When, on hearing about the proposed interview with the Emperor, the French ambassador reproachfully suggested that Henry might not keep his engagement with Francis, the king swore a great oath that he would not shave again until he had embraced his brother of France. Sure enough, his previously hairless chin began to sprout a reddish fuzz, and the royal jowls to be framed in a sparse growth of whiskers.
For three months the beard grew, then one morning, after a hitch in the conversations with France, Henry’s jaw jutted naked as of old. People attributed the unexpected harvest to the influence of the Queen, and the French diplomats looked gloomy.
A week later the beard was growing again – because the Queen found she liked it, after all, the imperialists said. Because the French had won, the Venetians retorted. Daily the court observed the barometer of the King’s whiskers, and the French pointed to their increasing luxuriance as a sure sign of victory.
Source:
Mattingly, Garrett. “Part II: England’s Queen (1509-1527); Chapter Four, Section iv” Catherine of Aragon. New York: Quality Paperback , 1990. 206-7. Print.
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