Thanks for posting, Maggyann. It is interesting to have a sense of what the burials look like.

It is ironic that Henry, with his inflated sense of self, would be buried under a simple floor marker. I felt nothing when I visited his grave. I did take the time to pay my respects for Miss Seymour. It is the graves of the wives who evoke emotions in me.

I’ve always wondered if Jane is preserved like Katherine Parr! I wish they would find the wooden effigy that was used during her funeral, then we could get a better idea of how she looked.

Janet, you are not alone. Hopefully, it would make us feel better. Although talking to his grave wouldn’t do us any better than talking to him in person would have. Brick walls and all that.

Mya, if you talk to Anne more, chances are that she’ll eventually reply. Be sure to have your comeback ready. lol

There was a prophesy given to Henry, on the day of Anne’s Crowning. One of the many priests that Henry had started to turf out said, that because he had cast aside KOA in favour of his wh*re A.B that he would be as Ahab. His blood will be drunk by dogs. This one actually came true too.
As for the coffin pic, Hmm I’m going to reserve judgement on it, but I have read somewhere that Henry’s coffin was placed on top of Jane’s, not by the side of her. It’s wholely possible that I’ve got that wrong, but even so I would imagine that Henry’s coffin would have been much much larger and longer too.

Thanks for putting this up Maggyann. I remember seeing this sketch somewhere but could never find it! When I was 10 I visited Windsor Castle and I remember how disappointed I was that Henry didn’t have a proper tomb/monument, just a plaque in the floor indicating his final resting place. In fact I think I walked over him several times before I realized where he was!
And the teeny tiny coffin of one of Queen Annes’ babies gets to me too

Mya Elise said

Oh god, one of Anne’s little babies? Makes me want to cry…
What ever happend to Anne’s other babies? Or were they just miscarriages?

I think most of her pregnancies, of which there were about 17, ended in miscarriages or stillbirths. Or the baby didn’t survive infancy. She did have one son who lived to be about 11 though. Another queen with a sad personal history

Yep Anne had 17 pregnancies, 5 of which produced children that lived long enough to be baptised and named. 6 were still born and 6 were miscarriages. William lived until the age of 11 when he died of possibly scarlet fever or smallbox. His death meant the end of the Stuart line (legally) and caused Parliament to bring in laws that would prevent any Catholics from succeeding to the throne. This was because James II’s son James had the best argument for succeeding his aunt Queen Anne, but James had been bought up a Catholic like his father James II. So Parliament decalred that when the Queen passed away the throne would be passed over to her German relative Sophia of Hanover and her relatives. Sophia passed away before Anne which allowed her son to claim the throne on Anne’s death, which allowed Great Britain to get George I.

Of course, France ignored all that stuff and declared James the new King of Great Britain and recognised him as James III. James III tried one invasion of Britain but failed miserbaly and lived his life in exile, the papacity did not recognise the House of Hanover until George III (1792). Bit of trvia for you, if James II hadn’t fled England and his son succeeded him, there would have been only 2 monarchs during that time compared to the 6 that occured during James’ ‘III” life time – 3 Stuarts and 3 Hanovers. James III as the Pretender King ‘ruled’ longer than any English or British monarch has reigned. The current Elizabeth won’t achieve this record until May 26, 2016

Maggyann said

Thanks for that Bill. So if there were 5 survived birth, one of which was the son who lived to 11 that means there are 4 others. Was it normal practice then to simply inter small coffins into any old grave? This particular one with Henry, Charles and the Queen has an indication on the slab of one of Anne’s children does anyone know where the rest are?
As to the longevity of ‘James III’ perhaps it would have been shorter if he had won the throne, stress and what have you…

Mgagyanne,

My research suggests most of Anne’s children were interred in Westminster Abbey, two of whom were buried in Henry VII Chapel (Mary and Anne Sophia). It seems only the stillborn son was buried in St. George’s.
Her son, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester lived to be 11 years old. He died from either scarlet fever or smallpox. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Queen Anne’s personal history is so tragic. I feel a tremendous amount of empathy for her situation. I cannot even comprehend the emotional and physical toll of successive pregnancies, stillbirths, and miscarriages must have take on her body and psyche.