Free The Other Tudors by Philippa Jones

he ruled), and which he wanted to add to his territories. Maximilian’s daughter, Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, was Regent of the Low Countries (the Netherlands) for his young grandson, Charles. The Council of Tournai were in a quandary; on one hand, Louis XII was insisting that they held the city for France (even though they had few soldiers and their defences were quite ruined), and on the other hand, Maximilian and Henry were threatening to attack if they did not immediately agree to place themselves under Imperial rule. They tried appealing to Margaret of Austria to act as mediator, but she had no influence with Louis XII, and little, if any, on her father and Henry (who wanted to win a glorious campaign).
    On 10 September Maximilian sent in an ambassador – either the city proclaimed for him and became his vassal or it refused, which would be an admission of support for France, and Henry would attack and destroy it as an enemy. Henry and Maximilian stayed with Margaret at Lille, and she joined their conferences, trying to win some kind of compromise for Tournai. However, the negotiations dragged on, and Henry spent his time being entertained by Margaret and her ladies.
    Henry was given a magnificent suite of four rooms and on the first night Margaret and her companions joined Henry and his gentlemen for dinner. Afterwards, Henry stripped to his shirt, and he and Margaret danced for hours. The next day he gave her a large and very valuable diamond. Late on the 13th September, Henry finally left to go back to his camp, although he and his followers made a gift of a mass of jewels and jewellery for Margaret and her ladies, in admiration of their entertainment (‘banquets, plays, comedies, masques, and other pastimes’ 12 ).
    On 16 September, despite the advice of the richer men of Tournai, the majority decided to declare for France; they displayed the Tournai banner and the fleur-de-lis, and manned the walls. Throughout the 16th and 17th, Henry’s guns pounded the virtually defenceless town. On 23 September, after a long bombardment and several days of negotiations, Tournai surrendered to Henry – as King of France!
    On 25 September Henry rode into Tournai, heard mass at the cathedral, accepted the allegiance of the defeated people and returned to his camp. On 8 October he held a tournament at which Margaret was the chief guest. After jousting in the pouring rain, a banquet was held and then there was dancing into the night. The Ambassador from Milan tried to talk business with Henry, who fobbed him off, telling him to talk to the Bishop of Winchester instead, ‘And so I left his majesty talking with the damsels.’ 13
    On 13 October, Henry and the bulk of the army left Tournai; Sir Edward Poynings and 5,000 troops remained behind to garrison the town. The war with France was short-lived, partly because Pope Julius II died in June 1513 and Leo X became Pope. He at once set about making peace with Louis XII, and the papal justification for Henry’s presence in France was overturned. In early 1514, Ferdinand of Aragon, then Maximilian, and finally Henry himself, all signed peace treaties with France. As part of the English agreement, Henry got to keep Tournai (which he eventually sold back to the French) and Louis XII married Henry’s sister, Mary.
    There were rumours that Henry VIII had taken a Flemish mistress while he was campaigning abroad. The time he spent with Margaret and her ladies could mean that one lady in particular became the King’s ‘companion’. Whereas this might feasibly have been a real love affair, it also kept Henry occupied while Maximilian negotiated for Tournai’s surrender. The Milanese Ambassador wrote reports from Lille stating that he had a problem arranging a formal meeting with Henry, ‘as he was then in a hurry to go and dine and dance afterwards.’ Although the King left to continue the war, he seems to have been reluctant to leave Lille; five days later: ‘… the King