Welcome to Royal Romance Week Day Six here at White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is going to be about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, specifically about the Chateau Vert Pageant that took place in 1522, which did take place on Shrove Tuesday, which is today celebrated as Mardi Gras. I found this to be the perfect topic for this Royal Romance post, as today is Mardi Gras this year! Now, in 1522 Shrove Tuesday was on March 4, so that is the exact date when the Pageant took place. I also want to note that the Chateau Vert Pageant took place at the home of Cardinal Wolsey when he was still the right hand of the King.
This famed Pageant is often a huge spectacle of a scene in many fictional interpretations of Henry and Anne’s romance. The scene full of flirtation and innuendo in the Showtime television series The Tudors and is a highlight of the series’ first season. While that interpretation is entirely fictional, the event’s spectacle is something that certainly took place in 1522. They really did cast the Ladies of the Court as Virtues, with Anne Boleyn prophetically being cast in the role of Perseverance! However, many historians question the idea that Henry VIII took any notice of Anne during this first event Anne participated in when after her return to the English Court.
It is believed that Henry was still having his famed and infamous affair with her sister Mary Boleyn at the time of the Chateau Vert Pageant. Mary also had a role in the performance, being cast as Kindness. So, there is a chance that although this is the first time historians can definitively put Anne and Henry in the same room together, it is possible that Henry only had eyes for Mary Boleyn!
I also want to acknowledge that Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII was cast as Beauty, and Jane Parker (eventual sister-in-law of Anne) was cast as Constancy. It is clear that many of the key players of the next several years were all in one place! At this point in the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, each was likely more concerned with other lovers. As already stated, Henry was very likely still in a sexual relationship with Mary Boleyn. Anne Boleyn was very likely already beginning her ill-fated romance with Henry Percy, whom she famously was said to have been very in love with, even possibly engaged to at one point, but their romance was thwarted by Cardinal Wolsey. This would lead to Anne’s disdain for Wolsey to grow! It should also be noted that Anne’s father was attempting to set up a marriage with her cousin, James Butler in order for him to cement a connection to their Irish title, Earl of Ormond.
However, even with the fact that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s love story likely did not historically begin on March 4, 1522, with the Chateau Vert Pageant, it is a seminal event in the history of their lives. If Henry was indeed bedding Mary Boleyn, this shows his waning interest in his wife with more clarity and also lends to historical theories that Henry may have been the father of Mary Boleyn’s children, even if this cannot be proved with any certainty. We can see that Anne’s focus was on a different Henry entirely, but that her romance with another was never to be, yet it shows us her desirability to other men, not just the King. Anne was making a splash at Court from her first appearance publicly in this Pageant. We can see why she would very soon gain the attention of the King himself!
I also mentioned above that her role being that of Perseverance was a prophetic one. I truly have always seen it as such, for who had more ability to persevere against anything that may come their way than Anne Boleyn? She was able to continually plan and conspire to gain her title as wife and Queen to Henry VIII, against all odds! Her time as Henry’s mistress, who refused to consummate their love due to the desire for their romance to be legitimate, along with any children they would conceive, is some of the most iconic and romantic periods of their story. In my opinion, this is one of the loveliest times of their lives, full of hope that they would one day marry and have an heir once Katherine of Aragon was no longer Henry’s wife! To be honest, I have to surmise that the foundation of this epic romance was set with this Chateau Vert Pageant.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this little deep dive into the Chateau Vert Pageant and its impact on the love story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. What is the most interesting part of the Chateau Vert in your opinion? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the Chateau Vert scene from The Tudors. I found the image on https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Tudors-Season-1/dp/B00ET137V0.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives
- https://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2011/06/14/anne-boleyn-at-the-the-chateau-vert-pageant/
- https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/chateau-vert-pageant-what-when-where-anne-henry-meet/