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The Power of Anne Boleyn
When Henry VIII elevated Anne Boleyn to the position of Lady Marquess of Pembroke on 1 September 1532, he was making Anne the most powerful person in England second only to him. She attained a status that not even Katharine of Aragon had. Not only was it a romantic gesture for Henry to have Anne connected to Pembroke, the birthplace of Henry VIII’s father Henry VII, it was a way of giving her might without him. Pembroke was one of two remaining palatinate territories. Per the following excerpt from If Any Person Will Meddle of My Cause: The Judicial Murder of Anne Boleyn:
“A county palatine is governed by a hereditary ruler and enjoys special privileges separate from the primary ruler. The ruler of a county palatine is an earl, whereas the ruler of a duchy palatine is a duke. With either system, the leader of the palatinate swears fealty to the king but administers the territory independently of the king. Within England, the palatinates were created after the Norman conquest in northern England and in Wales. They were created in Ireland, too.
The duchy palatine of Lancashire, or Lancaster, was united with the crown under Henry IV. The earldom of Chester, another palatinate, became a subsidiary of the principality of Wales in
the fourteenth century. Other palatinates were absorbed into crownlands one way or another by Henry VIII’s reign, leaving Durham and Pembroke. William de St Botolph, the steward of Durham in 1302, said about the palatinate of Durham, ‘There are two kings in England, namely the Lord King of England, wearing a crown in sign of his regality and the Lord Bishop of Durham, wearing a mitre in place of a crown, in sign of his regality in the diocese of Durham.’ Powers of a palatinate included passing laws, raising an army, and minting coins…
The astonishing things about Anne’s creation were that first, she held the marquisate in her own right, despite being a woman. Second, the leaders of Pembroke were typically earls. Anne was the only marquess, a position higher than earl within the English peerage system. Third, when Anne and Henry’s son was born, the marquisate would pass to their son on Anne’s death; the creation of her peerage specified that it would pass to her heirs male. Fourth, and most importantly, the marquisate was a county palatine….
[Duchies] palatine and counties palatine held significant powers not afforded to the other counties in England. The other palatinates of Chester, Lancaster, and Pembroke had all
been absorbed by the Crown one way or another before Henry VIII came to the throne. He was free to alienate them (that is, their legal title – ownership – could be transferred to others) from the Crown as he wished.
Pembroke had sentimental value for Henry because his beloved great-uncle Jasper Tudor was the earl of Pembroke during his lifetime, and Henry’s father Henry VII was born at Pembroke castle. By giving Pembroke to Anne, he was connecting her to the Tudor family. As a palatinate, Anne held the territory quasi-independently from the king. This meant that Anne, in her position as Lady Marquess, could pass laws, pass judgment in legal courts, collect taxes and keep the revenues for her own territory, and she could raise an army to defend that territory.
While there certainly was a symbolic and romantic aspect to Henry bestowing Pembroke on Anne, he was doing something much more than that. He was making her formidable.”
Anne’s rise in power under Henry’s well-meaning missteps contributed to her downfall. For more, pick up a copy of If Any Person Will Meddle of My Cause: The Judicial Murder of Anne Boleyn, available via hardback and Kindle in the UK, or via Kindle internationally. Hardbacks are available for international pre-order, with release on 21 April 2026.
Heather R. Darsie
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