Today is the 475th anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution on the 19th May 1536. I will be at the Tower of London paying my respects at Anne Boleyn’s memorial tile, and that of her brother, in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula and also to the men who died at the scaffold site on Tower Hill. I will be leaving flowers in memory of Anne Boleyn, from all of us at The Anne Boleyn Files, and thinking of her as I walk around the Tower and walk on the parade ground between the Waterloo Barracks and the White Tower, the place where she was actually beheaded. I’m sure I will find it just as moving as I did last year and I will feel very blessed remembering this day with other Anne Boleyn fans.
Are you commemorating this anniversary in a special way? What are you doing to remember Queen Anne Boleyn? Please comment and let us all know.
Here is a picture which Anne Boleyn fan, Danielle, sent me in commemoration of today:-
Another Anne Boleyn Files visitor, Joanna Sudbury, sent me the following wonderful poem she wrote about Anne Boleyn:-
“For no other neck fairer than hers
a figure of a passionate woman
for who would want to take this pride
a lust to marry this bride
A fashion new woman
to take the palm of his hand
for she takes it rarely
for she is confided to a man named Henry
A love and passion no drum could beat
a wound not even Casanova could treat
hand in hand is there praise of love
for he believes god will send a son from above
Time will take the role of her
a disappointment of a girl to take the heir
for there is hope for another baring
for no birth only burring
For no other neck fairer than hers
the love and lust is now of time
for she now walks to her death
her bravery and compassion is all that is left
A Queen that was the most happy
for she leaves her only victory
the girl she loved and birthed
her name was Elizabeth”
Thanks Joanna!
Anne Boleyn was an enigmatic woman because she dared to lived with something most of people fear: passion and determination.
God save the queen !!!
All these days and especially today I am thinking about Anne and the courage she showed. I am praying for her today and lighting a candle for her in the church.
I will not be able to be at the tower of London today. However I will be thinking of queen Anne today, and I will be donating to the fund to restore her portrait as a tribute to her today. Claire please take lots of photos today for all of us that cannot be with you at the tower of london. X
I am so gald you are going there to celebrate this womans courage and her loss. Although she was not perhaps always the most tactful or likeable woman in life (but that to me, makes her human) as she wasn’t very nice to her predecessor or her daughter, she was fascinating, intelligent and had such a huge impact on British history that we still feel today. One feels the injustice visited upon her for she truly didn’t deserve what happened to her or the accusation of the vile crimes laid against her and the others. She deserves to be remembered and celebrated. I only wish that they would give her a proper burial with a commemoration as queen of England as well as poor little Catherine Howard. How fascinating it would be if they took the opportunity to do a facial reconstruction so we could see the face of our dear Anne.
God rest her soul and please say a prayer for her from all of us.
What a very nice way to commemorate the death of Anne Boleyn. I like the written speech styled in renaissance handwriting and the actress who played her kneeling on the scaffold and the poem. 10/10.
Oh goodness, today is such a sad day. I am dressed in a new outfit and I am wearing my head for Anne. For she was such a strong and witty person, I wish to be more like her other than the sad ending of course… I talk about Anne constantly anyways but I doing so much more today. I plan on watching the last two episodes of The Tudors Season 2 and I will probably watch The Other Boleyn Girl. I need all of Anne I can get today.
RIP gentle lady for you did not deserve such an end that you had to undergo, but you did so gracefully. <3
I will be getting a tattoo that says “ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne” in her own handwriting, tomorrow. Hopefully it all works out! I wish I could visit the tower, but I will eventually.
Claire,
All week I have been watching all my Anne movies: Anne of the Thousand Days, The Tudors, Season I & 2, The Other Boleyn Girl, Henry VIII (with Helena Bonham Carter playing Anne), The Madness of Henry VIII and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
Tears today, for our Lady Anne.
There is a beautiful red rose beginning to bloom in my garden, it reminded me of Anne Boleyn as it is May the 19th and it made me think of the red roses that are sent to the tower on this day every year. I have posted a picture of it on the forum
I am wearing my B necklace today.
I was wearing mine during a Biology exam for good luck and to remember her by.
I will say a prayer for Anne’s soul, and in my mind put flowers on her grave. My thoughts are of Hever Castle and the Chapel at the Tower.
Beautiful poem and picture!
and I do appreciate that you leave a flower form all of us who just could not be there.
Thank you Claire!
To me, going to the place of her death and burial would be the ultimate way to commemorate her death. She’s been on my mind constantly for the past month it seems. I paused for a moment and took some time to think about her this morning between 8:00 and 9:00am (unfortunately not London time as I live in Texas!). I thought about her struggles, how she must have been feeling, how regal she must have looked…I thought about how brave she was going to her death and how in the face of everything she had experienced, she went to her death calmly and with acceptance. It’s something that everyone should look up to her for. She was a fantastic woman; a woman who I greatly admire. I only wish there was something more I could do in order to remember such a lovely life as hers, but in the end, I think all of us commemorate her life everyday by thinking about her, writing about her, and trying to share her story of innocence. Hopefully she knows that.
Today I gave a presentation to my son school in my SCA tudor garb and talk all about todor period in persona. I spoke of my Queen Anne with pride and taought them of her life.
every year on this day I wear the “anne boleyn dress” and spend the day in the dress and watch videos of her exucution from all the movies and shows tht were made about her or included her.
I watched the episode from the contraversial series “The Tudors” of her execution to mark the day. I know that the majority of the historical fact throughout all of the series 1-4, was shall I say, adapted for TV and far from the truth. But I feel that her execution was portrayed very well and kept as near as possible to the truth, and that Natalie acted the role extremely well also, encapturing Anne’s spirit perfectly, as she did throughout the series. I also found that showing Henry watching the swans through that episode, eventually devouring one of them in a pie, gave a macabre insight into his mind. Swans mate for life and he destroyed that natural bond between them for no reason, except to create solitude, loneliness and pain, the things he probably felt inside but could never show and by subjecting it to others maybe his own would lessen, though underlining at the same time, that he had the power to do and have what he will at any cost. R.I.P Anne.
i took a vow of silence in honor of Anne Boleyn:)
As i went to bed last night around midnight (Los Angeles time), i thought Anne would have been getting ready to face her unjustified death. I wore black today in her memory.
When I was making the Anne picture I was really reading the words as I was typing them out. “And if any person will meddle of my cause I require them to judge the best.” That part catches my heart every time I remember it because that is exactly what we do here at the files. And I’m honored to be apart of that and I want to thank Claire for using my picture I’m truly honored from the bottom of my heart. And also for making it possible for all of us to research and see the different views of Anne’s life. Thank you again for leaving a rose for me today Claire you’re amazing and have a huge heart. And thanks to everyone else today for your views on our beloved Anne.
My heart to you all,
Danielle
I watched The Other Boleyn Girl, and imagined Anne and George as my houseguests, with a HUGE bowl of popcorn between us, throwing it at the screen when it got really absurd… meaning popcorn was flying at the screen the whole time.
I wish I could have attended the tour with the other lucky folks who are there!
I remember about Queen Anne every year on this day , I hope you post something on this site every year on this day for people to remember her. Thanks
I watched Anne of A Thousand Days and wore my ‘A’ necklace. But I love the idea of donating to save her portrait which I will do when I return home. Thank you, Claire for putting flowers on her grave for all of us. One day I hope to place some there myself.
I hope her memory will live on in for ever and that her soul and spirt will rest in peace for years to come.
Just came home from the tower! Was moved in the church and wish I could have been allowed in the room where she spent her final hours. The flowers were lovely by the way.
Hi Raquel,
The Chapel is very moving isn’t it? I’m glad you got chance to go. Anne’s lodgings while she was awaiting her execution do not actually exist now. She was imprisoned in the Queen’s Lodgings of the Royal Palace situated between the Lanthorn Tower and the Wardrobe Tower, on the South Lawn behind the White Tower – see https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/resources/anne-boleyn-places/the-tower-of-london-in-annes-life/ and https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyn-and-the-tower-of-london/4817/ for more details. The Royal Palace is no longer standing so it is impossible to see Anne’s room, although the Victorians made an “Anne Boleyn Room” at the Tower for tourists to visit. In the past, Yeoman Warders have been known to point out the Queen’s House as where Anne stayed but that was built by Henry VIII after Anne’s execution. Hope that helps!
I know it has been a few weeks, but I only just discovered this website. My birthday is actually on May 19th, and every year I watch the film “Anne of A Thousand Days” in honor of Anne Boleyn.