Doomed Queen Anne
Encyclopedia
Doomed Queen Anne is a young-adult
historical novel
about Anne Boleyn
by Carolyn Meyer
. It is the third book in the Young Royals
series. Other books are Mary, Bloody Mary, Beware, Princess Elizabeth and Patience, Princess Catherine. The book was originally published in the U.S. in 2002
by Harcourt/Gulliver Books
(now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
" in the summer of 1520. She has no great beauty (olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes in a time when pale-faced blonds were seen as the coveted image), no wealth and no title. She meets up with her older sister Mary
, who is a lady-in-waiting
in Queen Catherine
's court. Anne's sister is rumoured to be the mistress
of King Henry VIII of England
. The King is tiring of his wife/queen because she has produced no sons, only a daughter, Mary
(later known as Bloody Mary)
Anne's somewhat difficult childhood before the event is outlined. Always ill-favored by her parents, constantly antagonized by her older sister Mary, and disgusted by her own "deformities" (a small sixth finger and mole on her neck) she developes an ambition to rise to the top.
Anne, jealous of her sister's rumoured affair when Mary flaunts the fact that she has the King's favor, vows to become the second wife of King Henry VIII. Anne, too, is a lady-in-waiting in the Queen's court. When the King tires of Mary, Anne uses her wits to gain the King's heart.
While courting the King (and strategically defending her virginity), Anne manages to persuade Henry to defy everyone, including the Queen and the Roman Catholic Church
, and to marry Anne. Everybody hates her, claiming that she has magic powers and that she is wicked because of her sixth finger and the mole on her neck.
She finally gets her way and becomes the wife of Henry and Queen of England. They have a child together, but it is a daughter, Elizabeth
(who will later ascend the throne after the death of her half-sister, Bloody Mary). Anne's vow has come true, but the lack of male heirs causes it all to end badly for Anne Boleyn.
Meanwhile, Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister who has now since been discarded by the king and widowed when her husband dies of the sweating sickness, remarries a commoner in secret. On learning that she is pregnant, she reveals this to Anne, who banishes her from court. The two never reconcile.
When Anne fails to give Henry a son after three years of marriage, the Seymour family begins plotting. Jane Seymour
catches the king's attention. Realizing that the king may toss Anne aside for her, Jane refuses to become the King's mistress and instead drops heavy hints of marriage. After Anne miscarries a second time, she is falsely accused by the King, and by his daughter Mary, and by Lady Rochford
, the wife of Anne's brother George
, of committing adultery with five other men, her own brother George among them. Anne is executed in the end as a result of her "adultery".
), 1507 (Anne
), and 1509 (George
). Historians now believe the years of birth to be 1499 for Mary, 1504 for George, and either 1501 or 1507 for Anne.
In the novel, Mary becomes the king's mistress around 1520, sometime prior to the "Field of the Cloth of Gold
". She is also presented as being married after the affair begins. In reality, Mary was married in February of 1520, and embarked on her affair around 1521/1522. There is no evidence of her ever being sexually active with Henry VIII before her marriage to William Carey.
The book presents Anne as having "deformities" (sixth finger, mole on her neck). These "defects" were not ever mentioned by anyone who knew her throughout her lifetime. The first report of Anne Boleyn having any kind of deformity was brought up by Nicholas Sanders
, long after her death. Sanders never met or saw her, being a young child when she died. His claim that Anne had the extra finger and mole was certainly just a false claim designed to slander her after her death.
The novel displays Mary as being a great beauty, the family favorite. This is untrue. Mary was sent to France
in 1514. During her stay, she became known for her promiscuity. She had a number of affairs with King Francis
and his courtiers. The French king himself referred to her as "a great prostitute, infamous above all," "the English mare," and "my hackney." Mary was sent away from the French court in 1519 for her promiscuous behavior, in disgrace. (Said affairs go unmentioned in the novel.) Her family was horrified. Thomas Boleyn
managed to marry her off to a minor courtier a year later. Her parents took a great disliking to her for disgracing the family. Mary was not a great beauty. She was considered to be pretty, but not beautiful.
Anne's parents would not have considered sending her to a nunnery
because of her "defects"; as mentioned before, she had none. When she was sent abroad, it was for special education. The position Anne's parents secured for her in the Netherlands
and France were greatly sought after.
Mary did marry a commoner in 1534. Her family was furious, and the king had her banished from court. Mary's statement "I would rather beg my bread with him than be the finest queen ever christened", was not something she told her sister. It was written in a letter to Thomas Cromwell. When Mary was having financial trouble, Anne assisted her by sending a golden cup and some money. These actions are never mentioned in the book.
Some time in November of 1532, Anne and Henry were married in Calais
. Anne did not sleep with Henry before she was wed. They were later remarried on English soil on January 25 when she was found to be pregnant.
Historically, Anne was an affectionate mother to Elizabeth
, while in the novel, she simply wants a son to please Henry and hardly ever sees her daughter.
The book depicts Henry's daughter Mary by Catherine of Aragon as having been summoned to Greenwich Palace to witness the birth of Elizabeth because tradition requires it. She is then subsequently forced to perform several tedious and indignant tasks for Anne, which is merely "a means of passing the time." However, none of this happened in reality because Mary Tudor was living at Richmond at the time.
Anne did not seduce the king into marrying her. When she attracted the king it was unintentional. She was not jealous of her sister's affair. In fact, she was rather horrified by Mary's actions.
At the end, while Anne is awaiting execution, she narrarates that while Catherine of Aragon had many supporters during her time of trouble, she had none. Actually, she did have friends at court, among them Thomas Wyatt, Margaret Wyatt, Francis Weston, and others. She was supported by other leading Reformers, including Martin Luther and Marguerite of France. While Anne was largely unpopular with the English commonfolk during most of her reign, the sympathy of the people shifted to her when the accusations were formed as they were so outrageous that even her enemy Eustace Chapuys was incredulous.
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
about Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
by Carolyn Meyer
Carolyn Meyer
Carolyn Meyer is an author of novels for children and young adults.The typical genre for her work is historical fiction, one of her more popular projects being the Young Royals series, each novel of which tells the story of a different female royal person...
. It is the third book in the Young Royals
Young Royals
Young Royals is a series of novels for children by Carolyn Meyer based on the lives of English and French royalty. Books in the series include Mary, Bloody Mary , Beware, Princess Elizabeth , Doomed Queen Anne and Patience, Princess Catherine , about the Tudors, as well as Duchessina , the story...
series. Other books are Mary, Bloody Mary, Beware, Princess Elizabeth and Patience, Princess Catherine. The book was originally published in the U.S. in 2002
2002 in literature
The year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 16: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested and jailed poet Abdul Mohsen Musalam and fired a newspaper editor following the publication of Musalam's poem The Corrupt on Earth that criticized the state's Islamic...
by Harcourt/Gulliver Books
Harcourt (publisher)
Harcourt was a United States publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. The company was based in San Diego, California, with an Editorial / Sales / Marketing / Rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida.In 2007, the U.S...
(now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
Plot summary
The story begins when Anne is at an event called the "Field of the Cloth of GoldField of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
" in the summer of 1520. She has no great beauty (olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes in a time when pale-faced blonds were seen as the coveted image), no wealth and no title. She meets up with her older sister Mary
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
, who is a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
in Queen Catherine
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
's court. Anne's sister is rumoured to be the mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The King is tiring of his wife/queen because she has produced no sons, only a daughter, Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(later known as Bloody Mary)
Anne's somewhat difficult childhood before the event is outlined. Always ill-favored by her parents, constantly antagonized by her older sister Mary, and disgusted by her own "deformities" (a small sixth finger and mole on her neck) she developes an ambition to rise to the top.
Anne, jealous of her sister's rumoured affair when Mary flaunts the fact that she has the King's favor, vows to become the second wife of King Henry VIII. Anne, too, is a lady-in-waiting in the Queen's court. When the King tires of Mary, Anne uses her wits to gain the King's heart.
While courting the King (and strategically defending her virginity), Anne manages to persuade Henry to defy everyone, including the Queen and the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and to marry Anne. Everybody hates her, claiming that she has magic powers and that she is wicked because of her sixth finger and the mole on her neck.
She finally gets her way and becomes the wife of Henry and Queen of England. They have a child together, but it is a daughter, Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
(who will later ascend the throne after the death of her half-sister, Bloody Mary). Anne's vow has come true, but the lack of male heirs causes it all to end badly for Anne Boleyn.
Meanwhile, Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister who has now since been discarded by the king and widowed when her husband dies of the sweating sickness, remarries a commoner in secret. On learning that she is pregnant, she reveals this to Anne, who banishes her from court. The two never reconcile.
When Anne fails to give Henry a son after three years of marriage, the Seymour family begins plotting. Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
catches the king's attention. Realizing that the king may toss Anne aside for her, Jane refuses to become the King's mistress and instead drops heavy hints of marriage. After Anne miscarries a second time, she is falsely accused by the King, and by his daughter Mary, and by Lady Rochford
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford was an English noblewoman who lived in the reign of Henry VIII. She was a sister-in-law of Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn and lady-in-waiting to his fifth wife Catherine Howard, with whom she was executed.-Early life:Born Jane Parker, she was the daughter of...
, the wife of Anne's brother George
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was an English courtier and nobleman, and the brother of queen consort Anne Boleyn...
, of committing adultery with five other men, her own brother George among them. Anne is executed in the end as a result of her "adultery".
Historical inaccuracy
In this novel the birthdates of the Boleyn children are 1502 (MaryMary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
), 1507 (Anne
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
), and 1509 (George
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was an English courtier and nobleman, and the brother of queen consort Anne Boleyn...
). Historians now believe the years of birth to be 1499 for Mary, 1504 for George, and either 1501 or 1507 for Anne.
In the novel, Mary becomes the king's mistress around 1520, sometime prior to the "Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
". She is also presented as being married after the affair begins. In reality, Mary was married in February of 1520, and embarked on her affair around 1521/1522. There is no evidence of her ever being sexually active with Henry VIII before her marriage to William Carey.
The book presents Anne as having "deformities" (sixth finger, mole on her neck). These "defects" were not ever mentioned by anyone who knew her throughout her lifetime. The first report of Anne Boleyn having any kind of deformity was brought up by Nicholas Sanders
Nicholas Sanders
Nicholas Sanders was an English Roman Catholic priest and polemicist.-Early life:Sanders was born at Chariwood , Surrey, the son of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who was descended from the Sanders of Sanderstead...
, long after her death. Sanders never met or saw her, being a young child when she died. His claim that Anne had the extra finger and mole was certainly just a false claim designed to slander her after her death.
The novel displays Mary as being a great beauty, the family favorite. This is untrue. Mary was sent to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1514. During her stay, she became known for her promiscuity. She had a number of affairs with King Francis
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
and his courtiers. The French king himself referred to her as "a great prostitute, infamous above all," "the English mare," and "my hackney." Mary was sent away from the French court in 1519 for her promiscuous behavior, in disgrace. (Said affairs go unmentioned in the novel.) Her family was horrified. Thomas Boleyn
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, KG was an English diplomat and politician in the Tudor era. He was born at the family home, Hever Castle, Kent, which had been purchased by his grandfather Geoffrey Boleyn, who was a wealthy mercer. He was buried at St. Peter's parish church in the village of...
managed to marry her off to a minor courtier a year later. Her parents took a great disliking to her for disgracing the family. Mary was not a great beauty. She was considered to be pretty, but not beautiful.
Anne's parents would not have considered sending her to a nunnery
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
because of her "defects"; as mentioned before, she had none. When she was sent abroad, it was for special education. The position Anne's parents secured for her in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and France were greatly sought after.
Mary did marry a commoner in 1534. Her family was furious, and the king had her banished from court. Mary's statement "I would rather beg my bread with him than be the finest queen ever christened", was not something she told her sister. It was written in a letter to Thomas Cromwell. When Mary was having financial trouble, Anne assisted her by sending a golden cup and some money. These actions are never mentioned in the book.
Some time in November of 1532, Anne and Henry were married in Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. Anne did not sleep with Henry before she was wed. They were later remarried on English soil on January 25 when she was found to be pregnant.
Historically, Anne was an affectionate mother to Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, while in the novel, she simply wants a son to please Henry and hardly ever sees her daughter.
The book depicts Henry's daughter Mary by Catherine of Aragon as having been summoned to Greenwich Palace to witness the birth of Elizabeth because tradition requires it. She is then subsequently forced to perform several tedious and indignant tasks for Anne, which is merely "a means of passing the time." However, none of this happened in reality because Mary Tudor was living at Richmond at the time.
Anne did not seduce the king into marrying her. When she attracted the king it was unintentional. She was not jealous of her sister's affair. In fact, she was rather horrified by Mary's actions.
At the end, while Anne is awaiting execution, she narrarates that while Catherine of Aragon had many supporters during her time of trouble, she had none. Actually, she did have friends at court, among them Thomas Wyatt, Margaret Wyatt, Francis Weston, and others. She was supported by other leading Reformers, including Martin Luther and Marguerite of France. While Anne was largely unpopular with the English commonfolk during most of her reign, the sympathy of the people shifted to her when the accusations were formed as they were so outrageous that even her enemy Eustace Chapuys was incredulous.