I can’t remember where I heard this but I’ve heard some historians say that Anne wasn’t actually very politically savvy and the evidence they gave was the way she alienated people. Is this true? I mean, I know she definitely had political opinions but was she actually a good politician?
I mean, it's sort of a counterfactual, right? There's also a lot of misogyny at play here with that opinion, imho. I say this because, you know, if the judgement is that those that fall victim to political coups by reason of their downfall were never skilled politicians, then why is this primarily said of AB, but never Wolsey or Cromwell?
Also, I mean, context matters, right? Does it really matter, or speak to lack of political skill, that she 'alienated' Wolsey once Wolsey became, relatively, powerless? I suppose it does if you're of the Mantelite persuasion that Cromwell's support of AB as Queen was always superficial, some long-con of long-simmering resentment about her treatment of Wolsey. Anne also managed to win members of Wolsey's household to her side, including Richard Page, who was her ally for the rest of her tenure (her political, career...? ykwim). On the other hand, Cromwell, but there are less notable examples of this ilk, too, such as ...well, now I can't remember his name, but I cited him in another ask, I'll look for him later, but, there's another man from Wolsey's household that became Anne's ally, but later turned once she became Queen, and became a supporter of the Princess Mary (to be edited, linked here, later). So, that is to say, yes, she sometimes alienated people, even those that had previously allied themselves to her, I believe Francis Bryan is another example (I think there was some dispute with her brother between them, which couldn't have helped matters).
There's also like, this certain, how to say this...symmetry when it comes to the amount of influence someone in high title had versus the amount of people they alienated, if that makes sense? The Boleyns were hated for their rise, for many causes, among them that every favour which went to them wasn't granted towards someone else, because it was their allies and favorites that were being promoted, which fueled resentment of those that felt left in the cold. This was similar to the Woodvilles' rise and consolidation of power in the previous century. Power is not limitless power, either, so, it's not feasible to grant every favor that every potential ally asks for... yk, the example that's often cited in arguments for her lack of political savvy is the contentious relationship with one of the few Dukes in the realm, also her uncle. There is not actually an entire consensus on whether or not this relationship was that way, though? I believe Warnicke and Hoak have argued otherwise, that Chapuys sort of misunderstood their dynamic, that they were actually allies, as evidenced by her involvement in the marriage of his son to Frances de Vere, his daughter to Henry Fitzroy, that the report of the Duke being the one to report news of Henry VIII's accident to her in Jan 1536 actually denotes their confidence and even a close relationship.
Maybe there is an argument to be made that she could have been more conciliatory towards her opposition in court, and outside (her stepdaughter, and stepson, apparently Fox&Guy have recently argued), and, I mean...maybe? But also, to give favor to those opposed to reform would have alienated her allies that were reformers. There wasn't any feasible way for her to win over everyone, and there were always going to be those who were implacably opposed to her, and I believe she clocked them. I don't think it would have been 'politically savvy' to spend much of her political capital on appeasing them, if that makes sense. I think the amount which she expended (the offers to her stepdaugher, for example) was actually pretty sound.
There's also just, like, generally speaking, a misunderstanding of the sources which are cited for this argument. One example which comes to mind is the oft-cited 'petty' nature of the choice of Gertrude Courtenay as godmother to Princess Elizabeth. And like, it's not untrue that she was one of the godmothers, and it's probably not even untrue that this was a petty choice (although to claim this alone was enough to cause her enmity and later involvement in the ousting of the Boleyns from power would be...facile, at best), but she's usually the only one mentioned in pop history. Another godmother chosen was Agnes Howard (Tilney), the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, who also carried Queen Anne's train (it was also Howards doing this, the other was Mary Howard, and Anne's final offer to her stepdaughter included the promise that she would not have to carry her train in her invitation to court), was Anne's step-grandmother and seems to have been her supporter. Margaret Bryan has been cited as another example of Anne's faux pas, petty jaundice, and further alienation of her stepdaugher's supporters, in her choice of her as governess for Princess Elizabeth's household, since she had previously been Mary's. Oft elided is that Lady Bryan was also Anne's half-aunt, and thus Elizabeth's great-aunt, and that wanting her daughter in the care of experienced and trusted relatives seems fairly reasonable and understandable.
(Yeah, there's like, much that's characterized as 'petty' and 'alienating' that was at the least Henry's choice, as well, even if it there's great likelihood it was influenced by Anne? Princess Elizabeth's household was much larger in retinue and much higher in cost than her sister's had ever been, even when in Ludlow, as part of the politics of ostentation, her train took circuitous routes to better show the pomp and proclaim her title to the people... the former, at least, could only create a larger network of patronage and loyalty, though, and the latter seems a better alternative than any degree of subtlety, which would not telegraph the upcoming Act of Parliament affirming Elizabeth heiress, so...even if the impetus for all the above was the result of the push from her mother, I mean, I don't find any of the above to 'lack' political savvy)
There's also been a misread of Henry's remark at Anne's banquet prior to her first appearance as Queen, and the deliberate invitation of the Duchess of Norfolk (COA's ally, Thomas Howard the Duke of Norfolk's wife, and Anne's inveterate enemy) there, despite knowing her distaste for her royal niece, as both barbs that alienated her even further, and maybe even led to her husband's rancor towards his niece as well (alternately, she invited her because she knew they hated each other and wanted to piss them both off, or, she was invited because she wanted to lord over her new status, as she'd done on a previous occasion, some insult paid via her aunt being either farther behind in the train than she should have been according to rank or seated in a lower-ranking place than her niece, before Anne was Queen). However, the woman invited and in attendance, who Henry loudly (and probably drunkenly) proclaimed Anne's 'fine dowry' towards, was actually again (or, previously), Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, so this demonstrates a continuity of favor, not pettiness towards an enemy.
Anyway, that's my take. I might one day post some master-list of Boleyn alliances from the period of 1528- , because my general impression is that her network of allegiances and support has been underestimated and overshadowed by the court gossip that Chapuys has reported, which doesn't even seem to be given its due parsing as far as this claim, either (for example, it seems likeliest that the identity of the man whom Anne berated for sending Henry's linen to COA so that she could make shirts from it was actually Henry Norris, "one of the principal gentlemen of the bedchamber", given that it was the Groom of the Stool who was responsible for the King's linen and shirts, so, like...Norris might have been upset and even angry about being publically berated in that manner, but was certainly not forever alienated by it, and remained a staunch Boleyn ally for the rest of his own career, regardless...so, I don't think Anne alienated most of her supporters/friends, I think at times her temper got the best of her, but she probably usually mended fences and apologized once she cooled off, such as in the case of Bridget Wingfield).
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