During the time that Wolsey, More and Fisher, and KOA were being destroyed,  Henry was telling Anne that he would do whatever it took to have her for his wife.  She was in love with him and she believed in him.  Anne believed in his loyalty to her.  Her hopes and dreams were built upon Henry's promises. What happened to those people could not happen to her.  He would protect her. Meg was on the outside looking in.  She was a dear friend, but who listens to friends when they are in love? 

“To Die For,” was such a good story, wasn't it?  I read it in a matter of hours. Great insight.

Anne was in love with Henry. I doubt she harboured any idea that her marriage to Henry would end badly. More, Wolsey, and KOA were on the outs, and since they did not serve Anne's interests, they were not her concern. She believed in her ability to give Henry son and all would be well. She had Henry's protection, support, and determination to make her Queen. There's no way she could have imagined she would not remain the most important person in Henry's life. Henry's betrayl of Anne's trust at the end must have cut deep. Ultimatley, Anne put her trust in someone with a poor track record, but like many people, she wanted to believe in the best of him. Sadly, in the end, Anne became just another of Henry's victims.

I keep hearing such wonderful things about Sandra Byrd's book. I must see if I can track down a copy.

“It is foretold in ancient prophesies that at this time a Queen shall be burnt. But even if I were to suffer a thousand deaths, my love for you would not abate one jot.”

I think she knew Henry would be the reason she would die, hence the comment is directed at him. Anne was telling him even if he killed her a thousand times, she would still love him just as much. Anne was obviously still shocked when it actually happened though…

Mya Elise said

Yesterday I was reading ‘To Die for’ by Sandra Byrd (which I finished the whole book within hours, yay!) and there was a part where Meg Wyatt, Anne’s best friend, questioned how Anne could even trust Henry:

‘As he and a small band of attendants pulled away in Hampton court, I asked Anne, “Does it trouble you that Henry seems to show so little loyalty?”  I was thinking of Wolsey, of course, but also Mary Boleyn and Henry’s own children by her, of Henry’s lawful daughter, Mary, and even the Queen. She may of come to him under false pretense but she had served him well.’

It made me think the same question Meg had asked Anne. I mean, Henry never really proved himself loyal to anybody- Like with Thomas More, he had been so close with him and if he could put More to death then why should anybody be confident in being safe, especially around Henry?

And then Anne, we all know how in love Henry was with her. He was obsessed, then that great love turned into a 10 times worse great hate. It’s like his was never really truthful to anyone, ever.

I wondered if Anne thought that by her becoming queen, she would share in Hank’s immunity to arrest or trial, if anything should go wrong after the marriage… that she would be ‘safe’.

Mya,
She must have thought about the fact that when Henry was angry with someone, it didn’t bode well for them. Deep down she must have had doubts. However, I think she would have pushed those doubts to the back of her mind. Sort of Scarlett O’Hara like, “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” He told her he loved her above all others and she bought into it. Anne chose to love Henry and believe he would always love her.

NanBoleyn said

Hello all, I’m, a new member to the forum. I think Anne’s actions are illustrated by the quote below. I have no record of who wrote it or when it was written. I saved it many years ago and I think it fits her perfectly. Once she chose the course of her life, she could only stay the course, she knew of no other way, come what may. With Henry or because of Henry or whithout Henry.

“Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions, the choices you make, and the promises you keep. Hold strongly to your principles and refuse to follow the currents of convenience. What you say and do defines who you are, and who you are…you are forever.”

Nan. Welcome to our happy home firstly.
Secondly Your quoted saying comes from a lady called Karen Todd who is a motivational speaker in the USA.

Mya Elise said

Anne-fan said

Mya Elise said

Yesterday I was reading ‘To Die for’ by Sandra Byrd (which I finished the whole book within hours, yay!) and there was a part where Meg Wyatt, Anne’s best friend, questioned how Anne could even trust Henry:

‘As he and a small band of attendants pulled away in Hampton court, I asked Anne, “Does it trouble you that Henry seems to show so little loyalty?”  I was thinking of Wolsey, of course, but also Mary Boleyn and Henry’s own children by her, of Henry’s lawful daughter, Mary, and even the Queen. She may of come to him under false pretense but she had served him well.’

It made me think the same question Meg had asked Anne. I mean, Henry never really proved himself loyal to anybody- Like with Thomas More, he had been so close with him and if he could put More to death then why should anybody be confident in being safe, especially around Henry?

And then Anne, we all know how in love Henry was with her. He was obsessed, then that great love turned into a 10 times worse great hate. It’s like his was never really truthful to anyone, ever.

I wondered if Anne thought that by her becoming queen, she would share in Hank’s immunity to arrest or trial, if anything should go wrong after the marriage… that she would be ‘safe’.

Well, yeah I understand that but still she saw the Henry treated Katherine even before he got interested in her, and my whole question was I wonder if Anne ever wondered whether he’d treat her the same way? If he could do that to Katherine then why wouldn’t he do the same exact thing to Anne? I know Anne probably thought since he told he he loved her more than anything that nothing bad would happen and since he loved her so much then why would he ever fall out of love with her?
I don’t think that’s anything anybody thinks about when they start a relationship, whether if one day everything will turn around on you and that same person who once adored you is now the one after you.

Good point there… after all, if he would dump one, he’d have no guilty conscience in dumping another.

I think it has to be remembered that marrying for love was a practically unheard of concept in the 1500s. Anne had already almost ended up married to a distant relative to be dumped in Ireland, a wild and uncouth land at the time. Then she had thought she may have a chance with Percy the wimp who although he was based in the wild North of England at least had the fact he did attend at court on occasion in his favour so a step up definitely from the depths of Ireland. Then she has the chance of staying in England, not just in England but at the centre of the court. There may well have been passion but a chaste woman of her age would probably be well on the way to feeling passionate about anything in trousers.
Anne was raised, as were all well brought up females of the time, to know that she would be expected to marry to the benefit of her family and to bear children for the comfort of her own old age, anything else in the stakes of personal likes or comfort would be a bonus. Falling for the King would have been an easy choice for her if marriage were on offer which it obviously was. Trusting didn’t really come into it I would have thought. A good marriage was the main aim. Women were discarded all over the place e.g. Norfolk and his laundry maid or whatever she was. So the fact Henry could discard his wife and mistress would not really have rang any major alarm bells in Anne’s mind. Men discarded wives and took mistresses that was a fact of life. There was no reason to trust as such, a woman really just had to hope for the best when going into a marriage.
Anne was a strong minded woman who could see the pros and cons of the situation. I don’t think she was easily deceived about anything. She weighed it all up and decided it was worth the wager. She then went for it determined to do her best with what life brought her.