Although the King of France thus granted the desired permission, he did it in a very ungracious manner, for he took care to say that he yielded to the Duke of Saxony's request solely out of kindness to his good cousin Anne, and a desire to do her a favor, and not at all out of regard to the King of England.
The princess was detained a month in Brussels while they were arranging this affair, and when at last it was settled she resumed her journey, taking the road from Brussels to Calais. The Duke of Brabant accompanied her, with an escort of one hundred spearmen. This, however, was an escort of honor rather than of protection, as the duke relied mainly upon the French passport for the safety of the party.
The bride enters Calais.
Great display.
As the party were approaching Calais, they were received at the town of Gravelines by the English embassador and his suite, who had come out from Calais to meet them. This embassador was the Earl of Salisbury. He was attended by a force of one thousand men, namely, five hundred spearmen and five hundred archers. Conducted by this grand escort, and accompanied by a large cavalcade of knights and nobles, all clad in full armor, and splendidly mounted, the princess and the ladies in her train made a magnificent entry into Calais, through the midst of a vast concourse of spectators, with trumpets sounding and banners waving, and their hearts beating high with ecstasy and delight. In passing over the drawbridge and through the gates of Calais, Anne felt an emotion of exultation and pride in thinking that she was here entering the dominions of her future husband.
The bride arrives in England.
The princess did not remain long in Calais. She set out on the following day for Dover. The distance across is about twenty miles. They were dependent wholly on the wind in those days for crossing the Channel; but the princess had a prosperous passage, and arrived safely at Dover that night. News then spread rapidly all over the country, and ran up to London, that the queen had come.
Great excitement in London.
The news, of course, produced universal excitement. No certain tidings of the movements of the bride had been heard for some weeks before, and no one could tell when to expect her. Her arrival awakened universal joy. Parliament was in session at the time. They voted a large sum of money to be expended in arrangements for receiving the young queen in a proper manner, and in public rejoicings on the occasion. They then immediately adjourned, and all the world began to prepare for the arrival of the royal cortége in London.