1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 2: This is Danish Wort's host of Noble Blood. I'm taking 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 2: a brief maternity leave right now, and so this week 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 2: we're continuing our trip back to the archives, back to 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 2: the series I did on Henry the Eighth's Six Wives. 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 2: This week Anne Bolin. Anne Bolin is such an exciting 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 2: and captivating figure. It truly is no wonder she receives 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 2: the amount of attention from historians that she does. For 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 2: this episode, I focused on the most notorious moment of 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,480 Speaker 2: her life, her beheading. 12 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: Enjoy They say that after decapitation, the human brain can 13 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: remain conscious for several seconds, maybe even up to a minute, 14 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: even without fresh blood being pumped up from the heart. 15 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: The brain still has oxygen and neurons firing rapidly in 16 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: confusion her pain. They say that when Anne Boleyn's head 17 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: fell from her body into the straw waiting below, her dark, 18 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,639 Speaker 1: intelligent eyes still flickered and blinked, and that her white 19 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: lips pressed together and apart, as if she was trying 20 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: to say one last thing. It seems fitting that even 21 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: in death, Anne would try to continue to speak. It 22 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: was her silver tongue that had initially charmed the king 23 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: back when Anne was just a lady in waiting. No 24 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: one ever described her as the most beautiful girl at court, 25 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: although she was striking with her dark hair and her 26 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: milky skin so pale it was almost translucent. No, it 27 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: was her wit and her intelligence, her innate ability to 28 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: know exactly how to flirt without seeming like she was 29 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: trying to flirt. Anne engaged with poets and phalots, and 30 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: debated issues of politics and religion. Henry had loved that 31 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: about Anne back when he was pursuing her, that she 32 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: had challenged and teased him, but he found those qualities 33 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,399 Speaker 1: far less compelling in a wife. Henry the Eighth did 34 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: Anne one kindness in her beheading. He had brought in 35 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: the hangman of Calais, known for his skill and accuracy 36 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: with the sword, to do her decapitation, to liberate her 37 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: head from her neck in one smooth motion, instead of 38 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: the typical englishman with an axe, who was known to 39 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: sometimes take two or even three swings to get the 40 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: job done. The five men accused of being Anne's lovers 41 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: had been executed by Englishmen. Back when Henry was in 42 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: love with Anne, he disposed of his loyal wife twenty 43 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: four years and completely overthrew the foundation of religion in 44 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: England along the way. It was all for the promise 45 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: of being with Anne, and for the promise of the 46 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: son that she would bear him. When that son didn't come, 47 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: obsession soured in Henry into something corrosive and hateful. It 48 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: would cost Anne her life. She had played the game 49 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: well enough, masterfully really, to become a queen, but in 50 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: the end there was nothing she could do to save 51 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: her own life. I'm Danish wartz and this is noble blood. 52 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: When Anne Boleyn found out that Henry's first wife, Catherine 53 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: of Aragon, died, Anne exhaled with a mixture of relief 54 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: and pleasure. As head of the Church of England, Henry 55 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: had officially declared himself divorced from Catherine and he had 56 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: married Anne, but Catherine still was calling herself the Queen 57 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: of England. And as much as Anne hated to admit it, 58 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: the people had loved Catherine. They hissed Anne in the streets, 59 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: called her Henry's goggle eyed whore. But now that Catherine 60 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: was dead. There was to be no more confusion. There 61 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: was one queen of England, one wife of Henry the eighth, 62 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: Anne Boleyn. Anne had entranced Henry when she returned from 63 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: a childhood in the French court, instantly astonishing the English 64 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: with her wit and daring French fashion and her allegedly 65 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: dazzling repertoire of sexual foreplay. When Anne arrived all glamour 66 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: and fresh promise, Henry the eighth was facing the massive 67 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: issue of his wife, Catherine. After two decades of marriage 68 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: and half a dozen miscarriages, Catherine was entering menopause, having 69 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: only given Henry a single daughter. The Tudor dynasty, started 70 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: only by Henry's father, needed sons if it were to 71 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: continue to survive. Without a clear line of succession, England 72 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: could once again be plunged into one wan miserable civil war. 73 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: But what were Henry's options. His Spanish wife was powerful 74 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: and connected. Her nephew was the Holy Roman Emperor who 75 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: had the Vatican under his thumb. But if everything was 76 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: supposed to work out with Catherine, if everything was so perfect, 77 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: then why hadn't God given them a son? That was 78 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: the nagging voice in the back of Henry's head. After all, 79 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: Catherine had been married to Henry's older brother, Arthur First 80 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: for six months until Arthur died of the sweating sickness. 81 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: Didn't the Bible forbid marrying your brother's wife. Catherine had 82 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 1: sworn that the marriage had never been consummated, and the 83 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: Vatican offered special dispensation. But what if she had been lying? 84 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,679 Speaker 1: What if that was the reason that God was cursing 85 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: Henry with a lack of sons? And then Anne appeared, flirting, 86 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: making Henry feel a way that he couldn't remember feeling 87 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: for a long time. He was still in his thirties, vital. 88 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: With a new wife, he could have a dozen sons. 89 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: Although he begged Anne, she refused to be his royal mistress, 90 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: refused to even sleep with him unless they were married. 91 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: Unless you divorce Catherine and marry me, Anne said. Catherine 92 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: of Aragon was banished to a remote palace and told 93 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: she was no longer queen. Henry declared himself head of 94 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: the Church of England while the nation protested and hurled 95 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: insults Anne. Henry married her in a secret ceremony. Within months, 96 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: she was pregnant all of Henry's advisers, all of the doctors, 97 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: and the soothsayers said that this would be the son 98 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: he was waiting for, the boy that would show that 99 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: God was pleased with him and that he made the 100 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: right choice. When the doctor nervously announced that Queen Anne 101 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: had given birth to a healthy baby girl, Henry couldn't 102 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: hide his disdain or his anger. But Anne loved her daughter, 103 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: the little girl they named Elizabeth. Anne played with her 104 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: dangling fingers over her basinet, cooing at her beautiful daughter 105 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: with golden curls. Anne knew that there was still time 106 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: for her to have a son, still time for her 107 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: to secure her position, even if Henry's eye had already 108 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: begun to wander while Anne was on bed rest for 109 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: her pregnancy, while Catherine of Arragon had diplomatically turned a 110 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: blind eye to Henry's philandering, Anne became furious. She was 111 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: jealous and hot headed, with a biting tongue that never 112 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,119 Speaker 1: demurred from a fight. But also Catherine had been born 113 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: and raised a princess. Anne had once been a commoner. 114 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: She had been a lady in waiting who caught Henry's 115 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: eye and usurped a queen, and so she was perfectly 116 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: aware that the exact same thing could happen to her. 117 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: Nothing protected her except the possibility of a son. Anne 118 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: got pregnant again, and the court instantly began celebrating. When 119 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: she miscarried just three months later, it was so embarrassing 120 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: that it wasn't publicly announced, just a shameful whisper that 121 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: circulated amongst the court, starting with the woman who had 122 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: changed Anne's bed sheets. Henry and Anne both believed what 123 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: everyone believed back in the fifteen hundreds, that a miscarriage 124 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: was a failure on the part of the woman, a 125 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,959 Speaker 1: sign of God's ultimate displeasure. The next miscarriage, too, was 126 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: another tightly kept secret, and the third was so well 127 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: hidden that it's impossible to trace when it actually occurred. 128 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: By the time Catherine of Arragon finally died, Anne was 129 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: well aware that she was carrying what could very well 130 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: be her final hope. Anne and Henry had been married 131 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: for three years, but already he had stopped coming to 132 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: her bedroom. He ignored her when he could, spending most 133 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: of his time doting on one of Anne's own ladies, 134 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: Jane Seymour. Plain, obedient, soft spoken Jane Seymour, the exact 135 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: opposite of Anne in every conceivable way. Henry newly besought it, 136 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: gave Jane Seymour a locket containing his portrait. Jane made 137 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: the mistake of wearing it and flicking it open and 138 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: shut like a schoolgirl in love. When Anne entered the 139 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: room and saw the necklace, she ripped it off Jane's 140 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:38,440 Speaker 1: neck with so much force that Anne's fingers bled. The 141 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: country already hated Anne, and she had made powerful enemies 142 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: in court by pulling Henry away from Catherine and away 143 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: from the Catholic Church. Anne had very few cards left 144 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: to play. The only thing keeping her in power was 145 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: the child in her belly and Henry's love for her, 146 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: and that seemed to be diminishing every day. Neither Henry 147 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: nor Anne attended Catherine of Argen's funeral, where she was 148 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: laid to rest, not with the title of former queen 149 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 1: but of dowager Princess. That exact day, miles away, Anne 150 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: Boleyn miscarried a baby boy. Reports at the time say 151 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: that the cold, sill, tiny boy was perfect and beautiful. 152 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: Years later people would write that it was misshapen, that 153 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: it had physical deformities, evidence of its mother committing some 154 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: truly awful sin, adultery, incest, or witchcraft. But at the 155 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,439 Speaker 1: time there didn't need to be any further proof. The 156 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: son that could have saved her life was dead, and 157 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: Anne Boleyn's fate was sealed. Anne's behavior became panicked and erratic. 158 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 1: The man who had once been so wildly in love 159 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,599 Speaker 1: with her he overthrew the entire religious foundation of a 160 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: nation was now writing love letters to another woman. Henry 161 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: had stopped coming to her bed. She was the queen, 162 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: but she was also becoming increasingly aware of what a 163 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:16,319 Speaker 1: precarious position that was. When her king was Henry the Eighth. 164 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: Anne engaged one of the king's close friends, Sir Henry Norris, 165 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,319 Speaker 1: one afternoon to ask him why he was still unmarried. 166 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: Anne's flirtation was normal, expected even of a queen. A 167 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: queen was meant to be beloved by all the knightly 168 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: men of a kingdom, to inspire love and loyalty in them. 169 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: But when Sir Henry Norris demured, Anne continued pressing closer 170 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: to him in the hallway than might have been prudent. 171 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: I think Anne purred that you're waiting to marry a 172 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 1: rich widow, you look for dead men's shoes. Is that so, 173 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: Sir Henry Norris replied, smiling just a little bit. Anne 174 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,559 Speaker 1: looked into his eyes. I think if if something were 175 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: to happen to the King, you would look to marry me. 176 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 1: Sir Henry Norris's smile disappeared. To even think such a 177 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: thing would cost me my head? He said. Anne had 178 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: crossed the line from courtly flirtation to outright treason. It 179 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: was a good thing. Anne thought, as she returned to 180 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: her chamber that night that no one had heard them. 181 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,080 Speaker 1: Another night, one of Anne Boleyn's ladies in waiting, Lady Wooster, 182 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: spent a banquet drinking slightly too much wine and dancing 183 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 1: slightly too close to one or two eligible men. The 184 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: next day, Lady Worcester's brother confronted her and told her 185 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,599 Speaker 1: that she needed to stop her behavior before her reputation 186 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: was ruined. Lady Wooster just laughed. If you think I'm bad, 187 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: she said, I'm nothing compared to the Queen Anne has 188 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 1: met in her bed chamber late at night all the time, 189 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: including a certain Mark Smeaton. Smeaton was a court musician, 190 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,079 Speaker 1: and Lady Wooster wasn't the old only one who noticed 191 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: that Anne seemed to particularly enjoy his company. Within days 192 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: of the conversation between Lady Wooster and her brother, Mark 193 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: Smeaton was taken in for questioning by the King's Chief Minister, 194 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: Thomas Cromwell. We don't know what happened behind closed doors, 195 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: whether Smeaton was tortured or coerced. He might have even 196 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: been telling the truth. It's impossible to know, but Mark 197 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,720 Speaker 1: Smeaton confessed to Thomas Cromwell that he had slept with 198 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: Queen Anne Boleyn on three separate occasions. Anne Boleyn was 199 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: arrested while she was watching a tennis match and brought 200 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: to a dim room where she was interrogated by three 201 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: men on charges of adultery and treason. They asked her 202 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 1: about Mark Smeaton. Anne was completely baffled and indignant. She 203 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: denied ever sleeping with anyone except her husband, the King. 204 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,679 Speaker 1: They asked about the conversation she had had with Sir 205 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: Hena hen Norris. This time Anne sputtered a little, but 206 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: still her point was clear. She hadn't sinned against the King. 207 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: The three men interrogating her were stony faced and cruel, 208 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: completely unmoved. Her lovers had already confessed. They told her. 209 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: Anne was escorted back to her chamber. She and her 210 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: ladies sat down to a silent dinner. None of Anne's 211 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: ladies made eye contact with her. The few servants standing 212 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: nearby barely managed to conceal her tears. That very afternoon, 213 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: Anne was brought to the Tower of London. She was 214 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: given no time to pack clothes or any personal belongings, 215 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: and though she begged to say goodbye to her daughter Elizabeth, 216 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: the guards pretended not to hear her. Most criminals were 217 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: brought to the tower in the middle of the night. 218 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: Anne was brought by barge down on the River Thames 219 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: in broad daylight, with crowds gawking at her and shouting 220 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 1: as she went by. Anne begged to see the King. 221 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: If she could see Henry face to face, if she 222 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: could just talk to him, she could charm him like 223 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: she had before, She could remind him of his love 224 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: for her. He must have some tiny ounce of affection 225 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: for her left in his heart. Anne didn't know that 226 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: she and Henry would never lay eyes on each other 227 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: ever again. At five p m. She arrived at the 228 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: Tower of London dazed, and terrified. Am I to be 229 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: put in the dungeons? She said? The guard shook his head. 230 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: Anne was to be brought to the Royal Apartments, the 231 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: very same rooms that she had stayed in the night 232 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: before her coronation. The rooms had been unused since. Hearing that, 233 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: Anne flung herself onto the cobblestones. It is too good 234 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: for me, she sobbed a cannon on the tower wharf thundered. 235 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: It was the sound that rang when a person of 236 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: nobility was brought to be imprisoned in the fortress. It 237 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: echoed through the city, causing excitement and speculation. King Henry, 238 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: deep inside the palace, didn't hear it. He wouldn't make 239 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: another public appearance until after Anne was dead and buried. 240 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: The man in charge of Anne's custody while she was 241 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: in the Tower of London was a former knight named 242 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: Sir William Kingston. Kingston was tall, and in his youth 243 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: had been a strong and triumphant jouster, even facing off 244 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: against the King. He had been devoted to Queen Catherine 245 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: throughout his long career, but even so, during Anne's imprisonment, 246 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: he would only ever treat her with courtesy and kindness. 247 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: All of Anne's servants had been dismissed, replaced by five 248 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:56,080 Speaker 1: new ladies, all spies who were tasked with asking Anne 249 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: about her alleged lovers and her treasonous conversations, and then 250 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: reporting back her answers to Thomas Cromwell. But Anne never 251 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: said anything incriminating. Instead, her spies just reported that her 252 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: mood shifted wildly from wretching sobs to ecstatic laughter. Sometimes 253 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,479 Speaker 1: Anne would just burst out laughing and say that history 254 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: would remember her as Anne the Headless. My innocence will 255 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: save me, won't it. I am innocent, and so the 256 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: law will save me. Anne thought maybe Henry was just 257 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 1: testing her. He loved her, didn't he. Even if he 258 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: had tired of her, he probably wouldn't kill her. Anne 259 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 1: was accused of adultery with five men, including her own brother, 260 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: even though all of the men, with the exception of 261 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,879 Speaker 1: Mark Smeaton, had proclaimed their innocence. The number was a 262 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,120 Speaker 1: calculated move on the part of Thomas Cromwell and the King. 263 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: One man could be a mistake, but Anne being accused 264 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:59,439 Speaker 1: of intimacy with five men, the accusation alone cemented her guilt. 265 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: When Anne was called to her tribunal to stand before 266 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: the jury of twenty six men and listen to the 267 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: allegations against her. She didn't dress like she was walking 268 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: to her death sentence. Instead, Anne wore a black velvet 269 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: gown and a red petticoat, as if she were dressed 270 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 1: to be awarded a medal at some noble ceremony. She 271 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,680 Speaker 1: wasn't allowed to bring any witnesses or have any legal counsel. 272 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,360 Speaker 1: All Anne could do was continue to proclaim her innocence 273 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: to offer the best defense she could, speaking with the 274 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,639 Speaker 1: eloquence and the intelligence that Henry had once fallen in 275 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: love with. Never before in English history had a queen 276 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,640 Speaker 1: been sentenced to death. Henry was just trying to scare her, 277 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: and thought trying to soothe herself to stave off the panic. 278 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: Maybe she would just be banished. The Duke of Norfolk 279 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,200 Speaker 1: had tears in his eyes when he read out the sentence. 280 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:03,400 Speaker 1: Anne was his niece, his own sister's child. Some might 281 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: have thought that he was crying in grief or pity. Really, 282 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: though it was more likely he was crying for his 283 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: own lost honor and status. Hugh read aloud, for offending 284 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: our sovereign, the King in committing treason against his person. 285 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: Anne Boleyn is sentenced to be burned within the Tower 286 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: of London on the Green, or else to have her 287 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: head cut off. Anne's expression didn't change when they read 288 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,199 Speaker 1: her sentence. She lifted her eyes at the sky, but 289 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,879 Speaker 1: she didn't cry. She maintained her innocence. I am ready 290 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 1: to greet death, she said. Finally, I am just sorry 291 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: for the others who are innocent and the King's loyal subjects, 292 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: that they should share my fate and die because of me. 293 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: Kingston escorted Anne back to her chambers, and Anne asked 294 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: to see a priest so that she could confess. The 295 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: arch Bishop of Canterbury arrived to take Anne's final confession. 296 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: Anne was already sentenced to death. There was nothing she 297 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: could lose in confessing her sins now and Anne knew 298 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: that if she told a lie in confession, she would 299 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: be damning her soul to eternal torment. She confessed to jealousy, 300 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: but nothing else. The archbishop asked if she was sure 301 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:26,159 Speaker 1: she was done. Anne lowered her head. God knows that 302 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: I have not sinned against him in any other way. 303 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: Anne watched from her window as all five men, including 304 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: her own brother were beheaded on the Tower Green. There 305 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,680 Speaker 1: were whispers that Henry had put her in those rooms 306 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: specifically so that she could see those deaths. Anne's own 307 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,119 Speaker 1: death was still a ways away. They were specifically constructing 308 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: a new scaffolding for her so more crowds could gather 309 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: and see their fallen queen end in a rush of blood. 310 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: Anne turned away from the constructions she could see from 311 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: the window. I wish all this was over, that the 312 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,160 Speaker 1: pain would just be finished already, she said to Kingston. 313 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: Kingston softly replied that he believed that when the end 314 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: finally came, there would be no pain, and when that 315 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 1: day finally came, Kingston helped Anne up the wooden steps 316 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: to the stage on the Green, accompanied by four ladies. 317 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: The ladies helped Anne to undress her neck, taking off 318 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 1: her head dress and the small white fur cloak she 319 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: wore a symbol of royalty. They gathered Anne's hair in 320 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: a linen cap so it wouldn't get in the way 321 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 1: of a sword. Anne whispered to her ladies and asked 322 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: them to pray for her. Unlike in an axe beheading, 323 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 1: a decapitation by sword required the victim to kneel very tall, 324 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 1: upright on both knees. Anne took the position with as 325 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: much grace as she could, but there was still fear 326 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: in her eyes. Anne knew she had to keep very 327 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: still if the death was to be quick, but she 328 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,640 Speaker 1: kept looking around, terrified for the moment when the man 329 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: with the sword would make his attack. Madam, do not fear, 330 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: the swordman said, I will wait until you are ready. 331 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: Anne said a few words before her death to the 332 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:23,080 Speaker 1: crowd below, the nearly two thousand Englishmen who had gathered 333 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: for the spectacle. She accepted death, reasserted her innocence once more, 334 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,360 Speaker 1: and asked for the good people to pray for Henry 335 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: and those who were sending her to death. While Anne 336 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: was looking away, the swordsman pulled his blade from a 337 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: pile of straw, where it had been hidden so Anne 338 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:47,439 Speaker 1: wouldn't see. He wore no shoes so that his step 339 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: would be silent, so that when he came up behind Anne, 340 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:56,120 Speaker 1: she wouldn't hear him. And then in one stroke, her 341 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: head was gone, fallen in a bloody mass into the 342 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:04,880 Speaker 1: pilot of straw and sawdust. Waiting to welcome it, one 343 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,399 Speaker 1: of Anne's ladies threw a white handkerchief over the head, 344 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: and the crowd watched as it slowly dappled with red blood. 345 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 1: The Queen of England was dead. Eleven days later, Henry 346 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: the Eighth married Anne's lady in waiting, Jane Seymour. That's 347 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,560 Speaker 1: the story of Anne Boleyn's death, but stick around after 348 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit about 349 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 1: Anne's after life. Anne Boleyn is one of the most 350 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: famous and enigmatic figures in English history, and she's also 351 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: one of England's most ubiquitous ghosts. According to a Victorian legend, 352 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: on certain nights, if you're on the road toward Blickling 353 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,360 Speaker 1: Hall in Norfolk, where Anne was born, you might see 354 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,879 Speaker 1: a carriage pass by. If you happen to look inside, 355 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: you'll see Anne bathed in a red glow and wearing 356 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: a pure white dress, holding her head gently in her lap. 357 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:21,919 Speaker 1: The moment that the carriage arrives at the front of 358 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 1: the house, it vanishes into mist Anne can arrive at 359 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: her destination, but she can't stay. Alison Weir has written 360 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: extensively about Anne Bolyn and the myths and rumors surrounding 361 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,199 Speaker 1: her death, and so I defer to her expertise on 362 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: the subject of Anne's ghosts, on which she writes, as 363 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: a historian, I make no further comment on the veracity 364 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: of these stories or the existence of ghosts. Noble Blood 365 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio Anne Grim and Mild from 366 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, 367 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 1: with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, 368 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: Amy Hit and Julia Melaney. The show is edited and 369 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producerrima il Kaali and 370 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:25,159 Speaker 1: executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For 371 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:30,680 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 372 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.