a thought
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| 73 | ever proceeded. And to speak a truth, never a prince had wife more
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| 74 | loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in
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| 75 | Anne Bulen - with which name and place I could willingly have contented
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| 76 | myself, if God and your grace's pleasure had been so pleased. Neither
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| 77 | did I at any time so far forget myself in my exaltation or received
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| 78 | queenship, but that I always looked for such alteration as I now find; for
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| 79 | the ground of my preferment being on no surer foundation than your grace's
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| 80 | fancy, the least alteration was fit and sufficient (I knew) to draw that
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| 81 | fancy to some other subject.</FONT> <BR><FONT
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| 82 | face="Times New Roman,Times">You have chosen me from low estate to be your
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| 83 | queen and companion, far beyond my desert or desire; if, then, you found me
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| 84 | worthy of such honor, good your grace, let not any light fancy or bad
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| 85 | counsel of my enemies withdraw your princely favor from me; neither let that
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| 86 | stain - that unworthy stain - of a disloyal heart towards your good grace
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| 87 | ever cast so foul a blot on me, and on the infant princess your
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| 88 | daughter.</FONT> <BR><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Try me, good king,
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| 89 | but let me have a lawful trial, and let not my sworn enemies sit as my
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| 90 | accusers and as my judges; yea, let me receive an open trial, for my truth
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| 91 | shall fear no open shame. Then you shall see either my innocency
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| 92 | cleared, your suspicions and conscience satisfied, the ignominy and slander
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| 93 | of the world stopped, or my guilt openly declared. So that, whatever
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| 94 | God and you may determine of, your grace may be freed from an open censure;
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| 95 | and my offense being so lawfully proved, your grace may be at liberty, both
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| 96 | before God and man, not only to execute worthy punishment on me as an
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| 97 | unfaithful wife but to follow your affection already settled on that party
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| 98 | for whose sake I am now as I am, whose name I could some while since have
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| 99 | pointed unto - your grace being not ignorant of my suspicions therein.
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| 100 | But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my death, but an
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| 101 | infamous slander must bring your the joying of your desired happiness, then
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| 102 | I desire of God that he will pardon your great sin herein, and likewise my
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| 103 | enemies, the instruments thereof; and that he will not call you to a strait
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| 104 | account for your unprincely and cruel usage of me at his general
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| 105 | judgment-seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear; and in whose
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| 106 | just judgment, I doubt not (whatsoever the world may think of me), mine
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| 107 | innocency shall be openly known and sufficiently cleared.</FONT> <BR><FONT
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| 108 | face="Times New Roman,Times">My last and only request shall be, that myself
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| 109 | only bear the burden of your grace's displeasure, and that it may not touch
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| 110 | the innocent souls of those poor gentlemen, whom, as I understand, are
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| 111 | likewise in strait imprisonment for my sake. If ever I have found
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| 112 | favor in your sight - if ever the name of Anne Bulen have been pleasing in
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| 113 | your ears - then let me obtain this request; and so I will leave to trouble
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| 114 | your grace any further, with mine earnest prayer to the Trinity to have your
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| 115 | grace in his good keeping, and to direct you in all your actions.</FONT>
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| 116 | <BR><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">From my doleful prison in the Tower,
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| 117 | the 6th May.</FONT></p>
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| 118 | <p> </p>
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| 119 |
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| 120 | <BLOCKQUOTE>
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| 121 | <P>
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| 123 | </BLOCKQUOTE>
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| 124 | <p align="center"><FONT size=-1><A
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| 125 | href="letters.html">to Letters of the Six Wives
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| 126 | of Henry VIII</A></FONT></p>
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| 127 | <p align="center"><FONT size=-1><A href="primary.html">to
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| 128 | Primary Sources</A></FONT><BR><FONT size=-1><A
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| 129 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to Tudor England</A></FONT><BR><FONT size=-1>
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| 130 | <a href="monarchs/boleyn.html">to Anne
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| 131 | Boleyn website</a></FONT></p>
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| 132 | </td>
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