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2:15 pm
January 17, 2011
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Wondered if anyone had ever read or knew if any of Anne's family or friends came to say goodbye to her in the Tower on the eve of her execution or before?
Curious to know what her father and especially Mary thought of the turn of events.
7:23 pm
November 18, 2010
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As far as I know, no-one was allowed to visit Anne without permission from Cromwell or Henry and I doubt either of them would allow family/friends to visit.
Given the scope of the anti-Anne purge, any family/friends would no doubt be keeping thier heads down and avoiding notice.
eta…correct speeling.
It's always bunnies.
8:15 am
May 19, 2011
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I heard somewhere that Mary's daughter was in attendance to Anne in the tower- but don't know how true that is. Otherwise going to visit her was screaming your support for her which would probably end in your head being removed!
The Boleyn faction was completely removed from court, so I imagine those left alive who were close to her would have discretely left London, if not the country!
There was an ambassador who snuck in for the execution, I think the Spanish Ambassador- but again hazy on details! I do know that he happened to be in the vicinity and was not aware the execution was to take place also that his negative opinion of Anne changed dramatically with her final speech.
Mary must have been amazed. Buried in the country, married to a man the Boleyns had thought not good enough for the sister of the Queen- suddenly was the best place she could be.
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
12:12 pm
February 24, 2010
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E, it seems that Mary turned out to be the lucky one, and the smart one. She had married a man she had chosen and was living in the country away from this court.
I don't think anyone who loved Anne was with her at the Tower.
Audley and Suffolk were at the execution along with Richmond and Cromwell.
The women with Anne at the Tower were all spies for Cromwell. Lady Anne Shelton, Lady Mary Kingston, Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, Lady Margaret Coffin and Elizabeth Stoner were with her in the Tower.
1:16 pm
June 7, 2010
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I agree with Anyanka. Any indication of supporting Anne, especially wanting to visit her at the Tower, was a quick way to lose your life yourself.
I can only imagine how terrified Anne was, and she had no one there who really cared. I wonder what her final thoughts were? He composure is honourable. She looked death in the face and never wavered. She was a brave woman until the end.
Mary Boleyn was the luckiest of all Boleyns. She married for love, lived a quiet life away from the dangers of court life, and kept her head in tact.
I feel the worst for Elizabeth and her grandmother, Elizabeth Boleyn. For the former: a dead mother whose love and protection she lost. For the latter, she lost the most important thing: her children. The great Boleyn hope gone in a flash. A true Greek tragedy.
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
2:55 pm
May 16, 2011
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I read in 'Other Boleyn Girl' that Catherine Carey, Anne's niece, was in attendence to Anne in the tower. (But now i know that almost everything in that book was untrue). I don't think any of Anne's family was there with her, maybe her mother but thats it. One of Anne's good friend though was with her and some people say that when Anne was on the scaffold she gave her friend a prayer book with note which asks her to pray for her. Not all the ladies that waited on Anne in the tower were spies.
• Grumble all you like, this is how it’s going to be.
6:26 am
January 17, 2011
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Anne was definitely an incredible woman to face what she was facing knowing that she was pretty much on her own at the end, makes me so very sad just thinking about it 
9:07 am
May 16, 2011
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It is sad to think about.
• Grumble all you like, this is how it’s going to be.
11:57 am
February 24, 2010
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I did some digging. The women I mentioned above were appointed by Cromwell to relay to him everything Anne said while in the Tower. Lady Kingston and Lady Boleyn escorted Anne to her trial. According to Joanne Denny: After her trial Anne was allowed her own women. At the execution she supposedly gave her psalter and prayer book to Margaret Lee, sister of Thomas Wyatt. Denney also claims that Henry would not allow any family or friends to visit her.
3:48 am
May 19, 2011
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Hi Sharon, Mary certainly was the lucky one wasn't she! Has anyone seen the mysterious pendant Anne is said to have given Master Kingston at her execution? I wondered if anyone had any more news about it; it looks a bit like a swiss army knife and is silver… In the final moments of a persons life or in great difficulty and hardship you discover who they really are. Anne's final moments are tragic, I have shed many tears for her and her friends; but she truely proved what an amazing woman she was. And what a sick creature was Henry…
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
7:27 am
February 24, 2010
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Hi E.
I will have to look into what Anne gave Kingston. I remember that she gave him something, but vague on the details.
While I'm here I need to add to my comment. I have checked further and could find no evidence that Margaret or Catherine Carey were with Anne at the execution. There were “four young ladies” attending her. DeCarlos claimed that at the trial, Lady Kingston and Lady Boleyn attended Anne along with her “four young ladies.” Several eyewitness accounts refer to Anne being attended by “four young ladies.” Denney gives no reference as to her claim that it was Margaret Lee who was with Anne at the scaffold. Alison Weir says there is no evidence to support the fact that Catherine or Margaret were there.
In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter who was in the audience. Anne faced death as we all do, alone. I admire her for the dignity and courage she showed in the face of that cruel death.
8:49 am
February 24, 2010
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E said:
Hi Sharon, Mary certainly was the lucky one wasn't she! Has anyone seen the mysterious pendant Anne is said to have given Master Kingston at her execution? I wondered if anyone had any more news about it; it looks a bit like a swiss army knife and is silver… In the final moments of a persons life or in great difficulty and hardship you discover who they really are. Anne's final moments are tragic, I have shed many tears for her and her friends; but she truely proved what an amazing woman she was. And what a sick creature was Henry…
E,
The token of which you speak was supposedly given to Captain Gwynn of the Tower Guard and not Kingston. Agnes Strickland claimed that Anne gave this token to him and told him, “the first token the King gave her,” and added “that a serpent formed of part of the device, and a serpent the giver had proved to her.” She would not have said anything to dishonor the king. Especially at the time of her execution. The comments attributed to Anne can be funny at times. It's a fun anecdote.
The item was a small gold pendant in the form of a pistol chased with scrolls of foliage, the barrel being a miniature whistle and containing a set of toothpicks. The Gwynn family had this in their possession in the 1840's. It is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is thought to have been made the 1520's.
BTW…I agree with you about Henry.
12:15 am
May 19, 2011
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Hi Sharon, that's the one, there's a pic of it in Weir's The Lady in The Tower. I wonder if she used to wear it on the long gold chain she wears with her B pendant and pearls in the portrait done in the 16th Century… (on the cover of the same book) I'd like to do some research on the piece.. For my next trip to UK I hope to see it in person!
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
7:20 am
May 19, 2011
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Certainly not her Father! He adored her when she was getting him wealth. What a man. Can we call him a man?
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
4:25 pm
June 7, 2010
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A friend of mine would describe Thomas Boleyn as a POW (piece of work). If one reads Joanna Denny, Thomas emerges very differently than my version of him. I am not sure how far Anne's family's affection ran for her (besides her bother and mother). She, like her sister, were their way to riches. They abandoned them when their star was falling and moved on to the next best wagon to hitch on to.
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
