Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

by Candace Fleming

But these women had lives of their own. They had dreams and hopes. Ideas. Opinions. Ambitions. They were fighters. Thinkers. Politicians. Strategists. They led troops into battle and hunted on horseback. They read, danced, intrigued, and sewed. They had children they loved. Pets they adored. They gave money to the poor and supported artists and scholars. They ate peacocks and swans, wore pearls in their hair and diamonds on their sleeves. They defied expectations—Henry’s, and our own.

This book holds their stories. The ghosts, in turn, forever hold pieces of our hearts.

A verse from the Scriptures comes into my head: Those whom the Lord loves best suffer most. A sob catches in my throat. I am most certainly one of God’s best loved.

“That’s right, Kate. Ask the Lord to bless and guide your thoughts. I am sure you will come to see that He and I know what is best for you.”

Truth is boring, after all, compared to rumour and lechery. And yet, were I quiet, without wit, and lacking all strength, could I have been cast as a bitch or a whore, a villain or a witch? I rather think not.

believe firmly that a woman’s mind is as capable as a man’s,

But perhaps Henry forgets that a rose without thorns, a flower severed from the branch, smells sweet and looks pretty but withers fast.

pas d’amour existe sans douleur. No love exists without pain.

What evident truths were found within The trial of Anne and George Boleyn? Hearsay and rumours of vague origin, Vile perversions and myriad sin, But positive proof of their crimes— That was thin.

Elizabeth, ma petite, Maman’s little rose, how I ache for you.

As early-morning bells do toll Let those who witness soon extol I ate and drank and found console And swore to God was faithful whole, No carnal sins did I confess For of such crimes I am guiltless.

My time had come. My judgement read, Condemned though innocent I pled. More than crown knocked from my head, So feared was I, they willed me dead. And to my fall, how was I led? No man but Henry shared Anne’s bed. I overstepped, and foes were bred. Too quick my tongue, and hence I bled. I prayed each day my sins to shed. And learned to face death without dread. Past Tower walls, saw light ahead To dwell with God, my soul be fed. Now that I’m gone, what shall be said Of Anne Boleyn without a head? Forget her fast, move on instead— The falcon died, the phoenix weds.

There is blood. Blood everywhere. Blood on the sheets, blood between my legs. It is thick and red and sour. There is blood on my hands, too.

I have learned the character of men.

“I love you, darling Jane. Be brave.”

The mystery of the mortal body…How, when I am holding your flesh so tight, can the soul escape it?

I submit. I have no choice. In anything, it seems. Ever. What woman does?

I love her and fear her. I can’t stand to leave her, but I can’t bear to stay. I can’t breathe without her, yet she suffocates me.

am not my breasts, my belly, my legs, or that which lies between them. I am my head and my heart. All that I know, all that I love, everything I hope for.

changing a life, just one life, you can change the world. It is the only way anyone ever has.”

Maybe one day, the world will change so radically that girls will not need freeing. Maybe.

—I am different! I’ll be so good to him, I’ll do everything I can to be a perfect wife and Queen! Surely all the others said the exact same thing. —But the way he looks at me—with such light in his eyes! That can’t be feigned. He loves me, truly he does!

The girl has grown into a woman who knows what she wants and needs. For all the enjoyment my girl-self felt, she could never have dreamt the ravishment I know now.

I realize then that in a way, it’s not really about me. It’s about men wanting to be as close to the King as they can, men wanting power. To them, I’m like a piece on a game board, to be moved as it suits them.

Power. We were, each in her own way, powerless to change our fates.

Women help one another survive much in this world,

“Let tyrants fear! I know I have the body of a woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England, too. I myself will be your general and judge. I have been your prince in peace; so will I be in war. The enemy perhaps may challenge my sex for that I am a woman—so may I likewise challenge them, for they are but men.”