Draped in a jewel-studded gold cloak, the strapping king Henry VIII entered the lodging of Queen Claude at Ardres in the north-eastern corner of France. Not to be outdone, Claude was dripping in emeralds and diamonds, her splendour accentuated by the gold-clad ladies-in-waiting who surrounded her. It was June 1520.
The king's attentions were, initially at least, directed towards Claude. But it would have been highly out of character for him not to have passed his gaze over her women, described as “the most beautiful that could be”. Among them was the woman he
