The Boleyn Women: The Tudor Femmes Fatales Who Changed English History (35 page)

Alençon returned to England in late 1581. He continued to press Elizabeth for marriage and, finally, while they were walking together, ‘discourse carried her so far, that she drew off a ring from her finger, and put it upon the Duke of Anjou’s [Alençon], upon certain conditions betwixt the two the standers-by took it, that the marriage was now contracted by promise’. Elizabeth agreed to marry Alençon but she still had doubts, and, that night,

the Queen’s gentlewomen, with whom she used to be familiar, lamented and bewailed, and did so terrify and vex her mind, that she spent the night in doubts and cares without sleep amongst those weeping and wailing females. The next day she sent for the Duke of Anjou [Alençon], and they two, all by-standers being removed, had a long discourse together. He at length withdrew himself to his chamber, and throwing the ring from him, a while after took it again, taxing the lightness of women, and the inconsistency of islanders.
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Alençon’s pursuit of Elizabeth was her last courtship and, when he died only three years after leaving England, she was bereft.

Following Alençon’s departure, it was clear that Elizabeth would never bear children to secure the succession. This left the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, as her most likely successor, a fact that worried her council. Mary had remained Elizabeth’s prisoner since her arrival in England in 1568, with Elizabeth always refusing to meet with her. In May 1586, a young Catholic nobleman called Anthony Babbington was contacted by John Ballad, a Catholic priest, who had obtained Spanish support for a plot to murder Elizabeth.
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Babbington became involved in the conspiracy and wrote to Mary asking for her support. Mary wrote agreeing to Elizabeth’s murder, unaware that the correspondence was monitored.
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Faced with the proof of her cousin’s involvement, Elizabeth ordered that she be tried for treason and Mary was, accordingly, sentenced to death, with Sir Francis Knollys one of the peers sitting in judgement. As with the Duke of Norfolk’s earlier condemnation, this sentence sent Elizabeth into turmoil and she pleaded with her council to find a way by which she might spare her cousin and fellow queen. She was angered when everyone insisted that the Scottish queen must die.
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Elizabeth prevaricated for several months before finally signing the death warrant and handing it to her secretary, William Davison.
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Her council acted quickly, fearing that she would recall the warrant on further thought. Elizabeth did indeed send for it to be returned to her the following morning. She was disconcerted to hear that it had already been dispatched to Fotheringay, where Mary was imprisoned. The Queen of Scots was beheaded on the morning of 8 February 1587. According to Camden,

as soon as the report was brought to Queen Elizabeth’s ears, who little thought of such a thing, that the Queen of Scots was put to death, she heard it with great indignation, her countenance altered, her speech faltered her, and through excessive sorrow she stood in a manner astonished; insomuch as she gave herself over to passionate grief, putting herself in mourning habit and shedding abundance of tears.
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Elizabeth wrote to James VI of Scotland, denying her guilt in the death of his mother.
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She always maintained that she had signed the warrant only for use in an emergency and that Davison had deliberately disobeyed her orders. In the days following Mary’s execution, Elizabeth raged about Davison, threatening to have him hanged. She was restrained by her council but did order that he be fined and imprisoned. The truth of Elizabeth’s feelings on the death of Mary, Queen of Scots, cannot be known. The fact remains, however, that she did sign the warrant and that Davison provided a useful scapegoat in mitigating her guilt.

Mary’s fellow Catholic monarch, Philip of Spain, was not convinced by Elizabeth’s protestations of innocence. He had grown increasingly angry at her promotion of Protestantism and had begun building an invasion fleet even before Mary’s execution. Elizabeth anxiously monitored progress in Spain and began preparing for war, placing the English fleet under the control of Lord Howard of Effingham and Francis Drake.
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On 29 May 1588, 130 ships holding 20,000 troops set sail to invade England. The Spanish Armada made slow progress but, on 19 June, it was sighted off Cornwall and warning beacons were lit along the coast of England. Howard and Drake had assembled a large fleet and they engaged the Spanish in the Channel. These encounters made little impact on the Armada and it anchored off Calais, waiting for further troops from the Netherlands. The English fleet seized their chance by sending in fire ships during the night.
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This caused panic and the Spanish ships cut their anchors and sailed out to sea to escape the flames. On 29 July they were attacked by the English again and the weakened Armada was scattered, the remnant of the fleet being chased as far north as the Firth of Forth.

This proved to be the final defeat of the Armada but news of the scale of the English victory did not reach Elizabeth for some time. The Armada was merely the fleet that conveyed Spanish troops to England and Elizabeth expected a land-based invasion. She was determined to play a part in the defence of her kingdom and, on 9 August 1588, she reviewed her troops at Tilbury, making one of the most famous speeches of her reign. Elizabeth’s speech was stirring and she declared, ‘I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king and of a king of England too – and take foul scorn that Parma [the Armada’s commander] or any other prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm.’
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Elizabeth was overjoyed to hear the news of the Armada’s defeat and she ordered public thanksgiving across England and went in procession through London in a chariot.
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For the queen, the celebrations ended with the death of Robert Dudley on 4 September 1588.

Elizabeth grieved deeply for Dudley, who had been the love of her life, and, on hearing the news, shut herself in her chamber, refusing to see anyone or come out. Finally, her council ordered her door to be broken open. Dudley’s widow, Lettice Knollys, also grieved for him, although she did find consolation in his master of horse not long after his death.

Lettice Knollys was indirectly responsible for further grief to her royal cousin towards the end of the queen’s long reign. Following Robert Dudley’s death in 1588 she did what many aristocratic widows did and married a young member of her household, Christopher Blount of Kidderminster, who was thirteen years her junior.
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Blount had distant royal connections as a second cousin of Henry VIII’s long-dead mistress, Bessie Blount. He was distantly related to the Dudley family through Robert’s mother, Jane Guildford.
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He was also well educated, having studied at Oxford before being tutored by a Jesuit priest, and future cardinal, on the Continent. He was devoutly Catholic and had been involved with Mary, Queen of Scots, when he was discovered sending letters to her agents confirming his readiness to espouse her cause. He appears, however, to have served as a double agent, although this failed to save him when he next became involved in treason against the queen. Blount served Robert Dudley as his master of horse, something that brought him to Lettice’s attention. He was tall and handsome and the couple made a love match, with Blount soon prospering in the service of his stepson, the Earl of Essex, who instigated a quarrel with Elizabeth when she refused to allow Blount to join her Privy Council.

Elizabeth never had as close a relationship with any man as she did with Robert Dudley. She did however find some consolation in his stepson, the Earl of Essex, who had first come to court in 1585. Essex was young and handsome and Elizabeth adored him, talking of him continually when he was away from court.
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She ignored the fact that he was also vain, arrogant and ambitious and appointed him to prominent posts, such as placing him in command of her army in Ireland.

As the years went by, the favourite’s behaviour became increasingly outrageous. On 28 September 1598, Essex, who had returned to England from Ireland without Elizabeth’s permission, arrived at court and burst into her chamber as she was dressing.
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Essex’s intrusion shattered the myth that the passage of time had not touched Elizabeth and he saw her wrinkled face and thin grey hair. She kept her composure and had a private interview with him, but was furious and never forgave him for his insolence.

Essex’s behaviour continued to be erratic and he gathered a party of disaffected lords around him. He and his followers conceived a plot to imprison Elizabeth, with Essex to rule in her place as lord protector. By February 1601, the conspirators, who included Christopher Blount, were ready and Essex imprisoned several of Elizabeth’s council in his house in London.
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The earl and 150 armed men then left his house, hoping to gain support from the people of London.
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He had badly overestimated his own popularity, and was unable to persuade the Mayor of London or the people to join his coup. This lack of support finally showed him the folly of his actions and his followers returned to Essex House to plan their next move.

On hearing of Essex’s conduct, Elizabeth was furious and, according to reports, ‘the queen was so far from fear that she would have gone out in person to see what any rebel of them all durst do against her, had not the councillors with much ado stayed her’.
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She refused to sleep until Essex and his supporters had been arrested and ordered that cannon be brought from the Tower to force him from his house.
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Essex, fearing that his house would be blown up, surrendered and was sent to the Tower. He was tried and sentenced to death and Elizabeth showed him no mercy, ordering his execution on 25 February 1601.
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His stepfather, Christopher Blount, who had been wounded during the rebellion and, by all accounts, fought bravely, was also executed. The loss of her third husband and son must have been devastating for Lettice, who survived them by more than thirty years. Essex’s treachery was also a great blow to the queen, who suddenly began to feel her age.

By the early 1600s Elizabeth’s health was failing and nobody in England expected her to live much longer. On 30 November 1601, she addressed Parliament for the last time, declaring,

There will never queen sit in my seat with more zeal to my country, care to my subjects, and that will soon with willingness venture her life for your good and safety, than myself. For it is not my desire to live nor reign longer than my life and reign shall be for your good. And though you have had and may have many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had or shall have any that will be more careful and loving.
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Elizabeth’s speech was recognised as the passing of an era and few could really remember a time before she had been queen.

Elizabeth had first appointed Henry Carey’s daughter, another Catherine Carey, as a maid of the court back in January 1559 when the girl was aged twelve. The queen remained close to Mary Boleyn’s granddaughter throughout her reign, regularly visiting her and her husband, who was created Earl of Nottingham. In early 1603, Catherine Carey, Countess of Nottingham, died, causing the queen to become depressed.
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Elizabeth seemed suddenly to age and her memory deteriorated, meaning that she could no longer concentrate on political affairs. By March 1603, she was very ill and unable to either eat or sleep.
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She remained lucid to the end, dying on 24 March 1603 after finally falling asleep. As soon as she died, Lady Scrope took a ring from Elizabeth’s finger and threw it out of the window to Robert Carey, who was waiting on horseback below. Carey rode to Scotland and, later that same day, James VI of Scotland was proclaimed King of England.

The death of Elizabeth I was the end of an era in England. It was also the end of a line that can be stretched back into the fourteenth century: the Boleyn women. The Boleyn family rose from humble origins to become one of the grandest in the land, counting two queens among its members. While the Boleyn men rose steadily through society and often found themselves in positions of trust and honour, it was the women of the family who were often the driving force behind their advancement. Never has there been a family as ambitious as the Boleyns, or who have achieved so much. The story of the Boleyn women is a story of family loyalty and of ambition. They were rarely simply wives and mothers; sometimes they made history.

2. Blickling Hall, Norfolk. Blickling became the seat of the Boleyns in the fifteenth century. A later house now stands on the site of the Boleyn family residence.

3. Blickling church. The parish church, sited next to the manor, would have been familiar to the early Boleyn women.