On 18th April 1536, the first Tuesday after Easter, Eustace Chapuys, the imperial ambassador, arrived at Henry VIII’s court at Greenwich Palace to meet with the king regarding negotiations between England and the Empire.
ChapuysHe was met by George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, the brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, and a series of events led to him encountering the queen.
Claire – liked your comment of 2016 (in reply to Ester)> Also BQ’s comment is also well worth re-reading. I can’t help but really like Chapuys. Faithfulness, loyalty, such as he showed to Katharine, and then Mary, these are qualities that we can instantly recognise today and value.
Thank you! It is interesting going back and reading past comments. Yes, I know that a lot of people dislike Chapuys, but his letters are such good sources and his loyalty to Catherine and Mary is something to be admired. He truly cared about them and was so worried about Mary’s health and fate.
I refer to my comment on this on Maundy Thursday. The whole day was totally confusing. I don’t believe Chapuys saw bowing to Anne and Henry as homage to her as Queen. As Henry had orchestrated the entire thing, with George Boleyn placing Chapuys at the bottom of the stairs were the royal couple would pass, he must have felt very uncomfortable. He bowed as both Henry and Anne went past but said he was being polite to Anne who bowed to him as well. His actions had upset Mary and naturally he explained everything. Later of course there was more fun with Edward Seymour courting Chapuys, Anne wondering why he didn’t dine with them and the other Ambassadors, Chapuys and Cromwell having a totally disastrous audience with Henry who shouted at everyone and a totally confused court. Everything came pouring out when Chapuys asked that Mary should be back in the succession: the Emperor has upset me forever boo hoo, the Emperor must recognise Queen Anne, you treat me like a child boo hoo, it’s all the Emperor’s fault….oh dear. Poor Cromwell was speechless, Chapuys confused and embarrassed and nobody knew what to think. That’s what happens when you plot your own foreign policy without first consulting the King.