The official surces claim that Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII married secretly in earl 1533 (25.01). It has been however suggested that they underwent two marriage ceremonies. Chrinolcer Edward Hall, who wrote during Henry VIII’s reign claimed that :
“The kyng, after his returne [from Calais] maried priuily[privily] the lady Anne Bulleyn on sainet Erkenwaldes daie, whiche mariage was kept so secrete, that very fewe knewe it, til she was greate with child, at Easter after”
Considering that Elizabeth was born in September 1533, she must have been conceived around December 1532 and it is not enitirely impossible that the couple decided to marry after succesful meeting with king Francis I in Calais.
Wedding scene from 'The Tudors'
Henry VIII was not yet free to marry Anne, because his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was still officially valid. The second marriage ceremony that took place in January 1533 is more reliable date, but perhaps, on 14th of November 1532 Henry VIII vowed his loyalty to Anne Boleyn, in order to ease her conscience, because evidence indicates that they consummated their relationship on their return from Calais in 1532.
Another wedding ceremony took place on 14th of November, but few years earlier – young Catherine of Aragon married Arthur Tudor, an heir to the English throne. It was a huge and glittery ceremony, but as we know – only six moths later joy changed into grief when young prince died and Catherine became a widow.
