latristereina:Catherine, for all her ‘broken English’, made the speech of her life. But

latristereina:Catherine, for all her ‘broken English’, made the speech of her life. But its effect was not so much rhetorical as forensic. By appearing to take her husband’s protestations of continuing love at face value, she had twisted his words to devastating effect. If Henry was so keen for the marriage to be found valid, she had said, how could he possibly object to her appeal to Rome? Surely it was the most natural thing in the world?    Still worse from Henry’s point of view was his own response. The heat of the moment, his instinctive gallantry, the overwhelming sympathy of the audience for his wife – all drove him to give some sort of agreement to Catherine’s request.    It is unclear just how far he went. Campeggio understood the exchange to mean that Henry had actually ‘granted [Catherine] full liberty to write and send messengers to Rome and to his Holiness [with her appeal]’. Catherine understood the same. But Henry, appalled at what he had done under pressure, later tried to introduce qualifications. It proved impossible. He had given his wife the word of a King, spoken in public, that she could appeal to Rome. He could never retract. She could act with a clear conscience.    It was Catherine’s final and most effective coup against the Great Matter. She had knelt. But she had fought and won.    There was nothing more for her to do in the court. ‘She rose up, making a low courtesy to the King, and departed from thence.’ It was supposed that she would have returned to her former seat; instead ‘she took her direct way out of the house, leaning, as she was wont always to do, upon the arm of her General Receiver called Mr Griffith [Richards]’. Seeing his prey escape, Henry ordered the crier to call her back. 'Catherine, Queen of England, come into the court!’ he cried. Richards said to her: 'Madam, ye be called again.’ 'On, on,’ she replied. 'It makes no matter, for this is no indifferent court for me; therefore I will not tarry. Go on your ways.’ Twice more the crier repeated his summons. But Catherine ignored him. She never returned.- David Starkey, Six Wives -- source link

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