repairs before the sale was finally completed six years after his death. 37 He had been well known to have ‘a singular mind, affection and pleasure to resort unto [Hanworth] for the health of his body’. 38
There were also reminders everywhere of Elizabeth’s mother. Anne Boleyn had received the house as a present from Henry VIII back in 1532, the year prior to their marriage. Anne had brought her considerable style to the place. The furniture – boxes, cupboards, desks, chests, tables and even doors – had been selected by her from Hampton Court, newly acquired by Henry after Cardinal Wolsey’s fall from favour. She had ordered decorative battens for the roof of her private chapel and a chimney ornamented with painted ‘antique’ scenes. Everything was exquisitely done. Anne had removed ‘certain antique heads’ of terracotta from Greenwich Palace to incorporate them into Hanworth too. These classical busts of long-dead emperors now glared down unsmiling from the walls. They were so important to the decorative scheme that Anne had employed two skilled Italian craftsmen to place them for her.
Hanworth was a Renaissance palace in miniature. Henry VIII had maintained his second wife’s work there after Anne’s execution, before passing the house to Catherine in 1544. The ghost of Anne Boleyn must have been everywhere for the late queen’s daughter, as she studied and danced in its lavish rooms.
Henry’s ample expenditure on Hanworth had created ‘a fine royal seat’ that provided ‘a scene of his pleasures’. 39 Now Thomas Seymour was determined to have his pleasure there as well.
Kate Ashley had actively encouraged Seymour in his earlier pursuit of Elizabeth, believing his protestations of love in his proposal letter. 40 For Mistress Ashley, a marriage of Elizabeth to Thomas would have offered the possibility of a stable home and status for Henry VIII’s illegitimate daughter and, more importantly as far as Kate was concerned, the promise that the girl would remain close to her in England rather than being taken abroad as the bride of some foreign prince. She would later declare that ‘I would wish her his wife of all men living’. 41 With no evidence at all, Kate had somehow got it into her head that Henry VIII himself had desired Seymour as a son-in-law. As such, she genuinely believed that Elizabeth was meant for Thomas Seymour and that Catherine had effectively stolen the girl’s betrothed. 42
Yet the fact remained that Thomas’s marriage to Catherine meant that he was now, in Kate’s eyes, out of bounds. She was therefore deeply concerned when informed of his morning visits to the princess. In spite of her fondness for Seymour and the fact that she considered herself his ‘friend’, Kate’s higher loyalty remained with Elizabeth. She was not prepared to let Seymour, through rash behaviour, wreck Elizabeth’s reputation, and in the autumn of 1547 that was all his attentions seemed to promise for the princess.
Kate resolved to keep a closer eye on her charge, going to her early in the morning. She was sitting in Elizabeth’s chamber one morning when Thomas entered to find the princess still asleep in her bed. He must have seen Kate waiting, but merely smiled, ignoring her as he reached once again for the bed curtains. If anything, Kate’s presence as an involuntary but powerless chaperone seemed only to serve to inflame the situation, as Seymour climbed into the bed itself, pulling the sheets over his bare knees. Although Elizabeth shrank back, as she had done on the previous occasion, there was nowhere for her to go. She held the covers up in an attempt to preserve her modesty, but did not struggle as her visitor reached down to kiss her where she lay. This was too scandalous for Kate, who darted forward crying ‘go away for shame’: she was ignored. To the maids, with whom Seymour flirted, it was nothing but a playful game between a stepfather and his stepdaughter. How could anyone
There were also reminders everywhere of Elizabeth’s mother. Anne Boleyn had received the house as a present from Henry VIII back in 1532, the year prior to their marriage. Anne had brought her considerable style to the place. The furniture – boxes, cupboards, desks, chests, tables and even doors – had been selected by her from Hampton Court, newly acquired by Henry after Cardinal Wolsey’s fall from favour. She had ordered decorative battens for the roof of her private chapel and a chimney ornamented with painted ‘antique’ scenes. Everything was exquisitely done. Anne had removed ‘certain antique heads’ of terracotta from Greenwich Palace to incorporate them into Hanworth too. These classical busts of long-dead emperors now glared down unsmiling from the walls. They were so important to the decorative scheme that Anne had employed two skilled Italian craftsmen to place them for her.
Hanworth was a Renaissance palace in miniature. Henry VIII had maintained his second wife’s work there after Anne’s execution, before passing the house to Catherine in 1544. The ghost of Anne Boleyn must have been everywhere for the late queen’s daughter, as she studied and danced in its lavish rooms.
Henry’s ample expenditure on Hanworth had created ‘a fine royal seat’ that provided ‘a scene of his pleasures’. 39 Now Thomas Seymour was determined to have his pleasure there as well.
Kate Ashley had actively encouraged Seymour in his earlier pursuit of Elizabeth, believing his protestations of love in his proposal letter. 40 For Mistress Ashley, a marriage of Elizabeth to Thomas would have offered the possibility of a stable home and status for Henry VIII’s illegitimate daughter and, more importantly as far as Kate was concerned, the promise that the girl would remain close to her in England rather than being taken abroad as the bride of some foreign prince. She would later declare that ‘I would wish her his wife of all men living’. 41 With no evidence at all, Kate had somehow got it into her head that Henry VIII himself had desired Seymour as a son-in-law. As such, she genuinely believed that Elizabeth was meant for Thomas Seymour and that Catherine had effectively stolen the girl’s betrothed. 42
Yet the fact remained that Thomas’s marriage to Catherine meant that he was now, in Kate’s eyes, out of bounds. She was therefore deeply concerned when informed of his morning visits to the princess. In spite of her fondness for Seymour and the fact that she considered herself his ‘friend’, Kate’s higher loyalty remained with Elizabeth. She was not prepared to let Seymour, through rash behaviour, wreck Elizabeth’s reputation, and in the autumn of 1547 that was all his attentions seemed to promise for the princess.
Kate resolved to keep a closer eye on her charge, going to her early in the morning. She was sitting in Elizabeth’s chamber one morning when Thomas entered to find the princess still asleep in her bed. He must have seen Kate waiting, but merely smiled, ignoring her as he reached once again for the bed curtains. If anything, Kate’s presence as an involuntary but powerless chaperone seemed only to serve to inflame the situation, as Seymour climbed into the bed itself, pulling the sheets over his bare knees. Although Elizabeth shrank back, as she had done on the previous occasion, there was nowhere for her to go. She held the covers up in an attempt to preserve her modesty, but did not struggle as her visitor reached down to kiss her where she lay. This was too scandalous for Kate, who darted forward crying ‘go away for shame’: she was ignored. To the maids, with whom Seymour flirted, it was nothing but a playful game between a stepfather and his stepdaughter. How could anyone
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