Each year we hold a competition to commemorate the execution of Anne Boleyn on the 19th May 1536. This year, entrants had the choice of writing either of the following two options

  1. An account of Anne Boleyn’s execution from the point of view of the executioner – They could write about him receiving the order, travelling to England and then his feelings about the day itself, or whatever they thought was appropriate.
  2. Anne Boleyn’s execution speech – What they would have said if they had been Anne on that scaffold?

The judges were aware that many entries were written by those who had English as a second language and so the entries were judged on content, the story or speech, rather than the correct use of English. We loved reading them and it was so hard to choose a winner, particularly as there were so many entries!

The overall winner is Sway (Tsvetomira Petrova). Sway wins signed copies of both my books (The Anne Boleyn Collection and The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown) plus an Anne Boleyn Falcon Badge pewter bookmark. The two runners up are Sopfia Linthicum and Jenny Zeek, who both win sets of Henry VIII and Six Wives magnets or badges (their choice). Here are all the entries, in no particular order after the first three.

Entries

Here is a video from Anne Boleyn Files follower Erin Flanagan Lind. It is her original tune written for the poem traditionally associated with Anne Boleyn, “O Deathe, Rock Me Asleep”