The Field of the Cloth of Gold, June 1520

On the 7th June 1520, it was the first day of the "The Field of the Cloth of Gold", an historic meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I, in Calais. It was the first major event that Jane Boleyn (then, still Jane Parker) would witness after only joining the court to serve Catherine of Aragon just less than a year before and it was to prove to her what court life was all about.

Six thousand people boarded the ships at Dover and then, when reaching France, made their way to the town of Guisnes, where a temporary palace had been erected. The palace was magnificent with tall, glass windows and was connected to the castle of Guisnes via a special gallery. At the palace’s entrance stood the statues of Bacchus and Cupid, which had Claret and Malmsey Wine flowing out of them into silver cups.

The summit, which lasted until the 24th June, was an enormous display of extravagance. It was almost a competition between which country could show off the best with banquets, jousting and even a wrestling match between Henry and Francis, which Henry – to his great disappointment - unfortunately lost. However, Jane, unlike Henry, was not a loser when she found herself being kissed by a King; she was picked out by Francis I, along with Catherine’s other ladies-in-waiting, that were not old and were fair and was given a kiss. Even though we don’t have definite confirmation to this day on what Jane actually looked like, this would definitely indicate to us that she must have been beautiful enough to attract the King of France!