Caught In The Kings Spell

A Birthday Celebration

June 1522

Once more the palace at Greenwich was a scene of celebration. This time for the celebration of the King's thirty first birthday. Through the hallways and rooms, there were decorations of blue and gold – rich tapestries had been woven depicting scenes of Arthurian legend to show his love of the legends. Anne had been in the Queens household for eighteen months now and was still unwed, the planned marriage to her cousin James had fallen apart, Anne didn't know the circumstances only that her father's land dispute had been resolved.

She had heard that the King had been involved – that he had secured the land for her father. Anne however was saddened to not find herself married. She was 19 and not married – positively and old maid!

There was a man who had held her interest since entering court, the man she had smiled to that January evening – Henry Percy. She had enjoyed his company and found her heart easily being swayed by the young man, the couple were discreet and the fledging love was building strong between them both, Anne thanked the Gods that they had not been discovered for she had a foreboding that their hope of marriage would not be permitted. Despite that the two carried on sending letters to one another filled with love and hope for the future – the Queen had found Anne many a time reading the latest letter over and over again to herself and had commented that Anne glowed with happiness. How she longed to go to her father and tell him of her love for Henry... how he made her feel so special but she knew that given the family connections that the approval of the Kind would need to be sought. Despite his relationship with Mary, it was something that would be hard to achieve and if she was honest, Mary would be the reason they would not get the Kings consent. Mary and Anne were far from close, they were sisters certainly but were not friends, there had been jealousy and trouble between them throughout their childhood. Anne saw Mary as weak and submissive, Mary saw Anne as trouble – she would be the one that would cause the Boleyn family to fall. The truth was simple – Anne had been seen as the girl who could have given Henry the son he craved and the Boleyn family the rise in notoriety in court that the men of the family desired. Her mouth and temper had denied them this and now despite her marriage to Sir William Carey of Aldenham being all of a less than two and a half years, she had been the mistress of the King since 1521.

Mary, Anne thought, was to be pitied for she had given herself willing to the King and hadn't even been given the title of maîtresse-en-titre, the title bestowed upon the official mistress of the monarch – a title that hadn't even been offered to Elizabeth Blount despite giving birth to Henry Fitzroy. Her sister, Anne surmised, was a fool. If she ever found herself and she prayed she would not, she would refuse the title, in fact she would not find herself in such a situation. She would be married to Henry Percy, somehow... even if she had to beg her father for his consent. She Anna de Boullan, was a woman in love, and nothing would come between that – not even her father.

Since portraying 'Perseverance' at the Château Vert in March, Anne had found herself to be a court favourite. She quickly established herself as one of the most stylish and accomplished women at the court, and soon a number of young men were competing for her but it was Henry she loved, Sir Thomas Wyatt an accomplished poet and gentleman of the court, had taken to sending her poems and although she enjoyed his company as a friend felt nothing romantic towards the man. Anne was flattered by his attention towards her that was certain but her heart and mind belonged to one man. Anne had heard the Queen herself sing her praises and this filled her with joy and hope to remain in the Queens household for a long time. She perfect woman courtier, she danced with ease, had a pleasant singing voice, played the lute and several other musical instruments well, and spoke French fluently. Catherine had called her a remarkable, intelligent, quick-witted young noblewoman. Her father and uncle were incredibly proud – it seemed that although the Queen tolerated the presence of Mary she welcomed Anne with open arms. Secretly, Anne was enjoying the fact that for once Mary wasn't the popular one, she had lived under her prettier sister for all her life, maybe now it was her time to shine.

She had spent time in Greenwich and enjoyed the beauty of the gardens change from snow covered to the spring flowers and now as Summer approached she welcomed the warmth of the June sun beat down on the many families gathered to celebrate the birthday of Henry. There in the grounds of the palace was an area set up for part of the entertainment – there was to be jousting, a sport that Henry and his brother in law and closest friend, Charles Brandon excelled in. It was rumoured that Henry would be taking part in the tournament and that was always a sight to behold.

Anne watched with interest as Catherine of Aragon took her seat next to Henry, was it her imagination or did Henry stare in the direction of her sister, Mary before speaking to Charles Brandon? It seemed Henry had plans for her sister – it had been many weeks since he had called for her and both their father and Uncle had been concerned. Henry made little attempt to hide his interest and attraction to Mary, Anne was convinced if he could he would have asked her for his favour rather than that of the Queen as he took his place against William Compton, the burgundy ribbon of Queen Catherine tied tightly around Henry's lance. Was it her imagination or did she see the yellow ribbon that had been in Mary's hair that very morning sneaking out from Henry's armour? Her sister was playing a dangerous game.

The irony of men jousting when the country was at war with France and Scotland wasn't lost on Anne – she had also seen Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor arrive nine days earlier to sign the Treaty of Windsor. It seemed once more that the desire to possess another's country was over-riding sense in the English court. Yet what did Anne know of the art of war, she was just a woman and she knew her place, even if she did dislike the fact she wasn't allowed to express her own opinions.

She watched as the two horse cantered towards one another, her heart in her mouth as she watched the Kings lance hit William Compton squarely in the chest – the Groom of the Stool fell heavily to the ground and Henry moved in front of the Queen nodding silently his thanks at her giving him her favour. Once more Anne noticed Henry's gaze fall on her sister... and the slight movement towards the ribbon that was escaping through the silver and gold. 

The crowds were cheering, their King had won as many had expected and many a purse was being passed from one Lord to another. As the festivities continued into the late afternoon, Anne watched Henry leave and return to the palace and Charles Brandon come to Mary and guide her away from her friends. It would appear that her presence was indeed required by the King. Was it wrong that as she saw the bright smile cross her sisters face that Anne felt a tug of sadness at her heart? She wanted the freedom to show everyone at court that she was in love with Henry Percy, that she had made a match filled with love and within a short period of time too. Why could she not just marry the man she loved as those of a lower birth could?