May 19th 1536- Tower of London
8 o’clock in the morning
Lady in the Tower
‘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.’
Once blindfolded and kneeling, she repeated several times:
‘To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesu receive my soul.’
As recorded by Edward Hall.
This speech says nothing of what Anne must have been thinking. I think she wanted her executioner to do a good job and not make her suffer. If she said anything less about her “merciful” king, the execution might have taken more whacks. She probably believed that Jesus would get her into Heaven if she said the right words and also begged people to pray for her. What a shame she had to grovel at the end while her kind and good husband was out of hearing range, hunting.
I think she was just protecting her daughter not trying to prevent a horrible death. You can imagine the stain of a condemning last words would leave on her daughter had she been more honest about the king
I can’t even begin to imagine the fear
You are so correct if I was in her situation I would of not been able to even open my mouth
Poor, poor Anne ;( when I watched this scene of the other Boleyn Girl I cried my eyes out (At first i thought i didn’t like her but i took it all back and now she is my favorite)
Does anyone know where people would have entered into the Tower Of London, if they were coming to witness Anne Boleyn’s execution? Also, would all the spectators have simply stood infront of the scaffold to watch the Queen die? Or did higher up nobles coming to witness it have a special area to view?
Hello Lena, as far as I’m aware, there’s no contemporary report of Anne’s execution that mentions which entrance the spectators used. Stands were often erected for public executions on Tower Hill, as the crowds could number thousands, however, there is no record of stands being erected within the Tower complex for private executions and so we have to assume that the spectators watched from ground level. It’s very possible that the nobility were positioned towards the front of the crowd to afford them a better view. Also, the scaffold was elevated and so even people at the back of the crowd would have been able to see the execution. Best wishes, Natalie.
Alison Weir on Bbc Radio 4 says the main gates were left open and flooded in.
Women of this age were terribly victimized by their “men folk” and reduced to the ability to produce a male child-which is entirely up to the man to begin with. She was, I believe, a pawn in her family’s plots and obviously used of the king. While she may not have been completely innocent-who is? I think her biggest problem was that she was too smart. And too beguiling. She gave him exactly what he wanted up until it was out of her hands. Then, she paid the ultimate price…
I believe she was completely innocent. This was how monarchs behaved.
I have never understood why people look up to royalty when it is all based on this kind of total disregard for the lives of others.
I totally agree with Peter. Unfortunately, it was a different belief system then, which played against Anne. She was doomed from the start. I think she was a woman ahead of her time.
It saddens my heart beyond belief that Anne was ripped from her then young daughter’s life, Elizabeth was only what 3-8 years old when her mother was executed??? That’s like walking into a hospital after a woman gives birth and ripping her newborn right out of her arms. Henry VIII was a psychopathic, monstrous, tyrant who doesn’t deserve to be remembered, he doesn’t deserve anything, what should be remembered is the countless victims that were innocently put to death because of his BS laws. I mean, this man, this narcissist practically murdered 37,000 men, women and children and for what??? To preserve his image, his reputation??? No, he is just another narcissistic stain on history.
Elizabeth was 2 1/2 (two and a half)
Im currently playing Anne Boleyn in Six the Musical Australia, and learning of her history is really showing me how much of an honor it is to play her. The show is very contemporary so we don’t delve too much into truthful characteristics of what the queens would have been like (and youll be pleased to know there is no Henry character in this show! Just the six wives! Definitely reccomend checking it out if youre a Tudor history fan!)
But reading these comments as I am paying my respect to the brilliant Anne Boleyn on the anniversary of her death is incredibly profound.
I hope you’re all well and I remember and pay deep respect to Anne today.
I love how in your comment here, is written on the 19th of May! I always marvel at how differently we will spend our days to those same days in history. I remember writing in my diary on the 19th of May this year, and I was laughing over some joke. Some months later I was reading it back, and I thought how strange that, while Anne Boleyn was being killed on false charges, leaving a daughter without her mother, I was laughing over something quiet light and funny. All on the same day, just almost 500 years apart. It’s a very strange thought!
I think her speech is strange. People have said she was protecting Elizabeth, and she said what she said so Henry wouldn’t take his fury out on Elizabeth. But I think Anne was being clever. She was famed for her with and intelligence. And I think her speech was meant to be sarcastic. No-one could fault her words of the way they were delivered. But you can read them to mean the exact opposite of what she said. Anne was clever and intelligent. Her words and their delivery cannot be faulted if taken at face value but I suspect she was being sarcastic and meant the very opposite of what she said;. She talks about being judged by the law and we all know she wasn’t. and didn’t have a fair trial. Even the King’s Council must have known she was going to be executed before the trial even started, as Henry had already ordered her executioner from France. Henry merciful, good and gentle? Don’t think so. He was a sociopath and a narcissist.. And her last words, she asks that if anyone wants to take up her cause that they should judge best. On the face of it, it sounds as if she is saying Henry knows best but it also sounds as if she knows that some people think she’s innocent. And that they should decide on her guilt or innocence for themselves. See less
Anne was clever and intelligent. Her words and their delivery cannot be faulted if taken at face value but I suspect she was being sarcastic and meant the very opposite of what she said;. She talks about being judged by the law and we all know she wasn’t. and didn’t have a fair trial. Even the King’s Council must have known she was going to be executed before the trail even started, as Henry had already ordered her executioner from France. Henry merciful, good and gentle? Don’t think so. He was a sociopath and a narcissist.. And her last words, she asks that if anyone wants to take up her cause that they should judge best. On the face of it, it sounds as if she is saying Henry knows best but it also sounds as if she knows that some people think she’s innocent. And that they should decide on her guilt or innocence for themselves.
To me this is all about protecting Elizabeth- Anne was condemned to die anyway. It is heartbreaking to read her words…