monarch

From the windows of Greenwich Palace, the sky outside was a leaden gray.The weather was too gloomy for a wedding, but Mr. Cromwell was not willing to delay it for a minute, and the King didn't care at all.

Anne of Cliffs sits at her dresser as her maid combs her hair.She looked at herself in the mirror, a long-lost blush appeared on her pale cheeks.These days are like galloping horses, the mother's anxiety and the younger brother's complacency in the castle of Cliffs, the English teacher at the Chessboard Palace in Calais, the farce that night at Richmond Palace... a play is like a revolving lantern Some flashed through her mind, and the last one was Henry's gloomy face that night. Fortunately, he forgave me, she thought, and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Your Highness?" The girl's sweet voice interrupted her thinking, and the queen-to-be looked up. It was her maid, Catherine Howard, a 16-year-old girl. French hood with pearls.She had that sweet smile that reminded Anne of roses in bloom in spring.She liked this girl very much, and Catherine Howard reminded her of her sister, but she would not compete with her for an ideal husband like her sister.Anne smiled kindly, "Miss Catherine, what's the matter?"

Catherine Howard held the crown made of forget-me-nots in her hand, "Your Highness, the crown is ready." The forget-me-nots for the crown were newly delivered from the greenhouse this morning, and Catherine even felt that it would be ready in the next moment. Drop dew.She was a little envious. Francis could not find forget-me-nots that bloomed in the winter, and even his uncle, the Duke, might not be able to do it.

Princess Anne noticed Catherine's expression, and she felt that she could see what the child was thinking. "Look, our young Miss Catherine already wants to get married." She smiled and said, Catherine Howard's face was a little red, "Don't worry my dear, one day you will find a perfect husband." Around The maids all laughed.

Catherine Howard said with a smile: "I hope so, Your Highness."

"Maybe you already have a sweetheart? If you want, I can tell His Majesty to help you find a match." Queen Anne found that she liked this little girl more and more. It's great. At such a young age, this girl can become The brightest jewel in one of the most prominent courts in Europe, and at this age her memories are only of the dark rooms of Cliffs Palace and the stern mother, the crazy father and the indifferent brother. Anne feels a little bitter .

"Thank you, Your Highness, I will tell you when the time comes." Catherine said shyly. The day after she arrived at the palace, she wrote a letter to Francis Direham, indicating that the relationship between them was completely over. .

The queen's wedding attire is extremely gorgeous, she is wearing a golden robe, and several maids are bringing her a crown studded with pearls, decorated with forget-me-nots, and a string of huge gemstones is worn around her neck. The necklace, if she walked in the sun wearing this, it would surely sting people's eyes.Catherine looked at her enviously. The clothes and jewelry she bought for £[-] were gorgeous enough, but they were completely incomparable with the jewelry and dresses worn by the queen, just as the sun would undoubtedly overwhelm the moon.I'm afraid there is no nobleman in England or even in Europe who can afford these huge expenses. She thought bitterly, if she could wear this outfit one day, even if it was only for an hour, she would be willing to pay any price...

In the king's dressing room, King Henry watched sullenly as his attendants dressed him in his gown.Although the king didn't like this marriage, it has to be said that he did face the wedding with a serious attitude.He also wore a golden gown, studded with pearls, with buttons made of pure gold.It was very cold, and the king put on a purple velvet cloak over his dress, and the sleeves and bosom of the cloak were festooned with diamonds, rubies, and pearls.The hat on his head is also adorned with countless jewels, and the hat is so heavy that few people can even wear it on the head.

Even though he was used to the extravagance of the Tudor dynasty, Cromwell was still quite shocked by what he saw.He was a little uncertain about the king's attitude. His majesty looked more like he was attending a funeral, but he was still dressed up, which gave him some hope. Maybe there is a turning point in this marriage?Although he also knows that the hope is very slim.Recently the king has been noticeably alienated from him, he has started holding closed-door meetings with the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Suffolk and even the Earl of Hertford, it has been a long time since he was thrown aside .He also heard that the king began to seek his own personal lawyer to consult legal issues about marriage contracts, and Cromwell himself was a top legal expert, but the king kept him secret.The atmosphere made him very uneasy, and he felt that he might have stepped on the edge of a precipice.

King Henry's attire was finally finished. He looked at himself in the mirror, and his face became more gloomy.Cromwell had an urge to ask the king how he was feeling, but reason made him suppress this urge.Sure enough, after a while, the king turned his head and looked at him gloomyly. Cromwell could only lower his head as much as he could.

After almost half a minute, when Mr. Cromwell's underwear was already wet with his sweat, the king finally spoke coldly: "Mr. Cromwell, I assure you, if it is not for my Kingdom, I will never do what you forced me to do today.” After speaking, the king walked out of the room, his leg was a little limp because of the wound that had been cracked a few years ago, but he refused the attendant’s request. With his help, he limped out of the room without looking at Mr. Cromwell again.

……

There were not many spectators in the chapel, and there were less than 50 members of the royal family and nobles who were lucky enough to be present.Prince Edward stood in the most prominent position on the side of the first row with his two older sisters.The church is extremely luxuriously decorated, with banners decorated with Tudor roses hanging from the ceiling. Although King Henry abandoned the Catholic faith, he still admired the church's gorgeous decoration and complicated sacraments.

Princess Elizabeth seemed a little bored waiting. She first tried to talk to her sister, but Ms. Mary's serious expression quickly dispelled this idea.So she started to turn her head to talk to her younger brother, but was stopped by the disapproving eyes of the stern elder sister, so she could only tear the decorative ribbons hanging around the church with a lack of interest.Although Elizabeth has the title of princess, King Henry has no interest in this daughter, so her sister, Ms. Mary, has been taking care of her, which also makes the relationship between the sisters more similar to that of mother and daughter.

Ms. Mary's air pressure seemed to be lower than usual, and she still had that serious expression, but the sense of coercion exuding from her at this time made everyone in the court avoid it.A Lutheran, is this mad?Is he going to join forces with the Protestant alliance in Germany, these rebellious princes who dare to defy the emperor and the pope?Although this Anne seems to be honest, who knows what the Principality of Cliffs and the Protestant League behind her plan.After all, the Emperor of the Empire is her cousin, and in any case she cannot stay out of the coming storm.

Not far away, the Duke of Suffolk, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Earl of Hertford, the three giants in the Privy Council, were talking and laughing together uncharacteristically. A small no man's land, but they didn't realize it.Although they were just chatting, anyone with a discerning eye could see that they seemed to have reached some kind of temporary alliance, and the target of this alliance was self-evident.

Mr. Cromwell stood in the second row farthest from the three political opponents. Last night was another sleepless night, and he was exhausted physically and mentally.The whole of England is not enthusiastic about the religious reform he promoted. The big nobles only want to rob the property of churches and monasteries, and have no interest in religious issues; the citizens of London are indifferent to any religion, as long as they do not pay tithe tax while the peasants in the countryside have long been accustomed to the religious life left over from history, and are full of hostility to Cromwell's reforms full of Lutheran temperament.Abroad, the Pope had proclaimed Cardinal Reginald Pearl, son of the Countess of Salisbury, the last of the Yorkist blood, the rightful owner of the English throne.France and Spain shook hands and formed an alliance, intending to invade England across the sea.The only possible ally now is the Protestant League of Germany, and, selfishly as he may be, isn't he doing what is best for England?Maybe the marriage had really been a mistake, maybe he should have chosen Anne's sister, Amelia, but it was a done deal.Now as long as France and Spain are still against the king, he cannot abandon the friendship with the Protestant League, and he, Cromwell, happens to be the bridge of this friendship.

Although Mr. Cromwell hated these gorgeous churches, he couldn't help praying at this time, hoping that the friendship between King Francois of France and Charles, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor would last forever.

……

Queen Anne walked into the church, she looked a little nervous, her cheeks were reddish, and the maids followed her. Her maids had all been replaced by British.She walked to the altar under the leadership of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and waited for the arrival of the king where she should be, looking like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.There was a muffled hum from the guests, as if overwhelmed by her splendor, perhaps the king didn't loathe the marriage so much?Many people have their own plans in mind.

Mr. Cromwell looked at the ugliness of these people, and his heart was full of contempt. Although he also hoped that the king would change his mind like these people, his own reason told him that it was absolutely impossible.Thomas Cromwell was not a visionary; only a ruthless realist could have climbed from penniless to his present height.Yet he now stands on the abyss, supported by the vagaries of the European situation, and Mr Cromwell does not like uncertainty.He seemed to feel a pair of malicious eyes, and when he looked up, he found that the Duke of Norfolk was looking at him with a half-smile.This old fox, let's wait and see, his eyes meet the Duke's, it's too early to say anything now.

The band started to play, and the king finally appeared at the door, and he passed through the crowd, and the crowd parted for him, with everyone's heads bowed, and the king passed between them like Moses parting the Red Sea.The Archbishop of Canterbury greeted him graciously. As the leader of the Church of England, the current king has already completely surpassed religion, and the archbishop was able to occupy the position of leader of the Church of England entirely because of the support of the king.The king's face was very normal, and he even looked a little kind. He walked up to Annie and smiled at her.

The ceremony begins.

The archbishop gave a passionate speech, and then the king tenderly put on the ring for his new wife and kissed her. Everything seemed normal, even a little fake. It seemed that everyone was performing a show with masks Same.When the archbishop finally said the words "I hereby announce that you two are married", thunderous applause and cheers of "Long live Queen Anne" erupted in the audience, but only Cliff seemed to applaud sincerely. The Sri Lankan diplomatic mission, even Cromwell was a little absent-minded.

After the wedding, there was a luxurious banquet. Although it was cold outside, the banquet was still held outside as usual.The garden is full of golden tents, so that the guests do not have to be attacked by the cold wind.The cloud had cleared and the sun began to shine, and when the king and queen came out of their tents, everyone was blinded by the light of the gold and precious stones on their clothes.Plates of carefully prepared dishes in the kitchen were delivered to the guest's room, and the gnomes and clowns were joking around and making mischief. The whole scene looked like a grand garden party.

Finally at nine o'clock in the evening, everything was settled, the king and the new queen were sent to the marriage bed, Archbishop Cranmer prayed for the king, queen and England before the bed, everyone saluted the king and queen, the bed The surrounding curtains were drawn, and the bedtime ceremony was over.

For many, tonight will be a sleepless night tormented by their own curiosity.

……

Annie watched nervously as the king lay awkwardly beside her. An indescribable stench emanated from his body, as if his famous wound had opened again.What's next?She had never dabbled in this area, and Cliffs's court was much more traditional than England.She lay there stiff, waiting for the king's next move.

The king finally straightened his legs, and he gasped for breath, as if in great pain, and after a long time she finally calmed down.He turned his head to Annie, his expression completely invisible in the darkness.It's coming, it's about to start, the queen is a little frightened.

The king did nothing, however, but said in his usual tone, "Good night, my dear."

"Good night, Your Majesty." The queen replied subconsciously.She couldn't believe it, so it's over?Not even she was stupid enough to think that this was the way a wedding night should go.She lay there waiting a long time, and it was not until the King's snoring broke out that she was finally convinced that the long night was indeed over.