Six Wives (22 page)

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Authors: David Starkey

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Catherine also played a direct part in the preparations for the next season's campaigning, which began the moment the treaties with Spain were renewed in November. She showed a particular interest in naval warfare. Here, in contrast to the debacle in Guienne, England had won victories and acquired heroes. The key engagement had been fought with the French fleet off Brest in August 1512. One of the two big French vessels had fled, the other, the
Cordelière
, had been boarded by Sir Thomas Knyvet from the
Regent
. But suddenly the magazine of the
Cordelière
blew up, setting fire to both ships and killing most on board, including Knyvet. His death had something of the impact of Nelson's in 1805. Especially affected was Knyvet's companion-in-arms and commander, Sir Edward Howard, who vowed 'that he will never see the King in the face till he hath revenged the death of the noble and valiant knight, Sir Thomas Knyvet'. Meanwhile, the French Channel fleet was reinforced by Prégent de Bidoux with a squadron of heavily armed galleys. Prégent, or 'Prior John' as he was usually known by the English, was an outstanding contemporary exponent of galley warfare and the English were rightly alarmed. Galleys (ships powered by oars), could operate in shallow waters, where deeper keeled sailing ships fouled the bottom. They could also go into action when sailing vessels were becalmed.

    Catherine wanted the English to be able to reply in kind and in conversation with the Venetian ambassador in November she discussed the possibility of hiring galleys from the Republic's ample arsenal. She asked for four galleasses (that is, ships powered by both oars and sail) and two 'bastard galleys' to match the ones which she had heard the French were building. What was 'the monthly cost of a galley completely found'? she enquired – 10,000 ducats (£2,000), the ambassador replied. This figure is so enormous (more than the cost per month of the entire English fleet of twenty ships) that the guess has to be that an extra zero had somehow crept in. But even at £200 a month each (assuming that that is the real amount) the galleys were still very expensive and the plan was not pursued. Catherine lived to regret this.
16
    Why Catherine should have interested herself so closely in naval matters is unclear. Perhaps it was in conscious rivalry with her opposite number, Queen Anne of France. Anne was also Duchess of Brittany in her own right and, as such, had her own fleet which, since Brittany was the scene of the action, bore much of the brunt against the English. Or perhaps it was simply a matter of personalities. For the navy, rather like the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, seems to have attracted the most flamboyant and risk-taking individuals. In peace and at Court, they were the stars of the joust; in war, they were naval heroes. And in both capacities they performed for Catherine.
    For jousts were invariably held to honour Catherine or to delight her. She presided and she awarded the prizes – as in October 1510, when she watched with her ladies from a special standing in the park at Greenwich as Sir Edward Howard felled 'one Gyot, a gentleman of Almain [Germany], a tall man and a good man of arms' in the fight with battle axes. And it was this incident, or one like it, which Howard recalled 'in the
Mary Rose
, the 5th day of April [1513]' when about to go into action against the French at the start of the new campaigning season. 'I pray you', he wrote, 'recommend me also to the Queen's noble Grace (and I know well I need not to pray her to pray for our good speed) and to all good ladies and gentlewomen.'
    Howard, that is to say, identified with Catherine as his lady, whether in the lists or in the fleet. There seems every reason to suppose that she, in turn, identified with him as her knight and captain. So she worried about his ships. She worried about his armament. Unfortunately, she did not concern herself about his provisions.
17
    For it was the arrangements for victualling the fleet which led to the downfall of Edward Howard. This time, the French, comfortably protected by the guns of Brest, refused to stir. A blockade would have been the obvious response. But, because of the failure of provisioning, Howard could not sustain it. He had therefore a choice. He could retreat in ignominy, with nothing done, like the English army in Guienne. Or he could attempt the impossible. He had done the impossible once before, in Catherine's presence, when he had overcome the mighty German manat-arms. Now, inspired by her memory (as well as by a brutal challenge from Henry), he would do the same with the French captain, Prégent.
    Prégent's galleys lay inshore, protected by the rocks and shallows against Howard's big ships and heavy guns. All Howard could pit against them were a few unarmed row barges. To throw these against the galleys was a suicide mission. Howard was told as much. He persisted. His own craft came up alongside Prégent's flagship and he managed to board it with a score of others. But his men lost heart and cast off. 'Come aboard again! Come aboard again,' he cried. But he was ignored. Realising it was over, he tore off the golden whistle that was his badge of office and threw it into the sea. Then the French thrust him with pikes against the rails of the galley and threw his body overboard.
18
    After the battle was over, two English prisoners told Prégent that one of his victims had been their admiral. Delighted with this information, Prégent ordered his men to fish among the dead. The corpse was discovered and brought to him. Prégent had the body of Howard opened, eviscerated and then salted, as a temporary preservative measure. An apothecary, who would complete the embalming in a more conventional way, was due to arrive the following day. Meanwhile, Prégent sent Howard's gold chain and 'whistle of command' (as opposed to the 'whistle of office' which he had flung in the sea) to the French Queen, and his clothes or 'spoil' to the King's daughter, Madame Claude, who was married to the heir to the throne, the Duke of Angoulême. The heart Prégent was anxious to keep for himself. He humbly begged the King and Queen this favour; it would be to their advantage, he promised.
19
    Thus ended the man I have guessed to be Catherine's favourite: stripped, gutted and salted like a fish, his clothing and effects distributed for the delectation of the ladies of the French royal house and his heart bid for as a souvenir by his killer.
    Edward Howard had promised to avenge the death of his companionin-arms, Thomas Knyvet. Catherine, I think, did not forget what had happened to Howard. And soon she would have vengeance in kind.
26. Regent
C
atherine's involvement in the war preparations became common knowledge. Indeed, to one observer she seemed the real driving force. 'The King [is] bent on war,' noted the merchant Lorenzo Pasquaglio of the Venetian 'factory' or depot in London, 'the Council [is] averse to it; the Queen wills it.' But if the campaign of 1513 was indeed Catherine's war, it had got off to a bad start – especially in the areas where she was most concerned. But Henry and Catherine were not deflected. Nor was their mutual trust weakened. War, instead, proved the best aphrodisiac, and the campaign of 1513 was to leave their marriage stronger and Catherine's position more impregnable than ever.
1
* * *
But in the spring of 1513 such an outcome seemed unlikely. For April had indeed proved the cruellest month. On the 25th, Sir Edward Howard had met his spectacular death, and the naval campaign never recovered. He was immediately replaced as Lord Admiral by his elder brother Lord Thomas Howard. But Thomas, though a brave man and a fine soldier, was solid and steady. He was lead to his brother's mercury, and the kamikaze daring went out of English seamanship, not to return till the Elizabethans. Meanwhile, Catherine's father, Ferdinand, betrayed England for the third time. On 18 April, ambassador Caroz signed a new treaty with England that provided for a joint attack on France in two months. But the left hand of Spanish policy in London did not know what the right hand in Spain had been doing. For less than three weeks earlier Ferdinand had agreed to a truce with France. This truce, signed on 1 April, made a fool of his ambassador in England, and it made a dupe or worse of his daughter. For the truce, Ferdinand claimed, had been brokered en route by the Aragonese Franciscan whom he was sending as Catherine's confessor.
2
    But Henry and Catherine brushed these disappointments aside. They would fight on land; without allies and, if need be, on two fronts.
    The first front would be opened in north-eastern France. The army would be led by Henry himself and it would be launched from the English bridgehead of Calais. The undertaking was on the largest scale and, sensibly, the troops were mustered gradually. At the beginning of May the foreward under the Earl of Shrewsbury left for Calais. The rearward under Charles Somerset, Lord Herbert, followed later in the month. Both commanders were well known to Catherine through their posts at Court, where Shrewsbury was Lord Steward and Herbert Lord Chamberlain. The advance parties of troops then moved into camp, leaving Calais clear for the King and his retinue, which made up the middleward of the army.
    Catherine accompanied Henry on the English leg of his journey. They left Greenwich on 15 June, and 'with small journeys' rode through Kent. It was a brilliant cavalcade. The guard had been raised to a wartime strength of six hundred and bought new liveries of green and white, trimmed, at vast expense, with embroidery and spangles of silver and silver-gilt. The retinues of the nobles were scarcely less splendid or large. By 20 June, the King and Queen reached Canterbury, where they prayed and offered 'at the martyrdom of St Thomas [Becket]' for the success of the eighth Henry who, unlike the second Henry, fought on behalf of the Church and its authority. On the 28th the royal party arrived at Dover. The harbour was a sea of ships, 'such as Neptune never saw before'. They were painted, trimmed and gilded, with banners and pennants flying. The Pope's arms mingled with Henry VIII's. The King and Queen stayed the night at Dover Castle, then, the following day, Henry set sail.
    One of his last acts before leaving English soil was to constitute Catherine as 'Regent and Governess of England, Wales and Ireland', during his absence 'in his expedition against France, for the preservation of the Catholic religion and the recovery of his rights'. She was given sweeping powers to raise troops, to make ecclesiastical appointments (apart from bishoprics), to pick sheriffs, to issue warrants for the payment of money and generally to use her sign manual or signature to set the machinery of government in motion. Henceforward, until the King's return, her signature, 'Katherina the Qwene', would have as much force as 'Henry R'. Mere Queen Consort no more, she was now, like her mother, co-sovereign of the lion's share of her husband's dominions.
3
* * *

Catherine did not weep at the parting. But a strong man nearly did. For Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, found himself left behind. Before stepping aboard, Henry had taken him by the hand and said, 'My Lord, I trust not the Scots, therefore I pray you be not negligent.' The Earl had replied, 'I shall so do my duty, that Your Grace shall find me diligent, and to fulfil your will shall be my gladness.' Surrey 'could scantly speak when he took his leave'. The King and 'the flower of all the nobility' were about to win glory on the fields of France; for him, there was only the slog of border warfare. Once he had recovered his composure, he swore a vengeance on the man who had deprived him of his birthright of accompanying his King 'in such an honourable journey'. 'Sorry may I see him or I die, that is the cause of my abiding behind, and if ever he and I meet, I shall do that in me lieth to make him as sorry if I can.' The intended object of his vengeance was James IV of Scotland. For James's recent behaviour had made it clear that England would indeed have to face war on two fronts: in the north of England as well as the north of France.
4

    Surrey's appointment as Lieutenant of the Northern Marches made it safe for Henry to leave England: the Earl would supply the iron inside the velvet of Catherine's regal mantle. His support began immediately. Once Henry was gone, Catherine let her feelings show. And, as the two rode north from Dover, Surrey 'attended on the Queen to London, comforting her as best he might'. But he was not to be at her side for long.
    Catherine's formal support came instead from the small Council that was appointed to assist her. Most of the Council had accompanied Henry to France. But it would be wrong to think of the handful left in England as the dregs. Instead, Catherine's two leading advisers, William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, and Sir Thomas Lovell, the Treasurer of the Household, were among the weightiest members of the whole body.
    Lovell had been a leading member of Henry VII's government. He was soldier, lawyer and administrator, and showed himself ruthless in all three roles. This aspect of his character is captured by his bronze portrait medallion by Torrigiano. It shows him in profile, and firmness is its essence. His cap is pulled down firmly on his head; his chin is firm; and his mouth is firmly clenched and turned down at the corners in an image of formidable authority. He was now ageing. But he was a tower of strength to Catherine. He acted as her Lord High Everything Else, deputising as Lord Steward for Shrewsbury, who was in France, and as Earl Marshal for Surrey, who was on the borders. He also served as a sort of honorary consort to Catherine, fulfilling the military duties which, as a woman, she was felt to be unable to discharge herself.
5
    Warham, in contrast, was probably expected to run the civil government. He was a councillor of long-standing and vast experience. He was also, as Archbishop of Canterbury, the King's first subject, and, as Lord Chancellor, his senior minister. But he was out of place in a war government. He had been a last-ditch supporter of peace; he was also engaged in a long-running dispute about ecclesiastical jurisdiction with his fellow bishop and councillor, Fox of Winchester. The dispute came to a head during the campaign, to Catherine's embarrassment and Warham's fury. He became at best a semi-detached member of Catherine's regency Council.

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