Anne Boleyn’s Execution
Anne Boleyn’s execution on May 19, 1536, remains one of the most infamous moments in English history. Convicted of treason, adultery, and incest, charges widely believed to be fabricated, Anne faced her death with remarkable composure and dignity.
The execution took place at the Tower of London, where Anne was beheaded by a skilled French swordsman—a rare privilege granted by Henry VIII. Witnesses noted her graceful demeanor, as she delivered a speech praising the king and accepting her fate.
Anne’s downfall stemmed from political intrigue, her failure to produce a male heir, and her reformist influence on Henry VIII. Her death marked a turning point, paving the way for Henry’s third marriage and further religious upheaval.
Today, Anne Boleyn is remembered not only for her tragic end but also for her profound impact on English history and the Tudor legacy.
Here are some articles regarding the execution of Anne Boleyn:-
- Execution Speeches
- Was Henry VIII merciful to Anne?
- Did Anne Boleyn Dig Her Own Grave?
- Anne Boleyn The Martyr
- Execution – Was it Anne Boleyn’s Only Claim to Fame?
- Anne Boleyn’s Final Resting Place
- May 19, 1536 – Anne Boleyn’s Execution
- 19th May 1536 – I Have a Little Neck: The Execution of Anne Boleyn
poor Elizabeth no mother for the rest of her life
I totally agree with you there. She seemed like such a nice woman aswell
Dito
soooooooooooo cool like i love an boylen
ann Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anna Bolina 😉
Do you have any opinions towards the book The Other Boleyn Girl written by philippa gregory ? I need your comments on this book because I’m writting a dissertation about this book now. Thank you very much!
Hi Sarah,
You could have a look at my article on the book and movie – https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyn-and-the-other-boleyn-girl/ – and also the comments on that article.
Yeah – she does seem like such a nice person. She was probably already mixed
Up in the attempted poisoning of Fisher and would have had Katherine and Mary
Done to death in a instant, given the chance. Really nice.
God it’s gross her things from her head were still wiggling GOOD LUCK ANNE!!!!
Do you have any opinions towards the book The Other Boleyn Girl written by philippa gregory ? I need your comments on this book because I’m writting a dissertation about this book now. Thank you very much!
Hi Sarah,
You could have a look at my article on the book and movie – https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyn-and-the-other-boleyn-girl/ – and also the comments on that article.
Anne brought her premature demise upon herself.l If she had allowed Henry to sleep with her and be done with it she would no doubt have lived long as did her sister before her.Instead she demanded the crown before slipping between the sheets; even so,had she produced a male heir she might have survived.
There’s no evidence at all that she demanded the crown before sleeping with Henry. She actually retreated to Hever to get away from Hever but he kept bombarding her with letters. His letters show that she was not interested and was rebuffing him, it was he who offered her marriage and not her demanding it. I don’t think she had much choice by that stage, she was being pursued by a king who just wouldn’t go away.
Actually that’s not quite true and I enjoy your website so I’m shocked that you would even comment suggesting that she did not suggest marriage. Not only did she suggest that she would not give me in the less she was made a good marriage, she also turn him on to Tyndale’s obedience of a Christian man to buck the Catholic church. Her first marriage is illegitimate because Catherine was still living when she was already pregnant through fornication. Therefore to this day Elizabeth is still a bastard. For her second marriage to be recognized and her to be crowned queen legitimately,, they remarried after Catherine’s death.
Why should she sleep with Henry if she didn’t want to? a woman’s body is her own, most men will sleep with anything for the sake of it but women are different, we have to fancy the guy in question and she had no idea that she would lose her head, we don’t know what was said between Anne and Henry when they were on their own only that she had promised to marry him, he was so besotted with her no one could ever have predicted several years later that he would order her execution, to say that she brought her death on herself is absolving Henry of all blame and his chief minister and the members of the jury to, no one deserved to die at Henrys court by our standards their crimes were small, and when Henry ordered Anne’s death it was unprecedented, she was the first Queen in history to be killed by her husband, no other King had ever done that so why should she ‘sleep ‘ with Henry she had dignity and standards, she wasn’t easy like her sister she had no wish to be used and then discarded, if any thing you could say she died as a direct result of keeping herself chaste which really makes her out to be a martyr.
Remembering Anne, who lost her life on this day….I hope she’s resting in peace and I hope Henry got his karma.
My daughter and myself are great fans of the tudors.. Anne is our favourite… we also read a lot about Henry … my findings are that Henry’s actions were not only his alone … these things had to happen for a reason … the public were spectators… its complicated to say the least … Anne was a victim of her own success… this website is fantastic.
I learned about the death of Anne watching a documentary of Tower of London. There seems to be a “belief” that Henry showed some mercy because a French swordeman was ordered in to make Anne’s beheading a quick one. Much was discussed about how and when that man must had been summoned. Some people even used this angle to determine whether the trial result was pre-arranged.
I really don’t know about the facts regarding this “French swordsman from Calai (or, of Calai).” Would it be possible that he was actually in London or in certain part of England when this whole drama happened? That Henry can call upon him in a day or less time? Is there proof that this man was defintely in France during May, 1536?
I went st peter ad venicula to pay my respects to Anne I believe Elizabeth as young as she was when her mother was murdered came to know the truth I don’t think she for gave her father all though she played the game she spoke volumes with the necklace in the portrait and I think her revenge was to not get married and continue his dynasty and not name an heir she got her own back on her cruel father that killed her mother disowned her as a bastard and left her for many years in poverty just as he did his other daughter Mary a cruel uncaring man that loved his mother but took his children’s mothers away from them Anne’s daughter was the one that succeeded she was the one that gave us a wonderful queen that went down in history you murdered her but she won henry the eight
beautiful woman❤❤❤❤♥♥
Actually that’s not quite true and I enjoy your website so I’m shocked that you would even comment suggesting that she did not suggest marriage. Not only did she suggest that she would not give me in the less she was made a good marriage, she also turn him on to Tyndale’s obedience of a Christian man to buck the Catholic church. Her first marriage is illegitimate because Catherine was still living when she was already pregnant through fornication. Therefore to this day Elizabeth is still a bastard. For her second marriage to be recognized and her to be crowned queen legitimately,, they remarried after Catherine’s death.
The television historian Susannah Lipscombe recently spoke about Ann Boleyn’s execution. She said that Ann’s head was tarred and set on a pike on London Bridge. Since this was supposed to be a documentary and thus factual, I felt very misled. I can’t believe there is any evidence for this being the case. I thought that when the graves of Ann, her brother, Catherine Howard, Lady Rochford and others were investigated in the 1800s that sufficient skeletons were found to account for all the victims. Also surely Henry would not have wished to see her head almost daily as he went up and down the river. Is there any evidence to show that this was the fate of Ann’s head and what indeed happened to it?
I got a lot of questions about this a few years ago and so wrote an article about it – see https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyns-head-was-not-put-on-a-spike. We know from contemporary sources that her head was buried with her body.
I love Anne, she is the best woman
Is there any record of the items left by Anne on the scaffold. It is possible her prayer book was handed to one of her ladies. But what of her coronation ring. The executioner would never have been permitted to take such a thing.
beautiful woman❤❤❤❤♥♥
im sorry but it would only take 1 week maybe two to get from france to any part of england and you would know that if you actually did research but obviously you didnt. k thanks hun.
Who is your comment aimed at?