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11:03 am
May 19, 2011
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Even knowing that Elizabeth would be prevented her very difficult childhood, early adolescence, and may be prevented from becoming the great Elizabeth I by changing her life lessons; if you could save Anne Boleyn, would you? At what point in her life would you intervene and what would you do?
Had it been done already? Anne had had several warnings but chose to ignore them, claiming that her love for the King and the great prince she would give him, was worth it- any death she would suffer..
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
11:35 am
July 17, 2011
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Hmmm. I would definately have wanted to save her. She didn't deserve to be sentenced to death. But as to when to intervene, thats a difficult question because from what I have read of her, she was so headstrong she likely would not have listened and gone her own way anyway. In fact I believe that her personality was such that the more you told Anne not to do something, the more likely she would be to do it, if only to (hopefully) prove herself to be in the right.
'If honour were profitable, everybody would be honourable' Thomas More
11:54 am
January 9, 2010
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What a great question! But on careful consideration and reflection I would have to say…. no, I wouldn't try to save Anne or intervene in any way. It may sound harsh but I believe things, even horrible things, happen because they're supposed to and they happen for a reason. I think deep down Anne knew that; she knew she was supposed to become queen and give England a great monarch, and whilst her ultimate fate would've come as a shock, in the end she was accepting of it. If any one thing, even the slightest thing, was different about Elizabeths' childhood, I firmly believe she wouldn't have become the incredible ruler she was.
I was once asked a similar question about Hitler – knowing his horrific impact on the world, if I could go back in time to when he was younger and kill him before all that happened, would I? And I straight away said yes. And then I went home and thought about it and realised that if it wasn't for WW2 my mother would never have been born. And then I wouldn't have been born either!!!!
Go back in history and tinker around with it too much and you never know who might just write out of all existence 
And on that note I think I shall disappear….
12:02 pm
July 17, 2011
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Much like The Tudors effectively wrote James V & Mary Queen of Scots among others out of History by amalgamating Mary and Margaret……….. but I digress lol
'If honour were profitable, everybody would be honourable' Thomas More
12:44 pm
December 5, 2009
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Bella44 said:
Go back in history and tinker around with it too much and you never know who might just write out of all existence
Bella, you have a great skill in saying, in one sentence, what would take me half a page and still say.
If someone had gone back and warned Anne then who knows what would have happened and what person our wonderful Elizabeth may have been. Better or worse, she would certainly have been different. She had to be strong and single minded because of her upbringing and because she lost her mother so young. If it had been different then perhaps Elizabeth would not have been the queen she was, and England may not have had her golden era. If so, what would the world have been like now?
However much I love the Boleyns, if I knew the future, I would probably have remained silent.
12:55 pm
August 2, 2010
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This is a very difficult question!! On the one hand, must I even explain the billions of reasons why I would save Anne? On the other hand…well, where would England be without hvaing a Queen like Elizabeth? Hmmm….I'm going to have to ponder this and come back!
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
1:24 pm
November 18, 2010
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Personally, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have saved Anne. And for much of the same reasons that others have mentioned.
Has anyone read A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury? That's about the unintended effects of a minor change in history.
It's always bunnies.
8:26 pm
January 9, 2010
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Louise said:
Bella, you have a great skill in saying, in one sentence, what would take me half a page and still say.
If someone had gone back and warned Anne then who knows what would have happened and what person our wonderful Elizabeth may have been. Better or worse, she would certainly have been different. She had to be strong and single minded because of her upbringing and because she lost her mother so young. If it had been different then perhaps Elizabeth would not have been the queen she was, and England may not have had her golden era. If so, what would the world have been like now?
Thanks Louise! And I totally agree about Elizabeth. Everything that Elizabeth went through had to happen exactly the way it did for her to become the queen that she did. If Anne somehow managed to escape her fate and live, then there's a chance that England would have lost one of its greatest monarchs; as awful as it is to say it.
Anyanka – I've not read anything by Ray Bradbury but A Sound of Thunder sounds intriguing, heh!
1:28 am
January 17, 2011
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No, Because I think Anne didn't want to be saved. Somehow I think Anne knew after a while how it was all going end and for Elizabeth's sake she died. I believe everything is in it's place and time and this was Anne's time, her part in history. As sad and terrible as it was Anne gave us Queen Elizabeth and what a ruler she made…..Anne's blood was well spent as the famous line say's……..
3:10 pm
August 2, 2010
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I have to say, after reading everyone's posts, mulling this over, and, yes, watching the World Cup Final (
), I have to say that, for the same reasons as everyone else, I would most likely not save her.
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
1:25 pm
August 12, 2009
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What if you could save her by bringing her to the present? With her permission, of course. Explain to her how things will happen and offer her the chance to answer all the questions we still have nearly 500 years later, and not mess up the lonely childhood so necessary to mold the Queen that Elizabeth will need to be. So, instead of a public execution, there would be another mysterious disappearance in the Tower…
She might still refuse, mind you…
"Don't knock at death's door.
Ring the bell and run. He hates that."
8:37 am
February 10, 2010
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I don't know if it's a true story or a later legend but there is a tale that Anne found a pamphlet in her rooms showing Henry, Catherine and Anne. Anne was minus her head. She is supposed to have referred to it as a bauble and still be resolved to marry Henry. There also seems to have been some kind of prophecy that a queen would be burned to death around that time (Starkey mentions it).
I wonder if she knew?
8:55 am
May 19, 2011
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This is what I meant when I asked if an attempt to save her (Dr Who style) had already been made…
Perhaps just at the point of her execution, just before she was led out of her rooms, I would whisk her away. Of course I would already have rescued George. And to give destiny it's pound of flesh; I would have replaced the two with genuine lookalike criminals…
Then I would bring them home and maybe share them with you…
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
8:33 pm
January 9, 2010
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^ OK, that's a plan that could work…..
Then, of course you'd have to have a dinner party for us all E, with Anne and George as honoured guests!
9:12 pm
November 18, 2010
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7:23 pm
August 12, 2009
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Anyanka said:
As long as it's not the Donner party…cannibalism isn't my thing.
LOLOL! That would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire!
"Don't knock at death's door.
Ring the bell and run. He hates that."
2:13 pm
August 2, 2010
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Anne fan said:
I don't know if it's a true story or a later legend but there is a tale that Anne found a pamphlet in her rooms showing Henry, Catherine and Anne. Anne was minus her head. She is supposed to have referred to it as a bauble and still be resolved to marry Henry. There also seems to have been some kind of prophecy that a queen would be burned to death around that time (Starkey mentions it).
I wonder if she knew?
I am not aware of the prophecy, but I have definitely heard the tale about Anne finding a pamphlet, etc. I wonder if it's true? Do you know where you heard it?
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
10:10 pm
April 9, 2011
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I'm going to treat this question like I was at the court of Henry VIII. And even if I knew she was innocent and had hard concrete evidence, I would have kept my mouth shut. No way would I speak out of turn against Henry. Yes it is a weakness in my character, but I rather Anne die, than both of us.
Treating the question as a historian and with all the facts. I would still elect not to save her. By letting her live, it changes way way way too much history and the world we live in now could and would be very very different. For starters, Anne living due to evidence would most likely mean a reconcilation with Henry allowing Anne to maybe giving Henry a son which meant no Jane meaning no Edward meaning no true Protestant reforms, meaning no Mary and her burning and definitely no virginal hard done by tough as nails Elizabeth. In fact, if Anne had given a son, there would be no need for Elizabeth to ever get on the throne and imagine what England may have been like without that Monarch. No Elizabeth means no James VI becoming James I and uniting 2 kingdoms. Anne's death definitely was not a waste of time in the grand history of things.
4:32 am
February 10, 2010
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Boleynfan said:
Anne fan said:
I don't know if it's a true story or a later legend but there is a tale that Anne found a pamphlet in her rooms showing Henry, Catherine and Anne. Anne was minus her head. She is supposed to have referred to it as a bauble and still be resolved to marry Henry. There also seems to have been some kind of prophecy that a queen would be burned to death around that time (Starkey mentions it).
I wonder if she knew?
I am not aware of the prophecy, but I have definitely heard the tale about Anne finding a pamphlet, etc. I wonder if it's true? Do you know where you heard it?
Apparently it's a prophecy from Merlin, that a queen would be burned to death. I'm still trying to find out a bit more.
5:41 am
April 11, 2011
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Anne fan, regarding the prophecy, I had a discussion with E a little while ago regarding this. If you go to the forum Anne Boleyn, topic Portraits and look at my entry for June 10th, there is a brief explanation regarding both Merlin's prophecy and another widely believed prophecy, with a direct link to an online narrative of Merlin's prophecy. Hope this helps and saves you some time.
