Q & A with Josephine Wilkinson

Welcome to On the Tudor Trail Josephine! I think it is Anne’s complexity that makes her so intriguing. Why has Anne captured your interest and imagination?

Anne was a very strong person, someone who knew what she wanted in life – and she enjoyed life, embracing it with a passion whatever the consequences. Such a person inevitably attracts both praise and censure. I admire her intelligence, her independent and wild spirit, and the fact that she followed her path no matter who or what stood in the way. On the other hand, she had her negative side, such as her treatment of the Princess Mary and her displacement of Queen Katherine from her rightful place. In the end, Anne had to choose between a life in the spotlight, in which her sparkling personality could shine, or relative obscurity. Such a woman has no place in the shadows.

Mary Boleyn by Josephine Wilkinson

You have written a book about Anne Boleyn’s early life and one about Mary Boleyn. Could you share with us a little about Anne and Mary’s relationship growing up?

Unfortunately, there is so little to know about the early days of the Boleyn sisters, which makes this a difficult question to answer. I’d like to think that their childhood at least was happy and that they were friends, whatever happened afterwards. Of course, Mary had another brother, Thomas, so perhaps she was closer to him than she was to Anne and George.

In the synopsis for ‘The Early Loves of Anne Boleyn’ (recently re-issued as ‘Anne Boleyn: The Young Queen To Be’) it is stated that Anne spent her youth in the courts of the Low Countries and France ‘as a result of her scandalous behaviour with her father’s butler and chaplain.’ For the benefit of those that haven’t yet read your book, could you please share with us your opinion on this particular story spread by Nicholas Sander, a person extremely hostile to Anne Boleyn?

Early Loves of Anne Boleyn

You mustn’t believe all you read in blurbs – sometimes publishers like to sensationalise books in order to attract unsuspecting readers.  There was no truth at all in what Sander said about Anne, as I make clear in my book. Don’t forget, he was a recusant Catholic living in exile. The turmoil that had gripped his church was reason enough, from his point of view, for saying the things he did. He wanted someone to blame, and Anne seemed a prime candidate. Also, he was writing at the time of Elizabeth I, a Protestant Queen, so this was a way of attacking her – through her mother.

Do you think that Anne Boleyn and Thomas Wyatt were once romantically involved?

I would like to think they were. I like Thomas Wyatt very much and see him as a charming and romantic figure. Realistically, though, I think Thomas saw Anne as his muse, appreciating her as an attractive and seductive woman, who stimulated his imagination. The relationship couldn’t have gone far in any case because he was married and Anne wanted more than to be a mistress, as we all know.

Do you think that the English people would have grown to love Anne and seen her as their rightful Queen if in 1536 she had delivered of a healthy son and heir?

Anne would have been safe had she given birth to a son and heir in 1536, but I don’t think the English people would ever have grown to love her. She had taken the place of Katherine, the beloved Queen, and the people saw that as wrong.

You have also written a two-volume biography on Richard III. What makes him such a fascinating subject?

Where to begin with Richard – there is so much! The thing that began my interest in Richard was his obvious piety. I wanted to know how deep and sincere it was, or was it just something a man in his position was supposed to show? I concluded that he was deeply and sincerely religious, above and beyond the call of duty. Richard was a very intelligent, intellectual and cultured man. He had a deep sense of morality, and expected high standards from others, even if he fell by the wayside himself from time to time. A lot of what we know about Richard was written by those hostile to him. As a historian, it is my job to look behind the writings and ask serious questions about what was written, by whom and why, and who would be expected to read it. A different picture of Richard emerges if we are prepared to look.

Do you believe that both of Edward IV’s sons perished in the Tower of London or is it possible that Richard, Duke of York, survived?

This will be addressed in my next book but one, so I’m sure you will forgive me if I give nothing away at this point!

Are you presently working on any Tudor books?

I am working on someone who lived in the Tudor period, but who was not a member of the royal family.

If you had the power to change the past and re-write Tudor history, which of Anne’s early suitors would you choose for her to marry and why?

Henry Percy showed Anne the enchantment and innocence of young love, and Anne could have had a happy future with him as the Countess of Northumberland. Sadly, he was betrothed to Mary Talbot, so any relationship between Percy and Anne was doomed from the start. Also, Percy ran into financial and personal problems, which could have made life difficult for Anne, subduing her spirits, and perhaps driving her to find ‘consolation’ elsewhere.  Thomas Wyatt, as mentioned, is a most appealing and romantic figure. However, even if they had been in love, he was married, so Anne could only ever have been his mistress and she still would have been expected to marry elsewhere. If I were Sir Thomas Boleyn I would have chosen a stable and reliable man for Anne, one who could look after her and support her, and whose family had strong dynastic connections with the Boleyns. From this point of view, I would choose James Butler as the best husband for Anne.