Cromwell was also active as the chief architect of diplomacy, much to Norfolk’s annoyance, who always preferred a French alliance to an Imperial alliance. In March 1537 we know that Thomas Wyatt, who had returned to some degree of favour, was sent as ambassador to the court of Charles V, ostensibly to improve relations and negotiate a marriage arrangement between Mary and Charles’ son, but also to prevent Charles from moving closer to France – the usual game of diplomacy. Cromwell may have been fond of Wyatt and had saved his life more than once, but he grew frustrated with Wyatt’s carelessness, and penchant for spending more than he earned, something we see in The Mirror and the Light.
After the death and destruction of 1536, marriages, coronations and births must have been welcome themes in 1537. Chapuys reported that Jane’s coronation was due to take place that summer, but speculated that Henry might hold off on such an expense until Jane proved she could carry an heir. Sometime in the spring of 1537 it was announced that Jane at last was pregnant, to the resounding joy of the country and to Henry’s great relief. Ambassadors remarked that he was more attentive than he had ever been, if that were possible, and when she developed cravings for quails he made sure plenty were shipped across from Calais.
Gregory Cromwell was also now of a marriageable age, and Cromwell had his sights set on Bess Seymour, Jane’s younger sister. Historically, Bess wrote to Cromwell in March of 1537 to ask for financial assistance. Their relationship appears to have been quite close, and Mantel places them in conversation in 1537. In a humorous example of crossed wires, Bess believes Cromwell intends to marry her himself, which would certainly solve her financial difficulties.
Bess and Gregory were married sometime in the summer of 1537. The match was ambitious and placed Cromwell in an interesting position – his son was now brother-in-law to the king, and what did that make him? In The Mirror and the Light, it is the increasingly inscrutable Wriothesley who casually remarks that who would have thought Gregory would be so useful in uniting Cromwell with the king’s family. One wonders if Cromwell felt uneasy at how dangerous this might be.
A BIRTH AND A DEATH
Jane’s pregnancy had progressed well, and on 9 October she went into labour, a long and agonizing ordeal that lasted for two days. Finally, on the 11 October, the bells rang out that Henry and Jane had been delivered of a prince. Jane had triumphed.
The child, Edward, was robust and healthy, and on 15 October the infant was christened in an opulent ceremony in the chapel royal at Hampton Court. As was the custom, the king rewarded his favourites with titles and land – Edward Seymour was made Earl of Hertford and Thomas Seymour was elevated to the Privy Chamber. William FitzWilliam was also rewarded with the Earldom of Southampton, but Cromwell received nothing. Mantel’s Cromwell worries that his failure to capture Reginald Pole has displeased Henry enough to withhold an elevation, although in August he had been inducted into the prestigious Order of the Garter.
However, the celebrations were short-lived. The day after the christening Jane complained of nausea and fever; within a few days she began to weaken and on 24 October she died. Henry was inconsolable and the whole nation went into mourning. In The Mirror and the Light, Jane’s sister, Bess, tells Cromwell that Jane was lucky and unlucky: lucky to become queen of England, and unlucky to die of it. Jane was buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor, and she was given a moving epitaph:
Here lies Jane, a phoenix who died in giving another phoenix birth. Let her be mourned, for birds like these are rare indeed.
THE SEARCH FOR A NEW QUEEN
This was the first time Henry had been left without a wife, and for the first time he did not have a successor waiting in the wings. Cromwell and Henry’s councillors were divided as to whether they should look to France or the Holy Roman Empire for a suitable candidate. Henry was roused from his mourning stupor by the prospect of a pretty bride as the line-up began. In The Mirror and the Light Cromwell lists a number of royal and noble women who might be suitable, but Henry already has his own favourite, namely Mary de Guise, and is piqued when Cromwell informs him that it appears she is to marry James V of Scotland.
Undeterred, Henry proposed the match to the French ambassador Louis de Perreau, Sieur de Castillon. In the historical meeting, which began neutrally and quickly went downhill, Castillon suggested other options. Henry demanded that he must see the woman in person before making a decision, to which the real Castillon is said to have said curtly that it was not custom to send ladies to another court as if they were horses to be bought. Would Henry insist on mounting them too before making his choice? The real Castillon wrote that Henry was immediately embarrassed and tried to make light of the conversation, but Mantel’s Castillon goes further: ‘Has your Majesty considered that it might be difficult to find any lady to marry you at all?’ ‘Why?’ the king asks. ‘Because you kill your wives.’ While there is no evidence that Castillon went so far, he did leave England very soon after the meeting, to be replaced by Charles de Marillac.
Cromwell continued to press for an Imperial match, and historically Henry was interested in Christina of Milan, the niece of Charles V: 16 years old, pretty and the daughter of the former King of Denmark. Henry begged the Emperor, via Chapuys, to arrange a set of marriages: Mary to Charles’s nephew, Dom Luis of Portugal, and Henry himself to Christina. Hans Holbein was sent to paint Christina’s portrait, which Henry became entranced by. But then
