Category: Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn Returns to England

17/1/2019

It was in January of 1522 that Anne Boleyn left the French court of Claude Queen of France and returned to England on the order of her father Thomas Boleyn. She sailed from Calais and took up her place in the court of Henry VIII as lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon. She had followed her sister Mary who had returned to England three years earlier to take up her post as maid-of-honour to Henry's queen.

Initially, Thomas Boleyn had planned to marry Anne to her cousin, James Butler, but this did not come to fruition.

On her arrival in court Anne soon discovered that Mary had become Henry VIII's mistress, however, she soon realised how easily Henry disregarded his mistresses, this would stand her in good stead when Henry began to pay attention to her.
There is a difference of opinion on the subject of the early relationship between Anne and Henry some historians claim that Anne was a schemer who set her heart on being queen, others that they were genuinely in love. Whatever the reason, what I fail to understand is if he loved her so much, how could he believe the vile rumours that were going about in court and then literally leave her to her fate.

Unfortunately, the true story has been lost to myth and to romantic legend but the real truth about this episode in history is that the people if England were subjected to a reign of terror for centuries.

You can purchase the above print of Anne at my Etsy shop at

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/614496839/anne-boleyn-illustrated-print-without?ref=shop_home_active_9

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The Indictment of Queen Anne Boleyn

12/5/2016

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Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery with five men, including her brother George whose wife, Lady Rochford, testified that her husband had been 'intimate' with Anne. On the 10th May 1536 a jury decided that Anne and George Boleyn along with Sir Henry Norris, Sir William Brereton, Mark Smeaton and Sir Francis Weston should be indicted and stand trial.

George's marriage had been a arranged, and was thought not to be a happy one. Jane is said to have hated both her husband and her sister in law and her words although untruths, carried a lot of weight.

Extract from the indictment listing the charges against Anne Boleyn (catalogue reference: KB 8/9, f. 9v)

Detail of alleged incest between Anne and George Boleyn (catalogue reference: KB 8/9, f. 10r)

It has never been proved it was Jane who set the wheels in motion regarding Anne's downfall, but someone did. However, Jane didn't learn anything from the whole affair, and went on to encourage the liaison between Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpepper. Jane must have known what would happen if Henry found out that she was involved but it didn't stop her meddling.

The Indictment

Indictment found at Westminster on Wednesday next after three weeks of Easter, 28 Hen. VIII. before Sir John Baldwin, &c., by the oaths of Giles Heron, Roger More, Ric. Awnsham, Thos. Byllyngton, Gregory Lovell, Jo. Worsop, Will. Goddard, Will. Blakwall, Jo. Wylford, Will. Berd, Hen. Hubbylthorn, Will. Hunyng, Rob. Walys, John England, Hen. Lodysman, and John Averey; who present that whereas queen Anne has been the wife of Henry VIII. for three years and more, she, despising her marriage, and entertaining malice against the King, and following daily her frail and carnal lust, did falsely and traitorously procure by base conversations and kisses, touchings, gifts, and other infamous incitations, divers of the King's daily and familiar servants to be her adulterers and concubines, so that several of the King's servants yielded to her vile provocations; viz., on 6th Oct. 25 Hen. VIII., at Westminster, and divers days before and after, she procured, by sweet words, kisses, touches, and otherwise, Hen. Noreys, of Westminster, gentle man of the privy chamber, to violate her, by reason whereof he did so at Westminster on the 12th Oct. 25 Hen. VIII.; and they had illicit intercourse at various other times, both before and after, sometimes by his procurement, and sometimes by that of the Queen. Also the Queen, 2 Nov. 27 Hen. VIII. and several times before and after, at Westminster, procured and incited her own natural brother, George Boleyn lord Rocheford, gentleman of the privy chamber, to violate her, alluring him with her tongue in the said George's mouth, and the said George's tongue in hers, and also with kisses, presents, and jewels; whereby he, despising the commands of God, and all human laws, 5 Nov. 27 Hen. VIII., violated and carnally knew the said Queen, his own sister, at Westminster; which he also did on divers other days before and after at the same place, sometimes by his own procurement and sometimes by the Queen's. Also the Queen, 3 Dec. 25 Hen. VIII., and divers days before and after, at Westminster, procured one Will. Bryerton, late of Westminster, gentleman of the privy chamber, to violate her, whereby he did so on 8 Dec. 25 Hen. VIII., at Hampton Court, in the parish of Lytel Hampton, and on several other days before and after, sometimes by his own procurement and sometimes by the Queen's. Also the Queen, 8 May 26 Hen. VIII., and at other times before and since, procured Sir Fras. Weston, of Westminster, gentleman of the privy chamber, &c., whereby he did so on the 20 May, &c. Also the Queen, 12 April 26 Hen. VIII., and divers days before and since, at Westminster, procured Mark Smeton, groom of the privy chamber, to violate her, whereby he did so at Westminster, 26 April 27 Hen. VIII.

You can read more on on The National Archives website here
blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/six-wives-archives-trial-anne-boleyn/

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Wolf Hall: "An ending so great we forgot we knew it was coming."

3/5/2016

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I found it difficult to find the right words to do justice to the BBC's adaptation of Hilary Mantel's books Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies so I won't even attempt it. Here is an article in the Guardian newspaper:

Wolf Hall review
"An ending so great we forgot we knew it was coming" 
writes Lucy Mangan, she continues.

"Six hours and a single sword swipe, and the king’s Great Matter is finally resolved. Last night saw the end of Anne Boleyn, and the TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s books Bring up the Bodies and Wolf Hall (BBC2). There wasn’t a moment of Peter Kosminsky’s direction or Peter Straughan’s deft, beautifully elliptical writing that left you wanting for anything throughout this six-week splendour. But the final 15 minutes – with Anne’s death interspersed with flashbacks to Thomas Cromwell’s typically reluctant, typically thorough, inspection of the scaffold – were exceptional.
How do you dramatise a world that is mostly interior calculation, silent power plays and noiseless traps? By assembling a
cast in which there is not one weak link. Try Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey; Anton Lesser as the unflinching,
infuriating Thomas More; and Damian Lewis as Henry (“Could you give us the kind of charismatic kingship that lasts
down the ages with a side order of ego and caprice that could usher in a religious reformation? But we need to be able
to love him, too, else this whole thing makes no sense?” “Coming right up”). And, as if that weren’t enough, Claire Foy
moving flawlessly from bold, brave and brilliant bitch to sacrificial lamb as Anne Boleyn; and, of course,
Mark Rylance as the indefatigable, implacable, terrifying, awe-inspiring Cromwell, delivering a performance
that will probably require the invention of new awards.
Even the very smallest roles were played brilliantly, such as this final episode’s executioner, established by
Philippe Spall, within the space of a few minutes and fewer lines, as a man with professional pride and no little compassion; the person you would want on your side if you ever had to mount the scaffold to clear the way for Jane Seymour.
Kosminsky and Straughan did this with a script that made you weep with its shining rigour and boggle at the amount of
eight it was seamlessly structured to bear, every line doing double duty, without it ever creaking under the strain. And by resisting the directorial temptation to yomp through the tale at speed, instead trusting in the talent at play and the viewers
at home, to create something so compelling that – as with Mantel’s books – you forgot that you knew what must come
next, and watched life unspool as if it had never been lived before."

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Anne Boleyn meeting with Matthew Parker

28/4/2016

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In the last week of April 1536 Anne Boleyn met with her chaplain, Matthew Parker. According to Parker, Anne had asked him to look after her daughter, the Princess Elizabeth.

In this illustration entitled Anne Boleyn Commending the Princess Elizabeth to the care of Matthew Parker, we can see that Anne Boleyn is standing in front of a portrait of Henry VIII, she is holding a book of prayer and seems to be lecturing Parker, who is kissing the hand of Princess Elizabeth.

Two young women watch from behind a half open door in background, who do they represent? Ladies in waiting who actually cared for Ann or those whose idol gossip cost Ann here life?

Before the end of April, all the men suspected of being involved with Ann had been arrested including her brother George.

Ann was unaware of the charges being brought against them, did she, I wonder, have any idea at this point in time of the seriousness of the situation?

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Dangerous Talk Costs Lives - The Last Days of Anne Boleyn

23/6/2015

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Dr Suzannah Lipscomb in her blog The Last Days of Anne Boleyn states

"the story of Anne Boleyn's downfall inspires extraordinarily passionate, opinionated disagreement. There's just the right amount of evidence to keep us guessing, enough to lead to great speculation and several almost sustainable theories, but ultimately not enough to nail any one entirely."

Eventually, by sifting through all the evidence a number of theories come to the forefront, these are:

Anne was guilty.
Thomas Cromwell had it in for her.
Henry wanted to get rid of Anne.

Talk and idle gossip within the court was Anne's undoing and as Dr Lipscomb states:

"Dangerous talk cost lives and it was what Anne said – rather than what she did – that made her appear,
in Henry's eyes, guilty."

In my opinion, it was a mixture of the last two theories.

Many people believe that it was Jane Boleyn who was to blame for initiating Anne’s downfall, but it has never been proved that she set the wheels in motion regarding Anne's downfall, but Jane has been called a “pathological meddler” I'm leaning towards the fact that it was probably true, events later in Henry's reign bear witness to that.

We know that Jane encouraged the relationship between Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpepper. Catherine wrote in a letter to him “praying you that you will come when my Lady Rochford is here” If Jane had anything to do with Anne’s downfall she must have realised that she was lucky to escape in 1536, and if she didn’t then she doesn't seem to have learnt anything from the whole affair. Jane must have known what would happen if Henry found out that she was involved with Catherine and Culpepper and when the affair was out in the open each woman blamed the other. With regard to Anne, maybe Jane had it in for Anne and didn’t need much encouragement to tell tales, maybe she was just repeating gossip, or maybe she was just saving her own skin. Who knows, but she walked right into the Culpepper affair with her eyes open.

If it was not Jane Boleyn, then who was it?

Elizabeth Browne, Countess of Worcester is also considered to be a main source of gossip regarding tales of Anne's misconduct. One has Elizabeth being reprimanded by her brother for her behaviour to which she replied that she was

“no worse than the queen”

Another is along the same lines, it was Elizabeth herself who reprimanded a lady in waiting for comparing her behaviour
to that of the queen. In another, Elizabeth suggests that her brother talk of Mark Smeaton and a lady in waiting about Anne's behaviour.

In the April or May of 1536, others were saying much the same. John Hussee, agent to Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle also stated:

“as to the queen’s accusers, my lady of Worcester is said to be the principal in raising charges”

In our time G W Bernard, a Professor of Early Modern History, writes

“there is strong evidence that it was the Countess of Worcester’s revelations that sparked the arrests and trials”

We will never know who said what to whom with regard to the betrayal of Anne Boleyn, but someone did put the wheels in motion and the intimate details of what was going on and what was said in Anne's bedchamber came from someone close to Anne. Who was it then who instigated such dangerous conversations and where does Cromwell fit in?

Predominantly, I feel it was Henry who wanted to be rid of Anne, he saw to it that someone got the ball rolling and that person
used the loose talk in court about Anne's 'behaviour' against her. I suppose you could argue though that someone had originally planted the seeds of doubt in Henry's mind about Ann and then left to see what would germinate, was this Thomas Cromwell?

Was Anne Boleyn guilty of adultery? I find it hard to believe, Anne would not have put her soul in danger of eternal damnation by lying. She is said to have said

"I swear, on the damnation of my soul, that I have never been unfaithful to my lord and husband, nor ever offended with my body against him."

Dangerous talk it seems does cost lives.

Incidentally, Elizabeth Browne was the granddaughter of my 16x great grandfather.

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Execution of Anne Boleyn

19/5/2015

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19th May 1536

On the 19th May 1536, Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII was beheaded within the walls of the Tower of London.

A bright, intelligent woman whose strong opinions were partly the cause of her downfall, the failure to produce a male heir another but probably the real reason was the fracturing of the court regarding religion, shameful reasons to end someones life, but the common man had his head placed in the noose for less.

Executions were part of everyday life in Tudor times, beheading was a dignified and honourable means of execution, as opposed to hanging which was shameful, maybe it was considered more important to medieval nobility than whether it was humane or not. Beheading was carried out using a sword in Europe, whereas the axe was more commonly used in England. Execution with a sword was performed with one single stroke and generally did a better job.

This form of execution in Britain was used as far back as Anglo Saxon times, but reintroduced during the reign of William the Conqueror. Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland, had his head taken off with a sword in 1076, the axe was commonly used at a later date. Hanging was the usual punishment for most crimes but down the centuries beheading was the norm for men convicted of treason along with the brutal punishment of drawing, hanging and quartering. Women were hanged but also burnt at the stake. However, noble women often met their death on the 'block' Lady Jane Grey and Margaret Pole the Countess of Salisbury both ended their days this way.

Anne Boleyn, as mentioned, date of executions was set for the 19th of May and she was sentenced to death by burning at the stake or beheading. To spare Anne the pain of a potentially messy execution by axe, something he didn't do for his kinswoman Margaret Pole, whose died a terrible death at the hands of an inexperienced executioner, Henry granted a special dispensation, bringing over an expert French swordsman.

Before Anne died she said

"a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord."

Anne's grave in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula was unmarked until the 19th century. Today her name is carved into the marble floor.

In the image is the Martyrdom of St. Margaret of Antioch in which she is executed with a sword.

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The Trial of Anne Boleyn

15/5/2015

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15th May 1536
King’s Hall, The Tower of London.

I wonder, if at anytime in the days before Anne's trial Thomas Boleyn ever thought of his great grandfather, Geoffrey Boleyn, the yeoman farmer from Norfolk. I wonder if he wished that he had discouraged his sons move to London and talked to him about how city life could lead to greed and ambition and tragedy. What was he thinking when he and his brother in law the Duke of Norfolk were asked to inquire into allegations of sexual misconduct and witchcraft or when his son was arrested and charged with incest.

It was this day in 1536 that Thomas Boleyn listened as his daughter was charged with "entertaining malice against the King" and having sexual relations with five men of Henry's court.

Thomas sat in judgement when Anne pleaded not guilty to all the charges but it was her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, who declared that she was guilty. So was she guilty? Of these charges no, her downfall was most certainly orchestrated.

Anne was feisty, Anne was opinionated, Anne was intelligent, are these not the characteristics that had attracted Henry to her in the first place and now he used them against her, he also knew exactly who to ask to get rid of her.

So was Anne's father one of her persecutors or was he just a pawn in a greater game? The irony is that Thomas Boleyn owed his royal favour to the fascination Henry VIII had for both is his daughters, maybe without this, Boleyn's part in Tudor history would be just that of a minor member of the kings court.

After the executions of Anne and George Boleyn, Thomas lost the office of lord privy seal to Thomas Cromwell. Over the next couple of years he lost all his titles apart from his earldom, which he had no heir to inherit and incidentally he had to share with Piers Butler, a member of his mothers family who was granted the title in 1538.

Was all this punishment enough?

Thomas Boleyn died at Hever Castle in 1539.

This unfinished painting is considered to be of Thomas Boleyn, historian David Starkey deputes this stating that it is his cousin, James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond.

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Anne Boleyn Returns to England

The Indictment of Queen Anne Boleyn

Wolf Hall: "An ending so great we forgot we knew it was coming."

Anne Boleyn meeting with Matthew Parker

Dangerous Talk Costs Lives - The Last Days of Anne Boleyn

Execution of Anne Boleyn

19th May 1536

The Trial of Anne Boleyn

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