Anne boleyn’s relationship with her daughter, Elizabeth I ‘Gloriana’.
“Just as Anne had hoped, this child would one day bring England to such glory and power that its name would echo down the centuries as one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived. But in the stifling confines of the birthing chamber, on that hot September day, none of this could have been predicted, for the child that Anne had borne was not the hoped for prince – it was a girl.” - Tracy Borman
Elizabeth spent very little time with her mother Anne— as common in the era, especially for the daughter of a Queen. To Anne’s disappointment [she had very much wanted to breastfeed Elizabeth herself] Elizabeth was fed by a wet-nurse and lived a few miles away from Hampton court at her own household in Hatfield. This meant that Anne couldn’t see Elizabeth very often.
Despite the restrictions Anne (and Henry) visited Elizabeth as often as was allowed.
Anne took the upmost pleasure in planning Elizabeth’s wardrobe, personally selecting the materials and trimmings. In august of 1536, around three months after Anne’s execution, Lady Margaret Brian, Head of Elizabeth’s household wrote to Cromwell [chief minister to King Henry VIII] about the neglect that Elizabeth’s household had received, stating in one of her letters that:
‘For she [elizabeth] has neither gown nor kirtle nor petticoat, nor linen for smocks, nor kerchiefs, sleeves, rails, bodystychets, handkerchiefs, mufflers, nor "begens.”’
It can be safety assumed, through this letter and other records, that Anne was the one to make sure that her daughter Elizabeth was well looked after.
It is said that during Anne’s final days she carried Elizabeth in her arms, as she pleaded to Henry. Alexandra Alesius, The Scottish theologian, reputedly gave an account of an argument between Anne Boylen and Henry VIII to Elizabeth I saying, “Never shall I forget the sorrow I felt when I saw the most serene Queen, your most religious mother, carrying you, still a little baby, in her arms, and entreating the most serene King your father in Greenwich Palace, from the open window of which he was looking into the courtyard when she brought you to him. I did not perfectly understand what had been going on, but the faces and gestures of the speakers plainly showed the King was angry, although he could conceal his anger wonderfully well.”
The day after the execution of Anne Boleyn, the infant Elizabeth was quick to note the sudden changes that had happened, she was reported to have said, “How hath it, yesterday my Lady Princess, and today but my Lady Elizabeth?” Elizabeth had realised the change of titles as she went from a princess to a bastard, but it is not known when Elizabeth found out the fate of her mother.
It is a common myth that Elizabeth was ashamed or abashed about being the daughter of Anne Boleyn, commonly referred to as ‘The great whore’.
Despite her mother being executed when she was just a mere 2 years and 8 months old, We can assume that Elizabeth held great admiration for her mother.
Elizabeth I often wore a locket ring with a portrait of Anne inside, which must of taken great effort as her father, Henry VIII, ordered all portraits of Anne Boleyn to be destroyed in haste following Anne’s execution. This suggests Elizabeth’s love for her mother, even when she couldn’t publicly acknowledge her mother (it is said Elizabeth only did so twice in her lifetime) she still Honoured her in private, having a small portrait of her wherever she went.
Sadly neither Mother nor Daughter got to spend an abundance of time together, but we can certainly declare that they both held a lot of love for each other, even if it couldn’t be outwardly expressed.
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