Anne Basset (1520 – before 1558) was an English lady-in-waiting of the

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...

, reputed to have been the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

Biography

Anne was born in 1520, the fourth child of Sir John Basset and Honor Grenville (daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville of Stowe in Kilkhampton, Cornwall and his wife Isabella). As her father died when she was young, Anne was brought up by her mother and stepfather, Arthur Plantagenet, Lord Lisle, in the English

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

. Lord Lisle was the

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

son of

Edward IV of England Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

, and thus Henry VIII's uncle.

Court career

Anne's mother, had attempted to secure a place for her two daughters (Anne and her sister Katharine Basset) in the service of Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

several times, but to no avail. She persisted in her efforts to secure them positions and eventually, after sending a large consignment of quails to Anne's successor, Queen

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

, the latter relented. She allowed Lady Lisle to send her daughters but warned her that only one position could be found. Anne was the sister accepted and was sworn into service the day after the pregnant queen took to her chamber for her lying-in. Anne is rumoured to have attracted Henry VIII in 1538 and 1539, and is rumoured to have been the king's mistress. The ambassadors thought that she might become his fourth wife in 1540, and again in 1542, just after Queen

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

was sentenced to death. In August 1540 Anne Bassett and others ladies of the court visited Portsmouth to see a newly built ship. They sent Henry VIII a joint letter which was signed by Mabel, Lady Southampton, Margaret Tallebois, Margaret Howard, Alice Browne, Anne Knyvett (daughter of

Thomas Knyvett Sir Thomas Knyvett (also Knevitt or Knivet or Knevet), of Buckenham, Norfolk (c. 1485 – 10 August 1512) was a young English nobleman who was a close associate of King Henry VIII shortly after that monarch came to the throne. According to Hall ...

), Jane Denny, Jane Meutas, Anne Bassett,

Elizabeth Tyrwhitt Elizabeth Tyrwhitt (died 1578), was an English gentlewoman, courtier, and writer. Biography Born in her father's house at Brede, she was one of five children of Sir Goddard Oxenbridge (died 1531) and his second wife Anne (died 1531), widow of ...

, and Elizabeth Harvey. Anne was maid of honour to Queen

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

. On 11 June 1554, Robert Swyfte reported her marriage to Sir Walter Hungerford in a letter to

Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, 5th Earl of Waterford, 11th Baron Talbot, KG (1500 – 25 September 1560) was the son of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and Anne Hastings. He also held the subsidiary titles of 14th Baron Strange o ...

, as having taken place "on Thursday last...at which day the Queen shewed herself very pleasant, commanding all mirth and pastime". There were two children of the marriage, who both died without issue. Anne died before 1558, when Sir Walter — with the permission of Mary — married Anne Dormer.

References in popular culture

Anne Bassett is the basis of the character Nan Bassett in

Kate Emerson Kathy Lynn Emerson is an American writer of historical and mystery novels and non-fiction. She also uses the pseudonyms Kaitlyn Dunnett and Kate Emerson. Emerson writes historical mysteries as Kathy Lynn Emerson, historical fiction set in royal ...

's novel, "Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens"., as well as E. Knight's "My Lady Viper".

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basset, Anne 1521 births Year of death missing Mistresses of Henry VIII

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

English ladies-in-waiting Household of Jane Seymour Household of Anne of Cleves Household of Catherine Howard Court of Mary I of England Wives of knights