Giveaway Time! Leave a comment after my article to be in the running to win one of two paperback copies of ‘In Bed with the Tudors’ by Amy Licence. Conditions of Entry below. Good luck!
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The Mystery of Queen Anne Boleyn’s Second Pregnancy
By Natalie Grueninger
In most recent biographies, Anne Boleyn’s second pregnancy, at the most, occupies a couple of paragraphs. Eric Ives and David Loades conclude that it ended in a miscarriage, Alison Weir in The Six Wives of Henry VIII states that ‘it was either stillborn, or died very soon after birth’ (pg. 271), Antonia Fraser suggests that ‘the most likely end was a stillbirth: probably a month or so early’ (pg. 218), David Starkey sums it all up by stating that it ‘ended in miscarriage or still birth’ (pg. 553) and Paul Friedmann, writing in the late nineteenth century, concluded that ‘Anne had been mistaken about her condition’ (pg. 151) and had never been pregnant. Only in The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn, does the author, historian Retha Warnicke, go into some detail in her attempt to unravel the tapestry of secrecy shrouding the events of the summer of 1534.
While researching my debut book, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn, my co-author, Sarah Morris, and I examined what contemporary evidence exists and pieced together a tragic story.
Greenwich Palace
Christmas 1533 at Greenwich was a jovial and lively affair. John Husee informed Lord Lisle that, ‘The King has kept a great court and is as merry and lusty as ever I see.’ On New Year’s Day there was the customary exchange of gifts, Queen Anne presented the king with:
A goodly gilt bason, having a rail or board of gold in the midst of the brim, garnished with rubies and pearls, wherein standeth a fountain, also having a rail of gold about it garnished with diamonds; out thereof issueth water, at the teats of three naked women standing at the foot of the same fountain.
Retha Warnicke believes that Anne’s gift ‘must be characterised as a fertility symbol.’ (pg.173) If Anne was in fact already hinting at her condition then we can assume that she became pregnant sometime around November 1533.
On 5 January, in the instructions to Nicholas Heath and Christopher Mont, who were being sent on embassy to the German princes, Henry praised his wife:
‘whose approved and excellent virtues, that is to say, the purity of her life, her constant virginity, her maidenly and womanly pudicity, her soberness, her chasteness, her meekness, her wisdom, her descent of right noble and high parentage, her education in all good and laudable thewes and manners, her aptness to procreation of children, with other infinite good qualities, more to be regarded and esteemed than the only progeny, be of such approved excellency as cannot be but most acceptable unto Almighty God, and deserve His high grace and favour, to the singular weal and benefit of the King’s realm and subjects.’
It seems that Henry was already aware that his wife was again pregnant, inspiring the reference to her ‘aptness’ to procreate children.
By 23 January 1534, imperial sources had been informed that Queen Anne was ‘again in the family way’ allegedly by a letter from the newly arrived English ambassador in France. Eric Ives postulates that if the ambassador was Lord William Howard, ‘the date of arrival must have been the beginning of December, suggesting that Anne became pregnant in November 1533.’ (Pg. 394) By 28 January, Eustace Chapuys was aware of Anne’s condition and on 29 January, it was observed that, ‘The King and Queen are merry.’
In February, Henry VIII met with Chapuys and confirmed the rumours of Anne’s pregnancy by saying that he believed he’d shortly have a son.
On 27 April, Anne’s receiver-general, George Taylor, wrote to Lady Lisle of the king and queen’s good health and of Anne’s ‘goodly belly’.
By April 1534, the pregnancy was common knowledge. The king, confident and beaming, expected a prince and ordered from his goldsmith, Cornelius Hayes, an elaborate silver cradle:
A silver cradle, price 16l. For making a silver plate, altering the images, making the roses underneath the cradle, the roses about the pillars, and new burnishing, 13s. 4d. For the stones that were set in gold in the cradle, 15s.; for fringes, the gold about the cushions, tassels, white satin, cloth of gold, lining, sypars and swadylbands, 13s. 6d. Total, 18l. 1s. 10d. The silver that went to the dressing of the Adam and Eve, the making of all the apples, the gilding of the foot and setting of the currall, 33s. 4d.
At around the same time, a portrait medal was struck to commemorate the anticipated birth of a son, it was inscribed with Queen Anne’s motto, The Moost Happi, Anno 1534 and A. R for Anna Regina. Since the baby did not survive, multiple copies were not commissioned, however, the prototype survives and is today stored in the British Museum.
Replica of Anne Boleyn’s Portrait Medal by Lucy Churchill
In early June, Henry was in the midst of planning a trip to Calais to meet with Francis I. It was scheduled to take place on 20 August or soon after, presumably after Anne’s lying-in, again corroborating the argument that the queen had become pregnant sometime around November 1533.
On 26 June Sir Edward Ryngeley reports that the ‘King and Queen are merry’ at Hampton Court Palace. However, quite suddenly, on 2 July Henry leaves Anne behind and moves to The More, where he summoned Thomas Cromwell and Anne’s uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, to meet him on 5 July. At around this time the decision was made to send the queen’s brother, George Boleyn, ‘with all speed’ on a special embassy to France, in order to delay the planned meeting between Henry and Francis on account of the queen’s advanced pregnancy and her desire to have her husband, the king, by her side at this time.
Lord Rochford’s instructions were as follows:
1.Rochford is to repair to the French king with all speed, and in passing by Paris to make the King’s and Queen’s hearty recommendations to the queen of Navarre, if she be there, and say that the Queen his mistress much rejoices in the deeply-rooted amity of the two kings, but wishes her to get the interview deferred, as the time would be very inconvenient to her, and the King is so anxious to see his good brother that he will not put it off on her account. Her reasons are, that being so far gone with child, she could not cross the sea with the King, and she would be deprived of his Highness’s presence when it was most necessary, unless the interview can be deferred till April next. Rochford is to press this matter very earnestly, and say that the King having at this time appointed another personage to go to his good brother, the Queen, with much suit, got leave for Rochford to go in his place, principally on this account.
2. That there was nothing she regretted at the last interview so much as not having an interview with the said queen of Navarre ; and she hopes she may be able to come to Calais with her brother in April next, if the interview be deferred till then.
Hampton Court Palace. © Gemma Higgin Sears, Iris Creations
It seems very likely that the proposed meeting was cancelled because sometime between 26 June and 2 July, disaster struck – Anne was delivered of a stillborn baby, after which the king, no doubt crushed by his wife’s failure to provide him with a living heir, left her behind at Hampton Court and commenced his already delayed summer progress.
In our book, Sarah Morris and I suggest that:
‘No longer able to face Francis, who was already the father of three healthy sons, a cover story was created to save face and the whole event swept under the carpet.’ (Pg. 167)
On 18 July we hear from John Husee that ‘The King is now at Oking [Woking Palace Surrey], and comes hither on Tuesday, and will tarry here and at Eltham till Friday, when he will meet with the Queen at Guildford. Southwark, 18 July.’
The king was planning to visit the Princess Elizabeth at Eltham Palace before joining the queen at Guildford, where they were reunited sometime toward the end of July or the beginning of August. The king and queen had been apart for more than a month, their longest period of separation since 1528, when Anne had retired from court in anticipation of the arrival of Cardinal Campeggio.
It is not until the end of September 1534, that Chapuys reports that ‘the lady’ (Anne Boleyn) was not going to have a baby after all. At the same time we hear through Chapuys that rumour had it, Henry doubted whether the queen had ever been pregnant, an idea explored by J. Dewhurst in Medical History.
Dewhurst suggested that Anne might have suffered from a case of pseudocyesis or false pregnancy, a rare condition where a woman believes that she is carrying a baby and shows pregnancy-like symptoms when she is not pregnant. The condition is yet to be fully explained, however, psychologists believe that most women who experience false pregnancy are often experiencing stress and anxiety, along with an extremely strong desire to be pregnant.
Having only just given birth to a healthy daughter in September 1533, I don’t believe this to be a reasonable argument. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Anne was under any stress around the time of her alleged second pregnancy. On the contrary, the reports we have paint the picture of a healthy and happy couple.
In the notes section of his biography of Anne Boleyn, Eric Ives states:
“That it was a miscarriage and not a stillbirth or neonatal death is indicated by the queen not having ‘taken her chamber’” (pg. 394)
That there is no record of the queen having ‘taken her chamber’ is indisputable, however, does this prove that Anne did not suffer a stillbirth? Not necessarily.
Ives himself stated that it’s likely Anne was pregnant by November 1533, in which case by the beginning of July, when it’s generally accepted that she lost the baby, she would have been around 8 months pregnant.
In modern terms, a miscarriage is generally defined as the loss of a baby before 20-24 weeks; the death of a fetus at 8 months gestation is referred to as a stillbirth. In this case the mother still needs to go through labour and delivery in the same manner as mothers delivering a live baby.
Miniature of Anne Boleyn attributed to John Hoskins
In light of the evidence, it seems likely that Anne went into labour prematurely sometime between 26 June and 2 July, explaining why no records survive of the queen’s confinement. This leaves open the possibility that the loss was so devastating, so damaging, especially considering that Henry was still trying to prove to the world the righteousness of his marriage, that all present were sworn to secrecy and the whole incident erased from history.
Unless one has experienced such heartbreak, it’s difficult to imagine the overwhelming emotional and physical pain that Anne must have felt. The baby would have been well formed and the sex determinable, although, the details were not recorded. The king left Hampton Court in all haste and abandoned his grieving wife. Was the loss of an heir the reason for their extended and uncharacteristic separation? The silence of the royal nursery and the empty silver cradle, perhaps, too much for even a hardened king —and one well-versed in loss— to bear.
This event must have brought memories of Katherine of Aragon’s tragic obstetric history flooding back and sowed a seed of doubt in the king’s mind that would eventually grow to consume him. Anne had promised Henry sons and heirs but had only delivered a daughter and a stillborn baby. In the king’s eyes, she’d failed him; with Henry’s insecurities awakened, there would be no room for further disappointments.
References & Sources Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 5 Part 1 – 1534-1535 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 6 – 1533. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 7 – 1534. Fraser, A. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 1992. Friedmann, P. Anne Boleyn, trans. J. Wilkinson, 2013. Grueninger, N. & Morris, S. In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn, 2013. Ives, E. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, 2004. Loades, D. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 2010. Starkey, D. Six Wives, 2003. Warnicke, R. The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn, 1989. Weir, A. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 2007. The Mystery of Queen Anne Boleyn’s Second Pregnancy Good luck!
In Bed With the Tudors by Amy Licence
I would never have thought about a still born birth. This article was interesting. I cannot begin to imagine the emotional turmoil Anne was going through-knowing that the only way to keep her husband was to have a son. Some people may see her as manipulative, but she was a woman-a mother…. A still born birth-especially that if a son-would have surely been devastating to her. Imagine….. Knowing that with the death if your child-which would have been a heartbreak all in its own-knowing too that you are loosing your husband as well. Thank you for all of your postings on the Tudors! They are all interesting and informative.
Such an interesting article! Thank you so very much for sharing all your wonderful information and stories!! I wonder why so many of us are so interested in anything Anne???!!!
Good Article
It’s great to see some new information coming to light about my favourite subject . . . The Tudors are sooo fascinating, but it’s sad to see the way Anne Boleyn was treated; she was so before her time – forward thinking to the max! I would love to win a copy of your book to read the full story 🙂
This article was great and love all the information you provide about Anne and her life events. I would love to learn more about Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII’s mother, and own a copy of this book. Thank for the opportunity to win one!!
It is SO wrong that Anne has been treated so badly by history. She was a strong, passionate, educated woman, who committed the grave sin of not bearing a son for Henry, and for that, she ultimately lost her life. HE was the one with the problem – not her. HE could not accept his own flaws and failures, so he blamed the woman he purportedly ‘loved’ at the time!! I believe that Henry suffered with syphilis, which he would have passed on to anyone he slept with, as well as his children – and which would account for his degenerating health issues. Anne doesn’t deserve the character assassination that was given to her by history……………..Henry DOES!! I love to read the posts that are made here, they are so interesting and informative, so Thank You for that.
If only they knew then what we know now, that it is the man who determines the sex of a baby,not the woman.
Poor Ann, must have been terrifying, ….for all his Queens.
I’ve just started learning Tudor history especially the intrigue surrounding the Boleyns , I’m enjoying the adventure so far .
Would really love to have a copy of the book to read 🙂
When I saw the title of the book, I immediately wanted to read this book because it will give great insight into how being pregnant was like back then for a queen. I am very interested to know if it was not only Anne who was abandoned when she ‘failed her king’
Thank you for all that detail. I’ve never done much research into the second pregnancy and wouldn’t have thought of it being at eight months, but those are some very compelling arguments. I’m interested in what you think about her being rhesus negative–I’ve only seen it mentioned a few times, but the idea of Anne reaching 8 months doesn’t make that idea seem plausible the more I think about it.
Awesome! I just found this web page and I am in LOVE!
Would love a copy of this book. I get most of mine from thrift stores and they are usually years old by then!
Fantastic article! I would love to read more.
i always love reading articles from this website, it gave me fact and information about Anne’s live over 500 years ago 🙂
Anne Boleyn is a strong and intelligent woman of his era, I was amazed by his perseverance. But what can I say, that the law in earlier times was not like now. Law at that time easily blame people and beheaded. Too sad to know that. .
I have a small obsession with Henry VII and Anne. Great article.
I’m not one of these huge AB fans out there that view her with rose-colored glasses. While she was clever and crafty and successful in self-preservation (in terms of that looong courtship), she was also extremely cruel (to not just Katharine of Aragon, but also her step-daughter, Mary). It is interesting that the only flaw of KoA ended up being Anne’s as well (flaw according to the times – thank goodness science knows more today!). She is still an interesting historical figure, though – not in terms of a blind hero worship, but in terms of impact: the break from the church, the effect on the king, the ramifications of 3 future rulers)…
In terms of this pregnancy: the most interesting facet to me is regardless of a stillbirth or miscarriage, it’s hard to believe Henry would have wanted to have left at that time at all. Imagine she did go to term (or near-term) and delivered a boy. Would the man who’d been waiting decades for a male heir really have not been there for the payoff?
Thank you for a beautifully written article! I love this website because the articles are about all the time I have to read lately. I’m building up a library of Tudor books for when I have the time! I would like to be included in the drawing.
Thank you!
I’d love to read this!
I think Anne Boleyn played her part really well. The problem was the counterpart or better half. She got a KING to go crazy over her, even if that faded as fast as it started. Not many women are AND where clever enough to get the attention of a person that has almost anything on earth he wants. Henry was a bipolar person or a really concerned one taking his duty as King seriously on trying to leave a male heir behind him and not make england go through a dynastic war again like the war of the roses. I think that to leave a queen or a lover in medieval times was merely a diplomatic issue, the thing is that most Kings didn’t divorce. If a queen had to be replaced, some would have been successful faster than Henry, only that Catherine of Aragon had the Christendom backing her up because of her family. Many other queens didn’t have that, and Catherin was stubborn herself. She must have been a really proud woman because of her background, and even if she wasn’t as catholic as she was, she wouldn’t allow any to cast her aside without a fight. Lets get real.. not in ancient times nor in medieval times and certainly not now women like to be set aside by her husbands lover or mistress, at least not in a monogamist society, even if the mistress are institutionalized. Not only in England. Many French queens didn’t like their Kings lovers even if they didn’t love him or the mistress was discrete.
Anne Boleyn was clever, she played the right cards, if she would’ve had a little more patient King, she might have had her male heir and her head in her shoulders.
And one last thing… Anne was as contemporary as we are right now. She was way ahead over her time.
I would love to read In Bed with the Tudors. I have developed a love for this time period now that I have more time to read since I retired. I love to learn!!! 🙂
Love your page, and all the pictures. Thanks for the great article!
I am an American who has recently found a LOVE for all things Tudor. I would really love to win this book so I can learn lits of new things.
I’m so intrigued!!! Would love to read this book on a frigid, snowy day 🙂
I am not sure what exactly happened. If I had to guess, I would say they were premature/stillborn. I am much more certain that the constant pressure to produce a male heir was the cause. Frankly I’m surprised that Henry managed to end up with Elizabeth or Edward.
Really good article, very enjoyable read.
Wonderful article.
Great read! Would love to add this to my ever growing book collection on the Tudors! Thanks for all of the great information and pictures that you always post on FB. I really enjoyed the pictures of Ludlow Castle yesterday! I’m a history teacher and I love anything that brings history to life. You do a wonderful job.
Such an interesting article, would love to win the book.
An amazing article. I never getting tired of learning or reading about the Tudors. I hope I win the book 🙂
Great article. I’ve read a lot over the years on Henry VIII and was delighted to be learn more. Wow, he just left her. Sad.
Love you’re website!! So excited to read more about the Tudors!
Love the additional info on what life was really like in the places and times I love to visit! Objectively trying to view historical content through today’s lenses is so very interesting. A perfect way to cuddle under the covers during a deep freeze!
Many times I find myself thinking about how incredibly heartbreaking it must have been for so many women before modern medical technology. They had no idea that their child was going to be born dead. Instead they carried out the entire pregnancy, only to find out at the moment of birth that there would be no living child for them. I can only imagine the sheer pain that Anne endured, both physically and emotionally, during this time. After so much build-up of a son, it must have been extremely devastating to lose the pregnancy.
I find it interesting to see how information was spread in that era. These sort of announcements weren’t always confirmed, so speculation ran rampant. It’s also tragic that so many women lost pregnancies and children.
Great read!
very interesting. I think the fact that things are so incredibly different, yet emotionally the same over hundreds of years is why i find history so interesting.
Love the first hand research and would love to read more. Thank you!
Great article!
Great article!
excellent article. Her second pregnancy will always be shrouded in mystery. but this helps to sort it all out.
Thank you for your thoughtful and thorough research on such an interesting person and time period. I enjoyed your article and cannot wait to read more.
Another fascinating article about a Queen, who lived during the unsteady times of Henry VIII reign. Heneys second wife, who was used as a pawn as a daughter and sister, as a mistress to a King and then a Royal breeding machine. Only to meet a tragic end by events beyond her control.
Queen Ann is not the woman painted by modern imaginations, but instead a intimate image of life for high born women manipulated and torn between political and family alliances in her time.
This article is fantastic!!! I love reading all your
Articles & Info, cannot seem to get enough of
The Tudor era history, TY for all you do, & TY for
The chance to win this book!
Absolutely love your articles and would love a chance to win the book.
I would love to have a chance to get a copy of this book 🙂
I would be thrilled to get this book. I love all things Tudor and am starting to build my collection..little by little! This would be a great addition! Thanks for the opportunity!
I liked this article a lot 🙂
I love your intriguing thoughts and analysis of every possible outcome and aspect of Queen Anne’s pregnancies. I enjoy your newsletters and website! I follow you on Facebook and hope to someday join you in touring Historic England! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Janine
Minnesota
USA
One most also consider the effect of midwifery during the Tudor times. Women of high rank with access to so called medical healers were often bled to remove the bad humours. This in turn left the woman anaemic and this affected the development of the foetus and had disastrous effect on delivery. As Jane Seymour was to experience next.
Loved this article. I am an avid reader of all things Tudor. I especially love Anne’s story having been captivated by the play, Anne of a Thousand Days, in my youth, and subsequently have read every book I can find about her life. I am amazed that history is vague about some of the most important details of her life, and have often wondered if that meant there wasn’t a deliberate attempt to hide and/or change details to Henry’s liking. I love this site and look forward to learning more about Anne. Thank you to for the opportunity to participate in this contest for the book.