One of the most shocking executions that occurred during the Tudor Period was when Anne Boleyn
the Second Wife of King Henry VIII went to the scaffold on Tower Green.
She had been found guilty of adultery, treason and other charges along with a number of men.
The men were executed on Tower Hill, but Anne was allowed the privacy of a private execution.
She was not the most popular Queen in History, and many women across the country despised
her and saw her as a home wrecker, as Henry VIII shunned his first wife Catherine of Aragon,
split from the Church and outcast Catherine just so he could marry Anne.
She captivated the King at court, and when the annulment came, Henry had already married
and it was alleged that Anne was pregnant at the time.
But there are many things today that remain uncertain and a mystery about Anne Boleyn,
and following her death Henry VIII sought to erase her from history.
Paintings were painted over, her symbols and insignia in Hampton Court were changed by
carpenters, and there was great effort made to literally get rid of her from history.
But after her execution, there were many rumours that came out about Henry VIII’s second
wife, including whether she had six fingers, and one of the rumours and stories tells a
dark story and a disturbing story about what happened to her heart after her execution.
It was alleged that her heart was removed from her body and was buried miles away from
the rest of her remains.
But what is the story of this?
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On the 19th May 1536, Anne Boleyn was held inside her quarters in the Tower of London
which had become her prison for a number of weeks since she was held in custody.
She had been accused and found guilty of adultery, incest and treason and 5 men including her
own brother was executed for allegedly being involved with Henry’s queen.
The truth behind the whole scandal was that the King yet again had become tired of his
wife, and his eye had been captured at court by another woman, Jane Seymour who would become
Henry VIII’s third wife, and also the woman who gave him his wish in a son and a male
heir.
Because of this, Cromwell spun a web of lies and deceit against Anne Boleyn and with this,
Anne was sentenced to death and a trial held inside the Tower of London.
To take her life, the King had brought over an executioner from France known as the Sword
of Calais who would perform her execution with a sword rather than an axe.
This was considered more prestigious and reliable than the commoners axe.
Anne had been told that she was due to die that day, and she was taken from her rooms
and was taken to the scaffold which had been created on the North side of the White Tower,
the central part of the Tower of London and also the oldest.
She was dressed in a red petticoat, and two female attendants accompanied her on her final
walk from the Queen’s House or the Coldhabour Tower to the Scaffold.
She was noted for being rather positive for someone who would meet her end within the
hour.
She was led and helped up the stairs, and she spoke to the crowd.
She made a long speech to the advisors who were gathered, around 200 people and stated,
‘‘Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the
law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it.
I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused
and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you,
for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good,
a gentle and sovereign lord.
And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best.
And 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.’
She then made the final preparations for her death.
She removed her headdress and tucked her hair under a coif, and finally said goodbye to
her ladies.
These had been assigned to her inside the Tower, and it’s believed these were spies
employed by Cromwell to inform on any piece of intelligence.
She then said a final prayer, and the swordsman then readied himself.
He hid his sword from Anne as she was knelt down and had a blindfold over her eyes.
He moved around on the scaffold, and then drew his sword, before he quickly and swiftly
took her head clean off in one blow from the sword.
He then did not hold up Anne’s head, and made off with her gown leaving quickly, before
Anne’s ladies gathered her remains inside of an oak chest that held bow staves.
Some across England mourned Anne Boleyn, and believed she would be a Queen in Heaven, but
others believed that she was simply a traitorous woman who had led the King astray.
But the image of the Queen of England lying dead upon the orders of her husband the King
was a brutal and shocking thing, and following this the King tried to erase her from history.
As mentioned paintings were seized of Anne and other elements of her life were whitewashed,
and rumours then emerged about her.
But one of the most shocking rumours about Anne Boleyn concerns one of her vital organs,
and what happened to this after her head was taken off.
Cutting organs from the body especially hearts was common during the Tudor Period, and throughout
the centuries.
For example a number of writers such as Thomas Hardy outlined that after death his heart
would be buried in a different place to his body.
Also Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour had her heart cut out of her body during the
embalming process and she then had this buried under the altar of Hampton Court, whilst her
body was buried at Windsor Castle.
After her execution, a number of stories came out about Anne Boelyn’s body and whether
it was taken from the Tower of London where it was buried quickly inside the Chapel of
St Peter ad Vincula.
Some people believed that her remains were actually buried in other places.
Anne herself and her family were strongly linked to Suffolk and also Norfolk, counties
a fair way from London.
Many people at the time thought that her remains would be released to her family, and that
they would be then taken back to lands formerly held by the Boleyn’s where they were buried.
Other stories were linked to specific parts of her body, and in particular her heart.
It was claimed that Anne Boleyn’s heart was cut and taken from her body following
her execution, and that this was then taken form the Tower of London, and was then buried
inside of St Mary’s Church in Erwarton in Suffolk.
It was claimed that Anne had stated to her ladies that her heart should be buried in
this specific church after her death, as her heart remained close to her families seat
of power.
The rumour of Anne’s heart and the church emerged during the Tudor period, and her Uncle
Sir Phillip Colthorpe who had married Anne’s aunt owned the original Tudor Mansion that
stood close by to this church.
It was believed that as a young girl, Anne Boleyn spent a lot of time here and loved
playing and relaxing in the lands around the church.
It was stated that she was happiest when she was at this Tudor house and mansion, and that
her best times were spent with her aunt and uncle at the hall.
So this could have been why she may have dictated that her heart was to stay there.
But following Anne’s execution, many do believe that her heart was removed from her
body and was then taken to St Mary’s Church in Suffolk.
It would have been smuggled out of the Tower of London possibly, as Henry VIII’s would
never had allowed it to happen.
But there could be some truth to the rumour, as in the 19th century the Church was having
work completed on it.
It was then stated that below the organ a small heart shaped lead casket was unearthed,
and inside of this dust was found.
It was believed that this could had contained the rotten decayed matter of Anne Boleyn’s
heart.
In terms of how true this story could be, some Historian’s do doubt it’s authenticity
and do claim that this is probably unlikely.
Henry VIII made big efforts to ensure that people forgot about Anne Boleyn, and he would
never have given permission for his wife to have had her heart removed and then buried
elsewhere.
But some locals do believe that the small lead box actually contained the heart of Anne
Boleyn.
But during the Victorian times, Anne Boleyn’s body was allegedly unearthed and found inside
the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.
There was no record of her heart being found, as this would have perished over the centuries.
But her remains were allegedly identified and it was noted that she had a small neck
as this confirmed a rumour around the time of her execution.
It was noted that her head was not attached to her body, and confirmed the execution had
been performed by sword.
But the stories and rumours of Anne Boleyn today still remain divisive and captivate
people all around the world.
Last time I visited the Tower of London, I went inside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula,
and there inside was a Beefeater or a Yeoman Warder.
He was having a quiet moment of reflection and prayer at the grave of Anne Boleyn, where
a solitary rose stood on her grave marker.
It’s clear that Anne Boleyn has a powerful and prominent legacy in the minds of many
today.
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