Today in 1533 there was a great ceremony held for Anne Boleyn as she went into confinement, pregnant with what everyone hoped would be a boy who would justify the last six years of wrangling that Henry had done so that he could marry her. Anne attended a special mass at the Chapel Royal, and then there were special prayers, and Anne retreated to her special chamber, which would have only women until the birth. Anne expected to stay there until the ceremony of churching that would be done about 6 weeks after the birth of the child. In a room like this there would have been all sorts of tapestries hung showing signs of fertility and easy labors, crucifixes, and symbols of childbirth. There were two beds – Anne’s main one, and then a smaller pallet on which she would actually give birth.
Anne wound up giving birth to Elizabeth just two weeks later.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on pregnancy and childbirth in Tudor England
Suggested links:
Episode 130: Anne’s pregnancy and Elizabeth’s birth
Episode 24: Pregnancy and Childbirth in Renaissance England
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.