During his [Thomas Wolsey’s] absence the King [Henry VIII] and Anne had given up all circumspection, and the friends of the Boleyns were openly boasting that once the King was free of his old wife, Mistress Anne would be queen.
When, on his return from France, Wolsey hurried to Richmond, and sent, as his custom was, to know when and where he might have audience, his messenger found Henry with his new lady. The messenger had hardly finished before Anne cut in, in her best imitation of a regal manner: “Where should the Cardinal com except where the King is?” and though the liberty was one which Catherine would never have permitted herself, Henry was too besotted to countermand the affront. So the tired, travel-stained old statesman sagged through his first account of his dealings and triumphs in France under the malicious eye of the young lady in waiting whom (it was fresh in both their memories) he had once bullied and humiliated as if she were a too frisky servant girl.
tl;dr:
Cardinal Wolsey is insulted by Anne Boleyn, who would be the second wife of Henry VIII, but at this time was essentially waiting around for his divorce to happen. He has to basically take it, and it’s not lost on either of them that, before Wolsey had realized this divorce business was actually going to go through, had treated Anne like a servant girl and ‘bullied’ her. For Anne, revenge must have been sweet.
Source:
Mattingly, Garrett. “Part III: The Divorce of Henry VIII (1527-1536); Chapter One, Section iv” Catherine of Aragon. New York: Quality Paperback , 1990. 257. Print.
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