70. She Wrote One Last Letter
After four days in the Tower, Boleyn bundled up a package and gave it to her guard to deliver to the king. It was a letter; her very last to Henry. In it, she plead for mercy, writing that "never prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne Boleyn". She also made one final heartbreaking request.
71. She Had Last Wishes
In her final letter to King Henry, Boleyn begged him to think of their daughter Elizabeth, and then she humbly asked that Henry would still spare the lives of her brother and the other men accused of being her lovers.
It's a wrenching revelation: At her core, until the very end, Boleyn may have been truly selfless. But it didn't go her way.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Focus Features
72. Henry Turned His Back On Her
Tragically, Boleyn's plea fell on deaf ears. Henry was beyond all reason at this point, already imagining all the boy children he would have with Jane Seymour (in a cruel twist of fate, she did give him one). On May 17, Henry sent George and the rest of the men to the chopping block.
Meanwhile, Boleyn waited for her own grisly appointment.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
73. She Dressed To Impress
On May 19th, 1536, Anne Boleyn walked to her own execution. She was a clotheshorse until the bitter end and made sure to face the gallows in style. For the occasion, the prisoner queen wore a dark grey damask gown with ermine, a red petticoat, and an English gable hood. Like many of Anne's garments, these carried a secret message.
74. She Sent Out Coded Messages
Anne wasn't going to go meekly, and her dress sense proved it.
As mentioned above, Anne often favored the French style of hood, but on the day of her execution, you'll note she wore an English gable hood instead. This was an obvious sign that she was an English queen. More than that, only royalty could wear ermine. Yep, Anne made sure to say farewell as every inch the monarch she was. She wasn't done yet, either.
75. She Made An Unforgettable Exit
When Boleyn went to the block, she begged to address the crowd.
Her last words were poignant. She said, “Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law, I am judged to die...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”.
As she awaited the executioner’s blade, kneeling on the block, she repeated the phrase, “To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesu receive my soul”. Nonetheless, these final words are missing a crucial thing.
76. She Held Out Impossible Hope
Although Anne spoke at length to the crowd, she never once put King Henry in a bad light, nor did she admit any guilt. She had yet another cunning but selfless reason for this: Anne likely didn't want any of her family to suffer more if Henry tried to punish her long after she was gone. And as Anne's last seconds came, she maintained this composure.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Focus Features
77. She Died In The "French" Way
Anne Boleyn even died in her own style.
While her ladies wept around her, she got them to tie a blindfold around her eyes and then knelt in front of the block. This was a classically "French" style of execution, and itnodded to Boleyn's signature Gallic-tinged ways. Anne had prepared every last detail, and now it was time to face her end.
As it turned out, King Henry's swordsman was worth his pay rate: It took only a single stroke to behead the Queen of England.
But that didn't quite mean she was gone.
78. She Haunted Henry
Henry tried his best to forget Anne, fully establishing Jane Seymour in the palace just 11 days after the execution. But it wasn't that simple. In fact, Henry had such a difficult time erasing Boleyn's memory, he soon had all likenesses of her destroyed, and there are no contemporary paintings of her in existence. Still, there were some things Henry couldn't bear to let go of.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
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79. Henry Couldn't Erase Her Memory
According to some historians, there is one sign that Henry was filled with regret about Anne's fate. Though he destroyed all likenesses of her and even broke down most of the jewelry he had gifted her, he eventually re-purchased several of Boleyn's possessions and kept more than a few keepsakes with their initials, "H" and "A".
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
80. Some Thought She Was Ugly
Not everyone agreed that Anne Boleyn was a hottie. Though many people praised her beauty, others were, uh, less complimentary.
Italian diarist Marino Sanuto glimpsed Boleyn once and found himself thoroughly unimpressed. She was "not one of the handsomest women in the world," he said, sniping at her short height and "swarthy complexion". But one insult has grown in infamy.
81. She Was An "Eleven-Fingered" Woman
According to a notorious story, Anne Boleyn had an extra finger on one hand. The tales of a bewitching, eleven-fingered queen are alluring, but they're also sinister.
This depiction came from Catholic Propagandist Nicholas Sanders, who had every reason to discredit Boleyn. He also claimed she had a snaggle tooth and an unsightly cyst on her throat.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
84. She Died Heartbreakingly Young
To this day, historians aren't certain when Boleyn was born (likely somewhere between 1501 and 1507), so we don't even know how old she was at her tragic end. One thing is certain: She was still in the prime of her life when the executioner's sword hit.
With our best guess, the Queen of England was only as old as 35 and perhaps as young as 28 when she died.
82. Her Daughter Honored Her
Although she kept it on the down-low for political reasons, the future Queen Elizabeth loved her mother Anne very much. Elizabeth was only two years old when Anne went to the block and as an adult, Elizabeth quietly honored Boleyn and her family by taking care of their positions at court.
She also always kept her mother's portrait in a locket on her necklace.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Universal Pictures
83. Her Life Had A Cruel Twist
This is perhaps the most heartbreaking fact of all when it comes to Anne Boleyn. Throughout her three-year marriage to King Henry, she had as many as four pregnancies and three miscarriages. In a cruel twist of fate, all of those miscarriages were sons. More than that, Anne miscarried her last child on the very day of Catherine of Aragon's funeral.
Poetic justice, or ghostly revenge?
84. She Had Secret Admirers
In 2021, historians made a discovery about Anne Boleyn. Scholar Kate McCaffrey found secret messages inside Boleyn's prayer book, one that she may have held during her execution. Alongside Boleyn's extant inscription in the book, “Remember me when you do pray / That hope doth lead from day to day," there were also family names of the people who had held onto the traitor queen's tome throughout the years, even though they faced grave danger in keeping it safe.
The Tudors (2007–2010), Showtime Networks
85. She Is An Enigma
Boleyn is truly one of the most fascinating and enigmatic women in history, and our understanding of her legacy has changed in the centuries since her end. Over the years, she has gone from an enchanting witch to a powerless victim to an empowered woman in her own right. Now we know her as one of the most ambitious and intelligent monarchs of her time.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
