December 3: Anne's time at the court of Margaret of Austria.
STOP PRESS
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Today’s Advent Calendar treat is from art historian and author, Roland Hui. Roland has written two books, The Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens, and The Mary, Queen of Scots Colouring Book (with Dmitry Yakhovsky), and is currently putting the finishing touches to a book on Anne Boleyn. Thank you, Roland, for sharing with us this information on Anne’s time at the court of Margaret of Austria.
Margaret of Austria (by Jan Punt)
In the spring of 1513, Anne Boleyn's father Sir Thomas, as the English ambassador to the Hapsburg court in Mechelen (Malines) in the Netherlands, was able to secure a place for his daughter with Margaret of Austria at the Court of Savoy in Mechelen for her education. The building still exists and is now a law court.
Charles of Ghent (later Emperor) with two of his sisters, Eleanor and Isabel (by an Unknown Artist)
While in Mechelen, Anne was most likely lodged in the Court of Cambrai, directly across the street from the Savoy. This was the former palace of Margaret of York (the sister of Edward IV and Richard III) who became Duchess of Burgundy, and was the step grandmother of Margaret of Austria. Anne would have lived with the Imperial children, the nephew and nieces of her hostess - Charles (the future Holy Roman Emperor), Eleanor (the future Queen of Portugal and then of France), Mary (the future Queen of Hungary), and Isabel (the future Queen of Denmark).
Map of Mechelen (the Court of Cambrai is indicated in red and the Court of Savoy is indicated in green)"
The Court of Cambrai (the Keizershof) in the 19th century
The Court of Cambrai (the Keizershof) today
The Court of Savoy (side facade) in the 19th century
The interior courtyard of the Court of Savoy today
During the warmer seasons, Margaret of Austria took her household on vacation towards the south to La Veure (Tervuren) where they stayed at Tervuren Castle (which unfortunately no longer exists). In the summer of 1513, Anne wrote a letter to her father (which still survives) thanking Sir Thomas for placing her with the archduchess and promising to work hard at her French lessons.
Tervuren Castle (by Anthonie Crussen)
Anne Boleyn's letter from La Veure to her father
In the following year, 1514, Anne would have visited La Veure again with the Hapsburgs. It would be her last summer with the Imperial family. That autumn, Anne was summoned to France to serve Henry VIII's sister, Mary Tudor, as the new Queen of France.
BY ROLAND HUI
Roland Hui received his degree in Art History from Concordia University in Canada. After completing his studies, he went on to work in Interpretive Media for California State Parks, The U.S. Forest Service, and The National Park Service. Roland has written for 'Renaissance Magazine', 'Tudor Life Magazine', and 'Parergon - Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies'. He blogs about 16th-century English art and personalities at 'Tudor Faces' - tudorfaces.blogspot.com.