Claire | January 29, 2019
On this day in history, 29th January 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn suffered a tragic miscarriage. It is often said that she miscarried a deformed foetus, or even a “monster”, but is this true? In my latest “Anne Boleyn questions” video talk, which you will find below, I take a look at what the contemporary sources […]
Claire | January 29, 2016
On 29th January 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, miscarried “a male child which she had not borne 3½ months”.1 As well as being a huge blow for both Anne and the king, this miscarriage was to have devastating consequences for Anne, her brother, some of their friends and Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth. […]
Claire | January 29, 2015
On 29 January 1536, tragedy struck King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn suffered a miscarriage, losing “a male child which she had not borne 3½ months”. This miscarriage was a huge blow for the couple, who desperately wanted and needed a son, but it also had devastating consequences for Anne because it […]
Claire | January 29, 2014
On 29th January 1536, the same day that Catherine of Aragon was buried, Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, miscarried “a male child which she had not borne 3½ months”. You can read more about this miscarriage, my examination of the primary sources and my thoughts on the deformed foetus theory in my article Anne Boleyn’s […]
Claire | December 5, 2012
Following on from my post a few weeks ago about Anne Boleyn’s 1534 mystery pregnancy, I wanted to examine the various theories regarding Anne’s final pregnancy which ended in January 1536, less than four months before her execution. A Straightforward Miscarriage The majority of historians and authors believe that Anne Boleyn’s final pregnancy ended with […]
Claire | April 13, 2012
Following on from her recent and popular article “Being George Boleyn”, Clare Cherry examines the myths surrounding George Boleyn’s sexuality. Over to Clare… One of the most asked questions about George Boleyn is with regards to his sexuality. What I regularly see time and again is the comment that there were rumours he was either […]
Claire | January 29, 2012
On this day in history, 29th January 1536, Anne Boleyn suffered her second and final miscarriage. It was her third pregnancy – she had given birth to healthy baby girl, the future Elizabeth I, on the 7th September 1533, and then had suffered a late miscarriage in the summer of 1534 – and the loss […]
Claire | January 29, 2011
On the same day that her predecessor, Catherine of Aragon, was laid to rest, Anne Boleyn miscarried. The Imperial ambassador reported the miscarriage to his master, Charles V:- “On the day of the interment [Catherine of Aragon’s funeral] the Concubine had an abortion which seemed to be a male child which she had not borne […]
