The charges
laid against her included adultery and incest with her brother
George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. Those accused of adultery with
Anne Boleyn were Mark Smeaton, a court musician. At her trial
Mark Smeaton was the only man to speak against her and this was
following brutal torture. He later rescinded his confession and
was executed by being hung, drawn and quartered, one of the most
terrible of all punishments. The other men accused with Anne
were members of King Henry VIII's court - William Brereton,
Henry Norris and Francis Bryan. These courtiers ahd been
life-long friends of the King. The men were found guilty and
also executed - but by the means of the axe which was
traditionally used for high ranking noblemen. Thomas Wyatt was
also accused but was saved by the intervention of his wealthy
family. Anne fell from favour primarily due to her inability to
produce a male heir. She had given birth to Elizabeth and then
gave birth to a still born son. Anne Boleyn had a volatile
nature and King Henry, who had once been passionately in love
with her, soon tired and became infatuated by the placid Jane
Seymour. Anne Boleyn defended herself well but the outcome of
the trial was an inevitable. The peers of the realm found her
guilty and she was sentenced to death by burning or beheading
according to the King's wishes. Anne was terrified of death by
burning and therefore agreed to admit that her marriage was not
legal to ensure the more clement form of execution by beheading.
The Execution of Anne
Boleyn - FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1536
Death by the axe was a terrifying prospect.
The executioners often took several blows before the head was
finally severed. Anne was therefore granted some clemency and a
swordsman was called from France to undertake the execution.
This expert swordsman was able to sever the head of Anne Boleyn
with one blow. The execution was a public one and conducted at
the
Tower
of London. Following execution the severed head was held up
by the hair by the executioner, not as many people think to show
the crowd the head, but in fact to show the head the crowd and
it's own body!
Consciousness remains
for at least eight seconds after beheading until lack of
oxygen causes unconsciousness and eventually death. Anne
wanted to go to her death with some dignity and showed
her sense of humour when she talked of her execution and
referred to the the comforting fact that she "only had a
little neck." An ironic twist to this tragic story is
that her cousin, Catherine Howard, became the fifth wife
of Henry VIII and was also executed following charges of
adultery and treason and suffered the same fate of being
beheaded. Many would call this 'Murder Most Royal' as in
the title of the book by the author Jean Plaidy. |