The making of....

No explanation is really needed...just watch.




Pretty exciting stuff.  Final tech rehearsal is tonight, final preview tomorrow night and opening on Friday!

As the Queens say, "You have no idea...."

On this day in 1536

The trials of four of the men with whom Anne was accused of ...shall we say, dallying, had already been concluded.

On the 12th May 1536, Mark Smeaton,the musician Anne had been fond of;  Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston and Sir William Brereton were tried at a special commission ( seperately from Anne and her brother George, who were members of the nobility). These men had little chance against the towering Tudor legal system. There was no defense counsel and they did not have any previous knowledge of the evidence to be used against them, yet they were responsible to prove their innocence--rather than the Crown having to prove their guilt.
When they walked into that courtroom for the first time and layed eyes on their jury, they must have known they were doomed. The Jury consisted almost entirely of men who were either politically inclined against them, owed special favors to the king, or at least would not have wanted to anger him in any way. As Alison Weir writes in The Lady in the Tower,

“Given the affiliations of these men, and the unlikelihood that any of them would risk angering the King by returning the wrong verdict, the outcome of the trial was prejudiced from the very outset.”

The trial went just as you may predict. As Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial Ambassador, wrote to Charles V later in the week,

"Only the groom confessed that he had been three times with the said putain and Concubine. The others were condemned upon presumption and certain indications, without valid proof or confession.”

So it was, only Smeaton confessed (most likely under torture) and the other three pleaded Not Guilty. But they were unable to convince their jurors. All four men were found guilty on all charges, declared traitors and sentenced to the usual traitor’s death, to be “hanged, drawn and quartered, their members cut off and burnt before them, their heads cut off and [their bodies] quartered” at Tyburn.

Yikes.
Which brings us to today.

The following is also from Chapuys' letter to Charles V:

“The day before the putain’s condemnation he sent for Mrs. Semel by the Grand Esquire and some others, and made her come within a mile of his lodging, where she is splendidly served by the King’s cook and other officers. She is most richly dressed.”

That "Mrs. Semel" is Jane Seymour. Sir Nicholas Carew had been sent by the King to move Jane nearer him and install her in a house in Chelsea. The day before Anne Boleyn is found guilty. (But I'll save more on that for tomorrow!)

Here is a letter from Cromwell to his good buddies Gardiner and Wallop, 14th May 1536. If it isn't already apparent that the cards are stacked against Queen Anne, this will seal the deal. Nothing a little bribery, flattery and promises can't take care of:

“The King has deferred answering their letters sent by Salisbury till the arrival of the bailly of Troyes. Has to inform them, however, of a most detestable scheme, happily discovered and notoriously known to all men. They may have heard the rumour of it. Will express to them, however, some part of the coming out, and of the King’s proceeding. The Queen’s incontinent living was so rank and common that the ladies of her privy chamber could not conceal it. It came to the ears of some of the Council, who told his Majesty, although with great fear, as the case enforced. Certain persons of the privy chamber and others of her side were examined, and the matter appeared so evident that, besides that crime, “there brake out a certain conspiracy of the King’s death, which extended so far that all we that had the examination of it quaked at the danger his Grace was in, and on our knees gave him (God ?) laud and praise that he had preserved him so long from it.” Certain men were committed to the Tower, viz., Marks and Norris and the Queen’s brother; then she herself was apprehended and committed to the same place; after her Sir Fras. Weston and Wm. Brereton. Norris, Weston, Brereton, and Marks are already condemned to death, having been arraigned at Westminster on Friday last. The Queen and her brother are to be arraigned tomorrow, and will undoubtedly go the same way. “I write no particularities; the things be so abominable that I think the like was never heard. Gardiner will receive 200l. of the 300l. “that were out amongst these men, notwithstanding great suit hath been made for the whole; which though the King’s highness might give in this case, yet his Majesty doth not forget your service; and the third 100l. is bestowed of the vicar of Hell [Sir Fras. Brian], upon [whom] though it be some charge unto you, his Highness trusteth ye will think it well bestowed.” From the Rolls in haste, 14 May.

P.S.—Wallop will not be forgotten, though Cromwell cannot tell at present how much he is to have. The King is highly pleased with the services of both.”

 

For more, check out the very thorough Anne Boleyn Files.

This witchy Boleyn by Carlyn Beccia

just a friendly rivalry...right?

Brianna here, Jane Seymour in our play.

I was just doing some reading and came across an interesting tidbit from the pages of History.

Very little is known about Jane before the time she caught the eye of our Harry.  But there is some conjecture, based on a portrait by Holbein, in the royal collection at Versailles, entitled maid of honour to Mary of England, Queen to Louis the Twelfth; which hangs besides one of Anne Boleyn of a similar title. Could it be that Jane finished her education at the court of France? 

If so, she would have been living in the same court as Anne Boleyn, at the same time, and they both were likely to have returned to England and Henry's court together as well.

Can it be that these two queens, from similarly power-hungry families, may have been girlhood companions? Maybe even girlhood rivals, raised to the same purpose of gaining Henry's affections for the benefit of her family?

How fascinating!

Anne brought France back with her and revolutionized the English court with music, wit and fashion. Jane, as Queen, sent it all back again. 

And then there's this:

"If tradition is to be accredited, Jane had been introduced to Court but a short time, when the Queen, seeing a splendid jewel suspended from her neck, expressed a wish to look at it. Jane blushed, and drew back; when the Queen, whose jealousy had already been aroused against her, violently snatched it from her neck; and, on examining it, found it to contain a miniature of the King, presented by himself to her fair rival."

http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/janeseymour.htm

When sometime later Anne walked in on Henry with Jane seated on his knee and happily accepting his caresses, she flew into a passion and ordered Jane away from court.  But Jane ignored the orders of her mistress and sovereign (and long-time rival?) and stayed. Thus was Anne started off, and eventually she was finished off too. This boldness from the future Queen who is only ever accredited with modesty and virtue!? There is definitely more to Queen Jane than meets the eye- after all she raised no moral qualms when she was betrothed to King Harry the day after Anne was beheaded!

So, Jane the Queen- Henry's perfect bride- turns out to be quite the mystery. Not so boring after all, eh girls!?

And if she really was a rival to Anne Boleyn since childhood, (and possibly learned all the same tricks from France but chose to use them very differently) that gives me a great 'real-life drama' to take with me as I work to embody some version of this woman on stage!

Warwick Castle and Tussauds

Check this out! Apparently Warwick Castle (see John Dudley, Earl of Warwick and his royal meddlings regarding Lady Jane Grey) was owned for several years (recently) by Tussauds, who did a heap of renovations and added their famous wax figures.

Why do I even know about this? A friend from college (the lovely and talented Chris B.*) recently posted pics from her trip to England and couldn't resist sharing this beautiful photo:

Want to see more? Here, another visitor (who may be almost as lovely and talented as Chris), has posted her pics on Flickr of the figures depicting Henry and his wives. Henry and wives in wax.

Isn't this fascinating? (Mental note: Visit Warwick Castle when in England.)

Seeing all of these waxen ladies together in one room, I can't imagine they would have sat there in such a docile manner. Aragon would be trying to kill Boleyn, Parr would be bossing everyone around and telling them to mind their manners, Cleves would have stood on the sidelines wondering what was going on, Howard would maybe have helped Aragon just because it looked like fun, Seymour would have stood there disapproving of it all and Henry would be wondering what the hell he got himself into!

*Chris B's last name omitted to protect her from pre-renaissance-obsessed stalkers.

It's all about Jane

 Brianna here, playing Jane Seymour in our show.
Motto: Bound to Obey and Serve
Can I love someone who makes me want to roll my eyes? Definintely.
Not a whole lot is known about Jane, and she gets pretty eclipsed by Anne Boleyn's glittering fame. But the more I discover about this seemingly prim, conservative Queen, the more I discover a tenacity and an edge about her that I really like. So much decorum had to conceal one iron personality! (Although she was also known to be very gentle, and there's something under-appreciated about the Nice Girl, isn't there?)

Jane Seymour was hanging around court for a while, serving both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn when they were Queens, but it took awhile for her to catch Henry's eye. Once she did, however, he never forgot her, and she was immortalized as his Queen posthumously in the famous Tudor family portrait years after her death. After all, she was the only Queen who managed to secure the line and satisfy his obsession by giving him a son. (Score one for me in the battle of true Queendom!)


The physical opposite of Anne Boleyn, Jane was petite and buxom with very pale skin and golden hair. In other words, she was a great example of the popular look of the day- some noblewomen had themselves bled by barber-surgeons to get that wan, pale skin! No wonder Henry noticed her when he was fed up with tall, dark Anne. In fact, Henry VIII was betrothed to Jane on the 20 May 1536, the day after Anne Boleyn's execution. All of Anne's rooms were stripped of her crest and initial, and it was done so hastily that you can still see the A's peeking out from under the J's.


Jane wasn't as educated as the proceeding Queens, but she probably hit the mark when it came to the sort of woman Henry really wanted for a wife. She was demure and agreeable on the surface but a firm household manager known for her resolute manner and etiquette. She banned the loose manner of the court than Anne had cultivated and strictly contolled the appropriate dress and manner of her ladies. French fashion was out.
Jane did try to sway Henry in affairs of the state just once, when she asked for pardons for participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion-- but Henry flipped out and reminded her what had happened to proceeding Queens when they tried to "meddle." Yikes. Jane must have learned to operate more subtly pretty quickly after that!


Jane was renowned for her beautiful needlework, which Henry was very fond of. (You'll catch Katherine of Aragon yammering on about how she hand-embroidered Henry's shirts...well big whoop. She wasn't alone on that one! ) She was very dedicated to the family and managed to get Mary Tudor welcomed back to court by her father, though she was unable to secure Mary a place in the line of succesion. The two women were both of the 'old faith' (Roman Catholic) and became good friends. And speaking of family...


When Jane finally got pregnant in early 1537, Henry was completely indulgent. Jane's every whim was indulged by the King, convinced that his first 'true wife', carried his long hoped for son. She had a craving for quail  but it was a bad time of year in England, so Henry had them imported in for her!


Jane did it! Jane had a son! The future King Edward VI of England was born on 12 October 1537 at Hampton Court. He was whisked off to a wet nurse (Jane was not going to be caught making a fuss about nursing her own babies like Anne Boleyn had- what bad breeding-ugh!) Everyone was so excited about it, in fact, that they left poor Jane to delerium and fever. She had a difficult delivery (at least three nights) and developed puerperal fever due to a bacterial infection contracted during the birth or perhaps due to a tear in her perineum which became infected. She was dead by October 24th.
Jane Seymour was the only one of Henry's wives to receive a Queen's funeral.
(Score one more for me as the One True Queen!!)


The following inscription was above her grave:
Here lieth a Phoenix, by whose death
Another Phoenix life gave breath:
It is to be lamented much
The world at once ne'er knew two such.


After her death, Henry wore proper mourning  and did not remarry for three years.
And at the end of it all, Henry was buried with her. The only one of his wives to remian at his side for eternity.

I am so looking forward to duking it out with the other Queens- clearly the evidence is on my side- Jane is the True Queen!!