Anne Boleyn is one of the most controversial women in English history; we argue over her, we pity and admire and revile her, we reinvent her in every generation. 

Hilary Mantel

King Henry VIII was planning a trip to France to meet with the French King, and he wanted to take Anne Boleyn with him as his Queen. However, they were not yet married, and as she was not a peer of the realm, she would not be recognized in France. So Henry decided to create Anne the Marquess of Pembroke.

The Earl of Pembroke title had been extinct since the death of Henry’s great uncle, Jasper Tudor. It also signified the birthplace of his father, King Henry VII, so the title was held in high regard by Henry. He could bestow no greater title on Anne until they were married.

The ceremony to grant Anne the title and land in Wales worth over £1,000 was held by Henry VIII in Windsor Castle on September 1, 1532. It was witnessed by many of Henry’s peers and clergy, including Anne’s father and uncle, Thomas Boleyn and Thomas Howard, as well as Charles Brandon, Edward Lee the Archbishop of York, John Stokesley the Bishop of London, and Stephen Gardiner the Bishop of Winchester. The French ambassador was also present.

Anne was accompanied by Mary Howard, her cousin, the Countess of Derby, and Countess of Rutland. They were led into the ceremony by the Garter King-at-arms. Anne wore ermine trimmed velvet and many jewels, and let her hair flow freely behind her, as was common for coronations. There was no doubt that Henry wanted everybody to know that he intended to make Anne his wife and Queen.

Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, read out the patent of creation to the crowd while Anne knelt before the King, who invested her with the coronet, robe of estate, and charters of creation and of the lands.The title was also granted to any male heirs, either legitimate or illegitimate, that Anne may have. The title of Marquess of Pembroke ceased to exist either upon Anne’s marriage to Henry or upon her death in 1536. It is unknown for definite when she stopped calling herself that.

The creation of Anne Boleyn as the Marquess of Pembroke is significant for several reasons. It was a very high honor for a woman to be given a peerage. At the time, there were only a few other women who held such a title. This shows how highly Henry VIII thought of Anne and how important she was to him. The title of Marquess of Pembroke was associated with the House of Tudor. It had been held by Henry VIII’s great-uncle, Jasper Tudor, and it signified the birthplace of his father, King Henry VII. By giving Anne this title, Henry was making a statement about her status and her importance to the Tudor dynasty.The ceremony to grant Anne the title was a public display of Henry’s commitment to her. It was held in Windsor Castle, in front of many of Henry’s most important subjects. This showed that Henry was serious about making Anne his wife and queen.

The creation of Anne Boleyn as the Marquess of Pembroke was a significant event in English history. It showed how powerful and influential Anne had become, and it foreshadowed her eventual rise to queenship.

A sign of the changing times in England. The 16th century was a time of great upheaval and change, and the creation of a woman as a peer of the realm was one of the many ways in which the traditional order was being challenged. Anne Boleyn was a strong and independent woman who refused to conform to the expectations of her time, and her elevation to the peerage was a reflection of her growing power and influence.