Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII's Obsession by Elizabeth Norton

how serious the king’s love for her had become. She probably replied indignantly, stating that whilst she loved him she was too good to be his mistress. Anne’s refusal of the role of permanent royal mistress meant that there was only one option left for Henry if he wanted to have her. Both Anne and Henry knew that this was marriage.
    Henry did not put his proposal to Anne in writing and he may have either sent a messenger to Anne at Hever or waited for one of her visits to court. It must still have been a shock to Anne however when the king finally offered to make her his wife and she insisted on time to consider his proposal. George Wyatt suggests that Anne was reluctant to agree to marry Henry as she loved Queen Catherine. It is more likely that she wanted time to discuss the matter with her father and to consider the seriousness of the king’s offer. Thomas Boleyn ‘was not a little joyful’ when he heard of the proposal and this must have helped persuade Anne to accept the king. Anne was probably also attracted to Henry both as a man and as a king and she would have wanted to accept him, although she was also aware of the dangers of doing so.
    Anne’s feelings were in turmoil following the king’s offer of marriage and she expressed this fact in a gift she sent to Henry along with her acceptance, both of which were very well received. Henry wrote:
‘I thank you very cordially, not only for the handsome diamond and the ship in which the lonely damsel is tossed about, but chiefly for the fine interpretation and the humble submission which your kindness has made of it; thinking well that it could be very difficult for me to find occasion to merit it if I were not aided by your great indulgency and favour, for which I have sought, seek, and will ever seek, by everything in my power’.
     
    It was clear to Henry that the storm-tossed damsel was Anne herself, beset by the troubles she would face in accepting him. He continued saying:
‘The demonstrations of your affections are such, the beautiful words of the letter so cordially couched, as to oblige me ever truly to love, honour and serve you, begging you to continue in the same firm and constant purpose, assuring you that so far from merely returning your devotion I will out-do you in loyalty of heart were that possible, and you, with no bitterness in yours, can further that end; praying also that if at any time I have offended you, you will give me the same absolution as you yourself demand; again assuring you that henceforward my heart shall be dedicated to you alone, with a strong desire that my body could also be thus dedicated, which God can do if he pleases’.
     
    Henry, ecstatic with happiness at Anne’s promise, does not appear to have realised the difficulties that they would face before they could be married and signed his letter ‘H seeks AB no other’ with Anne’s initials enclosed in the drawing of a heart. For the first time in his life, Henry was deeply in love and it is difficult to see how Anne cannot have returned some of this fervour. She would have been excited at the prospect of becoming a queen, a role she could never even have considered possible only a few short months before.
    Anne did not set out to attract the king but she may also have been attracted to him in turn and this attraction would have turned to love as his devotion to her became evident. Henry was still one of the most handsome men in Europe and there can be no doubt that Anne was interested in him. Henry’s marriage proposal was beyond Anne’s wildest dreams and she hoped to marry quickly. This was also Henry’s dearest wish and the prospect of marriage increased his lust for Anne. In one letter, when they were again separated, Henry begged Anne to return quickly to court, stating that he was ‘hoping very soon to tell you by word of mouth the further pains I have suffered by your absence’. For a man who would eventually have six wives and several mistresses,