On 21st October 1532, Henry VIII left Anne Boleyn in Calais to spend four days with Francis I, “his beloved brother”, at the French court in Boulogne.
When Henry and Anne’s trip to Calais had first been planned, Anne had wanted to attend the meeting at the French court in Boulogne as Henry’s consort. She had hoped that she would be treated as Queen and that she would at least meet Francis’ sister, Marguerite of Angoulême, if Francis’ wife, Eleanor, who was a niece of Catherine of Aragon, would not attend. However, Francis I did not want his sister to be compromised in any way by meeting a woman who was seen as the King of England’s mistress, so he suggested the attendance of the Duchess of Vendôme, a woman of “regrettable reputation and light morals who therefore had no dignity left to preserve.” When Anne heard this, she made the decision to stay behind in Calais and then meet with Francis I when he travelled back with Henry on 25th October.
Click here to read more about Henry’s meeting with Francis.
Also on this day in history…
- 1536 – Lancaster Herald, on nearing Pontefract Castle, encountered a group of armed peasants. The peasants explained that they were armed “to prevent the ‘comontte’ and Church being destroyed; for, they said no man should bury, christen, wed, or have beasts unmarked without paying a tax and forfeiting the beast unmarked to the King’s use.” Rebel leader Robert Aske then met with Lancaster Herald at Pontefract Castle. Aske refused to let the Herald read out the proclamation which told of how the Lincolnshire rebels had submitted, and declared that he and his people were intent on staying true to their cause and would be marching on London. Lancaster Herald reiterated that he was required to read his proclamation to the people but Aske would not let him and instead offered him safe conduct out of the castle and town.
