Roses at the Tower of London

On my visit to the Tower of London last year I spoke with a Yeoman Warder about the roses that are said to be anonymously delivered  to the Tower of London to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn. He confirmed that every May 19th roses are indeed sent to the Tower and believed this to be happening since Victorian times. Interestingly, he also added that due to security reasons they were forced to enquire as to the identity of the person or persons sending the roses and discovered that they were being sent by a family in Kent called the Bullens.

The warder also revealed that white lillies arrive for the anniversary of Jane Grey’s execution each year.

This fills me with hope that perhaps a relative of Anne’s might have, in their care,  portraits of the Boleyns or some of their belongings- a portrait of George Boleyn perhaps… One can only hope!