Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis: Greenwich Palace, Summer 1534
Spoiler Notice: This page reveals the hidden miscarriage and palace intrigues of Chapter 2. If you haven’t finished the chapter yet, you may want to read it first.
Summary (Chronological)
Jane Parker, Lady Rochford, helps Queen Anne Boleyn out of her masque costume. Anne is secretly five months pregnant and irritable. She orders Jane to reprimand a young maid-of-honour, Agnes, for a shallow curtsey. The next day after chapel, the king and Thomas Cromwell plan a French embassy. Anne and Jane artfully steer the decision so that George Boleyn is dispatched to France instead of the king, preserving Anne’s hidden pregnancy. George returns with a Parisian tennis racquet, and a tournament ends with the king smiling at Agnes after she drops a handkerchief. Furious, Anne demands that Jane “get rid of” the girl. That night Anne suffers a sudden miscarriage. The midwife bluntly confirms the baby is lost. Anne’s mother, Elizabeth Boleyn, instantly decrees a cover‑up: no pregnancy was ever announced, only a mistaken late course. Jane secretly reports the crisis to the Duke of Norfolk. Over the following days, the Boleyns spin the lie that nothing happened. The king, desperate to believe in his divine blessing, asks no questions. Anne returns to public life, and the chapter closes with a drunken king brought to her bed in a calculated bid to conceive again.
Key Events
- Jane undresses Anne and is tasked with disciplining Agnes for a shallow curtsey.
- Court council discussion leads to George Boleyn being chosen as envoy to France.
- George’s early return, and a tennis match where Agnes flirts with the king by dropping a handkerchief.
- Anne’s outburst and her demand that Jane eliminate Agnes through humiliation or trickery.
- Anne’s sudden night-time miscarriage; the midwife confirms the foetus is gone.
- Elizabeth Boleyn’s cold order to pretend the pregnancy never existed; the word “miscarry” is forbidden.
- Jane’s surreptitious visit to the Duke of Norfolk, who uses her as an informant.
- The methodical spreading of the lie: Anne only missed a course.
- The king’s willed blindness—he never questions the loss.
- A late-night effort to put the king in Anne’s bed, with George joking that the king is “less use than the king himself.”
Character Development
- Jane Parker (Lady Rochford): The chapter cements her as a calculating insider. She manages the queen’s moods, lies for the family, yet reports the miscarriage to the Duke of Norfolk before anyone else. Her childlessness is a private sorrow, but she wields information as power.
- Anne Boleyn: Despite her crown, she is insecure and brittle. Her reliance on George is absolute. The miscarriage exposes how fragile her position is, and her willingness to order petty revenge on Agnes shows the ruthlessness behind “The Most Happy” mask.
- George Boleyn: He is Anne’s emotional anchor, whispering psalms as she bleeds. Yet he is also a cynical courtier, laughing at the king’s impotence and joking about performing false desire. His relationship with Jane seems affectionate but cool.
- King Henry VIII: His need for adoration and the fiction of a blessed marriage dominates. He will accept any lie rather than hear the word “miscarry.” His vanity and theological self-justification make him dangerously gullible.
- The Duke of Norfolk: Shown as a cold political spider. He values Jane’s intelligence over family grief, instructing her to report the moment Anne conceives again. His power relies on secrets.
- Elizabeth Boleyn: Pragmatic and unsentimental, she immediately constructs the cover-up. Survival of the Boleyn name outweighs any motherly sorrow.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Performance and Deception: The chapter opens with mask imagery—the falcon masque. Jane observes that “a courtier’s mouth is always full of unspoken words.” The entire court labours to perform happiness, desire, and loyalty while hiding fear and ambition.
- The Perils of Royal Fertility: Anne’s miscarriage is treated as a state secret because her body is political currency. The lie that it was a “late course” protects the king’s logic that his marriage is blessed.
- Courtly Love as a Game and a Weapon: The king must be praised as the ultimate lover. Agnes’s handkerchief is a minor threat, but it reveals how easily a mistress can destabilise Anne. George and Jane later discuss needing to recreate the illusion of desire to produce an heir.
- The Boleyn Family as a House of Cards: The alliance of Boleyns and Howards depends entirely on Anne producing a son. The miscarriage, even if hidden, is a crack in the foundation. Jane’s secret work for Norfolk shows the family is already monitored from within.
- False Faces and the “Spanish Party”: The old aristocracy, represented by Margaret Pole and Gertrude Courtenay, wear “serene masks” over their Papist loyalties. The tension between the upstart Boleyns and the established nobility adds a layer of danger.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point where the illusion of Anne’s blessed reign shatters behind closed doors. The miscarriage, though publicly erased, plants the seeds of doubt. Jane’s role as Norfolk’s spy shows that the Boleyn inner circle is already compromised. Most critically, the king’s refusal to hear the truth reveals a monarch who will sacrifice reality for his ego—a trait that will later make him vulnerable to accusations that destroy Anne. George’s bleak humour about the king’s performance in bed underscores the desperation beneath the golden facade.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Elizabeth Boleyn insist the miscarriage be treated as a “mistake” rather than a loss? What does this reveal about the family’s survival strategy?
She knows that any admission would break the king’s conviction that his marriage is divinely blessed. By erasing the pregnancy, they protect his ego and Anne’s position. The Boleyns prioritise public narrative over personal grief, treating every setback as a performance to be rewritten. -
How does Jane Parker’s relationship with the Duke of Norfolk illustrate the nature of power at the Tudor court?
Jane acts as Norfolk’s informant even while serving Anne. She brings him news of the miscarriage without her husband’s knowledge. Power flows through secret alliances and whispered intelligence. Loyalty is transactional: Jane gains protection and status by being useful to a powerful patron who trusts her information. -
The chapter frames the masque of “The Falconers” and the later tennis game. In what ways do these entertainments mirror the real-life power struggles?
The masque is about disguise and capture: the women pretend to be birds caught by the king. In reality, Anne must perform a happy, fertile queen to capture the king’s favour. The tennis match is a performance of competition and flirtation; George loses deliberately, and Agnes’s handkerchief is a tool in a sexual game. Both entertainments expose that courtly love is a mask for brutal political survival.