ON THIS DAY - 19 May 1536
- thedudleywomen
- May 19
- 2 min read
On This Day (19 May) in 1536, Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and recently deposed Queen of England, was led from the royal apartments within the Tower of London to a scaffold erected on Tower Green, where she was executed by beheading.
Anne had been arrested on 02 May, initially on charges of adultery with various men; whilst at Greenwich Palace, she had been summoned to appear in front of three members of the Privy Council, including her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (Lord High Treasurer), where she was informed her of being accused of 'evil beahviour' and being charged with adultery. Later that day, she was taken by barge to the Tower of London, accompanied by additional members of the Privy Council, including Thomas Audley (Lord High Chancellor) and Thomas Cromwell (Lord Privy Seal), the latter being deemed responsible for the case brought against her. She was held in the royal apartments where she had resided only three years previously, just prior to her coronation.
Anne was additionally charged with treason, in plotting the king's death, as well as incest with her brother George, who had also been arrested. On 15 May, Anne underwent a trial, which was held in the King's Hall in the Tower of London, infront of a jury of her peers. The trial was presided over by her Uncle Howard, as Lord Chancellor Audley was not of a member of the nobility, and so could not try an anointed queen; he was present however, sitting at Norfolk's right side, providing him with legal advice throughout. Despite her denial of the charges, and the flimsy evidence presented to the court, Anne was convicted and subsequently sentenced to death; two days later, her marriage was declared void, and she was deposed as queen.
A few hours after Anne's trial, her brother George's trial was held in the King's Hall. Despite Anne's conviction, many felt that the George had defended himself well, and that there was a possibility of an acquittal; however, like his sister, he was also convicted of adultery, incest and treason, and sentenced to death, being executed by beheading on Tower Hill on 17 May 1536.
Anne's sentence was commuted from burning to beheading, and a swordsman was sent from Calais to perform the execution, which was completed with one stroke. This was witnessed by many of the king's council, whom she had come to make enemies of, including Audley, Cromwell, Henry's oldest friend and brother-in-law Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and the king's illegitimate son Henry FitzRoy.
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