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Passage Introduced

On the day after his secret interview with Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas Wyat received despatches from the king for the court of France.

"His majesty bade me tell you to make your preparations quickly, Sir Thomas," said the messenger who delivered the despatches; "he cares not​how soon you set forth."

"The king's pleasure shall be obeyed," rejoined Wyat.

And the messenger retired.

Left alone, Wyat remained for some time in profound and melancholy thought. Heaving a deep sigh, he then arose, and paced the chamber with​rapid strides. [Book the Second, "Herne the Hunter," Chapter I. "Of the Compact between Sir Thomas Wyat and Herne the Hunter," p. 81]

Commentary: An Obvious Anachronism

The Victoria Tower which Delamotte sketched in the summer of 1842 is something of an anachronism with respect to the action of the novel. It was, in fact, a recent addition to Windsor Castle, and therefore would have no relationship to the character upon whom Ainsworth now turns his attention, Sir Thomas Wyat. In the early 1840s, Queen Victoria's apartments were situated in what formerly had been the King's Tower. The young Queen's Private Apartments, featuring gilt decoration, were the work of by Morel and Seddon, who also manufactured the new furniture for Windsor Castle. King George IV​had moved into these apartments in December 1828, even before other State Rooms within the Castle were finished. ​Throughout his reign an avid builder and renovator of royal properties, George had conducted extensive alterations to the Windsor Castle in the 1820s. His most ambitious project was architect Sir Jeffry Wyatville's design for the ​opulent Waterloo Chamber, commemorating the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, whose walls are hung with Sir Thomas Lawrence's large-scale state portraits.

All of which perhaps begs the question, "Why did Ainsworth elect to lead off the Second Book, which connects Sir Thomas Wyat and Herne the Hunter, with a setting that did not exist at the time of the novel's action?" This would have been the initial illustration in the January 1843 number of Ainsworth's Magazine, and would have complemented the many pictures of the Queen, her Consort Prince Albert, and their growing progeny in such popular publications as the Illustrated London News. It is, moreover, one of Delamotte's best architectural studies, and showcases his sense of place to great advantage — even though this place occurs nowhere in the novel.

Other Views and Related Material on Windsor Castle

• Windsor Castle from the Long Walk, Victorian additions and alterations by Sir Jeffry Wyattville
• Early twentieth-century view of the castle from the river
• The Frogmore Mausoleum, adjacent to the Long Walk
• Statue of Queen Victoria at the foot of Castle Hill, Windsor

References

Ainsworth, William Harrison. Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Tony Johannot. With designs on wood by W. Alfred Delamotte. London: Routledge, 1880. Based on the Henry Colburn edition of 1844.

Patten, Robert L. Chapter 30, "The 'Hoc' Goes Down." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1991; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1996. Pp. 153-186.

Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.

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Last modified 9 December 2017