monarch

It was a warm spring morning before dawn, but in Hyde Park outside, servants in livery embroidered with Tudor roses were already busy.During the Tudor period, hunting was not only a recreational activity, but also a social occasion, and was even considered part of education.For Henry VIII, hunting is a way to relieve his boredom, and it can also help him to escape from the complicated government affairs.And today, the entire court will come to Hyde Park to participate in King Henry's favorite deer hunting activity.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the nobles in the palace arrived at the hunting ground one after another.Like other occasions in the court, the first to arrive are mainly some minor nobles, squires and low-ranking civil servants.They rode some old or poor-looking horses, and the hunting gear they carried were basically half-worn, while several of their wives crowded together in a carriage.Ladies basically wear new hunting suits made of French silk, of course because French silk is extremely cheap this year.Elderly ladies took their young daughters by the hand and gave them instructions, expecting them to have a good son-in-law for them; and their daughters, some of whom had experience in such occasions, appeared prepared. , and the girls who came to this kind of occasion for the first time showed nervous expressions, but their eyes were full of expectations.

The sun gradually became angry and dispelled the mist in the morning. It was a beautiful early spring morning, which was suitable for the nobles to go hunting.At this time, the big nobles with status finally appeared, they rode tall horses, and servants brought them all kinds of brand-new hunting tools: crossbows for hunting stags, spears for hunting bears and eager hunting dogs.Their wives rode in richly decorated carriages and wore newly made riding attire, although many of them would never ride a horse today.The only exception was Mr. Cromwell, who, instead of a horse, rode in an ordinary carriage, apparently not intending to end at all.

When the sun was already high in the sky and everyone was waiting anxiously, the king's guide finally appeared.He rushed into the hunting ground on a white horse and shouted: "Your Excellencies, ladies! Your Majesty is coming soon."

The crowd that had been chaotic before quickly restored order, and those who were still noisy before quieted down and pretended to be submissive, but this did not prevent them from scrambling for each other in secret, hoping to stand as far as possible in an easy-to-be-disturbed place. where the king sees.

Henry VIII appeared at last, as usual, in his clothes with gold and diamond reflections that almost blinded one's eyes, and he was like a huge mirror that animals could see from half a mile away King's Trace.He rode a great Andalusian steed, a gift from his former cheap nephew, Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, followed by the king's valets in single file.

The queen and prince's carriage arrived after the king.The queen was in a dark red hunting suit, and surprisingly she had finally replaced her heavy German hood with a lighter Spanish one, and even her maids followed suit, making The queen's small court was a lot to watch for a while.The only exception was Catherine Howard, who was still dressed in Anne Boleyn's French style, which was much lighter and more elegant than the Spanish style.She leaned against the edge of the window of the carriage, staring at the king with the affectionate eyes of a young girl Huaichun, which made Ms. Mary, who was sitting with the queen, disgusted.

Edward and Princess Elizabeth shared a carriage. For them, the whole hunting was just a spring outing, and they were not old enough to end it.Robert Dudley was accompanied in the car, and he seemed to please Princess Elizabeth, who kept pestering him for talking.Edward looked at his sister. Sure enough, the two of them finally came together in history. Their ambiguous relationship has always been one of the most fascinating topics in British history.Robert, however, seemed uninterested, and his attention was on the prince.Edward will go to Dudley Manor with him to stay for a few days after the hunting. Lord Robert is busy thinking about the next three days with the prince, and he doesn't notice the little princess's mind at all.Watching all this, Edward felt a secret sense of happiness in his heart.

Henry VIII rode slowly past the courtiers who saluted him, and he was satisfied to see that the entire hunting ground was ready: "Misters and ladies, it's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope you all have a good time today!" He waved his hand, The guard next to him picked up the match, and a small cannon made a "bang".

The hunt has begun.

The main game in Hyde Park is deer, and the King's gamekeeper has worked hard to keep the deer population at a level that will ensure that His Majesty is happy to return home.Sure enough, just five minutes after His Majesty entered the woods, the hounds smelled the prey.

"Let go of the dog!" cried the king.

The rope leading the dogs was let go, and the hounds ran towards the depths of the woods like arrows leaving the string.The king and his attendants followed closely on horseback.The Andalusian horse under Henry's crotch was walking on the muddy ground, which made the king very satisfied.Passing through a dense undergrowth, the king and his party came across a handsome stag, on which the hounds were attacking and biting, and the poor animal struggled but could not escape.

"Crossbow, quick!" cried the King excitedly. It was a handsome animal, and its head and antlers would undoubtedly be one of his proudest possessions.Upon seeing this, Mr. Culpepper hurriedly handed His Majesty the pair of exquisitely decorated crossbows he often used.Henry VIII took the bow, aimed at the struggling prey, and released an arrow, which hit the stag in the throat.

The poor animal wailed a few times, finally exhausted, fell to the ground and swallowed its last breath.

Mr. Culpepper rode up to the king: "What a beautiful animal, congratulations, Your Majesty."

The king laughed. He watched the attendants put the dog on the rope again: "Indeed, today is a worthwhile trip, my dear Mr. Culpepper." He looked at the deer greedily: "This The guy probably weighed over 200 pounds."

Mr. Culpepper was about to answer, when suddenly all the hounds became excited, "It seems to be a bear, Your Majesty!" said the experienced gamekeeper excitedly.

The king was very happy, it was a surprise, and it seemed that he was destined to return home today with a lot of rewards.Turning to his attendants, he said, "This is truly a gift from God. Let's go, gentlemen!" Suddenly, from the direction of the bear came a girl's scream.

The head of the hunting ground turned pale with fright: "God, some lady must have met that bear!" He suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. If a lady with a noble status was unfortunate... the consequences would not be something he could bear.

If the king was excited before, now his blood is racing.The king has always claimed to be the number one knight in Europe. Now such a scene where a hero saves the beauty still happens when the entire court is present, and he will never let it go. "A lady is in danger. Gentlemen, take up your arms and let's go!" He clamped the horse's belly, and the Andalusian neighed and rushed forward, followed closely by his attendants.

……

Miss Catherine Howard was about to faint. Although she had been mentally prepared, the reality was obviously more terrifying than expected.The bear almost knocked down his white mare with one paw, and now the horse had already died, and the bear was staring at him, approaching him step by step.Her mind was in a mess, and she leaned against the trunk of a tree blankly, feeling as if her feet had been nailed to the ground.

The bear didn't seem to understand what the girl in front of him was. It smelled the smell in the air, but it didn't like it.So it raised its paws, trying to touch the strange creature that was trembling under the tree...

"Bang!" The sound of muskets broke the silence in the woods.Catherine, who had her eyes closed, jumped in fright, and then heard a dull sound, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.She mustered up her courage, opened her eyes, and found the bear lying in front of her, lifeless.She looked up and saw the king was watching her on his horse ten feet away, with a smoking musket in his hand.

The king got off his horse, and when his leg landed on the ground, he suddenly found that the wound on his leg that hurt every time he touched the ground didn't seem to hurt so much today, and he was overjoyed.The king looked at the trembling girl in front of him. It was the little girl from the Howard family. The king was a little happy. He wanted to find a chance to see her again, and now this is perfect.He helped Catherine who was slumped on the ground: "Miss Catherine, are you okay?"

"I'm... fine, thank you, Your Majesty." Catherine's face was bloodless, and she tried her best to squeeze a smile on her snow-white face, but just as the smile was on her lips, she passed out. fell into the arms of the king.

King Henry picked her up, how light the girl was.The king stared at her pale face, which was always as beautiful as a rose, but now looked extremely weak and pitiful. The child must be frightened, the king thought.He refused the help of his attendants, he carried Catherine onto the horse with all his strength, and then rode on himself. "Let's go back, gentlemen." He hugged the girl in front of him and galloped towards the exit of the park.

……

At the entrance to the park, dignitaries who were not on the safari were having a picnic.The Queen's luncheon was set under a tall plane tree, and the servants had laid out the cushions, and the food and wine were ready.

The queen has a good temperament, and besides the royal family, she also invited other ladies and even a few nobles.Mr. Cromwell also received the invitation, but it was too embarrassing for him to come here to have a drink with many political opponents, so he declined the queen's invitation.

The queen took off the silk gloves on her hand, picked up the knife enthusiastically, and cut the ham in front of her.She took back a silver plate and put the sliced ​​ham on the plate. The people around were stunned. She actually cut the meat herself in public?The queen smiled and said to Edward, "Honey, would you like some ham?"

Edward felt that all eyes were on him, and he didn't want the queen to be embarrassed. "Thank you, ma'am." He nodded slightly and took a slice of ham.

With the prince as an example, others followed suit and accepted the ham cut by the queen herself. However, many people had weird expressions on their faces, but the queen didn't realize it.Instead of eating utensils, she held a piece of ham in her hand, and shouted to her maid: "My dear Hilda, come quickly, this ham is really like Cliffs's!" Wife, such casual behavior of ladies at picnics is very common, and she didn't notice anything wrong.

Suddenly there was a noise from the crowd in the distance, and the queen looked around in surprise: "What's the matter, is something wrong?"

A sharp-eyed person saw the king's maroon horse: "It's Your Majesty, Your Majesty is back."

"Is it so fast?" The queen felt very strange, and less than an hour had passed.Safaris in Cliffs usually last five or six hours.Maybe England has different customs, but it doesn't end in an hour.She stood up suspiciously, but was surprised to find that there was another person sitting on the king's horse, and it was a woman, who looked a little familiar.

As the king approached, the queen finally saw clearly that the girl sitting in front of the king was her maid Catherine Howard. She was leaning on the king with her eyes closed and her face pale.The queen suddenly felt uncomfortable. She suppressed her emotions and tried her best to look worried: "Oh! My God! Miss Catherine, what's the matter with her?"

When no one answered her, the king galloped his horse into the middle of the clearing, jumped off before the horse stopped, and immediately hugged Miss Catherine, who was still on the horse, and shouted, "Where's the doctor? Doctor?"

The king's physician, Dr. Cesaro Paganini from Italy, ran out of his tent with a medicine box, and was grabbed by the anxious king before he could stand still: "Look at Miss Catherine, she was unconscious all the time."

Dr. Paganini helped the glasses that were about to be shaken off by the king, bent down, and checked Miss Catherine: "Your Majesty, Miss Catherine seems to be overly frightened, and there is nothing serious." After speaking, he opened the medicine box and went to get it The smelling salt bottle inside.

The king snatched the smelling salt bottle from the doctor's hand, put it gently under Miss Catherine's nose, and turned on the switch.Acid smelling salts give off a pungent smell.

Miss Catherine coughed a few times and finally opened her eyes.She was a little dazed, as if she didn't know where she was, and suddenly she seemed to see the king's face clearly, and when she found herself lying in the king's arms, her face turned red: "Your Majesty... I'm so sorry..." As he spoke, he stood up.

The king stopped her movement: "Don't be too polite, you need to rest." Then he picked up Catherine and walked towards the king's royal tent.

There was an awkward silence among the crowd, and after a long while the Queen spoke first: "My God, what's going on, Mr. Culpepper?" She still had a smile on her face, but she was obviously stiff. .

Mr. Culpepper said deferentially, "Miss Catherine has met a bear, ma'am." He distinctly heard the deep breathing of the ladies in twos and threes.

"Bear?" The queen looked a little frightened.

"Yes, ma'am," Culpepper said, "His Majesty happened to be passing by, and heard Miss Catherine's cry for help, and arrived in time to save Miss Catherine."

"It's really good news." The queen said, but her tone was already a little weird.

"Your Majesty is really a noble knight." The Duke of Norfolk was the first to react and shouted.

"Long live His Majesty the King!" was the voice of the Earl of Hertford.

"Long live His Majesty the King!" The rest of the people also responded, and the sound of "Long live" resounded through the sky for a while.

In the big tent, the king looked at Miss Catherine with a shy look in his arms, and felt a little proud when he heard the cheers outside.

Another rewarding hunt.