Bring Up The Bodies

Cromwell meets with Lady Worcester, one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting. He offers to help Lady Worcester in exchange for her providing information: Lady Worcester is suffering due to rumors that her current pregnancy is the result of an adulterous affair and is also in financial trouble. She tells him that Anne is known to sometimes meet with men alone, and she would be willing to testify to this if required. Cromwell also meets with Anne’s father (Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire) in hopes that Anne can be persuaded to quietly live as a nun, which would allow the marriage to be easily dissolved. George Boleyn also comes to the meeting.

Cromwell presents his case to them. He wants to argue that before becoming involved with Henry, Anne was promised to Harry Percy and had sex with him, thus creating a preexisting binding commitment to another man (and rendering her subsequent marriage to Henry invalid). As Cromwell explains, “[I]t would be better for your daughter if she had in fact been married to Harry Percy. Then her marriage to the king could be proclaimed null” (250). Anne’s father seems willing to go along with this plan, although George objects. Thomas Boleyn is primarily concerned with preserving the wealth, titles, and properties that the family has accumulated, and he agrees to talk with his daughter.