Claire | May 18, 2018
Queen Anne Boleyn had been found guilty of high treason by a jury of her peers in a trial on 15th May 1536. She had been sentenced “to be burned or beheaded as shall please the King” and then her sentence was commuted to beheading by sword. Thursday 18th May 1536 was the date chosen […]
Claire | May 18, 2017
We all know what it’s like to psych ourselves up for something awful, whether it’s surgery, a dentist appointment, a driving test, or an exam, but can you imagine preparing yourself for execution and then waiting and waiting, only to be told later in the day that it was being postponed until the next day? […]
Claire | May 18, 2016
Queen Anne Boleyn’s execution had been scheduled for 18th May 1536, so carpenters worked through the night of the 17th building a new scaffold “before the House of Ordnance”1 and Anne Boleyn prepared herself for death by praying with her almoner.2 At dawn, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer arrived to hear her final confession and to celebrate […]
Claire | May 18, 2013
Most people know that Anne Boleyn was executed on 19th May 1536, but what not many people realise is that her execution was actually scheduled for 18th May and 9am. Anne had prepared for her death. She had been praying since 2am with her almoner1 and she celebrated mass with Archbishop Cranmer just after dawn. […]
