Chapter 8
I woke to the sound of bells pealing loudly. Still half-asleep, I lay, unable to work out why the bells were ringing. Bells were only rung either in times of great sorrow, such as when a member of the Royal Family died, or of great joy, such as a Royal wedding, birth or…
I sat bolt upright. Of course! It was Anne's coronation day!
The maid sleeping at the foot of my bed, Lady Susanna, stirred at the sound of me waking.
"Princess?" she murmured.
"Get up, Lady Susanna. Get up and bring me a hot drink and some breakfast, please. Then lay out my golden taffeta gown. Make sure Lady Bryan and Mistress Norris attend to my sister too. Oh and tell the Lady Mary that if she wishes to withdraw in order to dress and prepare herself, then she may. I will not need her this morning."
Lady Susanna stared at me in astonishment. She hadn't seen me this animated in a long time. I laughed at her as I sprang from the bed.
"Have you forgotten, Lady Susanna? England welcomes her new Queen this morning. Hurry!"
Lady Susanna gulped and disappeared. Unable to keep still, I danced out into the Privy Chamber that I shared with Blanche. Kat caught sight of me still in my nightgown and rushed over.
"What are you doing, Princess?"
"My cousin is to be coronated today, Kat! Can I not be pleased on her behalf?"
"Have some decorum, Princess, please!" Kat steered me back into my bedchamber, clearly irritated by my behaviour.
"Pull yourself together. You're acting no better than a child. And you a grand young lady of almost 15 summers. What do you think the Court would say to that if they knew?"
I looked at Kat, stunned. She had hardly ever spoken to me that sharply. Not in the nearly ten years since she'd become my Lady Governess. And she wasn't finished, either.
"They'd condemn you for being your mother's daughter. For being a Howard. And that would reflect badly on Her Majesty."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Kat gave me no chance, instead pressing her point relentlessly.
"You know it's true that they would condemn you, Elizabeth. You know it. And you know it would reflect badly on Her Majesty. Today of all days, she does not need that. Today of all days, she needs you to be the perfect Princess of England, ready to support and admire her, whatever happens. Now, calm yourself, think over what I have said and have some breakfast. I'll come and help you prepare in a moment. I just have to help Lady Bryan with Blanche first."
Kat dipped a stiff half-curtsy, and then departed my bedchamber, her back ramrod straight. I had truly irritated her.
With a pang of guilt, I turned to the bowl of oats and fruit that Lady Susanna had brought me, resolving to restrain myself better from now on, no matter how much my bastard brother or anyone else might try to rile me. Kat was right. The Howards would be on display from now on; particularly today. As their eldest Princess, it would be up to me to set an example.
"Make way for the Princesses! Make way!"
Gowned in golden taffeta and looking the very picture of composure, I left my rooms, following my herald down to the Tower Courtyard, preparing to take my place in the lavish procession that would soon wind its way from the Tower through the streets of London all the way to Westminster Abbey, where Anne would be crowned and anointed Queen.
Blanche walked at my side, gloriously dressed in pale rose silk velvet. She was half bouncing as she walked, barely able to contain her excitement.
Though I knew I ought to restrain my sister, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Firstly, it would be hypocritical, given how I myself had acted not long before and secondly, in a girl of her age, unabashed delight was all too often endearing to the common people.
Instead of cautioning her, therefore, I merely let her go in front of me and seat herself in our ceremonial carriage. Personally, I paused, waiting nearby until the woman of the hour, Anne herself, entered the courtyard. Anne was absolutely stunning; resplendent in purple silk trimmed with silver ribbon and encrusted with tiny crystals that seemed to shimmer as she moved. Her beautiful ebony hair tumbled down her back in a cascade of curls. With my half-sister Mary, who was herself wearing a sumptuous gown of crimson velvet, carrying her train, my eighteen year old cousin looked every inch the Queen she had become only so recently.
As Anne reached me, I sank to the ground, spreading my skirts around me. "God Bless you, Your Majesty."
Reaching out a hand to me with a smile, Anne accepted my obeisance gracefully. "Thank you, Princess Elizabeth. Enjoy the celebrations, won't you?"
"Of course. Good day, Mary." I forced a reluctant smile at Lady Mary for the sake of a show of unity and waited for Anne to be helped into her magnificent horse drawn litter before taking my own seat alongside Blanche.
The procession itself passed in a blur. The crowds pressed against the carriages, at times even dangerously close, though never dangerous, or not for Blanche and I at least, for the commoners loved us, their pretty Howard Princesses; loved us with the fierce loyalty that only Englishmen and Englishwomen can bestow.
They shouted for Mary too, I noticed. They were thrilled to see her taking part in a great Court spectacle such as this one. But they didn't shout for the Duke of Richmond. My father's other bastard, his precious son, rode by the multitude, an almost unnatural silence following in his wake. If there was any one thing that could have made this day even brighter for me, that was it.
I revelled in the people's attention, accepting so many of their tributes that, by the time we reached the Abbey, I had a posy of flowers in every buttonhole, sash and on either side of my head, tucked into my hood. Blanche was the same, but there were still dozens of sprays of flowers in our carriage.
I didn't know what to do with them all until I saw Anne laughing and tossing them back into the crowd merrily, sharing a moment with the people who were now her people and who had come to see her on this special day.
Blanche and I followed her example, eliciting wild cheers from the multitudes around us, before escaping into the relative peace of the Abbey.
Once there, we filed into the Royal pew, watching in hushed, awestruck silence as Anne took the Oath required of her and received the ritual anointing before being acclaimed as Queen of England, seated on the great golden throne and crowned with St. Edward's Crown.
Archbishop Cranmer, my godfather, blessed her in the name of the Church of England before turning to his assistants, the Dukes of Suffolk and Richmond, in order to take the sceptre and orb to hand to Anne.
Charles Brandon handed the sceptre over without a murmur, but Edward clung stubbornly to the orb.
"Your Grace, I require the orb in order to finish the ceremony. Give it to me, please." Cranmer held out his hand but Edward refused to surrender it.
"No! I will not give it to you! She doesn't deserve to have it!"
"Your Grace…" Cranmer tried to interrupt, but Edward pressed on.
"She doesn't deserve to have it! That Harlot doesn't deserve to sit on the Throne of England!"
There was a collective gasp at my half-brother's words. Anne's confident smile faltered as she realised what he had called her.
"Your Grace!" Charles Brandon's hand clamped down on my half-brother's shoulder as he spoke to him urgently. At last, Edward's voice, which had risen to a scream, lowered to a snarl of malicious frustration.
"Take it then, if you must!"
He thrust the orb at Archbishop Cranmer with as much force as he could muster.
The elder man fumbled the catch, not expecting the strength of the thrust. The crystal orb spun through the air, glittering in the candlelight.
Despite myself, I had to stifle a shriek as I watched the fragile sphere falling to the ground, turning over and over.
Blanche's hand found its way into mine and even the Lady Mary caught my eye, her face frozen in shock. We were all thinking the same thing. If that sphere hit the ground…Everyone knew it was bad luck. How could it not be bad luck?
And then, all of a sudden, Brandon launched himself forward, flinging himself into the path of the falling orb. Catching it firmly in one hand, he rose, dusted off his grand robes and presented it to Cranmer with a slight bow.
The relief in the Abbey was tangible. Cranmer swiftly handed the orb to Anne before any more harm could come to it, almost gabbling the next speech as he tried to recover the situation.
"Here be the two sceptres of the sovereign. May you go forth and prosper and may you bear a new son of the King's blood. Honour and Grace be to our Queen Anne!"
Anne tightened her hold on the two precious objects and managed another smile, though she still looked shaken.
As we all cheered her, I couldn't help but steal a glance at Edward. Unlike the rest of us, he wasn't cheering. In fact, he was barely restraining a scowl. His eyes, meanwhile, were blazing with a kind of disappointed triumph.
At that, I knew for certain that he had deliberately set out to spoil Anne's coronation day. He had wanted to cause a scene; wanted to cause trouble on what ought to be the most golden day of all days.
I wanted to strangle him; to take him and shake him until he apologised to Anne publicly for his behaviour, but I knew I couldn't.
If nothing else, this day had been marred enough without the Royal Family seeming any more at odds.
Forcing myself to ignore the Duke of Richmond's presence, I turned and swept out of the Abbey in the Queen's wake, head held high.