latristereina:By June 1530 Catherine herself had become Anne Boleyn’s direct target. The queen

latristereina:By June 1530 Catherine herself had become Anne Boleyn’s direct target. The queen, it seems, was too formidable a rival to leave for Henry to deal with on his own. His attempts at arguing with Catherine had already proved that to Anne. It was now that she threw a fit about Catherine’s shirt-making for Henry. ‘Recently he sent the queen some cloth begging her to have it made into shirts for him,’ Chapuys reported. The lady [Anne Boleyn], hearing of this, called before the king the person who had taken the cloth – one of the principal gentlemen of the bedchamber. Although the king himself acknowledged that this had been done by his order, she said many things to the bearer in the king’s presence, vowing that she would have him punished severely.It was, perhaps, no coincidence that this happened at one of those moments when Chapuys agreed with Catherine that, if she could get Henry on his own, she might win him back. Henry, the ambassador observed, did not seem to bear her ‘ill-will’ even though, when they talked, she was given to making him listen to her vigorous defence of their marriage. Anne obviously felt insecure. Perhaps she worried that he would weaken in the face of popular discontent and the prospect of a fight with the pope. She began to exert pressure on Catherine’s ladies as well. The young wife of the marquess of Dorset (another senior lady-in-waiting and close friend) left the court and two of Catherine’s most intimate friends had already been sent home on Anne’s command. Anne also began to realise just how well informed Catherine had been all along about Henry’s moves in the divorce case. In September 1530 she had Catherine’s regular gentleman courtier visitors – who were, undoubtedly, her informers – banned from seeing her. She also introduced ladies loyal to her into Catherine’s entourage to spy and report back. These were effective tactics. Catherine soon complained that she was no longer up to date with what was going on. Later in the year, Chapuys found himself at the centre of a bizarre charade enacted purely for Anne’s benefit. He was called in to speak to Henry during one of his regular visits to the court. The king both manoeuvred him towards a small window in a gallery and constantly tried to turn the subject of conversation to Catherine and the divorce. Chapuys was perplexed by his unusual vehemence and determination to return, again and again, to the same subject. Then he glimpsed Anne spying on them. ‘The lady was at a little window in the king’s chamber that looked onto the gallery where we were, from where she could see and listen to us,’ he said. Henry, in other words, wanted to show Anne that he was working hard to wear down opposition to their intended marriage.- Giles Tremlett, Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of Henry VIIIas requested by @catalinaofaragon​ -- source link

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