51. She Got Into A Cat Fight
Jane Seymour might have looked docile on the outside, but historical evidence suggests she, like Anne, was anything but. According to one account, one day at court Jane began brazenly opening and shutting the offending locket right in front of Anne. Once she realized what was going on, Boleyn furiously tore the chain so violently that she cut her fingers open. Only, Jane wasn't done shoving the affair into Anne's face.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
52. She Threw A Temper Tantrum
One evening, Anne walked into a room only to find the treasonous Jane sitting prettily on her husband's lap. Anne's response went down in infamy. Giving in to her notorious temper, Anne reportedly flew into a very public rage at the sight of Jane Seymour lounging atop King Henry VIII. Anne was already on edge, and she had another shock coming.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
53. She Watched Her Husband Nearly Die
Around this time, King Henry VIII participated in a jousting tournament, with Anne watching on from the sidelines. However, this only meant she had a front-row seat to a horror show. In front of her eyes, an opponent unhorsed Henry with such force, the king was unconscious for a good two hours. In the end, all this stress was too much for Anne, and the consequences were devastating.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
54. She Lost Her Baby
In between watching another woman straddle her husband and watching her husband slip into a semi-coma, Anne's mental health took a nosedive, and her physical health followed. Just five days after Henry's disastrous tournament, Anne miscarried yet again, losing the child she was so desperate to give Henry. But that's not even the most harrowing part.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
55. She Had A Brutal Fall From Grace
When the attendants looked at the infant Anne had just miscarried, they saw it was a boy. And even though Henry had helped cause the drama, he now blamed Boleyn entirely for the miscarriage. When imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys heard the news, he apparently intoned that Anne "has miscarried of her savior." He was all too right.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
56. Henry Iced Her Out
When King Henry VIII turned on Anne at last, his spite was swift and brutal. After all, he had spent an agonizing near-decade splitting from Catherine of Aragon, and he had no intention of doing the same with Anne. Within months of losing their infant son, Henry was already plotting to marry Jane Seymour. But this time, his punishment was so much worse than divorce.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
57. The King Sabotaged Her
Henry's plan of attack started with a series of abhorrent snubs to Anne. While his poor queen recovered from her traumatic miscarriage, Henry started telling people Anne had indeed "bewitched" him into marrying her. Not stopping there, he also refused to give Anne's brother George the prestigious Order of the Garter. And then he turned to public humiliation.
58. Henry Replaced Her
People say "they go the same way that they came," and nothing could be truer when it came to Henry. In fact, he pulled the exact same move on Anne that he had for Catherine. Within days of losing his narcissistic love for Anne, Henry had installed Jane in the royal quarters. With this done, Henry worked on the bloodiest phase of his plan.
59. The King Accused Her Of Horrific Acts
By the end of that April, Henry initiated some seriously sinister moves on Anne's friends and family. The king detained and questioned a series of male courtiers who knew Anne, accusing many of them of sleeping with his witchy wife. Chillingly, Henry even took in Anne's brother George, accusing him of having romantic relations with his own sister. Yes, Henry was off the deep end, and it wasn't going to get better.
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Columbia Pictures
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60. She Was "Treasonous"
In early May, Henry pulled the trigger on his malevolent plot. He arrested his wife for high treason—it being treasonous for a queen to sleep with anyone but her king—and threw her into the infamous Tower of London to await her fate. Upon her detainment, Anne apparently collapsed from the shock. But when she recovered, she made a genius chess move.
61. She Knew How To Manage Her Image
Right after Henry's men told her of the charges, Boleyn went back to her rooms and got changed into an exquisite crimson velvet dress. This wasn't just Boleyn's vanity talking, either. Anne wanted to make sure that when the men led her to the Tower, she looked every part the queen, showing Henry exactly what he was going to be missing. Still, none of this saved her from her utterly tragic fate.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
62. She Went On Trial
In mid-May, King Henry finally put Anne on trial. While she stood there—with her brother George suffering through a similar trial on the same day—the Crown accused her of everything from witchcraft to plotting Henry's death so she could remarry. By then, it was far too late for rebuttals. A jury of 27 people found Anne guilty on all counts and condemned her (and George) to execution. But one detail from her trial is gut-wrenching.
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Focus Features
63. Her Ex-Lover Condemned Her
As Anne looked into the jury's eyes, she saw a familiar face. That of Henry Percy, her old love and the man she tried to marry all those years ago. You know, before King Henry pulled her into his destructive orbit. Even more disturbingly, the jury's decision was unanimous, which meant Percy had personally sent his old flame to the block. And it gets more soap opera than that.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Focus Features
64. She Was In A Romeo And Juliet Romance
It might be easy for us to paint Henry Percy as a villain in this final act of Anne's life, but the truth is much different. With the King of England breathing down their necks, the jury didn't have any chance to enact justice, and many might have actually believed in Anne's innocence. Indeed, Percy's reaction to the verdict was utterly heartbreaking.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
65. Her Old Fiance Died Of A Broken Heart
In reality, the decision to execute Anne absolutely destroyed Henry Percy. When an aide read out the decree, Anne's ex-fiance was so overcome with emotion, he collapsed on the floor, and was so out of it that attendants needed to haul him out of the room. He never got over the shock, either. He passed, childless, a mere eight months later.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
66. Henry Falsely Accused Her
Henry may have claimed Anne was treasonous, but the truth behind Boleyn's trial is tragic. According to most experts, Henry really did just have her killed because she didn't give him male children as quickly as he wanted. Besides, now he had his new toy, Jane Seymour, to play with. But Henry did give Anne one last, small, and very disturbing "gift" at the end.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
67. She Was Supposed To Be Burned Alive
In accordance with her so-called "crimes," Anne was supposed to be burned at the stake. However, King Henry was "merciful" enough to commute this fate to a much pleasanter beheading. Then, going above and beyond (please keep reading sarcasm here), he called in an expert swordsman to perform the deed instead of using the average axeman.
Despite these, er, niceties, Anne's mind began to contort in tragic ways as she awaited her execution.
68. She Went Unhinged
In her final days in the Tower, visitors to the Queen of England described her as eerily calm and even happy. Perhaps this is why she uttered some utterly chilling last words. She reportedly was chatting with a guard about her professional executioner and, in an attempt to reassure the sentry, said, “I hear he’s quite good. And I have a very small neck!" Yet in the dark of the night, Anne's inner demons came out.
69. She Wrote A Final, Tragic Poem
We may know what Anne Boleyn was really thinking in her final, desperate days. She likely wrote the poem "O Death Rock Me Asleep," composing it during her very last hours on Earth. In it, Boleyn seems to grapple with her impending death, writing how the execution will release her from her sorrows: "O death! rock me asleep," the poem says, "Bring me on quiet rest."
Only, Anne did not go gently to her end. She had one final, desperate act left in her.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Focus Features
70. She Wrote One Last Letter
After four days in the Tower, Boleyn bundled up a package and gave it to her guard to deliver to the king. It was a letter; her very last to Henry. In it, she plead for mercy, writing that "never prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne Boleyn." She also made one final heartbreaking request.
71. She Had Last Wishes
In her final letter to King Henry, Boleyn begged him to think of their daughter Elizabeth, and then she humbly asked that Henry would still spare the lives of her brother and the other men accused of being her lovers. It's a wrenching revelation: At her core, until the very end, Boleyn may have been truly selfless. But it didn't go her way.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Focus Features
72. Henry Turned His Back On Her
Tragically, Boleyn's plea fell on deaf ears. Henry was beyond all reason at this point, already imagining all the boy children he would have with Jane Seymour (in a cruel twist of fate, she did give him one). On May 17, Henry sent George and the rest of the men to the chopping block. Meanwhile, Boleyn waited for her own grisly appointment.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
73. She Dressed To Impress
On May 19th, 1536, Anne Boleyn walked to her own execution. She was a clotheshorse until the bitter end and made sure to face the gallows in style. For the occasion, the prisoner queen wore a dark grey damask gown with ermine, a red petticoat, and an English gable hood. Like many of Anne's garments, these carried a secret message.
74. She Sent Out Coded Messages
Anne wasn't going to go meekly, and her dress sense proved it. As mentioned above, Anne often favored the French style of hood, but on the day of her execution, you'll note she wore an English gable hood instead. This was an obvious sign that she was an English queen. More than that, only royalty could wear ermine. Yep, Anne made sure to say farewell as every inch the monarch she was. She wasn't done yet, either.
75. She Made An Unforgettable Exit
When Boleyn went to the block, she begged to address the crowd. Her last words were poignant. She said, “Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law, I am judged to die...thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.”
As she awaited the executioner’s blade, kneeling on the block, she repeated the phrase, “To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesu receive my soul.” Nonetheless, these final words are missing a crucial thing.
76. She Held Out Impossible Hope
Although Anne spoke at length to the crowd, she never once put King Henry in a bad light, nor did she admit any guilt. She had yet another cunning but selfless reason for this: Anne likely didn't want any of her family to suffer more if Henry tried to punish her long after she was gone. And as Anne's last seconds came, she maintained this composure.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Focus Features
77. She Died In The "French" Way
Anne Boleyn even died in her own style. While her ladies wept around her, she got them to tie a blindfold around her eyes and then knelt in front of the block. This was a classically "French" style of execution, and itnodded to Boleyn's signature Gallic-tinged ways. Anne had prepared every last detail, and now it was time to face her end.
As it turned out, King Henry's swordsman was worth his pay rate: It took only a single stroke to behead the Queen of England. But that didn't quite mean she was gone.
78. She Haunted Henry
Henry tried his best to forget Anne, fully establishing Jane Seymour in the palace just 11 days after the execution. But it wasn't that simple. In fact, Henry had such a difficult time erasing Boleyn's memory, he soon had all likenesses of her destroyed, and there are no contemporary paintings of her in existence. Still, there were some things Henry couldn't bear to let go of.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
79. Henry Couldn't Erase Her Memory
According to some historians, there is one sign that Henry was filled with regret about Anne's fate. Though he destroyed all likenesses of her and even broke down most of the jewelry he had gifted her, he eventually re-purchased several of Boleyn's possessions and kept more than a few keepsakes with their initials, "H" and "A."
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
80. Some Thought She Was Ugly
Not everyone agreed that Anne Boleyn was a hottie. Though many people praised her beauty, others were, uh, less complimentary. Italian diarist Marino Sanuto glimpsed Boleyn once and found himself thoroughly unimpressed. She was "not one of the handsomest women in the world," he said, sniping at her short height and "swarthy complexion." But one insult has grown in infamy.
81. She Was An "Eleven-Fingered" Woman
According to a notorious story, Anne Boleyn had an extra finger on one hand. The tales of a bewitching, eleven-fingered queen are alluring, but they're also sinister. This depiction came from Catholic Propagandist Nicholas Sanders, who had every reason to discredit Boleyn. He also claimed she had a snaggle tooth and an unsightly cyst on her throat.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
84. She Died Heartbreakingly Young
To this day, historians aren't certain when Boleyn was born (likely somewhere between 1501 and 1507), so we don't even know how old she was at her tragic end. One thing is certain: She was still in the prime of her life when the executioner's sword hit. With our best guess, the Queen of England was only as old as 35 and perhaps as young as 28 when she died.
82. Her Daughter Honored Her
Although she kept it on the down-low for political reasons, the future Queen Elizabeth loved her mother Anne very much. Elizabeth was only two years old when Anne went to the block and as an adult, Elizabeth quietly honored Boleyn and her family by taking care of their positions at court. She also always kept her mother's portrait in a locket on her necklace.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Universal Pictures
83. Her Life Had A Cruel Twist
This is perhaps the most heartbreaking fact of all when it comes to Anne Boleyn. Throughout her three-year marriage to King Henry, she had as many as four pregnancies and three miscarriages. In a cruel twist of fate, all of those miscarriages were sons. More than that, Anne miscarried her last child on the very day of Catherine of Aragon's funeral. Poetic justice, or ghostly revenge?
84. She Had Secret Admirers
In 2021, historians made a discovery about Anne Boleyn. Scholar Kate McCaffrey found secret messages inside Boleyn's prayer book, one that she may have held during her execution. Alongside Boleyn's extant inscription in the book, “Remember me when you do pray / That hope doth lead from day to day," there were also family names of the people who had held onto the traitor queen's tome throughout the years, even though they faced grave danger in keeping it safe.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
85. She Is An Enigma
Boleyn is truly one of the most fascinating and enigmatic women in history, and our understanding of her legacy has changed in the centuries since her end. Over the years, she has gone from an enchanting witch to a powerless victim to an empowered woman in her own right. Now we know her as one of the most ambitious and intelligent monarchs of her time.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
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