ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with treating two court interludes from the late 1520s that supported Queen Catherine, aims to explore the coronation parade for Queen Anne in 1533 meant to popularize her accession plus two central lost works. The triumph of Hester and her people coupled with the downfall of Aman correspond to their real-world analogues—that is, support of Queen Catherine and the Catholic religious houses, and blame for all mistakes on Wolsey. In the expository scenes, the audience and the Persian suzerain meet a lady conspicuously resembling Catherine. In June 1527 Catherine had reacted similarly to Henry’s announcement that their marriage was invalid with “an emotional scene of passionate intensity, and then a steely determination to fight the threatened annulment every inch of the way.” In seeking to restore Catherine, Godly Queene Hester deflects blame onto Aman, a surrogate for Cardinal Wolsey.
