The six wives of Henry VIII : Anne Boleyn

We all know the story of Henry VIII and his six wives, but I still like to talk about them from time to time.

Anne Boleyn, witch, seducer, or just not that bad?

Anne Boleyn is quite the infamous lady, whether it's good or bad, she's the most famous of Henry's wives.

Anne Boleyn was born between 1501 and 1507, I believe she was born in 1501. She wasn't royal like her predecessor, Catherine of Aragon, but she was the daughter of a noble family, the Boleyns and the Howards.

The Boleyns were very much social climbers, they had to climb their way into prominence. Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, put the family into the limelight. However, Thomas was not the master manipulator everybody likes to believe, he didn't push Mary or Anne into the king's arms, there is actually documentation to show that Thomas tried to dissuade Anne from marrying the king in 1531. It is safe to say Anne Boleyn became the King's obsession.

I think it is hard to say Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were a love story when you know the story ends in execution, but they upped the rules on courtly love.

Anne Boleyn first went to court in the Low Countries, to the court of Margaret of Austria. This was from the years 1513-1514. We think Anne was 12/13 at this point. Anne was very lucky to have secured a lady in a waiting position at a foreign court at such a young age, but it was thanks to her father's diplomatic skills that she secured this position. Anne spent just under a year at Margaret's court, there, she learned everything at the heart of the renaissance, Margaret showed Anne that women could rule. This was the beginning of Anne Boleyn. She spent just under a year at Margaret's court until her father called her back to serve Mary Tudor at the French court. Mary was betrothed to the King of France, so again, this was a very good position for Anne to have, but Anne's sister Mary was also to serve Princess Mary.

Anne would go on to stay in France for 7 years, from the year 1515-1522. When the French king died, Mary was without a husband. Mary secretly married Charles Brandon, the duke of Suffolk when he was sent to collect her. Anne's sister, also Mary, went back home to England. Anne, however, stayed in France, under the service of the new Queen Claude. Queen Claude was a niece of the previous king and she married King Francis I, we don't have much information about Claude, other than that she was quiet and very pious. Claude was pregnant most of her life and didn't go to court often. She was the ideal wife for someone like Francis that had many affairs. The French court was the heart of culture, Francis the I was determined to make his court the court you wanted to go to.

Anne learned the art of courtly love at the French court, how to flirt, music, the arts, and most importantly Protestantism. Protestantism was a very new religion, it was despised by the Catholics, this new religion wanted the bible to be in English so everybody could read it. It travelled around most courts in Europe, and France was happy to have anything new and controversial. Anne learned this in inner circles from Francis's sister Margurite.

This was a common argument, that the bible shouldn't be in English, and that it is wrong to be read in English. Anne embraced this religion wholeheartedly, she read what was perceived as controversial books, however, Anne didn't make an outward show that she embraced the ideas of the new religion. Anne was clever, she did not make mistakes very easily.

Let's move forward to 1520, 'The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold', it's like the Oscars but in the Tudor times! This was the big meet-up between Henry VIII and Francis I, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey organized this whole thing, this meeting was supposed to form a treaty of peace for a long time. 

Now I find this interesting: Mary Boleyn was a lady waiting on the English side, and Anne was a lady waiting on the French side. Not quite sure why I found this exciting but there you go! 

It might not have been Thomas's intention but it did end up being strategic having one daughter in each "camp", we do not have a lot of written evidence of Anne being there, but it has to be a given that she would be there. 

This meeting lasted for two whole weeks, and it did not go well, Henry and Francis ended up having a physical fight. Francis won. These kings were very competitive, they really wanted to show off who was better. They did sign the treaty, but Henry soon went and changed his mind, he signed a treaty with Charles V. Charles V was the nephew of Queen Catherine, and he was also the Holy Roman emperor.

Rolling forward to 1522, Anne is recalled back to England. The treaty with the French was over, it wasn't very politically wise for Anne to stay in France. However, there was another reason, Thomas Boleyn, Thomas Wolsey and Henry VIII had a proposed marriage for Anne and her cousin James Butler. Now we know Anne was not very keen for this marriage to go ahead, she was a fiercely independent woman, and she wanted to be at the heart of culture, which Ireland at this time was not perceived to be. 

In 1522, Anne made her debut at the English court. At the Château Vert pageant in honour of the Imperial ambassadors on 4 March 1522, playing "Perseverance". There she took part in an elaborate dance accompanying Henry's younger sister Mary, several other ladies of the court, and her sister. All wore gowns of white satin embroidered with gold thread. At this time, Henry was not interested in Anne, we think at this time that he was having an affair with her sister, Mary.

This was not the first time that we think Mary had an affair with a monarch in the Tudor period, Mary is rumoured to have had an affair with King Francis I. Anne, however, at the time was enamoured with Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. Henry Percy was the son of a valuable title, he had the best title in the North of England. When Henry and Anne started being more than friendly courtiers we don't know, we do know it ended in disaster. Anne and Henry did want to get married, however, it was stopped by Cardinal Wolsey. The relationship might not have gone very far, it might have just been intentions and stopped very early on. Cardinal Wolsey believed the Boleyns to be beneath Henry Percy, it is recorded he called Anne 'a silly girl. there was another reason however, Henry Percy was already betrothed to Mary Talbot. The king and Cardinal Wolsey were not happy about this. Anne was sent home to Hever Castle.

We believe Anne returned to court in late 1524, or early 1525. When Anne returned to court, she had an admirer, and it was not just the king, Thomas Wyatt, but a poet and courtier who took his attention to Anne. Thomas Wyatt was a neighbour of the Boleyn family, he lived at Allington castle, Anne did not return his attention. Henry and Thomas would end up bragging about who had Anne's affection. Henry might have noticed Anne as early as 1525, but he did not make his desire clear until 1526. In 1527, Anne and Henry decided on a future together. At first, Anne was not showing herself keen at all, in fact, she practically ran away, back to Hever Castle. Henry bombarded her with letters, we actually have 27 of the letters he sent to Anne Boleyn in their courtship. By Henry's letters, we can tell Anne sometimes responded. For whatever reason, we do not know. Anne may have been overwhelmed and did not know how to respond, some may think this was Anne's way of playing a game, it could have been pure innocence, we will never really know, it is just speculation.

By 1528, we know Anne had agreed to be with Henry. Henry had begun the divorce proceedings against Catherine of Aragon, it was known as the 'great matter'. Henry genuinely believed that Catherine had slept with his brother Arthur causing their marriage to have no heirs ( even though Mary was very well and alive). I personally believe Henry was looking for a way out of his first marriage before he took an interest in Anne, there is actually evidence he wanted Anne as a mistress, not a wife, it was only later he decided to make Anne Queen. 

So Henry sent Cardinal Wolsey to France to sound out the cardinals there. He sent a Dr Knight to Rome to give letters from the king himself to the pope. At some point, the king sent Stephen Gardiner and another lawyer to try and sway the pope in the King's favour. The pope was in a difficult situation, Catherine's nephew, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, was a very powerful man and had amassed many territories in Europe. Henry had bad timing when it came to asking the pope for help, because Charles V currently was sacking Rome, and the pope was not in a position to be upsetting someone that had made him a prisoner. Henry was not taking no for an answer, the pope had to find a way to appease Henry and Charles. He needed some good stalling techniques.

In 1528, the pope agreed to send a papal legate to England, but he did not arrive until the Summer of 1529. All these delays frustrated the king immensely and the good bond between master and servant was deteriorating. In reality, this was not Thomas's fault he had no control over what the pope did in Rome. This did not stop his enemies from convincing Henry that all these delays were Cardinal Wolsey's fault, Henry was very easily manipulated. Once the papal legate, Cardinal Campeggio had arrived, he went straight to his bed because he was riddled with Gout. 

In the summer of 1529, the court of Blackfriars was now open. This was groundbreaking all around Europe, the streets of London were jam-packed with people. The king and queen were summoned to explain themselves. Henry said how sad he was and he would pick Catherine above all women if he had the choice again. When the court first opened, Catherine was nowhere to be seen, but, she made a dramatic entrance, walked straight to Henry, sank to her knees and beseeched Henry, she begged him. To end her speech, she said she will send her case to Rome and walked out. Catherine was not seen at the court of Blackfriars again.

All of this was bound to have taken a toll on Anne, not only was she waiting to marry the king but the whole country was discovering who she was, and they did not like her at all. They called her the 'goggle-eyed whore'. You could imagine this was distressing to Anne, Anne was making enemies fast and she only had the protection of the king. Anne went back to Hever whilst the court proceedings were going on, the king deemed it wise for Anne to be out of the picture whilst the Cardinal legate was in court. Henry was trying to show he wasn't leaving Catherine for lustful reasons.

The waiting was taking a lot for Henry, Catherine and Anne. The court of Black friars wasn't progressing anywhere. Cardinal Campeggio decided to revoke the case back to Rome, this was the nail in the coffin for Cardinal Wolsey. Time was ticking and it would not be long until he was banished from court. For Anne, she believed this was just as she felt Thomas Wolsey did not want her to be Queen and it felt like a triumph. Cardinal Wolsey was stripped of the Great Privy Seal, he was to go as far away from the court as possible. This must have been a huge blow for Thomas, he lost everything he had worked for, and that was not all, he was to be tried for treason. By 1530, he was considered an old man, so was it cruel to try him for treason? On the way back to London, he died. This was one of the first big influencers of Henry's life to die.

Henry was saddened to hear of Wolsey's death but don't worry his servant Thomas Cromwell was showing himself to be quite useful to his king. Thomas Cromwell and Anne Boleyn were making quite the dream team, they were both on the same page, and they wanted the reformation of the church. They brought another Thomas onto the scene, Thomas Cranmer, a man from Germany. He was very much the Boleyn's man. Anne had quite a controversial book in her hands, William Tyndale's 'The obedience of a Christian Man', he also translated the bible into English. The first book I mentioned, 'The Obedience of a Christian Man' this book suggests the King only answers to God himself, not the pope. This was exactly what Anne wanted, it also made the King more powerful, which the king wanted.

The king started the split from the church in Rome, this was to send waves around the kingdom. In 1531, the church granted the King, the supreme head of the church, this title did not actually give the king as much power as he would have liked at first. By this point, Anne and Henry had been waiting 6 years to be together properly. Anne was not getting any younger, which she is supposed to have lamented constantly. Anne and her family were firmly in the limelight, but that didn't stop Anne from being immensely disliked. A former ally of the Boleyns, Charles Brandon, disassociated himself and called Anne a whore. This would start a bitter dislike between Anne and Charles. 

In 1531, the king banished his current Queen Catherine on the summer progress. She was banished to the more, Hertfordshire,  for the time being. He didn't tell Catherine he was leaving without her, he just upped sticks with Anne and the rest of the court. Catherine was never to see her husband again. Catherine sent a note to her husband about how upset she was that he did not say goodbye. She was never to receive a response. Anne was now officially a Queen in waiting, she was triumphant at court. No one could touch her, the people hated her though, she could not go out in public without being shouted at. At some point in late 1531, out dining in a house in London, a mob of countless women attempted to ambush Anne and cause a lot of damage to her. Anne escaped by boat back to Greenwich, she was very shaken up though. The animosity towards Anne was growing, the public opinion was against her and very much for Catherine. 

 

The year 1532, was the year for Anne and Henry. She was preparing to be Queen of England, but she needed the ladies in waiting to do so. On the first of September 1532, Henry VIII made Anne Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke. A Marquess in her own right, she was now the richest lady in England. In October 1532, Henry and Anne made their first public outing together to Calais to meet Francis I. They wanted to get Francis's approval, which Francis was more than happy to give his approval, he knew how much it would upset Charles V, his bitter enemy. Anne didn't receive the warmest welcome she would have liked though, none of the ladies would recognise Anne as their future Queen, they thought it scandalous. Henry went to meet Francis alone, Henry and Francis came to Calais to meet Anne, Anne made a dramatic entrance as per usual.

It is rumoured that when they returned from Calais, Henry and Anne secretly married in November 1532. This isn't a lot of evidence to support this, around this time we believe Henry and Anne did start sleeping together. In January 1533, Henry and Anne secretly married at Whitehall with select witnesses, Anne may also have been pregnant too. In May 1533, Catherine and Henry's marriage was declared null and void by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer. Thomas Cranmer also declared Anne and Henry's marriage valid, the whole of Europe was about to discover the King's new marriage. In June 1533, Anne Boleyn was quite heavily pregnant, but she was on the way to her coronation, she was crowned with St Edward the Confessor's crown, which was supposed to have made her right to be Queen more superior and rightful.

Anne must have felt like she was on cloud 9, she married the king, pregnant with the future heir and Queen of England. Everything she had waited and longed for, she now had. What could possibly go wrong? 

Anne and Henry had a few blissful months together and are described as being merry. By August, Anne was heavily pregnant, and she was preparing to go into confinement. Henry consulted astrologers, arranged jousts and had letters prepared to announce the birth of his prince. On the 7th of September 1533, Anne Boleyn gave birth to Princess Elizabeth. This must have been a disappointment for Anne and Henry, Anne had promised Henry a son. They didn't show that they were disappointed with the birth of a baby princess, this was a healthy baby and their first child together. Elizabeth was christened very elaborately, and given staff to fit a princess. Elizabeth's household was set up at Hatfield House, and one of her servants was the former Princess Mary, now named Lady Mary, this must have been a massive blow for both Catherine and Mary.

Anne was out of confinement in October. By Christmas 1533, her first as Queen, she was rumoured to have been pregnant again. Henry and Anne had a lovely Christmas together. Anne gave him an ornate silver gilt cup for Christmas. It is debated whether Anne had a phantom pregnancy in late 1533/34, it is said she was so desperate to be pregnant that she made herself believe that she was pregnant. It was never confirmed by Henry VIII that Anne was pregnant again, with only one reference saying she had a goodly belly once again, in July 1534, she was not pregnant. So, if she was pregnant, and she either had a miscarriage or stillbirth, it wasn't made public knowledge that there was no baby.

In 1534, Henry VIII passed the act of succession that Princess Elizabeth was his heir until a son was born. The pope was threatening ex-communication, and Bishop Fisher and Thomas More would not accept the King as head of the church. Thomas More was a close friend of the kings for more than 15 years. Bishop John Fisher was Henry's grandmother's confessor, he also was the advocate for Catherine of Aragon in ' The Great Matter'.All of this must have put more pressure on Anne and Henry to have a son, to show that it was right for the King to leave Rome. Meanwhile, Catherine refused to be named none other than Queen of England, and Mary was Princess Mary, not lady Mary. This caused a lot of issues for Henry and Anne, public opinion was against them.

Henry was already looking at other women, Anne wasn't like Catherine, she couldn't endure his lustful eyes. Anne had a temper and she could say things in the rash of the moment. This was why Henry was attracted to Anne, she was feisty, wilful and quick-witted. Once Henry had Anne, he expected her to conform to the ideals of the perfect Tudor wife and Queen, the tantalising personality she had, he wanted to be almost hidden away. 

Contrary to what sources say about Anne Boleyn, she was a good Queen. She is recorded to have helped the poor the most. She believed in education for children and wanted a better country for everyone. With the reformation looming, Anne believed the money should go back into the churches and reform them as hospitals and schools, Thomas Cromwell wanted to close the corrupt churches and put the money in the King's coffers. The king was for this, but he also agreed with Anne on it would look good for both their images. Until Anne had a son, her opinions meant nothing. Anne's influence with the king was waning, she needed to give the King a son, and no one would be able to touch her.

In 1535, everyone in England had to sign the act of supremacy to agree that the King was the head of the church, that he did not answer to the pope, he was above the pope. Many signed it without hesitation, the king was now a man you didn't mess with. Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher would not sign the act, they were saying their conscience could not deal with this. They were both sent to the tower, and the whole of Europe was outraged by this. The pope decided to make John Fisher a Cardinal, to retaliate, Henry reportedly exclaimed 'he will be wearing it on his shoulders'. John Fisher and Thomas More repeatedly refused to sign the act, Henry was desperate for Thomas to sign the act, he was very fond of Thomas and did not want to harm him. Thomas and John were put on trial, and both were found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death. They were going to be beheaded.

John Fisher was beheaded on the 22nd of June 1535, and Thomas More followed him on the 6th of July. The king had gone down a path he could not return from. He had exiled a good wife, executed good friends, ignored the pope and started the closing of the catholic churches in England. Anne and Henry went on their usual summer progress, leaving the chaos behind them.

Anne was now under even more pressure to produce a male heir, things between her and Henry had not been good for a while. On this progress, they were happy again and carefree, they went out hunting together again. It was like the old days for Anne and Henry, on their progress they visited Wulfhall, the home of the Seymour family. Notably, the home of Jane Seymour, a lady in waiting to Anne, and formerly Catherine. This was a huge honour for the Seymours, they were an old family and had good favour with the king since early in his reign. It was here we believe Henry's eye fell on Jane Seymour in a more favourable light.

At first, Henry was not serious about Jane, she was another passing fancy to him. Anne was pregnant again, Anne was riding high again, and everything depended on this baby. This baby needed to be a boy and be alive. Anne was under more pressure than ever to deliver, her enemies were swirling around her bit by bit.

In January 1536, Anne was a couple months pregnant. Thomas Cromwell and Anne started to clash over religious matters, and Anne was losing crucial friends that she desperately needed. She only had the protection of the king, if she lost that she was in a very vulnerable position. On the 7th of January, Catherine of Aragon died at the age of fifty, and we suspect heart cancer. Catherine dying made Anne an undoubted Queen, to others though, most believed Henry was free to marry again, he had no 'legitimate heirs'.

On the 24th of January, Henry VIII had a jousting accident, he was injured badly and was unconscious for 3 hours. Anne was not there when Henry VIII fell off his horse, because of her condition it was deemed too 'exciting' for her and the future heir. When Henry was temporarily dead, the realm was going to be in turmoil. Henry Fitzroy, Henry's bastard by Bessie Blount, Lady Mary formerly Princess mary by Catherine, and Princess Elizabeth who was only 2 years old. Many were pushing for Princess Mary to succeed her father should the worst-case scenario happen. Amazingly, Henry woke up, and he opened up an old wound on his leg, which would cause him a lot of pain in later years. When Henry fell,  an open argument about the side effects this fall caused, is commonly believed, Henry had a brainal injury which changed his personality for the rest of his life.

A day or two later Henry was caught with Jane Seymour by his current wife Anne, Henry was supposed to be recovering from his jousting accident. Anne flew off the handle as suspected, Anne grew very jealous of Jane the more Henry paid attention to her. On the 29th of January, it was Catherine of Aragon's funeral, she was to be buried at Peterborough Cathedral, on that same day Anne Boleyn miscarried her unborn son. This was the start of her downfall. 

Henry abandoned Anne at Whitehall and left for Greenwich. Anne must have been struggling, dealing with the loss of a baby, and then her husband abandons her. Henry lamented that he will not get any sons from her, meaning Anne. When Anne recovered, she joined her husband, and tensions had risen between them. Henry blamed Anne for the loss of their son, but he said he was hoping for another son by Anne. At this point, Henry was not looking for a way to get rid of Anne. He was pressing the emperor to recognise Anne as his rightful Queen, with Catherine dead, Charles did not have an argument with Henry anymore. 

In the months leading to May, Anne focused on Princess Elizabeth, the welfare of her people and her reputation. Thomas Cromwell and Anne started to fall out more, they were not the dream team they once were. Anne was very much a political figure, she had an opinion, and she was not scared to share that. Thomas was getting more prominent in court, he was very much the king's right-hand man. Thomas wanted Anne to stay silent and out of his way, Anne wanted to be Henry's partner in everything, and Thomas did not want this.

Following Anne's miscarriage, Henry paid more attention to Jane. Jane sent back gifts that Henry had sent, something Anne had done nearly ten years earlier. Thomas Cromwell had given up his rooms near the king to give to Edward Seymour and his wife, where Jane would also stay. Anne was starting to panic, the events that were happening were very similar to the ones that occurred ten years ago. 

Henry started to insist that the emperor and the Spanish ambassador agree with the changes in England. In April 1536, Henry VIII and the Boleyn family tricked the Spanish ambassador into giving Anne recognition as Queen. Up until this point, Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador refused to recognise Anne as Queen, he simply referred to her as 'that lady', it was going to mass one morning, and he met George Boleyn, they heard mass, coming down the stairs, was Anne herself, Chapuys had no way of backing out of this, he had to bow to Anne, they even lit a candle at the altar together. This sent Princess Mary panicking, Chapuys had to assure Mary he doesn't believe in Queen Anne and her 'bastard' child.

At some point, Thomas Cromwell started gathering evidence against Anne Boleyn. Whether Thomas Cromwell was instructed by the king to do this, or he wanted to get rid of Anne himself. Cromwell targeted Mark Smeaton, Anne's musician, he invited Mark to supper under false pretences. We believe he tortured Mark to give him the answers he wanted, Anne always saw Mark as beneath her. Thomas Cromwell collected all the evidence he gathered and gave it to the king, the king said that this needed further action, Anne's ladies were interviewed, and they all said she flirted too much. Anne's enemies started to swirl closer than ever, Anne felt something was going to happen, so she made her chaplain Matthew Parker, promise to always look after Elizabeth if something bad was to befall her.

In between all of this, Anne was overheard talking to Henry Norris, she was questioning him on why he was not yet betrothed to her cousin Madge Shelton. Henry Norris made some excuses as to why he had not yet asked her, Anne then made the fatal mistake of saying Henry did not come to her rooms to see Madge, it was for Anne herself, and if anything should happen to the king he would like Anne himself. Henry Norris was shocked, he said he would rather have his head cut off, Anne said it could be arranged. After Henry Norris walked away, Anne realised what she had done, she had gone over the boundaries of courtly love. Anne was panicking, when her husband heard of this it set off a big argument, but it seemed to die down.

On the 1st of May 1536, it was the Mayday jousts. The Mayday jousts were always a big celebration, Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and George Boleyn were taking part in the jousts. Halfway through the jousts, a message was delivered to Henry VIII concerning Mark Smeaton. Henry stood up and stormed off, he took a small entourage of men with him including Henry Norris. This would be the last time Anne saw her husband. Anne carried on with the jousts, she will have been worried about what just happened. 

The next day Anne was presiding over a tennis game with her ladies when a messenger told her the king wanted Anne to present herself to the privy council. Anne must have been terrified, being summoned to the privy council was not good. At this Privy Council, was the Duke of Norfolk, her uncle, Sir William Fitzwilliam and Sir William Paulet. Anne was then told she was accused of having treason with three men, Smeaton, Norris and an unnamed person. Anne tried to argue her defence but to no avail, the men ordered her arrest. Anne was sent back to her apartments, to wait there until the tide on the Thames had turned. At 14:00 in the afternoon, Anne was escorted by a barge to the Tower of London. Anne was to stay in the rooms she had occupied the night before her coronation, also entering the tower, was her brother George, Anne did not yet know this.

On the 4th of May, two further arrests were made, Sir William Brereton and Sir Francis Weston. There were now five men at the Tower of London. By the 5th, another two arrests were made, Sir Richard Page, and Sir Thomas Wyatt. There were now seven men in the Tower of London, how many more men would be arrested for adultery with Anne?

When Anne was in the tower she was assigned ladies to wait on her. They were sent by Thomas Cromwell to spy on her, and report back on anything she said. Anne was very confused and bewildered by her arrest, she said a lot of ramblings about her mistake in speaking to Henry Norris, that maybe she was too flirty. All of this was reported back to Cromwell, and he kept building his case against Anne, and by the 10th of May, he felt he had enough evidence for the case to go to court. 

On the 12th of May, Norris, Smeaton, Weston and Brereton were tried for adultery, they were all found guilty and sentenced to beheading. This was not looking good for Anne, she had not even had her trial and four men were found guilty. While Anne was in the tower, Henry shut himself away, he now fully set his sights on Jane Seymour, he was sending her letters, and possibly made a promise of marriage. 

On the 15th of May, Anne and George Boleyn were put on trial, although there was no point in a trial, with four condemned. Anne was accused of being a witch but she was not charged with witchcraft it was just an accusation, but the accusation was enough. Anne's uncle presided over the trial, along with Anne's former sweetheart, Henry Percy collapsed when the verdict was passed as guilty. George Boleyn was also sentenced to guilty. It was at the King's pleasure whether Anne was to be burned at the stake or have her head smitten off.

The next day, Anne had the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, he was going as her confessor. When he left, however, Anne seemed to be more hopeful of life, she kept saying the King will be merciful and send her to a nunnery. It seems Cranmer was actually there to try and make a deal with Anne, what he was there to bargain Anne with we will never know, what he was there to bargain with Anne for something.

On the 17th of May, George Boleyn, Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were executed on Tower Hill, they all gave a speech and died very bravely. There are rumours Anne witnessed the execution of her brother George, but this is very unlikely. The five men were buried in St Peter Ad Vincula, the chapel in the Tower of London. Anne was scheduled to be executed the next day. The King had decided Anne was to be executed by a Frenchman from Calais, by the sword. This shows that the executioner was sent before even Anne was arrested. Anne really had no hope from the beginning.

The 18th of May was meant to be Anne's execution day, but many delays kept happening, the executioner was late, and these delays must have made Anne very distressed, her calm composure must have been hard to keep. Anne was then told her execution was to be held tomorrow morning, and that she must prepare her soul.

On the 19th of May, Anne received mass for the last time, she then had her breakfast at seven o'clock. At 8 o'clock, Sir William Kingston came to her room and informed her that the hour of her death approaches and that she should make herself ready. Anne was already prepared, Anne had that Queenly composure. Anne was dressed in a gown of grey damask trimmed with ermine, with a crimson kirtle and an English-style gable hood, to show that she was an English woman first. Anne took her final walk from the Queen's lodgings to Tower Green, Kingston helped Anne up the scaffold steps, she stepped forward and looked into the crowd, many familiar faces that she knew, she then gave her final speech:

"Good Christian people, I have not come here to preach a sermon, I have come here to die. For according to the law and by the law, I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak of that whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God to save the King and send him to long reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never, and to me, he was ever a good, a gentle, and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me."

Her ladies then removed her mantle and Anne lifted off her gable hood and tucked her hair into her cap. Anne paid the executioner, and the executioner as was customary asked for Anne's forgiveness. Anne knelt down on the straw, praying upright, "Oh lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul. To Jesus Christ I commend my soul, Lord Jesu receive my soul".

While Anne was praying, the executioner dealt a quick, swift blow with the sword. Anne was now gone, her soul was in heaven. Anne's ladies wrapped up her head and body in cloth and put her body in an old arrow chest, a proper coffin seems to have been forgotten. Anne's ladies took her coffin to the chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula, she now joined her brother and the other men in heaven.

Queen Anne Boleyn was now no more, she had been controversial in life. At the end of the day, she was human, she made mistakes, and she could be too rash. Anne Boleyn is not here to argue her case anymore and we shouldn't argue about what she did, how horrible she is etc. She was just human in a very male-dominated world, and that is my take on the life of Anne Boleyn.

Until next time, Unholytudor! 💜