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The Age of Anne Boleyn. III

© Wendy J. Dunn

During the reign of Elizabeth, members of Anne's own family believed the Queen's mother to be the younger sister, as shown when Mary Boleyn's grandson attempted to claim the Earldom of Ormonde through this fact of his grandmother's seniority. As Fraser comments, this seniority was not contested "although in the reign of Anne Boleyn's daughter there were plenty who would have done so, if it had been untrue." (9)

There is another a bit of evidence to sway my belief about how young Anne actually was during her time on the continent. Anne spoke English with a French accent until the day her husband and Thomas Cromwell found a legal way to murder her. An accent natural to our speaking voice is something usually acquired at a young age. That Anne had a French accent on her return to England suggests strongly that she first came to the Continent as a child. Also, the very fact that Anne seemed so 'French,' another thing not making her popular, either with the English court or with the common people, implies that she had been away from her family and England during the important character developing years of her childhood.

Supporting this view are the words of George Cavendish, loyal gentleman usher of Cardinal Wolsey. Cavendish wrote in his 'Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey,'

This gentillwoman Mrs Anne Boleyn beyng very yong was sent in to the realme of ffraunce.(10)

Surely Cavendish's choice of the words 'very young' tells us more than anything else that Anne was a child in France, and goes against the argument that, in 1527, Anne Boleyn first caught the King's eye when she was at least twenty-six. Even in today's world, women of twenty-six are unlikely to be regarded as 'girls.' Yet we have contemporary description from William Forrest - a supporter of Catherine of Aragon who was in England during her 'divorce' from the King- of Anne as a 'fresh young damsel.' (11)

We also have Anne Boleyn's own words to consider.Firstly there is Anne's letter written to the King after he arranges for her to be a maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon, just after the fire of the king's passion really started blazing bright. Anne writes at the start of this letter,

It belongs only to the august mind of a great king to whom nature has given a heart full of generosity towards the sex; to repay by favours so extraordinary artless and short conversation with a girl.