Works in Progress

A Shattered Sisterhood

By Jamie Floyd and Mêlisa Annis | November 16, 2021
<em>The Courtship of Anne Boleyn</em> (1846) by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze depicts King Henry VIII of England wooing his mistress, Anne Boleyn, just steps behind his then-wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon. (Smithsonian American Art Museum/Wikimedia Commons)
The Courtship of Anne Boleyn (1846) by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze depicts King Henry VIII of England wooing his mistress, Anne Boleyn, just steps behind his then-wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon. (Smithsonian American Art Museum/Wikimedia Commons)

Jamie Floyd is a solo artist and Grammy-nominated songwriter whose work has been performed by Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, and Kellie Pickler, among others. Mêlisa Annis, originally from Wales, writes for stage, television, and radio and teaches at New York University’s Department of Dramatic Writing. The two are collaborating on a musical called The King’s Wife, which reimagines Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn as like-minded, progressive confidantes who become immersed in a ruinous game of politics and power. In this excerpt, the birth of Catherine’s sixth child has been heralded—she had been hoping for a son, as had her husband and all of England. But soon, we find her in bed, with the mood quickly turning somber.

CATHERINE

Where is the child?

ANNE

They’ve taken him.

CATHERINE

A boy. Have they buried him?

They have. Catherine tries to get up—

ANNE

You should rest—

CATHERINE

I need to mourn with my people.

Catherine struggles, but Anne is by her side and helps her into her mourning gown. Catherine holds her head up high, despite her heartbreak.

As Catherine makes her way to the chapel, Anne watches among the mourners.

ANNE

I wish that I could take
All your pain away
I don’t know this cruel heartache

But I know you’re stronger
Than all the saddest days
That keep coming your way
I don’t know what to say

Oh, and if I could, I would change this
So your heart could be weightless
I don’t know your hurt like you do
But I know you

Catherine walks before the mourners, making her way to the chapel. Each mourner bows as the queen passes.
Anne watches, and Catherine’s head remains high.

And all that I can see
Is that you are evergreen
You will live to live your dreams

I just know it

Oh, and if I could, I would change this

So your heart could be weightless
I don’t know your hurt like you do

But I know you

The queen joins the king and kneels in prayer. He gets up and walks away, leaving Catherine on her knees, everyone at court still watching.

’Cause you’ve got something they can’t touch
So much more than enough
I know what you’re made of
What you’re made of

Oh, and if I could, I would change this

So your heart could be weightless
I don’t know your hurt like you do

But I know you

I know you

Listen to “I Know You” by Jamie Floyd:

 

  • Jamie Floyd and Mêlisa Annis collaborating on The King's Wife (All photos courtesy of Jennifer Kranz)
Permission required for reprinting, reproducing, or other uses.

Jamie Floyd and Mêlisa Annis are the pair behind the upcoming musical The King's Wife. Floyd is a solo artist and Grammy-nominated songwriter whose work has been performed by Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, and Kellie Pickler, among others. Annis, originally from Wales, writes for stage, television, and radio and teaches at New York University’s Department of Dramatic Writing.

● NEWSLETTER

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up