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The Mistresses of Henry VIII Review
Of late, what with the quinticentennial of the coronation of Henry VIII, King of England, there has been an influx of new histories and novels about this notorious king and his many wives. One title that stood out for me was Kelly Hart's multiple biography about the rather shadowy women that were the king's other women.The Mistresses of Henry VIII takes a look at not just the three ladies-in-waiting that the king made first his mistresses and later his queens, but also those women who entertained him, but never acquired the status of queen. Some were mothers or possible mothers of his illegitimate children, others were there to entertain or amuse him.
Not only does Hart explore the three women who were rumoured to be the king's mistresses before he married them -- Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard -- but those whom he did not marry. At least one of them gave him a living child -- and male to boot -- Bessie Blount -- but the other was Mary Boleyn, Anne's elder sister, who may have borne him two children as well, another son and a daughter. But there were more mistresses in Henry VIII's life, including various women of the court. And this is where it gets interesting.
For sexual mores of the time had particular ideas about what was proper in a marriage when a wife was pregnant. Sex during pregnancy was considered to be harmful to both the fetus and mother, and of course, since conception had already occurred, this was sex for pleasure's sake, a big no-no when it came to the Church's teachings. And Henry, being virile and not used to abstaining in just about anything, took mistresses to fill the sexual void when his wives were pregnant. For a mistress, having a fling with a king not only could be an adventure, it could lead to quite a few gifts in terms of land and trinkets, as well as political favours to her family from a grateful king. On the flip side, being a mistress wasn't just about bouncing in a bed either -- mistresses were expected to entertain and amuse their kings, and Henry VIII had high standards for his women as well.
And Henry's Queens were expected to ignore or look the other way when it came to his mistresses. After all, they were the ones getting the glory and the status, and if it caused a few scenes between husband and wife, or between Queen and lady-in-waiting, most of the time it was a low simmer, if that. And most of Henry's mistresses were married off, or already married when the king tired of them or moved on. But when it came to Anne Boleyn, the dynamic changed. Anne famously declared that while she was not good enough to be his wife, she was certainly too good to be his mistress -- an event that drove Henry to eventually divorce his wife of many years, Katherine of Aragon, and the break with the Catholic Church. Suddenly, there was an entirely new game in Henry's court, especially when Anne got pregnant and the king turned to other women for sexual satisfaction...
I found this to be very interesting reading, from discovering about the mistresses, and possible mistresses that Henry VIII had in his marriages, to what happened to these various women after their time with the king were over. While Henry's Queens are very well covered in other books, the mistresses at best got only a slight mention in histories, and tended to be turned to fodder for light historical romances. And usually these are riddled with plenty of inaccuracies or just plain silliness.
What is most revealing here is Henry himself. Thorough these stories I could see that not only was he a man that had never denied himself anything that he wanted, he was a romantic. Henry loved to chase women, playing the part of the courtly lover, and for the time that he was with them, being theirs alone. Of course, the flip side to this was that if a woman didn't meet his standards or got above herself, royal displeasure could be great indeed -- the tale of Catherine Howard is the most obvious.
However, Kelly Hart does go out onto the fringes of history with the final theories in her story. Most glaring was that Henry was thinking about taking Katherine Willoughby, the dowager Duchess of Suffolk as his mistress and possible queen. And somehow, this just didn't sound right. This was in the final years of Henry's life, when he was married to Catherine Parr, and obesity and chronic illness had made him nearly immobile. Not just that, but the Duchess was the widow of his closest friend, Charles Brandon, and somehow, I really can't see Henry doing this. So that was the most strange part of the story.
Along with the narrative, there is an insert of black and white reproductions of paintings and drawings of some of the players in the story. There are also extensive notes, bibliography and an index. The book itself isn't very long, just over two hundred pages, and makes for quick reading.
Summing up, I enjoyed this. It revealed a new aspect to the life and reign of King Henry VIII that had been long ignored, and helped to understand some of the odd (at least to modern eyes) behaviour that he indulged in. It was also interesting to see what happened to some of Henry's mistresses after the romantic relationships ended, especially with Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn.
Overall, about four stars. I would recommend it for those who are very interested in the early Tudor period of English history; otherwise, it's pretty obscure for general reading.
Recommended.
The Mistresses of Henry VIII Overview
The full story of the "other women" in Henry VIII's life is presented here-everyone knows about the six wives, but this thrilling account of love, lust, and betrayal examines the mistressesWant to learn more information about The Mistresses of Henry VIII?
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