The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anneby Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne

Boleyn, by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn This eBook is for the use of anyoneanywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copyit, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg Licenseincluded with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn With Notes

Author: Henry VIII Anne Boleyn

Release Date: April 27, 2010 [EBook #32155]

The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn 1

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVE LETTERS OFHENRY VIII ***

Produced by Meredith Bach and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Love Letters of Henry Eighth to Anne Boleyn

The Love Letters of Henry Viii to Anne Boleyn

With Notes

John W. Luce & Company Boston: London

COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY JOHN W. LUCE & COMPANY

D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON

Table of Contents

Page

Letter First i

Letter Second iv

Letter Third v

Letter Fourth vii

Letter Fifth x

Letter Sixth xiii


Letter Seventh xvi

Letter Eighth [Anne Boleyn to Wolsey] xviii

Postscript [by Henry VIII] xx

Letter Ninth xxii

Letter Tenth xxv

Letter Eleventh xxviii

Letter Twelfth xxx

Letter Thirteenth xxxiv

Letter Fourteenth xxxvii

Letter Fifteenth xxxix

Letter Sixteenth xli

Letter Seventeenth xliii

Letter Eighteenth xlv

Notes li

Love Letters of Henry Eighth to Anne Boleyn

Letter First To Anne Boleyn

On turning over in my mind the contents of your last letters, I have put myselfinto great agony, not knowing how to interpret them, whether to mydisadvantage, as you show in some places, or to my advantage, as Iunderstand them in some others, beseeching you earnestly to let me knowexpressly your whole mind as to the love between us two. It is absolutelynecessary for me to obtain this answer, having been for above a whole yearstricken with the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail of finding a


place in your heart and affection, which last point has prevented me for sometime past from calling you my mistress; because, if you only love me with anordinary love, that name is not suitable for you, because it denotes a singularlove, which is far from common. But if you please to do the office of a true loyalmistress and friend, and to give up yourself body and heart to me, who will be,and have been, your most loyal servant, (if your rigour does not forbid me) Ipromise you that not only the name shall be given you, but also that I will takeyou for my only mistress, casting off all others besides you out of my thoughtsand affections, and serve you only. I beseech you to give an entire answer tothis my rude letter, that I may know on what and how far I may depend. And if itdoes not please you to answer me in writing, appoint some place where I mayhave it by word of mouth, and I will go thither with all my heart. No more, for fearof tiring you. Written by the hand of him who would willingly remain yours,

H. R.

Letter Second To Anne Boleyn

Though it is not fitting for a gentleman to take his lady in the place of a servant,yet, complying with your desire, I willingly grant it you, if thereby you can findyourself less uncomfortable in the place chosen by yourself, than you havebeen in that which I gave you, thanking you cordially that you are pleased still tohave some remembrance of me. 6. n. A. 1 de A. o. na. v. e. z.

HENRY R.

Letter Third To Anne Boleyn

Although, my Mistress, it has not pleased you to remember the promise youmade me when I was last with you--that is, to hear good news from you, and tohave an answer to my last letter; yet it seems to me that it belongs to a trueservant (seeing that otherwise he can know nothing) to inquire the health of hismistress, and to acquit myself of the duty of a true servant, I send you this letter,beseeching you to apprise me of your welfare, which I pray to God maycontinue as long as I desire mine own. And to cause you yet oftener toremember me, I send you, by the bearer of this, a buck killed late last night bymy own hand, hoping that when you eat of it you may think of the hunter; andthus, for want of room, I must end my letter, written by the hand of your servant,who very often wishes for you instead of your brother.


H. R.

Letter Fourth To Anne Boleyn

MY MISTRESS & FRIEND, my heart and I surrender ourselves into your hands,beseeching you to hold us commended to your favour, and that by absenceyour affection to us may not be lessened: for it were a great pity to increase ourpain, of which absence produces enough and more than I could ever havethought could be felt, reminding us of a point in astronomy which is this: thelonger the days are, the more distant is the sun, and nevertheless the hotter; sois it with our love, for by absence we are kept a distance from one another, andyet it retains its fervour, at least on my side; I hope the like on yours, assuringyou that on my part the pain of absence is already too great for me; and when Ithink of the increase of that which I am forced to suffer, it would be almostintolerable, but for the firm hope I have of your unchangeable affection for me:and to remind you of this sometimes, and seeing that I cannot be personallypresent with you, I now send you the nearest thing I can to that, namely, mypicture set in a bracelet, with the whole of the device, which you already know,wishing myself in their place, if it should please you. This is from the hand ofyour loyal servant and friend,

H. R.

Letter Fifth To Anne Boleyn

For a present so beautiful that nothing could be more so (considering the wholeof it), I thank you most cordially, not only on account of the fine diamond and theship in which the solitary damsel is tossed about, but chiefly for the fineinterpretation and the too humble submission which your goodness hath usedtowards me in this case; for I think it would be very difficult for me to find anoccasion to deserve it, if I were not assisted by your great humanity and favour,which I have always sought to seek, and will seek to preserve by all thekindness in my power, in which my hope has placed its unchangeable intention,which says, Aut illic, aut nullibi.

The demonstrations of your affection are such, the beautiful mottoes of theletter so cordially expressed, that they oblige me for ever to honour, love, andserve you sincerely, beseeching you to continue in the same firm and constantpurpose, assuring you that, on my part, I will surpass it rather than make it


reciprocal, if loyalty of heart and a desire to please you can accomplish this.

I beg, also, if at any time before this I have in any way offended you, that youwould give me the same absolution that you ask, assuring you, thathenceforward my heart shall be dedicated to you alone. I wish my person wasso too. God can do it, if He pleases, to whom I pray every day for that end,hoping that at length my prayers will be heard. I wish the time may be short, butI shall think it long till we see one another.

Written by the hand of that secretary, who in heart, body, and will, is,

Your loyal and most assured Servant,

H. sultre A.B. ne cherse R.

Letter Sixth To Anne Boleyn

TO MY MISTRESS. Because the time seems very long since I heardconcerning your health and you, the great affection I have for you has inducedme to send you this bearer, to be better informed of your health and pleasure,and because, since my parting from you, I have been told that the opinion inwhich I left you is totally changed, and that you would not come to court eitherwith your mother, if you could, or in any other manner; which report, if true, Icannot sufficiently marvel at, because I am sure that I have since never doneany thing to offend you, and it seems a very poor return for the great love whichI bear you to keep me at a distance both from the speech and the person of thewoman that I esteem most in the world: and if you love me with as muchaffection as I hope you do, I am sure that the distance of our two persons wouldbe a little irksome to you, though this does not belong so much to the mistressas to the servant.

Consider well, my mistress, that absence from you grieves me sorely, hopingthat it is not your will that it should be so; but if I knew for certain that youvoluntarily desired it, I could do no other than mourn my ill-fortune, and bydegrees abate my great folly. And so, for lack of time, I make an end of thisrude letter, beseeching you to give credence to this bearer in all that he will tellyou from me.

Written by the hand of your entire Servant,


H. R.

Letter Seventh To Anne Boleyn

DARLING, these shall be only to advertise you that this bearer and his fellow bedespatched with as many things to compass our matter, and to bring it to passas our wits could imagine or devise; which brought to pass, as I trust, by theirdiligence, it shall be shortly, you and I shall have our desired end, which shouldbe more to my heart's ease, and more quietness to my mind, than any otherthing in the world; as, with God's grace, shortly I trust shall be proved, but not sosoon as I would it were; yet I will ensure you that there shall be no time lost thatmay be won, and further can not be done; for ultra posse non est esse. Keephim not too long with you, but desire him, for your sake, to make the morespeed; for the sooner we shall have word from him, the sooner shall our mattercome to pass. And thus upon trust of your short repair to London, I make anend of my letter, my own sweet heart.

Written with the hand of him which desireth as much to be yours as you do tohave him.

H. R.

Letter Eighth Anne Boleyn to Wolsey

MY LORD, in my most humblest wise that my heart can think, I desire you topardon me that I am so bold to trouble you with my simple and rude writing,esteeming it to proceed from her that is much desirous to know that your gracedoes well, as I perceive by this bearer that you do, the which I pray God long tocontinue, as I am most bound to pray; for I do know the great pains and troublesthat you have taken for me both day and night is never likely to berecompensed on my part, but alonely in loving you, next unto the king's grace,above all creatures living. And I do not doubt but the daily proofs of my deedsshall manifestly declare and affirm my writing to be true, and I do trust you dothink the same.

My lord, I do assure you, I do long to hear from you news of the legate; for I dohope, as they come from you, they shall be very good; and I am sure you desireit as much as I, and more, an it were possible; as I know it is not: and thusremaining in a steadfast hope, I make an end of my letter.


Written with the hand of her that is most bound to be

Your humble Servant,

ANNE BOLEYN.

Postscript by Henry viii

The writer of this letter would not cease, till she had caused me likewise to setmy hand, desiring you, though it be short, to take it in good part. I ensure youthat there is neither of us but greatly desireth to see you, and are joyous to hearthat you have escaped this plague so well, trusting the fury thereof to bepassed, especially with them that keepeth good diet, as I trust you do. The nothearing of the legate's arrival in France causeth us somewhat to muse;notwithstanding, we trust, by your diligence and vigilancy (with the assistance ofAlmighty God), shortly to be eased out of that trouble. No more to you at thistime, but that I pray God send you as good health and prosperity as the writerwould.

By your loving Sovereign and Friend,

H. R.

Letter Ninth To Anne Boleyn

There came to me suddenly in the night the most afflicting news that could havearrived. The first, to hear of the sickness of my mistress, whom I esteem morethan all the world, and whose health I desire as I do my own, so that I wouldgladly bear half your illness to make you well. The second, from the fear that Ihave of being still longer harassed by my enemy, Absence, much longer, whohas hitherto given me all possible uneasiness, and as far as I can judge isdetermined to spite me more because I pray God to rid me of this troublesometormentor. The third, because the physician in whom I have most confidence, isabsent at the very time when he might do me the greatest pleasure; for I shouldhope, by him and his means, to obtain one of my chief joys on earth--that is thecare of my mistress--yet for want of him I send you my second, and hope thathe will soon make you well. I shall then love him more than ever. I beseech youto be guided by his advice in your illness. In so doing I hope soon to see youagain, which will be to me a greater comfort than all the precious jewels in the


world.

Written by that secretary, who is, and for ever will be, your loyal and mostassured Servant,

H. (A B) R.

Letter Tenth To Anne Boleyn

The uneasiness my doubts about your health gave me, disturbed and alarmedme exceedingly, and I should not have had any quiet without hearing certaintidings. But now, since you have as yet felt nothing, I hope, and am assured thatit will spare you, as I hope it is doing with us. For when we were at Walton, twoushers, two valets de chambres and your brother, master-treasurer, fell ill, butare now quite well; and since we have returned to our house at Hunsdon, wehave been perfectly well, and have not, at present, one sick person, God bepraised; and I think, if you would retire from Surrey, as we did, you wouldescape all danger. There is another thing that may comfort you, which is, that,in truth in this distemper few or no women have been taken ill, and what ismore, no person of our court, and few elsewhere, have died of it. For whichreason I beg you, my entirely beloved, not to frighten yourself nor be too uneasyat our absence; for wherever I am, I am yours, and yet we must sometimessubmit to our misfortunes, for whoever will struggle against fate is generally butso much the farther from gaining his end: wherefore comfort yourself, and takecourage and avoid the pestilence as much as you can, for I hope shortly tomake you sing, la renvoyé. No more at present, from lack of time, but that I wishyou in my arms, that I might a little dispel your unreasonable thoughts.

Written by the hand of him who is and alway will be yours,

Im- H. R. -mutable.

Letter Eleventh To Anne Boleyn

The cause of my writing at this time, good sweetheart, is only to understand ofyour good health and prosperity; whereof to know I would be as glad as inmanner mine own, praying God that (an it be His pleasure) to send us shortlytogether, for I promise you I long for it. How be it, I trust it shall not be long to;and seeing my darling is absent, I can do no less than to send her some flesh,


representing my name, which is hart flesh for Henry, prognosticating thathereafter, God willing, you may enjoy some of mine, which He pleased, I wouldwere now.

As touching your sister's matter, I have caused Walter Welze to write to my lordmy mind therein, whereby I trust that Eve shall not have power to deceiveAdam; for surely, whatsoever is said, it cannot so stand with his honour but thathe must needs take her, his natural daughter, now in her extreme necessity.

No more to you at this time, mine own darling, but that with a wish I would wewere together an evening.

With the hand of yours,

H. R.

Letter Twelfth To Anne Boleyn

Since your last letters, mine own darling, Walter Welshe, Master Browne, Thos.Care, Grion of Brearton, and John Coke, the apothecary, be fallen of the sweatin this house, and, thanked be God, all well recovered, so that as yet the plagueis not fully ceased here, but I trust shortly it shall. By the mercy of God, the restof us yet be well, and I trust shall pass it, either not to have it, or, at the least, aseasily as the rest have done.

As touching the matter of Wilton, my lord cardinal hath had the nuns before him,and examined them, Mr. Bell being present; which hath certified me that, for atruth, she had confessed herself (which we would have had abbess) to havehad two children by two sundry priests; and, further, since hath been kept by aservant of the Lord Broke that was, and that not long ago. Wherefore I wouldnot, for all the gold in the world, clog your conscience nor mine to make herruler of a house which is of so ungodly demeanour; nor, I trust, you would notthat neither for brother nor sister, I should so destain mine honour orconscience. And, as touching the prioress, or Dame Eleanor's eldest sister,though there is not any evident case proved against them, and that the prioressis so old that for many years she could not be as she was named; yetnotwithstanding, to do you pleasure, I have done that neither of them shall haveit, but that some other good and well-disposed woman shall have it, wherebythe house shall be the better reformed (whereof I ensure you it had much need),


and God much the better served.

As touching your abode at Hever, do therein as best shall like you, for you bestknow what air doth best with you; but I would it were come thereto (if it pleasedGod), that neither of us need care for that, for I ensure you I think it long. Sucheis fallen sick of the sweat, and therefore I send you this bearer, because I thinkyou long to hear tidings from us, as we do likewise from you.

Written with the hand de votre seul,

H. R.

Letter Thirteenth To Anne Boleyn

The approach of the time for which I have so long waited rejoices me so much,that it seems almost to have come already. However, the entireaccomplishment cannot be till the two persons meet, which meeting is moredesired by me than anything in this world; for what joy can be greater uponearth than to have the company of her who is dearest to me, knowing likewisethat she does the same on her part, the thought of which gives me the greatestpleasure.

Judge what an effect the presence of that person must have on me, whoseabsence has grieved my heart more than either words or writing can express,and which nothing can cure, but that begging you, my mistress, to tell yourfather from me, that I desire him to hasten the time appointed by two days, thathe may be at court before the old term, or, at farthest, on the day prefixed; forotherwise I shall think he will not do the lover's turn, as he said he would, noranswer my expectation.

No more at present for lack of time, hoping shortly that by word of mouth I shalltell you the rest of the sufferings endured by me from your absence.

Written by the hand of the secretary, who wishes himself at this momentprivately with you, and who is, and always will be,

Your loyal and most assured Servant,

H. no other A B seek R.


Letter Fourteenth To Anne Boleyn

DARLING, I heartily recommend me to you, ascertaining you that I am not alittle perplexed with such things as your brother shall on my part declare untoyou, to whom I pray you give full credence, for it were too long to write. In mylast letters I writ to you that I trusted shortly to see you, which is better known atLondon than with any that is about me, whereof I not a little marvel; but lack ofdiscreet handling must needs be the cause thereof. No more to you at this time,but that I trust shortly our meetings shall not depend upon other men's lighthandlings, but upon our own.

Written with the hand of him that longeth to be yours.

H. R.

Letter Fifteenth To Anne Boleyn

MINE own SWEETHEART, this shall be to advertise you of the greatelengeness that I find here since your departing; for, I ensure you methinkeththe time longer since your departing now last, than I was wont to do a wholefortnight. I think your kindness and my fervency of love causeth it; for,otherwise, I would not have thought it possible that for so little a while it shouldhave grieved me. But now that I am coming towards you, methinketh my painsbe half removed; and also I am right well comforted in so much that my bookmaketh substantially for my matter; in looking whereof I have spent above fourhours this day, which causeth me now to write the shorter letter to you at thistime, because of some pain in my head; wishing myself (especially an evening)in my sweetheart's arms, whose pretty dukkys I trust shortly to kiss.

Written by the hand of him that was, is, and shall be yours by his own will,

H. R.

Letter Sixteenth To Anne Boleyn

DARLING, Though I have scant leisure, yet, remembering my promise, Ithought it convenient to certify you briefly in what case our affairs stand. Astouching a lodging for you, we have got one by my lord cardinal's means, the


like whereof could not have been found hereabouts for all causes, as thisbearer shall more show you. As touching our other affairs, I assure you therecan be no more done, nor more diligence used, nor all manner of dangersbetter both foreseen and provided for, so that I trust it shall be hereafter to bothour comforts, the specialities whereof were both too long to be written, andhardly by messenger to be declared. Wherefore, till you repair hither, I keepsomething in store, trusting it shall not be long to; for I have caused my lord,your father, to make his provisions with speed; and thus for lack of time, darling,I make an end of my letter, written with the hand of him which I would wereyours.

H. R.

Letter Seventeenth To Anne Boleyn

The reasonable request of your last letter, with the pleasure also that I take toknow them true, causeth me to send you these news. The legate which wemost desire arrived at Paris on Sunday or Monday last past, so that I trust bythe next Monday to hear of his arrival at Calais: and then I trust within a whileafter to enjoy that which I have so long longed for, to God's pleasure and ourboth comforts.

No more to you at this present, mine own darling, for lack of time, but that Iwould you were in mine arms, or I in yours, for I think it long since I kissed you.

Written after the killing of a hart, at eleven of the clock, minding, with God'sgrace, to-morrow, mightily timely, to kill another, by the hand which, I trust,shortly shall be yours.

HENRY R.

Letter Eighteenth To Anne Boleyn

To inform you what joy it is to me to understand of your conformableness withreason, and of the suppressing of your inutile and vain thoughts with the bridleof reason. I assure you all the good in this world could not counterpoise for mysatisfaction the knowledge and certainty thereof, wherefore, good sweetheart,continue the same, not only in this, but in all your doings hereafter; for therebyshall come, both to you and me, the greatest quietness that may be in this


world.

The cause why the bearer stays so long, is the business I have had to dress upgear for you; and which I trust, ere long to cause you occupy: then I trust tooccupy yours, which shall be recompense enough to me for all my pains andlabour.

The unfeigned sickness of this well-willing legate doth somewhat retard hisaccess to your person; but I trust verily, when God shall send him health, he willwith diligence recompense his demur. For I know well where he hath said(touching the saying and bruit that he is thought imperial) that it shall be wellknown in this matter that he is not imperial; and thus, for lack of time,sweetheart, farewell.

Written with the hand which fain would be yours, and so is the heart.

R. H.

Finis

Notes

Love Letters of Henry viii to Anne Boleyn

By J. O. Halliwell Phillips

The letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, perhaps the most remarkabledocuments of the kind known to exist, were published at Oxford in 1720 byHearne, in a volume entitled Roberti de Avesbury Historia de mirabilibus gestisEdwardi III, and inserted in the third volume of the Harleian Miscellany, 1745.These two editions differ considerably from each other, and still more so fromthe transcripts here given, which are taken from the edition printed at Paris byM. Meon, who held a situation in the Manuscript Department of the Bibliothèquede Roi. The fifth and thirteenth, however, which are not comprehended in theVatican collection, are supplied from Hearne's work. Of the seventeen letters ofwhich the series consists, eight are written in English and nine in French.

They appear to have been written after Anne Boleyn had been sent away fromcourt, in consequence of reports injurious to her reputation, which had begun to


be publicly circulated. Her removal indeed was so abrupt that she had resolvednever to return. The king soon repented his harshness, and strove to persuadeher to come back; but it was a long time, and not without great trouble, beforehe could induce her to comply. Her retirement did not take place before themonth of May, 1528; this is proved by a letter from Fox, Bishop of Hereford, toGardiner, Bishop of Winchester, dated the 4th of May, in that year, in which thewriter, who had just returned from Rome, whither he had been sent to negotiatethe king's divorce, gives an account of his landing at Sandwich on the 2nd, ofhis arrival on the same night at Greenwich, where the king then was, and of theorder he received from him to go to the apartments of Anne Boleyn, which werein the Tiltyard, and inform her how anxious he had been to hasten the arrival ofthe legate, and how much he was rejoiced by it. This letter, formerly in thecollection of Harley, Earl of Oxford, is now at Rome.

It must have been very soon afterwards that Anne Boleyn left the court. In fact,in the first letter (4 of this series) the king excuses himself for being under thenecessity of parting from her. In the second (6) he complains of the dislikewhich she shows to return to court; but in neither of them does he allude to thepestilential disease which in that year committed such ravages in England. Inthe third (10), however, he does advert to it as a disorder which has prevailedfor some time, and on which he makes some observations.

Between this letter, probably written in the month of July, and the sixth (17), inwhich the king speaks of the arrival of the legate in Paris, and which must havebeen written about the end of September, there are two letters (1 and 5)certainly written within a few days of each other. In the second of these two,viz., the fifth of this series, the king expresses his extreme satisfaction which hehas received from the lady's answer to his request. In the effusion of hisgratitude, he pays a visit to his mistress, and both address a letter (8) toCardinal Wolsey, in which Henry manifests his astonishment at not having yetheard of the arrival of Campeggio, the legate, in Paris. The date of this lettermay thus be fixed in the month of September.

The fourth (1), apparently written in August, is the most interesting of the wholecollection, inasmuch as it fixes the period of the commencement of the king'saffection for Anne Boleyn. He complains of "having been above a whole yearstruck with the dart of love," and that he is not yet certain whether he shallsucceed in finding a place in the heart and affections of her whom he loves.


The last letter (18), which makes mention of the illness of the legate as thecause of the delay in the affair of the divorce, shows that this correspondenceended in May, 1529, at which time the court of legates was open for the finaldecision of that point.

Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, subsequently created Earl of Wiltshire,after passing many years at the court of Claude, queen of Francis I of France,returned to England about the end of the year 1525, at the age of eighteen.Here she was soon appointed maid of honour to Queen Katherine, andattracted the particular attentions of Henry VIII, who was then engaged insoliciting a divorce from the Pope. The marked preference shown by the king forAnne Boleyn raised so much jealousy and slander that it was thought advisableby her family to remove the new favourite from the court; and it was during thisretirement at Hever, a seat of her father's in Kent, that these letters wereaddressed to her by her royal lover. It was no doubt to render them the moreagreeable that he wrote some of them in French. They breathe a fondness andan ardour which could scarcely leave room to doubt the sincerity of his love.

¶

We have reprinted Mr. Halliwell Phillips to call attention to the change in order inthis edition. A very little study of the letters themselves showed that the oldorder was impossible. The first six fall into a group by themselves, the 6th beingthe first to which we gave a nearly approximate date (July, 1527), before Anne'sreturn to court. Henry's passion must date therefore from 1526. The 7th is fixedby references in other correspondence to February, 1528, and the 8th to Junebefore she left the court. The 9th, 10th and 11th relate to the sweating sickness(end of June, order fixed by incidental references), and the 12th is after July 5th;the 13th and 14th are before her return. The reference to his book in No. 15fixes the date as August, and No. 16 is fixed for August 20th, by Wolsey'sfinding a lodging for Anne. No. 17 is fixed for September (16th?) byCampeggio's arrival at Paris (September 14, 1528), and No. 18 by his illness astowards the end of October. The scheme had been partly worked out when theeditor observed that Mr. Brewer had already arranged them in his Calendar ofState Papers, and to him therefore this order is due.

The old arrangement was 4, 6, 10, 1, 5, 17, 16, 2, 11, 3, 13, 9, 12, 7, 14, 15, 18,8.


Page x. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written July, 1527. "Aut illic, aut nullibi."Either there, or nowhere.

The signature means "H. seeks no other (heart). R."

xiii. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. This letter was written in July, 1527.

xvi. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written February, 1528. "Ultra posse non estesse." One can't do more than the possible.

xviii. Anne Boleyn to Cardinal Wolsey. MS. Cott. Vitellius, B. xii. f. 4. WrittenJune 11, 1528. Printed by Ellis as from Katherine of Arragon. There is anotherletter from Anne to Wolsey, thanking him for a present. It is very similar to this,and is found in MS. Cott. Otho. c. x. f. 218 (printed in Burnet, i, 104, and in Ellis,Original Letters, vol. i).

xxii. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written June 16, 1528.

xxv. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. This letter was written June 20. "It." Thesweating sickness. This is the 1528 epidemic.

"Your brother." George Boleyn, afterwards Viscount Rochford, executed 1536on a charge of incest.

xxviii. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written about June 22, 1528. "Welze" is thesame person as "Welshe" on p. xxx.

xxx. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written July 6 (?), 1528. "Suche" is probablyZouch.

"Destain." Stain.

xxxiv. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written July 20, 1528.

xxxvii. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written July 21, 1528.

xxxix. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written August, 1528. "Elengeness."Loneliness, misery.


"My book." On the unlawfulness of his marriage with Katherine.

xli. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written August 20, 1528.

xliii. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written September 16, 1528. Campeggioactually arrived at Calais on Monday, September 14.

xlv. Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Written at the end of October, 1528.

Transcriber's Note:

The original text contains decorative illustrations that are not represented in thistext file.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Love Letters of Henry VIII to AnneBoleyn, by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVE LETTERS OFHENRY VIII ***

***** This file should be named 32155-8.txt or 32155-8.zip ***** This and allassociated files of various formats will be found in:http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/1/5/32155/

Produced by Meredith Bach and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns aUnited States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copyand distribute it in the United States without permission and without payingcopyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part ofthis license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronicworks to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you chargefor the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not chargeanything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You


may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works,reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed andgiven away--you may do practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercialredistribution.

*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFOREYOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution ofelectronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associatedin any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with allthe terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file oronline at http://gutenberg.net/license).

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tmelectronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work,you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the termsof this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If youdo not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease usingand return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in yourpossession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a ProjectGutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms ofthis agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom youpaid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on orassociated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be boundby the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do withmost Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the fullterms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things youcan do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of thisagreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tmelectronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.


http://gutenberg.net

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" orPGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tmelectronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the publicdomain in the United States. If an individual work is in the public domain in theUnited States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a rightto prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creatingderivative works based on the work as long as all references to ProjectGutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the ProjectGutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freelysharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of thisagreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with thework. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping thiswork in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm Licensewhen you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern whatyou can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constantstate of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of yourcountry in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying,displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on thiswork or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes norepresentations concerning the copyright status of any work in any countryoutside the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to,the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever anycopy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "ProjectGutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" isassociated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost norestrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under theterms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online atwww.gutenberg.net

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from thepublic domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with


permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed toanyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you areredistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with therequirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for theuse of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth inparagraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with thepermission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply withboth paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by thecopyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tmLicense for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found atthe beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm Licenseterms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other workassociated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronicwork, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying thesentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access tothe full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed,marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing orhypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of aProject Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or otherformat used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tmweb site (www.gutenberg.net), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expenseto the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means ofobtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" orother form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tmLicense as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing,copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply withparagraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.


1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to ordistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that

- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use ofProject Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use tocalculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the ProjectGutenberg-tm trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under thisparagraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royaltypayments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which youprepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royaltypayments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project GutenbergLiterary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, "Informationabout donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you inwriting (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to theterms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm License. You must require such a user toreturn or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium anddiscontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tmworks.

- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any moneypaid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work isdiscovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution ofProject Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronicwork or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement,you must obtain permission in writing from both the Project Gutenberg LiteraryArchive Foundation and Michael Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tmtrademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effortto identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread public domainworks in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts,


Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may bestored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete,inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectualproperty infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, acomputer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by yourequipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the"Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the ProjectGutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tmtrademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronicwork under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs andexpenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NOREMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OFWARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED INPARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARKOWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOTBE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL,PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THEPOSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover adefect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive arefund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation tothe person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physicalmedium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The personor entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide areplacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, theperson or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunityto receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is alsodefective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fixthe problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OFANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TOWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the


exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitationset forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to thisagreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximumdisclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity orunenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remainingprovisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY

- You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, anyagent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of ProjectGutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and anyvolunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of ProjectGutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the followingwhich you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any ProjectGutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to anyProject Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronicworks in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete,old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts ofhundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance theyneed are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's goals and ensuring that theProject Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations tocome. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was createdto provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and futuregenerations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary ArchiveFoundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3)educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and


granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation'sEIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter isposted at http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project GutenbergLiterary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted byU.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. Fairbanks, AK,99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerouslocations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City,UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email [email protected]. Email contact links andup to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site andofficial page at http://pglaf.org

For additional contact information: Dr. Gregory B. Newby Chief Executive andDirector [email protected]

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg LiteraryArchive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide spreadpublic support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number ofpublic domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machinereadable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdatedequipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important tomaintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities andcharitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliancerequirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, muchpaperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We donot solicit donations in locations where we have not received writtenconfirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status ofcompliance for any particular state visit http://pglaf.org

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have notmet the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against acceptingunsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers todonate.


International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make anystatements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside theUnited States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation methodsand addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways includingincluding checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, pleasevisit: http://pglaf.org/donate

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works.

Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm conceptof a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For thirtyyears, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only aloose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed editions, allof which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. unless a copyright notice isincluded. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with anyparticular paper edition.

Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

http://www.gutenberg.net

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, including howto make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how tohelp produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter tohear about new eBooks.

The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anneby Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

A free ebook from http://manybooks.net/


The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

Documents

Transcript of The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn