On This Day in Elizabethan History: The Birth of the Future Queen Elizabeth I

The birth announcement of the Princess Elizabeth, 1533. Photo from Let Them Grumble on Tumblr.

On this day in 1533, Princess Elizabeth Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace to her mother, Queen Anne Boleyn, and her father, King Henry VIII. The King had been assured that a prince's birth had been fortold by the stars, so the birth announcements had been prepared welcoming a prince. When Elizabeth arrived, much to Henry's surprise, two "ss" were hastily tacked onto the word 'prince' before they could be sent out. 

To learn about:

- The time and circumstances under which Queen Elizabeth was likely conceived

- Anne Boleyn's preparation for the birth of her child

- Henry VIII's reaction to Elizabeth's gender

- Elizabeth's christening

and more, please read our feature-length BeingBess article on the birth of the future Queen Elizabeth I.


 

Happy 482nd Birthday, Queen Elizabeth I!

Elizabeth Tudor found her way into my life long ago as a child, something which I believe was no accident. 

She continues to inspire me on a daily basis, for which I am eternally grateful.

It is my mission in life to teach others about the remarkable Queen Elizabeth I, and to get others excited about history. 

Thank you for sharing in this journey with me. 

-Bess

May 19th, 1536 - Anne Boleyn's Execution

Depiction of the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, from Anne of the Thousand Days.

 

"She who has been the Queen of England on Earth will today become a Queen in heaven."-Thomas Cranmer on Queen Anne Boleyn and her execution, 5/19/1536

At 8 o'clock in the morning on May 18th, 1536, three years after she had become Queen of England, Anne Boleyn mounted the scaffold within the walls of the Tower of London for her execution. She was to be beheaded at the King's pleasure, having been found guilty of adultery and treason. It doesn't take even a careful examination of the evidence to determine that the charges against Anne were fanciful at best. For example, she was not even in the same location as half of her alleged lovers on the nights their alleged trysts were supposed to have taken place. But, it didn't matter if there were holes in the "evidence", because everyone knew that King Henry VIII wanted his wife to die, so that he would be free to marry another, specifically Jane Seymour, and if anyone sitting in judgement on Anne's trial were to stand in the way of that, they would likely loose their head, as well. Still, just to make sure everything looked official, Anne and her alleged lovers, which included her own brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, were given trials that had the appearance of due process.

The majority of historians and legal experts today have arrived at the conclusion that Anne and the men accused as her accomplices were innocent of their alleged crimes. The downfall of Anne Boleyn and her faction was one of the swiftest and most shocking coups in history. While the idea was undoubtedly Henry VIII's, Thomas Cromwell helped him achieve his desired result as quickly as possible.

Anne was graceful and poised in the hour of her death; the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall records her execution speech as follows:

"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 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 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. Oh Lord, have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul!"

Anne was then blindfolded, as was customary, and upon kneeling she was reported to have said several times, "To Jesus Christ I commend my soul, Lord Jesu receive my soul."

Often people wonder why Anne did not speak ill of Henry in her execution speech - they ask me, if she was going to die anyway, why didn't she just say all the things she must have really been feeling? There are a few reasons. Firstly, and simply put, it was not customary to do so. While each execution speech from the Tudor period is unique to the individual, they all follow the same basic format. Decorum and tradition were very important, even at one's death. Secondly, and most importantly, was Anne's daughter Elizabeth. Anne knew that her daughter Elizabeth was being left behind with the unforgiving Henry VIII, and knowing Henry's character intimately as she did, she would not have wanted to say anything to upset him and jeopardize the saftey of her daughter. And lastly, saying anything against Henry or his regime might mean a more traumatic execution for Anne -Anne no doubt wanted as quick a decapitation by the swordsman with as little heckling from those in attendance as possible.

An artistic representation of the beheading of Queen Anne Boleyn. Image via Google image search/reformation.org

While we remember Anne on this day for her untimely death, she should always be celebrated as a strong, capable, intelligent and alluring woman of the 16th century who was a political as well as an emotional being. She also gave birth to the most remarkable monarch England has ever known; Henry VIII may have done away with Anne Boleyn in his search for a son, but Queen Elizabeth I was her last laugh.

Natalie Dormer as Queen Anne Boleyn holding her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, on the Showtime series, The Tudors. Image via Elizabethanhistory.tumblr

Wolf Hall Tie-in: Hampton Court Palace's "A Protestant Allegory"

A Protestant Allegory, by Girolamo da Treviso, circa 1538-44. Hampton Court Palace, The Royal Collection. Photo by A.Jensen.

 

 

In 1534, King Henry VIII had himself officially declared Supreme Head of the newly formed Church of England. He had become convinced through those around him involved in the evangelical movement, such as his new wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, that he knew the will of God. Therefore, the Pope's guidance was no longer needed in spiritual matters. King Henry and other evangelicals read translations of the Bible in English. Henry commissioned this unique and rather savage painting demonstrating his beliefs, in which the four authors of the Gospels stone the Pope with rocks.

The Secret Wedding of Elizabeth I's Parents

A screen-still of "Anne of the Thousand Days", starring Genevieve Bujold and Richard Burton. Image via fanpop. 

On this day in 1533, Elizabeth I's parents, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, were married in a secret ceremony at Whitehall Palace. You can learn more about their marriage in our BeingBess article here.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Elizabeth I is Born

The birth announcement of the Princess Elizabeth, 1533. Photo from Let Them Grumble on Tumblr.

On this day in Elizabethan history in 1533, Princess Elizabeth Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace to King Henry VIII and his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn. 

In our feature-length article on the birth of Elizabeth I, written last year, you can read about:

-The time and circumstances under which Elizabeth was likely conceived.

-Anne Boleyn's preparation for the birth of her child.

-Henry VIII's reaction to Elizabeth's gender, and the hasty readjustment of the pronouns used on the pre-written birth announcement!

-Elizabeth's christening

...and more!

Happy 481st Birthday, Queen Elizabeth I!

Elizabeth Tudor found her way into my life long ago as a child, and she continues to inspire me on a daily basis, for which I am eternally grateful.

I will continue to teach others about her and the importance of her legacy 

for the rest of my life.

May 19, 1536: The Execution of Anne Boleyn

A statue of Anne Boleyn at the scaffold by artist George S. Stuart, from his Gallery of Historical Figures. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Tudor history, May 19th, in 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed. She had been Queen of England for just three years. Below, we have included an excerpt from our feature-length article about her life, "Anne Boleyn, Mother of the Virgin Queen". The article itself details Anne's upbringing, relationships with her family members, her romance with Henry VIII, her active role in religious reform in England, her accomplishments as queen consort, her relationship with her daughter Elizabeth, and her downfall, trial, imprisonment and death.

The excerpt below specifically concerns her final night in the Tower of London and her execution:

While many have interpreted King Henry’s commissioning of a swordsman from France to behead the Queen , instead of a traditional axeman, as a final act of charity, this is pure fantasy, as “…Henry must have requested that he set out for his journey long before the jury had even given their verdict…”(Denny, 302). Weir corroborates this, detailing the time it would take to get word to the swordsman, and then the additional time it would take for him to travel and arrive in England.

Archbishop Cranmer made one final visit to his Queen in the Tower. Denny claims that the “the suggestion that he had come to hear her last confession and grant her absolution is an error made by Catholic writers, for evangelicals…do not believe in this ritual. As a believer, Anne would have made her own peace with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit." (Denny, 302)  

Religion at this time is convoluted, and different historians have argued one way or another that Anne died a Catholic, or a Lutheran. In death, as in life, Anne was a reformer of the Catholic Church in England, not a Lutheran, and though she held some Lutheran beliefs, she appears to have died in the Catholic faith. 

Cranmer undoubtedly brought great comfort to Anne, but he also was forced to do the Kings business. Killing Anne was not enough to make way for Jane; the king needed to disinherit Elizabeth with one swift move. Tragically, Anne was led to believe that if she signed the document that Cranmer had brought her, declaring Elizabeth illegitimate, that she would be allowed to leave the country peacefully with her daughter, and live out her days in a Protestant country. Anne, desperate and alone, felt great hope at the prospect of making a life for herself abroad, and raising her daughter to become a great and learned lady. She signed. After Cranmer’s visit, Anne was heard saying she would like to take Elizabeth to Antwerp (Denny, 306). Master Kingston recorded that “this day at dinner, the Queen said she should go to a nunnery, and is in hope of life”. Weir points out that if Anne entered a religious house, her marriage would be declared null and void by default. “It might be concluded, therefore, that she had agreed to the annulment without undue process.” (Weir, 245).  In the end, “there would be no question of Anne being banished to a nunnery, which would have had to be abroad anyway, since those in England were scheduled for dissolution.” (Weir, 245)

Anne Boleyn in the Tower of London. By Edouard Cibot, 1835. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Despite the annulment of Anne and Henry’s marriage before her execution, Elizabeth Tudor’s legitimacy should have never been in question. The Act of 1534 rendered both the papal dispensation of 1528 and the marriage invalid; therefore, the legitimacy of the Princess Elizabeth, who had been born before that date, from a marriage entered into in good faith, should have never been affected. Yet her own father, the King, Cromwell, and Cranmer, were not concerned with the legality of the issue (Weir, 245).

After the executions of Henry Noriss, William Brereton, Francis Weston, Mark Smeaton and George, Lord Rochford, Anne was preparing to die. She had been informed that she was to be dispatched from this world to the next at 9 in the morning, on May 18^th. She dressed herself, said her prayers, and was ready to meet her fate, when she was then told that her execution had been postponed until noon. Any lesser woman would have been overcome with anxiety at the delay, but we know from those who were with her that she kept calm, and even made a few jokes to lighten the mood. When Anne finally mounted the scaffold, there was no booing, or taunting from the crowd. Instead, there was silence, signifying the shock and awe those in attendance. Even those English subjects who loathed Anne were shocked at this unprecedented event; never before had an English Queen been executed. There was unrest in the city outside of the Tower green, and Master Kingston even voiced fear to Cromwell of a rebellion (Denny, 313). Anne made a short speech, careful never to criticize the king, for “ This was no time to protest her innocence, she knew it was far too late for recriminations which could only endanger her daughter Elizabeth. In her last moments Anne’s sole concern was to depart this life with grace and forgiveness for those who had wronged her…” (Denny, 315). According to tradition, Anne handed her Book of Hours to one of her only remaining friends, Margaret Wyatt, before placing her neck on the block.  The Wyatt family has backed this story since the 18^th century. In the cover, Anne had written, “Remember me when you do pray, that hope doth lead from day to day”. Margaret Wyatt, Lady Lee was the wife of Sir Anthony Lee and the sister of Sir Thomas Wyatt. She probably was friendly with Anne, but we do not know for sure whether she was in Anne’s service. Her portrait by Holbein was painted around 1540, when she was about 34, too old, Weir thinks, to have been referred to as a young lady or a maid in the Queen’s service. There were four ladies who attended Anne before her death and accompanied her to the scaffold, but their identities are contested.

A portrait by Holbein of Margaret Wyatt, Lady Lee, circa 1540. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 There is also a tradition that Anne kept a small trinket of great significance on her person until her final moments. The trinket was a small gold pendant in the shape of a pistol; the barrel held a miniature whistle and a toothpick. Anne reportedly it to a Captain Gwyn, who helped her along to the scaffold, telling him that it had been “the first token the King had given her,” adding “that a serpent formed part of the device, and a serpent the giver had proved to her.” Captain Gwyn did, in fact, exist, and held extensive property in Swansea during the reign of Henry VIII. Though the trinket, made around 1520 and currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is contemporary, there is no way to prove the story (Weir, 279-80).

The trinket said to be Henry VIII's first love token to Anne Boleyn, which she gave to Captain Gwyn before mounting the scaffold. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Picture acquired through Flickr courtesy of That Boleyn Girl.

After Anne commended her spirit to God, the axe fell on her head and she was gone. There were no cheers at the conclusion of this bloodbath, but there were cannons that announced to King Henry, far away and in the company of Jane Seymour, that he was free to wed, yet again. He would do so quickly; he had to, in order to beget an heir, since he had made all of his living children bastards. Anne was gone, but never forgotten. Immediately after her death, poems and ballads were written and circulated to honor the fallen Queen. There were also treasonous pamphlets criticizing the King’s behavior being printed, in England and abroad. People talked openly of the conspiracy that brought down the Queen, yet no one had been willing to risk their own lives to defend the Queen and the 5 accused men in their hour of need. Abroad, Nicholas Bourbon (whom Anne had helped rescue), Margaret of Hungary and Entienne Dolet remarked on the tragedy, among many other notable figures of the day.

Gone, but not forgotten: on the anniversary of Anne Boleyn's death, an anonymous party places long stem roses on her memorial in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London. Picture acquired through Flickr, courtesy of That Boleyn Girl.

Perhaps Queen Anne's greatest legacy is the daughter she left behind, Elizabeth, who became one of the most celebrated and recognizable English monarchs of all time. Despite Elizabeth being less than three years of age when her mother was killed, there are many ways that she connected to her mother beyond the grave. 

Anne Boleyn Says a Final Farewell to Her Daughter, Princess Elizabeth. By Gustaf Wappers, 1838. Picture acquired via Tumblr from auroravong.

Using a surprising amount of contemporary evidence and a little bit of conjecture based on fact,  I am excited to share with my readers how Queen Elizabeth I really felt about her mother, Queen Anne Boleyn in my article, “Death Could Not Separate Them: How Elizabeth I Connected to Her Deceased Mother”. 

Henry VIII Passes an Act of Succession in Favor of Elizabeth

Another significant legal document passed around this time was the Oath of Allegiance,  shown above,  which English subjects were required to sign, thus declaring that they believed in the validity of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's marriage. People were executed for refusing to swear the oath. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in 1533 (sometimes written as 1534), Henry VIII passed the Act of Succession, which would be revised several times before his death in 1547. The Act declared that only Henry VIII's children by his second wife, Anne Boleyn, could inherit the throne of England. The Act also stated that, were he to die before his wife, Queen Anne would become regent. Also significant, "slander or derogation of the lawful matrimony [with] his most dear and entirely loving wife, Queen Anne," would be considered treason.

1536: The End of Two Tudor Queens

Catherine of Aragon's tomb in Peterborough Cathedral. Picture shared for public use on Wikimedia Commons by the photographer, TTaylor.

On this day in Tudor history in 1536, two significant events happened.

The body of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was laid to rest in Peterborough Cathedral.

Also on the same day of the very same year, Henry VIII's second queen, Elizabeth I's mother, Anne Boleyn, suffered her final miscarriage. A mere four months later she would be dead, her head severed from her body by the executioner's sword.

"Anne Boleyn receiving proof of Henry's passion for Jane Seymour", a 19th century engraving from the novel, Windsor Castle. Picture acquired via Inor19 on Flickr.

These two queens, adversaries by necessity in life, would be united in death, as both were ill-treated and discarded by the same man, Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: Princess Elizabeth Tudor is Born

The birth announcement of the Princess Elizabeth, 1533. Photo from Let Them Grumble on Tumblr.

 On this day in Elizabethan history in 1533, the Princess Elizabeth Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace to King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.

A detail of Anne's "H" & "A" intertwined initial pendant. From the Loseley House portrait. Image courtesy That Boleyn Girl on Flickr.

Queen Anne had taken great care during her pregnancy to design nurseries in the royal palaces for her child, among them Eltham Palace. On August 26^th, Anne had entered her confinement with her ladies to prepare for the birth of the royal baby. During this time, Henry VIII had consulted astrologers to determine the child's gender. Henry was delighted to "discover" that the child was to be a boy; but really, who would have dared to tell him otherwise? Henry VIII had birth announcements prematurely drawn up for a prince, but on September 7^th,  two ss's would have to be hastily tacked onto the word ‘prince’, as a daughter was born.

The Princess Elizabeth was likely named for her two grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard. Henry was very disappointed, but he still had high hopes that he and Anne would have sons, telling her,“You and I are both young, and by God’s grace, boys will follow.”  

A portrait of one of the Princess Elizabeth's grandmothers, Elizabeth of York, circa 1500. Contrary to some posts on the internet, no known portrait of Elizabeth Howard exists. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing. NPG, London.

The Princess Elizabeth, who remarkably survived political danger and familial strife to become arguably the most celebrated monarch in English history, was probably conceived abroad in Calais, France. Calais had been an English territory since the medieval era and was a popular place for English and French diplomacy to occur. In preparation for her marriage to King Henry, Anne Boleyn had been raised to the peerage in her own right as Marquess of Pembroke. King Henry wanted to show off his future wife and Queen consort in a public relations trip abroad to rendezvous with his great foil, King Francis I.

A portrait of King Francis I. By Jean Clouet. Louvre Museum, Paris.

Henry and Anne’s relationship had reached a dramatic turning point in Calais; after 7 long, exhausting years, evidence strongly suggests that the King of England and Anne finally sexually consummated their relationship. In order for Anne to have entered Henry’s bed after holding out for marriage and a crown for so long, it is likely that some simple marriage ceremony must have been completed before the trip, or perhaps a pledging of their troth in the presence of a witness. We know that Anne was referred to as “the king’s wife” by foreigners in attendance at Calais, and that Henry and Anne’s apartments had been connected by only one door.

Once Anne had realized she was with child, it then became imperative for Henry VIII to receive his divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, as soon as possible. The child in Anne's womb had to be legitimate. An official wedding was performed on January 25th at York Place, later re-christened as Whitehall Palace. Since King Henry had convinced himself that his first marriage was null and void, he did not believe that he had committed bigamy by marrying Anne. But, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, King Henry VIII was still legally married to Catherine of Aragon. Henry awaited his annulment, which was granted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer on 23rd May, 1533; the Act of Appeals formally separated England from Rome's authority, and Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon was granted under English law.

On September 10^th, the Princess Elizabeth was christened in grand finery at Greenwich, and though neither parent was in attendance, this was the common royal practice, and was not, as some writers have surmised, an indication of displeasure with the child’s gender. 

 

Elizabeth Tudor was to spend a very brief time with her mother before Anne was executed in 1536. As was typical in 16th century royal families, Elizabeth was to be breastfed by a wet-nurse, (despite Anne Boleyn's protestations that she would breastfeed her daughter herself) and infrequently saw her mother. Still, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII visited their daughter as often as their schedules would allow, and Anne kept up fervent correspondence with those she had entrusted with Elizabeth's care. 

Queen Elizabeth I, enthroned in the frontispiece of Saxton's Atlas. Attributed to Remegius Hogenberg, 1579. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

I would like to personally wish a Happy 480th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603).

Elizabeth Tudor captured my heart long ago as a child, and she continues to inspire me on a daily basis, for which I am eternally grateful.

I will continue to teach others about her and the importance of her legacy 

for the rest of my life.

Ashlie as Queen Elizabeth I, greeting her loyal subjects. Picture by L.Jensen. Property of BeingBess.

SEMPER EADEM.

Anne Boleyn's falcon badge, which was adopted by Queen Elizabeth I. For more on Queen Anne and Queen Elizabeth's shared heraldry, please read our article, "Death Could Not Separate Them: How Elizabeth I Connected to Her Deceased Mother".