that extreme licentiousness which characterised most of the monarchs of the
time, though one illegitimate son was born to him, three years after Mary,
by Mistress Elizabeth Blount--"mistress" being the courtesy title of
unmarried ladies. The Court however was undoubtedly licentious, and many of
his favourite companions were notoriously profligate. In 1522 Anne Boleyn,
then an attractive girl of sixteen, the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, came
to Court. At what time Henry became seriously enamoured of her is
uncertain; but from 1522 her father became the recipient of numerous
favours; and in 1525 was made a peer. It was a symptom of alienation
between Henry and his wife that the six-year-old son of Elizabeth Blount
was at the same time created Duke of Richmond and Lord High Admiral, with
much pomp. [Footnote: Brewer, ii., 102. _L.& P._ iv., 639.]

[Sidenote: 1527 The King prepares]

Apart from expressions in letters of 1526 which can only be reasonably
interpreted as having reference to a contemplated divorce, letters of
Wolsey's and the King's in the early months of 1527 prove incontestably
that Henry had at that time determined that he would marry Anne, and that
Wolsey [Footnote: Brewer, ii., 182, 184; _S. P. Henry VIII._, i, 194.
_L. & P._, iv., 1467.] was elaborating a case, for presentation to the
Pope, against the validity of the dispensation under which the marriage
with Katharine had been contracted.

What, then, was the King's attitude? In April 1527, he had made up his mind
to break with Charles, Katharine's nephew, and concluded a treaty with
France; but under this the French King's second son, the Duke of Orleans,
was to marry the Princess Mary. It is difficult to believe that when this
was done, the King was actually intending at a later stage to have Mary
declared illegitimate. He would hardly have proposed to alienate Charles