Anne Savage, Baroness Berkeley

Anne Berkeley (néeSavage), Baroness Berkeley (c.1496– 1564) was a lady-in-waiting and companion of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England. She was reputed to be one of the witnesses at the secret wedding ceremony of the King and Anne Boleyn which occurred on 25 January 1533.

Anne was born in England sometime around 1496, although the exact date is not known. She was the only daughter of John Savage, Sheriff of Worcestershire, and his wife Anne Bostock. She had seven brothers, including Sir John Savage of Clifton, who married Elizabeth Savage, daughter of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester and a second cousin of Henry VIII. In 1516 Sir John and his henchmen killed a local magistrate and Thomas Wolsey took the opportunity to send both Anne's brother and her father to the Tower.^[1]

Anne married in April 1533, as his second wife, Thomas Berkeley, 6th Baron Berkeley (died 19 September 1534), son of Thomas Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley and Eleanor Constable. Thomas Cromwell was one of the trustees of her marriage settlement.

Thomas and Anne together had two children:

• Elizabeth Butler (née Berkeley), Countess of Ormond
• Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley, who was born after his father's death.

Anne seems to have been a friend and close attendant of Anne Boleyn from before Anne's marriage to Henry VIII. Only four, or possibly five, witnesses attended the King's second wedding, and these are widely thought to have included Anne.^[2] This was on 25 January 1533, and was conducted in secrecy as Anne Boleyn was pregnant and Henry had not yet annulled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Anne was said to have borne the train of Anne Boleyn at the wedding. However, recent research has suggested that her marriage was not a reward for her involvement in the wedding.^[3]

Anne had been at court for several years and was a dependent of her brother John's widow, Elizabeth and Elizabeth's second husband, William Brereton. Brereton was then a groom of the Privy Chamber and one of the other guests at the secret royal wedding, along with Thomas Heneage and Henry Norris. Both Norris and Brereton would later be executed for alleged adultery with Anne Boleyn.

Con la caída de sus aliados, los Savage podrían haber visto disminuir su fortuna, pero parece que ellos, y la recién enviudada Elizabeth Savage, mantuvieron la amistad de Thomas Cromwell y, por lo tanto, muchas de las propiedades de Brereton fueron devueltas a su esposa. ^{[ 4 ]} Anne fue descrita como de estatura mediana, con una tez morena y atractiva, y muy cariñosa con sus hijos . ^{[ 5 ]}

Thomas Berkeley, esposo de Ana, fue uno de los varios aliados de los Boleyn que fue nombrado Caballero de la Orden del Baño en la coronación de Ana Bolena. ^{[ 6 ]} El esposo de Ana, Thomas, murió el 19 de septiembre de 1534, cuando Ana estaba casi siete meses embarazada de su hijo y heredero, Enrique.

En una carta a Cromwell fechada el 1 de mayo de 1535, Anne, entonces baronesa viuda de Berkeley, se queja de la demora del administrador de los tutelados del rey en enviar las órdenes judiciales relativas al cargo que se le asignará tras el fallecimiento de su esposo. Esto le supone una gran pérdida, pues no puede percibir nada de su dote. Le pide que interceda ante el rey en este sentido. Reconoce que el honorario de Silebe está impagado, pero la extrema necesidad la obliga a actuar con negligencia. ^{[ 7 ]}

A pesar de su relación con el círculo de los Boleyn, Ana siguió siendo una católica devota. Tenía un «espíritu masculino», ^{[ 8 ]} que se manifestó en sus disputas legales y enfrentamientos con los protestantes locales. ^{[ 9 ]}

Ana murió en el castillo de Caludon, en las afueras de Coventry, en octubre de 1564.