An e-petition has been created to try and grant Anne Boleyn a Royal Pardon after it is believed that she was ‘wrongly accused’ of the crimes that led to her execution in 1536.
In addition to asking for a Royal Pardon, the petition calls for the former Queen of England to be reburied in Westminster Abbey along with her daughter, Elizabeth I.
Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII. In order to marry her, The King was forced to annul his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his marriage to Anne resulted in the break with the Roman Catholic Church. Yet Henry was certain that Anne would give birth to a son – a feat which she never accomplished. That would be the beginning of her downfall.
Shortly after their wedding in 1533, Anne bore Henry a daughter, the future Elizabeth I. Over the next two years, she had two pregnancies, both of which ended in miscarriage. By 1536, Henry had grown tired of Anne and frustrated at not having a son and heir. By this time Henry had shifted his affections to Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour. Eager to be rid of Anne and marry Jane, Henry worked with Thomas Cromwell to bring about The Queen’s downfall, an affair that is prominently featured in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.
On the 2nd May, immediately after the jousts, Queen Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. Along with her were the noblemen Sir Francis Weston, Sir Henry Norris and William Brereton, Anne’s musician Mark Smeaton, and her brother, George Boleyn – all of whom were accused of being The Queen’s lovers. The men were found guilty of treason and were all executed.
Finally, Anne Boleyn was tried before a jury of peers, and found guilty of adultery, incest and plotting to murder The King. She was beheaded on 19th May 1536 at the Tower of London. Her body and head were buried in an unmarked grave at the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula. After her remains were identified during the reign of Queen Victoria, Anne’s final resting place was marked on the marble floor, and is easily identifiable today.
The petition claims that Anne Boleyn was wrongly accused of adultery and incest. The creator, Laura Collins, aims to get 100,000 signatures and, eventually, a Royal Pardon for Anne. The petition closes on the 30th March. Should you wish to, you can sign it here.
Photo credit: Lord Mariser via photopin cc
