8 Ways To Survive A Tryst With Henry VIII (According To The Women Who Did It)

3. Have A Tainted Reputation

Again this seems to be an undesirable quality but the very fact that it is undesirable is what makes it a great way to survive King Henry's attention. Jane Popincourt shows us how it's done. Jane was a French maid of honour who worked at the Court's of Louis XII and Francis I of France before finding employment in England as a tutor to Henry VIII's sister, Mary. While living in the Tudor Court, Jane began a scandalous affair with a French nobleman named Louis I d'Orleans, Duke of Longueville. The Duke was a prisoner of the English Crown who was being used to negotiate a marriage between Henry's sister and Louis XII of France. Once the marriage had been arranged, The Duke returned to France and Jane planned to follow him by accompanying Mary Tudor as maid of honour. However, King Louis XII put a stop to this as knew of her promiscuous reputation and believed that she was unsuitable to be in service to his future wife and queen. Jane was forced to remain in the English Court and it was then that her rumoured affair with King Henry took place. However, her tainted reputation continued to cause her problems as members of the Tudor Court wished to distance themselves from her and the King dismissed her as his mistresses, gifting her £100 for her troubles. She then returned to France in 1516 where reports state she was reunited with the Duke of Longueville.