487 years ago today on the 19th May 1536, King Henry VIII of England made history by sending his second wife, the infamous Anne Boleyn, to the chopping block, making her the first Queen in history to be executed. Since then, the life and tragic death of Queen Anne Boleyn has fascinated thousands over the centuries since her death and inspired many to investigate and highlight the truth behind her death.
The cruel imprisonment of Queen Anne Boleyn in the Tower of London as well as her subsequent (sham) trial and execution is an interesting topic as there is still so much about Anne's time in the Tower, her trial and execution that we do not know - much like the earlier years of her life. It must have been a daunting, traumatic experience for the young Queen to be imprisoned by the orders of her own husband who she had worked tirelessly for years to provide him with the son he demanded from her. After just over two weeks of endless suffering, she was mercilessly dispatched with one stroke of the sword via a expert executioner, at least Henry respected her enough to get her an expert who knew what he was doing.
And we are delighted to speak about Anne's cruel imprisonment, trial and execution with today's podcast guest - one of the world's leading Anne Boleyn experts and Tudor historian; Natalie Grueninger!
Natalie Grueninger is known for her fabulous website, On the Tudor Trail, which documents historic sites and buildings associated with Anne Boleyn as well as educating her readers on everything about this ill-fated Queen of England. She also hosts the Talking Tudors podcast where she discusses popular Tudor-related topics with a variety of different guests including Owen Emmerson! Natalie is also a published author; her work includes non-fiction books such as In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn, In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII, and The Final Year of Anne Boleyn, as well as three colouring books; Colouring History: The Tudors, Colouring History: Tudor Queens and Consorts, and Discovering Tudor London.
In today's podcast, Natalie and I will take a deeper dive into the imprisonment, trial and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn and the importance it holds in history. What were Anne's living quarters like in the Tower of London? What charges was she accused and found 'guilty' of? What evidence was brought forth by Thomas Cromwell to prove her guilt? Was Anne hopeful that Henry VIII would change his mind and release her, perhaps send her to a nunnery rather than execute her? What was Anne's final moments of life like?
All these questions and more shall be answered in The Ill-Fated Wives of Henry VIII's latest podcast episode so please click on the link above, give it a watch and (if you liked it), like, comment and subscribe!
What topics and guests would you like for us to feature next?
Let us know in the comments below!
Until next time...
- Have a âTudor-ficâ week!
Comments