The Other Boleyn Girl

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination, antigay bias, sexual content, child death, and pregnancy loss.

It is summer 1523. Cardinal Wolsey hosts May Day revels for the king. As the king toasts Mary as the Queen of May, she is embarrassed to be taking the queen’s place. Cardinal Wolsey, who has a great deal of power in the kingdom, breaks the betrothal between Anne and Henry Percy. When she tries to defy her family, Anne is sent in disgrace to Hever. Anne throws a tantrum in their room. As she and George physically restrain her, Mary reflects, “It felt as if we were fighting something worse than Anne, some demon that possessed her, that possessed all us Boleyns: ambition” (144). Her mother, warning Mary not to fight for Anne’s freedom, dictates a letter that Mary writes from Anne severing her promise to Henry Percy.

In the winter of 1523, Mary tells the king she is pregnant. She knows this pains the queen. Henry broods about not having a legitimate son.