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"Cardinal Wolsey, his favourite and first minister, being dissatisfied with the Emperor for not having favoured his pretensions to the Papacy, in order to revenge himself of him, contrived an alliance between France and the King his master; he put it into the head of Henry the Eighth, that his marriage with the Emperor's aunt was null, and advised him to marry the Duchess of Alenson, whose husband was just dead; Anne Boleyn, who was not without ambition, considered Queen Catherine's divorce as a means that would bring her to the Crown; she began to give the King of England impressions of the Lutheran religion, and engaged the late King to favour at Rome Henry the Eighth's divorce, in hopes of his marrying the Duchess of Alenson; Cardinal Wolsey, that he might have an opportunity of treating this affair, procured himself to be sent to France upon other pretences; but his master was so far from permitting him to propose this marriage, that he sent him express orders to Calais not to speak of it.
"She was of a good family in England; Henry the Eighth was in love with her sister and her mother, and it has been even suspected by some, that she was his daughter; she came to France with Henry the Seventh's sister, who married Louis XII that Princess, who was full of youth and gallantry, left the Court of France with great reluctance after her husband's death; but Anne Boleyn, who had the same inclinations as her mistress, could not prevail with herself to go away; the late King was in love with her, and she continued maid of honour to Queen Claude; that Queen died, and Margaretta, the King's sister, Duchess of Alenson, and since Queen of Navarre, whose story you know, took her into her service, where she imbibed the principles of the new religion; she returned afterwards to England, and there charmed all the world; she had the manners of France, which please in all countries; she sung well, she danced finely; she was a maid of honour to Queen Catherine, and Henry the Eighth fell desperately in love with her.
We purpose not at this time to make triall of Don Pedro his courtesie, whereof we are suspitious and doubtful, and not without good cause: vsing withall good words to the messenger, and willing him to come aboord him, promising securitie and good vsage, that thereby he might the better knowe the Spaniards minde: whereupon hee in deed left his frigat, and came aboord him, whom hee intertained in friendly sort, and caused a cuppe of wine to be drawne for him, which be tooke and beganne, with his cap in his hand, and with reuerend termes to drinke to the health of the Queene of England, speaking very honourably of her Maiestie, and giving good speeches of the courteous vsage and interteinement that he himselfe had receiued in London, at the time that the duke of Alenson, brother to the late French king was last in England: and after he had well drunke, hee tooke his leaue, speaking well of the sufficiencie and goodnesse of our shippes, and especially of the Marchant Royal, which he confessed to haue seene before, riding in the Thames neere London.
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