On this day in Tudor history, 19th May 1536, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer uttered the words “she who has been the Queen of England upon Earth will today become a Queen in heaven” and wept in front of his friend Alexander Alesius.
Cranmer was talking about Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, who was executed at the Tower of London on this day in 1536.
Anne had been condemned to death after being found guilty of seducing five courtiers: Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, Mark Smeaton, and her brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. She’d also allegedly plotted with them to kill her husband the king.
The five men had been beheaded on Tower Hill on 17th May, but Anne had to wait an extra two days and her execution was a private one in the confines of the Tower of London. She died with dignity and courage, and was laid to rest in the Tower’s chapel royal, the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.
Here’s my video on Anne Boleyn’s execution:
