May 2, 1536: The Arrest
Westminster Palace was alive with laughter the afternoon of May 2, 1536. The Queen was holding a luncheon, and every important figure in her life was present. The King, her lady's maids, all of the high court. It was more of a facade for the Queen's personality, especially since the arrests of Mark Smeaton, her musician, Henry Norreys, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, and her brother. She was not aware of the exact terms of their arrest, but she knew it had something to do with her. Something that may very well lead to her own arrest.
Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, was seated at the high table in the dining hall of the Palace, the King at her right, and the Church Preacher at the left. Elizabeth Boleyn, Anne's daughter, was at her left. Matthew Parker, a religious moderate, sat next to Elizabeth. The entire room was filled with conversation, and at the back of the hall there was a small band of violins.
When three guards entered the dining hall, Anne knew something was not right. She had specifically requested early in her rule that any lawful business was to be done in private. She stood, her long white gown brushing the marble floor, her eyebrows drawn in a tight frown. She would have serious punishments issued to these guards for disobeying her.
These guards, however, did not let her speak. "Queen Anne Boleyn, you are hereby under arrest for high treason. You will be held in The Tower of London until your trial, which will proceed in seven days time."
"Who issued this arrest?" Anne demanded. "High treason? Honestly!"
"The King has issued the arrest, Your Majesty," one of the guards responded. Anne shot a venomous glare at her husband, the King, who sat beside her. The King avoided his wife's eyes, keeping them trained on the food in front of him. The guard continued. "You are allowed one lady's maid to accompany you to the Tower."
"And what of my daughter?" Anne demanded. By this time, the entire room had turned their attention to the scene at the high table. Even the violins had stopped.
"She will remain in the King's care," the guard that had not yet spoken responded. "We have no more time for discussion. Please, follow us." He removed chains from his belt.
"I will not be chained!" Anne exclaimed. "Quietly I will leave this room, but I will NOT be chained!"
The guard replaced the chains. "Madame," he said, gesturing to the door. Anne turned to her lady's maids.
"Elizabeth," Anne beckoned. "Accompany me." Without waiting for response, the Queen turned and swept gracefully out of the hall, head high, with no glance spared for the husband that had issued her arrest.
May 4, 1536: The Tower
"I demand to know the full charges laid against me!" Anne screamed. "I refuse to walk into trial unprepared!"
"Unprepared to lie?" a guard across the cell sneered. "Unprepared to make up stories to defend yourself?"
"Ridiculous!" Anne growled. "And how DARE you speak to your Queen that way! I created you! I am the reason you stand in that uniform today!"
"And yet you play with the devil," the guard snapped back. "You take place in his forbidden dance. You indulge yourself in pleasures illegal to one of your position. Not only with men of your court, but your own brother. That is not a Queen. It is a common whore!"
Anne was stunned into silence. She was suddenly aware that her situation was worse than she had been led to believe. Finally, after regaining her composure, she said, "You mean to tell me I am not only being charged with treason, but with witchcraft and adultery? And incest? Is that it?"
"Yes, that is it," the guard responded.
"That is horrible!" Elizabeth exclaimed from the corner. "How on Earth could anyone believe she would do such things? She knows her place!"
Anne raised her hand to silence her. She knew there was no escaping the death sentence with these charges.
May 19, 1534: The Execution
Anne couldn't have been more cheerful on the day of her execution. She was brought out to the courtyard by the executioner from Calais, wearing a dark gown and ermine, with her dark hair bound up and a headdress over it. When she was knelt upright (there was no block in French style executions), she gave a speech. Those around her listened silently, some weeping, some not even watching. They believed their queen innocent.
"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," Anne started. "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."
Taking a breath, she added, "To Christ I condemn my soul; Lord Jesus receive my soul."
The executioner did something very sweet right then. He raised his sword to complete the execution, but instead of the usual, "And it shall be done," he said, "Where is my sword?" Then he brought the sword down swiftly, cutting the head clean from the body. He said this in order to make her unaware of the sword, and sparing her the quick moment's pain.
The cannon shot to signify the end. Across the river, Scotts reformer Alesius and Thomas Cranmer walked in the gardens of Lambeth Palace. Upon hearing the cannon from the Tower of Green, the Archbishop raised his head to the sky and chanted, "She who has been the Queen of England on Earth will today become a Queen in heaven."
And so it was.
