Today is the 5th anniversary of The Anne Boleyn Files website and I can’t quite believe it.
Following a dream I had about Anne Boleyn’s execution, I set up this blog as a way of sharing my research into her life and death. I posted my very first article on 17th February 2009 explaining that my mission was “to expose the real Anne Boleyn”, which still holds true today. I had no idea at that point that anyone would ever read it and it was simply a diary to keep track of my research, and yet here we are now with:
- 274,000 page views per months from 97,000 people
- Over 73,000 “likes” on Facebook – see www.facebook.com/theanneboleynfiles
- Over 7,800 Twitter followers – see https://twitter.com/AnneBoleynFiles
- Over 59,000 books sold since February 2012
- 1,444 posts, 870 pages and over 28,000 comments on the site
I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone, whether you’re someone who has been following the site for years or someone who has just stumbled on The Anne Boleyn Files. I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do on a daily basis and to have the encouragement I do, you Lord and Ladies are amazing – thank you!
You can read my very first blog post at In Search of the Real Anne Boleyn
Usually, I do some kind of giveaway, but this year I wanted to do something that everybody could use so here are two goodies for you:
- For today and tomorrow only (17th and 18th), The Anne Boleyn Collection Audio book is just $5 (RRP $15.99) – You can download it in various formats at www.madeglobal.com/downloads/anne-boleyn-collection-audio-book/
- Tim has designed an Anne Boleyn Files wallpaper for you to put on your computer – see below.
For the wallpaper, simply click on the image and then save it to your computer and then follow the instructions…
Set the image as your wallpaper using some Browsers (like Firefox)
Some browsers like Firefox allow you to set your desktop wallpaper directly from within the browser. Simply open our desktop wallpaper image and then right click (CMD+Click) on the image. Hopefully you’ll have an option along the lines of “Set as desktop background”. Enjoy.
If not, then you’ll have to follow the specific instructions below…
Set the image as your wallpaper using Windows
- First, open a windows explorer window by going to “start” and clicking on “My Computer” (you may have renamed this) to bring up a file browser
- Next, navigate to the folder where you saved the wallpaper image
- Finally, right click on the image and select “Set as Desktop Background” and you’re done
Set the image as your wallpaper using a Mac
- First, click on your little Apple Icon at the top left of your screen
- Next, click “System Preferences…”
- Under “Personal” (the top most line of icons below “Show All”), you will see the words “Desktop and Screensaver” Click it
- Click “Choose Folder…”
- browse your folders until you come to one with the Anne Boleyn image
- You don’t have to chose a picture from that “Open” screen, just choose the folderAfter that, choose a picture and how you want to display it on the desktop
- You are done.
Thank you again for following The Anne Boleyn Files!
Congratulations! Enjoy your anniversary and keep up the good work.
Happy 5th Birthday. Jelly and ice cream later?! x
Happy 5th anniversary! Your dedication is appreciated by many and even though I have only been familiar with your site for the last few months I have to say it has become a part of my life. I look forward to the daily updates and I find with each new post I learn something new. Again thank you for sharing with us all.
Warm Regards,
Cyndee Reynolds
Congratulations, Claire! I have learned so much from you. Even though I’m Irish and we haven’t much to thank the Tudors for, I still find them fascinating. Long may your site continue.
Congrats, Claire. I have enjoyed your site so much and I look forward to the daily updates. I consider your site to be the premier sites on Anne and the Tudors. Thank you for your books and thank you for your dedication to your blog site.
Cheers and a very Happy Anniversary, Claire. Enjoy!
Claire, congratulations on a real accomplishment. Your dedication to providing solid information in a way that is fun and interesting is greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work!!
All the very best.
Sandi
Happy Anniversary, Claire! I’ve really enjoyed the site since finding it a few months ago!
Happy Anniversary … and thank you Claire for creating this site!
Congratulations and many thanks for all your hard work!
Claire,
Well goodness, I guess I’ve been pretty much following since the start then. 🙂 I remember stumbling upon it on a vacation and that was September of ’09. Don’t remember when I joined the mailing lists. But I have thoroughly enjoyed your wonderful site since then, and I’m sure I will continue to do so! There’s so much I wish I could chit-chat about, but that would take days! 🙂 I hope you will do tours again soon. That last one you did I wanted to go on so bad! Started saving, and then BOOM! Found out we were having another little boy lol :-). But hopefully you will start again, and I can have my ultimate dream vacation! This is such a wonderful site, and I look forward to the emails that come w a new post. And with older ones too. I re-read a lot on here. I could go on and on but alas I will say: CONGRATS! Keep up the good work! And most of all, Thank You. 🙂
Claire–A “Moost Happi” Anniversary! I can’t thank you enough for creating this site. If only I’d known when I was first entranced by Genevieve Bujold’s Anne Boleyn performance, which I saw when I was 10, that such a site as this would exist! Bravo and many more anniversaries!
I thought I might find you here! 😉 Glad to know you’re still an Anne enthusiast.
And Claire, thank you so much for all the effort you have put into this site. Happy anniversary!
Thank you, all of you, for the birthday/anniversary wishes. This website just wouldn’t be here without your support and encouragement over the past five years. What a lucky lady I am!
Happy Anniversary, Claire! The AB Files is invaluable to me in my research! THANK YOU! I wish you the very best and here’s to another great 5, 10, 15 years!! Celebrate!
I enjoy your site so much. It’s a fun and interesting way to learn about Anne and the Tudors.
Congratulations on your 5th anniversary!
I have enjoyed all the information
on Anne Boleyn and the Tudors in
general. Thank you!!!
Just to add my congratulations and thanks. When I was in Salle church I was interested that the brasses on Anne’s great-great grandparents’ tomb showed the family name as Boleyn and not Bullen. While I realise that they could have been placed there some time after their deaths, when the Boleyns came to prominence in Norfolk, I find it very disparaging to read Anne described as ‘Nan Bullen’. I think the brasses are probably 15th century judging by the costume and headdress of Alice Boleyn.
Greetings Claire,
Wishing you a very Happy 5th Anniversary, and congratulations on a job so very well done! I enjoy your website immensely and have spent much time going back and reading all I missed prior to becoming an addict of your emails & updates. Thank you Tim, for the lovely wallpaper. May you have many more years of success with this and all your literary and personal endeavors. America loves & thanks you for feeding our fascination with our brothers & sisters across the pond.
And Thank You for a wonderful sight Claire.
I have been educated, entertained and enthralled by the ABF.
The posts and discussions have been a joy to read, as have your books.
Your hard work, time spend on research and dedication shines through, and has done a lot to discredit many of the ‘myths’ that have followed Anne, her family and all the other Tudors which has followed them through history.
So a BIG Congratulations on the 5th Anniversary of the A.B.Files, and on your success as an authoress… here’s to the future…Cheers!!!
P.S. got the AB ‘wallpaper’ on my laptop!! well hubby did it for me as I’m useless with such techno things, plus it’s his laptop really, lol, but he knows when he’s beat…. 🙂 Thanks for that Tim! it’s smashing.
Cheers and here’s to your first five years!
Happy 5th Anniversary Claire! Thanks so much for all your hard work and dedication over the past five years, the story of how you started the site is so inspiring and I’m so glad I found it! Thanks to Tim for the wallpaper, it’s fabulous.
Congratulations Claire. It has been a fantastic journey. And thanks for the desktop wallpaper. Just love it.
Happy birthday, TABF! You’re looking better than ever.
Happy 5th anniversary! Congratulations!
Happy Anniversary, Claire!
Happy 5th Anniversary to Claire and the Anne Boleyn Files! I check the site almost every day. I especially love the search feature, as I like to re-visit some of the topics. Love your books too – I splurged on print copies. Here’s to may more anniversaries! I am visiting Anne Land this fall – going to Hever for the first time and staying in Anne and Henry’s room at Thornbury Castle – Can’t wait.
Congrats Claire!!! I have been a fan of your site for years, and love it!!! Thank you for hours of fun and interesting facts about Tudor times.
Thank you for the last 5 years. Congratulations to you and here is to many more years of you and Queen Anne.
Happy 5th!!! I have so enjoyed your site and look forward to many more!!!! Thank you for your hard work!!
Congratulations and happy anniversary, Claire! Here’s to many more years! I check the site almost every day, and always come away feeling satisfied about what I’ve learned for the day. It’s become my daily fix!
Thank you for the very enjoyable last few years, Happy Anniversary and here’s to many more. I am so glad I found this site!
I just became aware of your website, I am sure I will enjoy reading it, since I am descendant of both the Bullens and Careys. My granfdfather is Bullen and my grandmother is Carey.