peremadeleine:“For some time after the coronation, reports of [Anne’s] health continue

peremadeleine: “For some time after the coronation, reports of [Anne’s] health continued to he good, but there is reason to believe that the advanced stages of the pregnancy were, in fact, difficult. Henry, it was later said, was at his wits’ end, even hoping for a miscarriage if it would save Anne’s life.  […] “[After Elizabeth’s birth] there is … no evidence of the crushing psychological blow that some have supposed. […] After all the alarms [during her pregnancy], Anne had an easy labor; the child was perfect and took after her father. Henry’s predominant emotion was relief. […] Letters announcing the news were sent out far and wide, a second and public Te Deum was sung at St Paul’s, and preparations were at once put in hand for a magnificent christening on Wednesday, 10 September, to be followed by bonfires and free wine in London. “[…] The name Elizabeth was given to the child, rather than the name of one of the godmothers, deliberately to identify her with the royal dynasty, especially Henry VIII’s mother. “[…] [However] the birth of Elizabeth may have cemented the relationship between the parents, but it undeniably weakened Anne’s position in the eyes of the world.  […] [W]ith a daughter in the cradle, Anne still had to establish her claim to the throne. The birth of Elizabeth undid much of what the coronation set out to achieve; Anne Boleyn remained a pretender. If she had had a son in September 1533, her position would have been beyond challenge.” | Eric Ives The birth of Elizabeth Tudor has been consistently misrepresented either “the beginning of the end” of or as a major negative turning point in her parents’ marriage. While the arrival of a daughter rather than a son on 7 September 1533 was a disappointment, it was not as terrible a blow to Henry VIII as is commonly depicted.  That the newborn princess was such a healthy, pretty infant boded well for the future, and the king was relieved that Queen Anne had a brief and successful labor. The late months of her pregnancy had been so precarious that Henry was even said to have wished for a miscarriage if it meant that his “most dear and most entirely beloved wife” would live. If true, it was–with hindsight–a sadly ironic testament to his love for the woman he had fought so hard to marry.  Both Henry and Anne were charmed by their new daughter. Though the lavish celebrations for the birth of a prince were canceled (as they had been upon the birth of Princess Mary seventeen years earlier), plans were nonetheless made for an impressive christening. Perhaps Henry’s choice to name his second daughter after his mother, whom he adored, also indicates his affection for her, though Anne Boleyn’s mother was also named Elizabeth. Anne’s failure to bear Henry a son was, of course, not without long-term consequences. It was not, however, an immediate disaster as is so often portrayed in fictional accounts. -- source link

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