Except this day, 474 years ago a Queen of England was murdered!
Indeed the first Queen of England to be executed!!
Queen Anne had been so very brave!
On her final day she had her favorite ladies about her and her final Mass had been an emotional one. She also swore her innocence of all her supposed crimes on the Body of Christ!!
Then she bravely waited....and waited...Her jailer Sir William Kingston had been trying desperatly to get a definate hour for the execution, but it had been proved to be difficult as the infamous Hangman of Calais had been delayed on the road to London. Kingston noted that Anne appeared to take "much joy" in death, and she was calm and indeed jolly. This is where the famous comment about the "little neck" came from! Kingston had told Anne that there had been a further delay and Anne has said she was sad it was delayed and "hoped to be dead by noon and past my pain!" Gently, Sir William told her there would be no pain as the swords man of France was an expert, and the blow would be so subtle and swift. To this Anne had laughed and circled her long, delicate fingers around her own neck and said "...and I have a little neck!"
Finally, at 9am she was lead into the the early summer sunshine...and thus unto her death.
Anne had chosen her out-fit carefully! a grey damask over kirtle, and red kirtle. Red was the colour of English religious marters and Anne knew this. This same red colour was chosen by Mary Queen of Scots for her execution 50 years later...Anne also wore her famous silky Raven black hair tied up under a simple cotton coif on her head. She mounted the steps calmly and with much grace, where her weeping ladies removed her ermine fur wrap, and she turned to the crowd and gave her final adress!
"Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul!"
Her executioner was very taken aback by her "smiling countenence" and he became shaky and weepy as Anne gently forgave him, and gave him his purse of monies for his work that would be shortly carried out. His sword had been hidden under some straw on the scaffold, so Anne could not see it and thus have no fear of where it was coming from. Kneeling upright (as was the custom of French executions) She clasped her hands tight in prayer and whispered the words...
"To Jesu Christ I commend my soul!!" over and over...
"Boy!!!! my sword!!" the executioner said loudly. This was a ruse created so that Anne would have no idea when the final blow would come. There was no "boy". The executioner quietly slid his sword form its hiding place under the straw, and with one swift, expertly placed swing...it was over!
*Notes*
I have no idea where my obsession for Tudor history comes from, but I have had it since I was a child. I had been about 3 when my dad told me of "Good king Hal" throwing chicken bones over his shoulder and it went from there....and belive me!! its is an OBSESSION!! Derek has even mentioned I should apply to Oxford to study for a degree, and I may well do this as it might be the only cure for my addiction to this time in English history! I am planning a book that will prove the innocence of Anne Boleyn, but this will involve years of research and study of carefully structured debates of noted historians, both alive and dead. My aim???...well its a long shot....but I would like to join the campaign to get Anne Boleyn pardoned and re-buried with her daughter, Elizabeth the 1st, in Westminster Abbey. Why??........Good Queen Anne was innocent!! Its as simple as that!!
Inspired reading:
The life and death of Anne Boleyn - Eric Ives
A new life of Englands tragic Queen - Joanne Denny
Henry VIII's obsession: Anne Boleyn - Elizabeth Norton
Anne Boleyn - Nora Lofts
*lost in thoughtful remembrance*
