Claire | May 3, 2018
On 3rd May 1536, news of Queen Anne Boleyn’s arrest at Greenwich palace reached the ears of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop was incredibly shocked that his good friend and patron had been arrested and he immediately wrote to the king. I don’t envy Cranmer writing this letter. On the one hand, he […]
Claire | May 23, 2011
On the morning of the 23rd May 1533, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer declared that Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon had been annulled:- “My lord of Canterbury gave sentence this day at 11 o’clock* in the great cause of matrimony; has declared it to be against the law of God, and has divorced the King […]
Claire | May 18, 2010
On the night of the 17th/18th May 1536, while the carpenters built her scaffold within the grounds of the Tower of London, Anne prepared herself for her execution which was scheduled for 9am on the 18th. At 2am, her almoner, John Skip, arrived to pray with her and she was still in prayer when Archbishop […]
Claire | May 13, 2010
On the 13th May 1536, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland wrote to Thomas Cromwell regarding the alleged pre-contract which was said to have existed between himself and Anne Boleyn before she married Henry VIII. From his home in Newington Green, Henry Percy wrote:- “I perceive by Raynold Carnaby that there is supposed a pre-contract between […]
Claire | May 18, 2009
Anne Boleyn’s execution was scheduled for 9am on the 18th May, one day after the executions of her brother, George Boleyn, and the other four men accused of treason. It is said that Anne prepared for her execution by praying into the early hours with her almoner and then taking communion with Kingston just before […]
