Friday was a busy day for us here at the Anne Boleyn Files as it was our annual Anne Boleyn Day. I like to pay tribute to the life of Queen Anne Boleyn on the anniversary of her execution by bringing us all together with special events like videos, articles and giveaways. This year, I decided to try out Facebook live and do some live talks – rather scary but it worked really well.
If you were at work or your time zone meant that you missed some of the events, don’t worry, you can catch up with them by clicking on the following links. The Facebook live giveaways are over, but the others are open until midnight on 24th May so just follow the instructions.
- Facebook live chat – Claire Ridgway opens Anne Boleyn Day 2017 and talks about Alexander Alesius’s vision or nightmare about Anne’s execution and Archbishop Cranmer’s reaction. Click here to view.
- Facebook live chat – Claire Ridgway gives a primary source account of Queen Anne Boleyn’s execution. Click here to view part 1 and herehere to view part 2
- 19 May 1536 – Queen Anne Boleyn is executed – article and video. Click here to view.
- Historical novelist Wendy J. Dunn reads an excerpt from The Light in the Labyrinth about Anne Boleyn’s last days – click here.
- An Anne Boleyn quiz – How much do you know about Anne Boleyn’s fall in 1536? Click here to test yourself.
- Tudor Storytime – MadeGlobal Publishing’s Catherine Brooks reads Tudor Tales: William at Hampton Court, a children’s book by Alan Wynbrow – click here.
- Beth von Staats, author of Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell, talks about why Americans love Anne Boleyn – click here.
- Claire Ridgway talks about Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn, parents of Queen Anne Boleyn and Lord Rochford – click here.
- Clare Cherry, co-author of George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat talks about George Boleyn, Lord Rochford – click here.
- An excerpt on Anne Boleyn’s execution from Roland Hui’s book The Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens – click here.
- 60 second history video: Anne Boleyn – click here.
- Adrienne Dillard reads from her best-selling novel The Raven’s Widow: A Novel of Jane Boleyn –
click here. - Final Facebook live chat – The burials and resting places of Queen Anne Boleyn and the five men.
- Primary sources for Anne Boleyn’s Fall 1536 – Find out how to access the sources for yourself in this video by Claire Ridgway – click here.
Other blogs and authors also paid tribute to Queen Anne Boleyn. I apologise to anyone I miss here (my brain is still fried!) but here are links to some of the ones I noticed in my social media feeds:
- QueenAnneBoleyn.com – See 2017 May tribute to Anne Boleyn
- Historian Gareth Russell shared his excellent article May 19th, 1536: The Execution of Anne Boleyn
- Nerdalicious.com shared an article on Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, wife of George Boleyn – click here.
- Gayle Hulme shared her article From Queen on Earth to a Queen in Heaven
Last year’s Anne Boleyn Day saw lots of authors and historians come together to share video talks and if you missed that you can catch up with it on the Anne Boleyn Files YouTube channel – Anne Boleyn Day 2016 playlist.
Thank you so much for all your comments, messages and emails. Apologies for not replying to all of them, it’s been so hectic, but it has really moved me how Queen Anne Boleyn is remember 481 years on and how she has brought us all together.
Dear Claire et al, this has been a Queen Anne Boleyn tour de force, for which we are all truly grateful. Thank you.
Its good to know that sites like this exist for the sake of one of history’s most admirable and misunderstood women. Every 19th May for the past 40 years, I have though of Anne. A big thank-you to you all for providing this forum for the many people who feel the same way as I do.