- I'm Alice Loxton, and
I present documentaries over on History Hit TV. If you're passionate about
all things royal history, sign up to History Hit TV. It's like Netflix but just for history. You've got hours of ad-free documentaries about all aspects of the past. You can get a huge discount
for History Hit TV. Make sure you check out the
details in the video description and use the code
realroyalty, all one word, when you sign up. Now, on with the show. (soft music) (dramatic music) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) - Anne Boleyn, the wife of Henry VIII, awoke in the royal apartments
at the Tower of London. Her ladies in waiting made
their final preparations. Anne left her chambers at a little before 8:00 o'clock to face her destiny. (bell chimes) Awaiting her at the end
of this short journey was an expert executioner, famed for his skills
with a razor sharp blade. He just arrived from
France, summoned by the king as a last-minute act of mercy for a wife for whom he'd risked everything but whom he ultimately
believed had betrayed him. The lives of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn have been cloaked in historical myth, romantic legend, cliches, and half truths. - Henceforth my heart to shall
be dedicated to you alone. - [Suzannah] Their turbulent
relationship continues to spark fierce debate. (body thuds)
(horse cries) - I am entirely innocent
of all these accusations. (screams) - I'll be retracing the footsteps of this extraordinary couple, piecing together the fragments of evidence that have survived to
discover what brought Henry and Anne together and what
ultimately tore them apart. We all know how this tragedy plays out, but how well do we know
its leading characters? This is the story of Henry and Anne. (birds chirp)
(soft dramatic music) My journey begins in the Kent countryside in search of Anne Boleyn. Her symbol was a falcon,
used to extol her purity, her chastity, and her grace. There's a popular myth that
Anne was from lowly origins, that she was a bit of an upstart, but that's far from the truth. (footsteps shuffle) This is Hever Castle,
the seat of the Boleyns. It was Anne Boleyn's childhood home where she spent many formative years. Here, her parents, Thomas and Elizabeth, brought up with three children
who made it to adulthood. The eldest was Mary who fleetingly later would be a mistress of Henry VIII. Probably the youngest was George, who was a great companion to Anne, a bright young girl
who'd one day be queen. (soft dramatic music)
(footsteps shuffle) Her father, Thomas Boleyn, was a member of the king's council and Henry VIII's ambassador to France. (heels clack) Anne well educated and from
a wealthy, privileged family. (heels clack) The story goes that she was a free spirit, someone who was sparky,
intelligent, and fun loving. (heels clack) But this is based as much on rumor and speculation as any hard evidence. It's so hard to get a sense
of the real Anne Boleyn. We have a few letters, but
we don't have any diaries. We don't really have any
of the sort of things that we need to get a grasp
on what she was really like. And yet, when you come
to a place like this, where she actually lived,
one has this incredible sense that the veil between past
and present has grown thin, and only time and not space
separates us from Anne. (dramatic music) Fortunately, a few telling
pieces of evidence have survived, which give us a rare
glimpse into her character. This is one of the few
surviving possessions of Anne at Hever. It's a Book of Hours. It's a beautifully illustrated and illuminated manuscript
book of prayers and devotions, and these things were immensely popular in Europe at the time. And what's really exciting
about it is that Anne held it. There's something of a real
thrill to be touching it. It was probably one of her
most treasured possessions. What this reminds us is an
importance of faith at this time. It literally determined people's hours. Religion marked out their days. (soft music) We often have an idea of Anne in our heads that's of her being ambitious and worldly and perhaps something of a vixen, and yet, this is one of her few belongings that we know and can identify. It reminds us that Anne
is pious and religious. But what's even more thrilling about it is that Anne herself wrote in it. It's an inscription in French and it says, (speaks in foreign language) "The time will come, I Anne Boleyn." - [Anne] The time will
come, I Anne Boleyn. - Now we don't know when she wrote this. We don't know exactly
what she meant by it, but it seems immensely
prophetic and powerful. It's on a page where there's a picture of Christ being raised above the earth, and then there are these
little heads at the bottom that look like people
coming up out of the grave. So perhaps this refers
to the day of judgment. Many people in the 16th century thought that they were living in the end times, the last days before the
second coming of Christ. But perhaps there's a
more earthly explanation. (soft dramatic music)
(heels clack) I wonder if Anne thought that she was destined for greatness. - All our doings being ordered by thy. - [Suzannah] Even if she was ambitious, Anne could never have
imagined that her destiny would lie with the most
powerful man in the land, a married man. - Amen.
- The king. (bright soft upbeat music) We all think we know Henry VIII, but actually what we can drop
is Henry in the last decade of his life, when he's obese and savage and ruthless and cruel, but
he wasn't always like that. In fact, when he first came to the throne and for the first 20 or
so years of his reign, he was noted, first of all,
for being really good looking. (swords clang) He had auburn hair. He was very tall. He was six foot two
when the average height was five foot seven and a half, and he was so good at sport
that everyone commented on it. (swords clang)
(dramatic music) (men grunt)
(spectators laugh) He surpassed all the arches of his guard. He was a fine jouster, a capital horseman. To see him play tennis, one
Venetian ambassador commented, "was the prettiest thing in the world." (men grunt and laugh)
(swords clang) That Venetian ambassador also
said, perhaps he had a crush, "that he had around face so very beautiful that it would become a pretty woman." But the thing that was most
surprising to me coming across this young Henry was
that he was also well loved. (men grunt and laugh) He was considered to be kind. The ambassador said that "he
was affable and gracious, a man who harmed no one." Erasmus said that "he was a man of gentle friendship and gentle in debate. He acts more like a
companion than a king." Henry was evidently very charismatic. When he spoke to you, it was
like the sun was shining. (birds chirp)
(tense music) As a king and a man, he
seemed to have few flaws, but Henry would become
tormented by his failure to perform the most basic yet most important task of any monarch. It would put him on a
collision course with Anne, and together, they would
change England forever. (sword unsheathes)
(slow dramatic music) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks)
(Katherine cries out) (sword unsheathes) (Katherine cries out) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (baby cries) (sword clinks) Henry VIII wasn't born to be king. He'd come to the throne after
the death of his father, Henry VII, and only because
his older brother, Arthur, had died suddenly at the age of just 15. Within months of becoming king, Henry married his brother's
widow, Katherine of Aragon. They were crowned together. But with marriage came a huge pressure. Now he needs to produce an
heir to secure the dynasty for the next generation, and not just one. He needed an heir and a spare, as his brother's death had indicated. Henry would be married to
Katherine for over 20 years, and for much of that time,
they were happy together. But they were beset by
a devastating series of miscarriages and stillbirths. (brooding somber string music)
(sand pours) When a son Henry was born,
he died 52 days later. Mary would be the only child to survive. Most people at the time saw a
little value in a female heir, as she would likely end up
marrying a European prince, allowing England to be
dominated by a foreign power. And France and Spain
were a constant threat throughout Henry's reign. So siring a legitimate heir became Henry's overriding obsession. (soft haunting choral music) It was an obsession that
would manifest itself in Henry's relationship with God, by whom he believed he
had been anointed king. This lack of a surviving
legitimate male heir suggested to Henry VIII that he was
being punished by God, and he suspected the reason was that he had married his brother's widow, and scriptures backed him up in this. In Leviticus, it says
in chapter 18, verse 16, "You shall not uncover the
nakedness of your brother's wife. It is your brother's nakedness." And chapter 20 verse 21 says, "If a man takes his brother's
wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness. They shall be childless." (dramatic music) Henry's theological experts
assured him that childless, in this instance, actually meant no sons. While England waited for
an heir to the throne, the teenage Anne had crossed the channel and was embracing that
Europe had to offer. After some time in the Netherlands, her father found her
role in the French court, which would become a defining
influence in her life. Little is known of Anne's
nine years on the continent, and yet much is always made of it. It certainly was a formative
period of her life. It was the period when she was educated and people in the 16th century
and today have speculated in a kind of prurient nudge,
nudge, wink, wink kind of way that at the French court particularly, she'd learned the art of love. I want to see for myself how Anne's time in France shaped her character. I'm traveling to the Chateau de Blois, one of the palaces where the French king, Francis I, held his court. I can only imagine what the young Anne must have felt when
she first arrived here. I've never been here before.
It's really exciting. (muffled chatter)
(heels clack) Anne it would be a lady in waiting to the cultured and pious
French queen, Claude. (soft whimsical music)
(fountain trickles) Don't do things by halves.
Look at this place. My word. It was the most fashionable
court in Europe, reflected in its spectacular architecture. This is an extraordinary
sort of Renaissance style. Look at the little classical
statues up at the top here and all these columns and
this amazing spiral staircase. (heels clack) It's so incredibly
beautiful, this staircase. It would've been such an
extraordinary time for Anne when she was here because she was here with Claude of France, who herself was a real patron of the arts. Francis I, her husband, was so much a fan of the Renaissance, that he invited Leonardo
da Vinci to France, and he was installed just down the road. So there's every chance
that Anne might've met him. So basically, Anne would've
been surrounded by this world of intellectual endeavor
and artistic endeavor. It must've been such an
exciting place to be. I'm out of breath now. Anne came of age in France. One observer later wrote
that no one would ever have taken her as English by her manners but a native-born French woman. Wow. (heels clack) What might have learned at this court? - The first thing, of course, is French because French was a very
important language at that time for something like the English today in the northern courts of Europe. (soft dramatic music) We just know that she must have been at some very important events, such as when the English
ambassadors came to France in 1518 or at the field of the Cross of Gold because she must there have
played an important role as an interpreter between
the English and the French. She received a European education, and she was really different
from the young ladies who just stayed in England. - Anne also saw firsthand
what was required to fulfill this central role of the queen. Her mistress Claude gave birth to seven children in eight
years, including three sons, something Henry and Katherine
could only dream of. Claude was also extremely pious, so it's unlikely that her court
was a hotbed of promiscuity. (heels clack) Cedric, one of the
things that's often said about Anne's time in France
with probably little evidence, from what you said so far,
is that there's this idea that somehow she's learnt all about sex while she's been at the court. Do you think this is at all plausible? - Yeah, my opinion would
be that it's not true, but that it may be true. We don't know. We have no evidence. I don't think there was a clear difference at that time between
the court of Francis I and the court of Henry VIII. - [Suzannah] Our first
surviving letter from Anne was written to her father
and shows her aspirations to be accepted in the English court. (soft piano music) - Sir, I understand by
your letter that you wish that I should be of all virtuous
repute when I come to court and you inform me that the
queen will take the trouble to converse with me,
which rejoices me greatly. To think of talking to the
person so wise and virtuous. Britain at five o'clock,
by your very humble and obedient daughter, Anna de Boullan. (wings flap) - We tend to think about Anne Boleyn in black and white terms. So she's either a sexual predator
or she's sexually chased. She's either pious or she's worldly. She's either innocent or sophisticated. And yet, actually what I've learned here is that her French education,
her time at the French court, was such that it prepared her to be a much more complex
character than that. (sweeping instrumental music) Her nine years on the
continent transformed her from a teenage girl into an
extremely desirable woman. The Anne that emerges
back in England is one who's been shaped by many
different influences, who is both pious and worldly, who's both sophisticated and
something of an innocent. She's one who can play
musical instruments, who can sing, who can
dance, who can speak French, who is sophisticated and witty, who's been exposed to a
world of cosmopolitan glamor. And she's such an
attractive prospect because, precisely because she is so complex. - The time will come. I, Anne Boleyn. - In her early 20s, Anne
arrived back in London. (birds chirp)
(heels clack) Henry held court in palaces
all over the capital, and I've come to one of
the few that has survived, Hampton Court. (door opens)
(moving instrumental music) (door opens) (door shuts) (heels clack) I love this place. I'm always
amazed when I come here. Imagine once it must be like for Anne when she came to court. She was joining Katherine
of Aragon's court. She was a lady in waiting, and Katherine would've had a
number of women serving her, and, of course, it's meant
really being a companion to Katherine, reading
with her, sewing with her, being by her side, as well
as looking after her needs. There would've been perhaps 1,200 people at the court at its most,
about 200 of whom were women, Katherine of Aragon's women. And of course, Katherine's court was part of the wider court, Henry's court, which was probably at most 1,000 men. (dramatic music) A Tudor court was a heady
mix of politics and theater. - A court would be
formal, would be serious, would be religious, but
it also ought to be, as well as all that, would've been a place where people are having fun. Parties are going on where
people are enjoying themselves. You don't want a court
which is too serious. (muffled chatter and laughter) Henry's court is awash with
desire and love and sex. It's full of young
people with lots of time on their hands and not much to do. (muffled speaking) In court, when people talk about love, they're often actually
talking about promotion. They're often actually
talking about politics. Courtly love is game. Henry has lots of roles, but one of them is the
leading courtly lover. Now in order for him to play that role, he has to have the leading courtly woman as his object of desire, as
the person he performs to. (soft ethereal music) - Competition for this role was intense, and maybe Anne aspired to be
one of the leading players. (woman laughs) Henry did have mistresses, not nearly as many as the French king, but it was considered to be
a normal part of court life, especially when Katherine was pregnant, because it was considered
unlucky in Tudor times to have sex during pregnancy. So in 1519, for example, one of the most beautiful
women at the court, Elizabeth Blount, had given birth to an illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. His surname means son of the king. (tense music) And of course, this indicated to Henry that if Katherine wasn't bearing him sons, it wasn't his fault. (soft chiming dramatic music) When Anne came to court in 1522,
Henry had another mistress, someone I knew rather well. (woman laughs) Henry went out to joust
one day bearing the motto (speaks in foreign language) "She has wounded my heart,"
which spoke of this mistress, and the sheen question was
Mary, Anne's elder sister. (Mary laughs) We don't know that much about Mary. We know that she was beautiful,
giddy, high spirited. She enjoyed the trappings of court life, as Anne would later do,
and we know even less about her relationship with Henry except that it was short lived. The risk of fleeting royal
affection surely served as a warning to us over the coming years. (soft bright electronic music) (sword unsheathes)
(sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) It's one of the most famous
love stories in history, and yet we know very little about how Henry VIII and Anne
Boleyn's romance began. It's likely that Henry first noticed Anne during courtly entertainment. What is more certain is that
their stories came together in early 1526, four years
after Anne's arrival at court. We know this because Henry
was writing love letters and giving her romantic gifts. One of these suppose
that presents is housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. (muffled chatter)
(heels clack) One of the first gifts that
Henry said to have given Anne is this beautiful miniature
gold whistle pendant. It's covered with foliage,
and it's really rather tiny. And as well as being a whistle, it also has within it a
scoop for one's ear wax and the pick for one's teeth, so it's all about personal hygiene. It is the sort of thing that Henry VIII might've worn on his clothing
in a court mask or festivity that will then be given away as a present. (soft music) But above all, it tells us a message, and the message is clear. Henry is saying, "If you
whistle, I will come." (bright lively orchestral music) It might've been just another gift from a king to a courtly love mistress, but it soon became clear
from Henry's own hand that this was something far deeper. (pen scribbles) - I and my heart put
ourselves in your hands, begging you to recommend
us to your good grace and not let absence lessen your affection. - When historians study Henry and Anne, much is made of a dark
political forces maneuvering behind the scenes to unite
or to separate this couple, and what is lost amongst
these affairs of state is the fact that this was a very real and very passionate love
affair between two individuals. These are copies of Henry
VII's letters to Anne. The original's manuscripts
are in the Vatican Library. They probably ended up there
as part of the evidence against Henry's divorce
from Katherine of Aragon, and these are quite
extraordinary because they show to us these intimate moments,
these private thoughts. This letter, for example,
starts, "Mine own sweetheart, this should be to advertise
you have the great loneliness that I find since your departing," - [Suzannah And Henry]
for I assure you me think of the time longer - since your departing now last than I was want to do a whole fortnight. - [Suzannah And Henry]
I think your kindness - "and my fervency of love courted it, for otherwise, I would not
have thought it possible that for so little awhile, it should have affected him so much." And he concludes. - Darling, wishing myself especially of an evening in my sweetheart's arms whose pretty dukkys I
trust shortly to kiss. - Ducks is the tutor slang
for breasts, and he says, - [Suzannah And Henry]
Written with the hand - of he who was, is, and
shall be yours by his will, Henry Rex. - And these sentiments
are reiterated elsewhere. So here it says, for example, "I would that you were in
mine arms or I in yours, were I think it long since I kissed you." - And to cause you yet
oftener to remember me, I send you by the bearer of this a buck killed late
last night by my own hand, hoping when you eat of it,
you will think of the hunter. (muffled chatter) - But perhaps the sweetest
one of all is this one, which is written in French,
and he promises Anne that in the future, his heart
will belong to her alone, will be dedicated to her
alone and that he desired that his body could be
also and signs off again in the sweetest possible
way, H and R, his initials. (speaks in foreign language) "Is not looking for any other,"
and then draws a love heart and puts AB in the middle. (soft dramatic music) So he's like a school boy
doodling on his exercise book. Henry loves Anne. - I beg also, if at any time before this I have in any way offended you, that you would give me the
same absolution that you ask. Assuring you that henceforth, my heart shall be dedicated to you alone. I wish my person was so, too. God can do it if he pleases, to whom I pray every day to that end, hoping that at length,
my prayers will be heard. - We don't know exactly when
these letters were written, and sadly, we don't have Anne's responses, but it's clear that Henry's love for was becoming ever stronger. We know that Anne received
many of these letters at Hever Castle. She was there in the late
1520s when she was suffering from sweating sickness
and separated from Henry. We just don't know what she wrote back. (sweeping instrumental music)
(pen scribbles) - Although you are my mistress, it has not pleased you to
keep the promise you made when I was last with you, that is to say, to hear good news of you
and to have an answer to my last letter. - Sweating sickness was a
potentially lethal disease which had spread through Tudor England, forcing Anne to stay away from the king. I think because we don't
have her responses, a lot has been written
to fill in that gap, and there's been an
assumption that somehow she was playing hard to
get a manipulating him, that he loved her and she
was just playing a game. But in practice, I think ultimately, both of them wanted to do
what was right, and above all, Henry, of course, wanted to
have that legitimate heir. He could only do that
if Anne became his wife. There was no point to her
becoming pregnant beforehand. In fact, it would've been
detrimental to his cause. I think both of them decided
to hold out and to wait. I don't think we should read
into the absence of letters from Anne some sense that she was the one holding all the cards and Henry was just desperate to have her. I think the two of them
were passionately in love but wanted to do this
correctly, wanted to be right. (slow dramatic music)
(pen scribbles) But the stakes were high. Thomas Moore said, "Politics
be kings' games and, for the most part, played on scaffolds," and love that the Tudor
court was a political affair. Anne was risking everything. And it was tough for Henry, too. He now had to think the unthinkable, to divorce Katherine and marry Anne. - [Anne] The time will
come. I, Anne Boleyn. (tense brooding music)
(men laugh) - [Suzannah] No king had
ever divorced a queen. The issue would become known
as the king's great matter. A play later performed at court, no doubt with Henry's approval, made his feelings about
Katherine and Anne clear. - Right busy at a piece of
work that needs must be done. Even now is he making of a new moon. He says you're old. - [Suzannah] It was called
"The Play of the Weather" and was packed with political rhetoric, talking of Jupiter
needing a new tighter moon to replace his old, beaten moon. - But for this new moon,
I darest lay my gown, except a few drops that have going down. You get no rain. - [Suzannah] Mocking and
embarrassing Katherine, the play was a cruel
statement of Henry's intent to discard and loyal wife whose only crime had been her failure
to provide a male heir. - And softly on the ground. Though, they fell on a sponge,
they would give no sound. This new moon shall make a
thing spring more in this while than an old moon shall
while a mile go a mile. (Henry laughs and claps) - But Henry would
dramatically underestimate how difficult it would be to end this 20-year marriage legally. (tense brooding music) England was a Roman Catholic country, and on religious matters, even the king came under
the authority of the pope, and he wasn't going to play ball. (heels clack) I've come to see a document
that testifies to the lengths that Henry would go to
get Rome's permission. - This document dates from
1529 and it was produced at a court that had been convened in order to examine Henry VIII's
marriage to Katherine of Aragon and the possibility of an annulment. This document has lots to tell us, first of all, saying that
Henry is king of France and Ireland and all the other
things that he claims to be, and what's really interesting
about it is that Henry has gathered all the
officials of the church. So it mentions Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. We've got the Archbishop of Canterbury. We've got the bishops of Ely and London and Bath and Exeter. It says that Henry feels that
this matter of his marriage to Katherine has caused
him "a real rupture in his tranquility of
his mind and his body." In other words, being married
to his brother's widow in this sham marriage, as
he's claiming it to be, has caused such a burden on his soul that his conscience is severely troubled. So this is the first time we
really have this recognition that something has to change. (dramatic music) And this document also
demonstrates to us the lengths to which he will go to get what he wants. Among these beautiful seals,
on the third from the left, we have one that has the
signature up here of John Fisher, bishop of Rochester. But not everything is quite as it seems. Rochester was a really important figure in Henry VIII's life, and yet, his signature here is not genuine. He later claimed that it was a forgery, that he'd never signed this document, and that he was entirely opposed to this matter of the divorce. In the end, Fisher would
pay the ultimate price for his hostility to Henry
and Anne and for the lengths to which Henry would go
in order to be with her. Fisher ended up as so many
others in Henry VIII's reign, on the scaffold. Now Henry and Anne's
future together seemed to rest on the judgment of the pope. (sword unsheathes)
(tense dramatic music) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) Henry VIII was used to
getting his own way. Blocked by the pope
from ending his marriage to Katherine so that he could marry Anne, he needed to find another solution, and help came from a source
close to the king, Anne herself. I want to show you another book. This is William Tyndale's "The
Obedience of a Christian Man" from 1528. In fact, it's a rather battered edition, but what it has to say
is really important. (tense brooding music) Tyndale was a Protestant,
and he argues in this book that the supreme authority is scripture, over and above the false
authority of the pope. He also adds that it's
shameful for princes to be under the authority of the pope. In other words, that kings are the highest
authority in the land. It says, "The king is judge over all, and over him, there is no judge." What's really interesting is that Anne almost certainly gave a copy of this book to Henry,
and Henry, on reading it, said, "This is the book for
me and all kings to read." He evidently rather liked it. (lively dramatic string music) And it gave him a solution to his dilemma. If he were the supreme
religious authority, there was no need to get permission from the pope for his divorce. And this idea that actually he was first under God played to his egotism. It was something he secretly
suspected all along, and this is another example of the way in which this love affair
was having a profound impact. This love affair was so important that it would end up changing
the very face of England. Henry broke ties with Rome, removing the Catholic church's
influence over the country, and he set about creating
a new church of England over which he would be the supreme head. It was an incredibly brave
move that risked taking England to war with its Roman
Catholic neighbors in Europe. So Henry desperately
needed a powerful ally. (waves crash) In December, 1532, he
crossed the channel with Anne to seek approval for their
marriage from the French king, and they got it. (bright choral music) They had waited for each other for seven long and difficult years. Now they had cleared
a pathway to marriage, and all the evidence suggests that by the time they left Calais
and returned to Dover, Henry and Anne were lovers. (soft ethereal music) (tense music) I've always believed that Henry and Anne were passionately in love, and if anyone should doubt
their feelings for each other, there's a remarkable 500-year-old book. I don't suppose it was ever meant to be seen by anyone
except Henry and Anne. I'm really excited about this. In all my years of studying this couple, this is the first time I've had a chance to see the real thing. Or you go ahead. (women laugh) Oh, look at that. - So it's a stunning, - It's beautiful, isn't it?
- exquisite turn of the 15th century, 16th century, probably Flemish
illuminated Book of Hours, but really evocative and very special because it provides us with
a really intimate glimpse into Henry and Anne's relationship. It contains two remarkable written entries in the hand of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. - That's amazing.
- And this is Henry's here, written in his own hand,
beneath, very importantly, an illumination of the flayed Christ, sometimes referred to as
Man of Sorrows or Ecce Homo. I think Henry's trying to
portray himself by association as the lovesick king
suffering in his heart. (slow dramatic music) - If you remember me in your prayers as strongly as I adore you, I shall hardly be forgotten,
for I am yours forever. - "If you remember my love in your prayers as strongly as I adore you, then I shall scarcely be forgotten. Your Henry Rex forever."
- Wow. - Would you like to see what Anne wrote? - Gosh, yes, yes. - I think she chose the
page very carefully. We can see here an image
of the enunciation. So Virgin Mary has been told by the angel that she's going to have a son, and I think that this is
what Anne is telling Henry. - Yes.
- that she is the woman to provide him with the son and heir that he so desperately wanted. And then at the foot of the page, we can see she writes to Henry a couplet. (soft poignant music) - By daily proof you shall me find to be to you both loving and kind. - "My daily proof you shall me find to be unto you both loving and kind." - Wow. (dramatic music) These words that Henry and Anne wrote to each other remind me of wedding vows, Henry declaring that he
would be hers forever and Anne promising to
give the king the son and heir he desperately wanted. Now they set about making
their union official. Henry brought Anne to one
of his favorite palaces, the palace of Whitehall. At the time, it was the
largest palace in Europe, bigger even than the Vatican, and this map from 1680 shows something of its large extent. It shows that it had a
tiltyard, tennis courts, gardens, a great hall,
and many, many apartments. It would've been a glorious place for Henry and Anne to
celebrate being together. Whitehall Palace was burned
to the ground in 1689. Virtually all of Henry's Tudor
buildings were destroyed, and what little is still
left is now only seen by politicians and civil servants working in the cabinet office. And this is it, almost all that remains of that once mighty palace. It's a crying shame because
so much in this story would've been played
out here at Whitehall, including the pinnacle of Henry and Anne's romance, their marriage. Somewhere near here in January 1533, Henry and Anne were officially married. It was a pretty private affair. There weren't many people there, and so we have few witness accounts of exactly what took place. But what we do know is that the couple would've been overjoyed
because Anne was pregnant, and surely, this time it would be a boy. (sweeping instrumental music) They had defied a pope
and redefined a kingdom. It would seem that love had conquered all. (dramatic music)
(sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) Anne Boleyn, the wife of Henry VIII, awoke in the royal apartments
at the Tower of London. Her ladies in waiting made
their final preparations. - The time will come. - [Suzannah] This would
be an unprecedented day in the country's history. Today, England would have a new queen, the climax of a passionate love affair that had driven the king
to divorce his wife. - Henceforth, my heart shall
be dedicated to you alone. (crowd cheers) - As she emerged outside, thousands of excited spectators cheered, greeting her for the very first time. (crowd cheers) To have her as his queen, Henry had moved heaven and earth. He had annulled his previous marriage and broken ties with Rome so that he could become the supreme head
of a new church of England. But the joy of Anne's
coronation wouldn't last. Less than three years
later, Anne would be back in the tower for a very different reason. (dramatic music) She would be queen for only 1,000 days. - Oh, Lord have mercy on me.
To Christ I commend my soul. - [Suzannah] It had taken
Henry and Anne seven long and difficult years to get together. Now I'll be retracing their footsteps and piecing together the evidence to try and understand why it
took just three years for their relationship to fall apart in such a tragic and violent way. - [Anne] Oh, Lord God,
have mercy on my soul. Please do receive my soul. Oh, Lord God, have mercy on my soul. (sword unsheathes)
(birds chirp) - [Suzannah] When Anne became queen, she was already pregnant. (sword unsheathes) (screams)
(sword clinks) Anne had held out the promise that she would give Henry the son and heir that he needed to secure
the Tudor dynasty. (Anne screams)
(soft dramatic music) (heels clack)
(baby coos) But Anne failed to fulfill that promise. (Elizabeth coos) She gave bus to a girl, Elizabeth. It was a massive disappointment. Katherine of Aragon,
a loyal wife and queen for over 20 years, had already been unceremoniously discarded for being unable to deliver a son. Henry had seen this failure
as a stain on his image, and image was everything
in the world of the Tudors. (heels clack)
(muffled chatter) Henry needed to be seen as a king who could continue his dynasty. (heels clack) This is a cartoon that was
prepared by Hans Holbein, a sketch, and it is such an insight into how Henry wanted to be
seen because, for a start, he's actually taller
than he was in real life. We've compared his
armor with this picture, and we found that actually,
he's been stretched. But the key message of
this picture is told by the shapes of Henry's body. So it forms two triangles. We've got the broad shoulders that form a triangle tapering to the waist and the splayed feet that taper also up to focus the gaze on his bulging codpiece, which his hands frame and which
there's several bows above because this picture is
all about masculinity and virility and fertility and potency. It's no wonder that we think
of Henry as this man of lusts when in actual fact, he
had trouble siring an heir because this picture
tells us what to think. That's why there are so
many copies of this picture, because if you're a courtier
who had any nails at all, you'd get yourself a copy of this picture to show that you were on message. (tense brooding music) Henry and Anne's marriage
came under intense pressure from the very beginning. England's future depended on
their ability to reproduce. A song composed for Anne's coronation made the new queen's duties explicit. (soft dramatic music) It was called "The White Falcon," the falcon being Anne's herotic badge and a symbol of grace,
purity, and fertility. - This white falcon, rare and precious, this bird shineth so bright. Of all that are, no bird compare. May with this Falcon white. (wings flap) - Of body small, of power regal
she is and sharp of sight. - [Anne] In chastity excelleth she, most like an angel bright. - That she may bring fruit
according such a falcon white. - Herself repose upon the rose,
now may this falcon white. - The symbolism is clear. As king and queen, Henry and Anne were expected to produce a male heir. (tense brooding music) Under such pressure, Anne's increasing
desperation began to show. (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) Less than a year after Elisabeth's birth, rumors circulated that the queen was once again of a goodly
belly, but mysteriously, there's no record of either a
miscarriage or indeed a birth. Well, it suggests to me
that maybe it was a case of pseudocyesis or phantom pregnancy, which happened particularly
in the 16th century before the age of scans
or pregnancy tests, when women who desperately
wanted to be pregnant would have all the symptoms of pregnancy. But there was no baby, which expresses just how much Anne was desperate to give
Henry what he wanted. Henry's obsession wasn't the
only burden on their marriage. There were still many Roman Catholics who refused to accept Anne as their queen. This conflict would lead to bloodshed. (sword unsheathes) (slow dramatic music)
(heels clack) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (footsteps shuffle) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) Henry VIII had paid a heavy
price to marry Anne Boleyn. In removing the pope's
authority over England, he had made Catholic
enemies at home and abroad. To protect his own position, the king needed the
loyalty of his subjects, and he was prepared to create new laws and use force to get it. In 1534, Henry's government
passed the Acts of Supremacy, which said that Henry was and always had been supreme head of
the church of England. They just hadn't noticed it recently, and following on the heels of that was the Act of Succession. This said that Anne was his lawful queen, and any children they had would be the true heirs to the throne, and all English subjects were required to swear that this was the case, (tense music) and some people found
this very hard to swallow. (heels clack) Those that refused to swear the oath were treated as traitors. This is Charter House in central London. In the 16th century, it was
a flourishing monastery, and at its head was Friar John Houghton. He would pay the ultimate
price for defying Henry. (heels clack) Houghton and many of his monks refused to swear that oath of
succession, and so in April 1535, 10 of them were taken to Newgate Prison, and within fewer than three weeks, they were tried, convicted,
and executed for treason, and we have an astonishing
account of their execution. A foreign report on the
gruesome event was graphic. What it said was this. "They were dragged to
the place of execution in their habits to the
great grief of the people. They were hanged, cut down
before they were dead, opened, and their bowel and hearts burned. The heads were then cut off
and their bodies quartered." And another report adds
the shocking detail that the executioner caused them to be ripped up in each other's presence, their arms torn off, their hearts cut out, had robbed upon their mouths and faces. And the barbarity of this
act was blamed directly on the king of England himself. (dark brooding music) Far from easing the pressure
on Henry and Anne's marriage, the deaths of these
dissenters only amplified it. They needed a son more than
ever to justify their actions. But even though their relationship
was under great strain, they certainly weren't showing it. (birds chirp) I've come to a castle in Gloucestershire. It's a place that reminds us
that for more than two years, they were happily married
and still in love. (bright lilting orchestral music) The royal couple came here for 10 days in the summer of 1535, just a few months after the
bloodshed at Charter House. (suitcase rolls) Today, it's an upmarket hotel. Hello.
- Hello. Welcome to Thornbury Castle.
- Thank you. My name's Lipscomb. I've got the keys to a unique hotel room. (lock clicks) (door opens) Now it's pretty unusual
to stay in any room that a king and queen have slept in, but one that Henry and Anne have stayed in is a rare and thrilling experience. (body thuds)
(Suzannah sighs) Of course, It's hard enough to know what goes on behind closed
doors in modern relationships, let alone at a distance
of almost 500 years, but what we do know is
what other people said about Henry and Anne. And what they said is that Henry and Anne were married together. In fact, Henry and Anne were described as being married together more than Henry and his other wives, including
throughout the summer and autumn of 1535 when
they were staying here. But the other thing we know
about their relationship is that it was a relationship
of sunshine and storms. (bright lively orchestral music) They quarreled and they made up. They had fights and then
they had ardent reunions. Henry and were now two and a
half years into their marriage, and as 1535 drew to a close,
all seemed well in their world. (soaring orchestral music) (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks) (heels clack) 1536 should've been a great
year for Henry and Anne. The king was now supreme head
of the church of England, and any son that they had
would be the legitimate heir to the throne, and things
were looking optimistic on that front because
Anne was pregnant again. (soft music) (door opens) The couple's good fortune continued with the first major event that year. On the 7th of January, 1536, Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife, had died after a short illness. (bright string music) In the eyes of Roman Catholic Europe, Katherine was still the
legitimate queen of England. Her nephew was the
Spanish king, Charles V, a serious threat to Henry's reign. On the day his ex-wife died,
he was busy partying at court. No one now dispute his marriage to Anne. If there's ever a true
victim in this story, it's Katherine of Aragon. She gave more than 20 years
of her life to this man who'd ultimately discard
and humiliate her. (soft poignant piano music) Her only crime was her failure
to give Henry a healthy son. For that, she was exiled
from court and her daughter, Mary, declared a bastard. As a final humiliation, Katherine
was denied a state funeral at St. Paul's or Westminster Abbey. Instead, she was buried here
at Peter Brook Cathedral. I find it quite moving and sad to be here by Katherine's grave. Catholics viewed Katherine as a martyr, and her story is so tragic
that people still want to mark her life. Look at all this. People have bought flowers and
posies and the pomegranate, her symbol, to remember her by. So Katherine remains an inspiration. Henry and Anne treated
her with utter contempt. So self absorbed where they. Ultimately, she would
be just another victim of their destructive love affair. Henry had weathered a
political and religious storm over his divorce from Katherine. Now Anne was expecting a child
that would surely be a son. Henry appeared to have
come through the other side with pride and honor intact. (dark brooding music) But I believe it was
Henry's overwhelming desire to maintain honor that would
ultimately destroy the marriage for which he'd fought so hard. (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks) Just 17 days after Katherine's death, Henry and Anne's relationship
suffered a major blow. (swords clang) Like everyone else in the 16th century, Henry VIII was obsessed with honor, and honor was associated with masculinity, with upholding patriarchy, with
controlling one's household, and maintaining one's good name. (up-tempo tense music) Masculinity was an
essential part of kingship. It was vital that Henry excelled over all. He was a champion on the
tiltyard an expert jouster. But his youth and athleticism were fading, and his love for dangerous sports would now prove life threatening. (horse hooves clop) Henry fell from his horse whilst jousting. (horse neighs)
(body thuds) He suffered a major blow to the head. (muffled speaking) The king was reported to be
unconscious for over two hours. Such a severe head injury
could be partly responsible for the marked change
in Henry's personality. He became an increasingly
brutal and cruel king. (dark brooding music) - We understand that the
young Henry was very different from Henry in the later years of his life, and there were a couple of
ideas about why that could be and how his brain might've been involved. If he underwent damage to the
frontal lobe of the brain, it's this part here just
behind the forehead, and if he hit the ground very hard, then the front part of
the brain could bash against the skull and
cause damage to this area. And the reason why that's important is that the frontal lobe here,
the biggest lobe of our brain, is the area responsible
for our personalities and our behavior. It processes our experiences and makes us the people that we are. And we know that people who
have damage to the frontal lobe, it may just exacerbate character traits that they already have. So if they're slightly grumpy, they may, after their injury, be very grumpy. Often, people say it's like a
completely different person, and so their characteristics
change completely. So it's possible that that's
what happened to Henry. - [Suzannah] We also know that the impact of his fall opened up an old
ulcer in Henry's left leg, which would never heal. - We know that actually
Henry's physicians did try to drain his ulcers,
and they used hot irons, almost like a hot poker, that they pushed into his ulcer with no anesthetic, and that can't have done
very much for his temper. - [Suzannah] And worse was to come. Henry's jousting accident would be blamed for the next disaster to strike at the heart of Henry and Anne's marriage. (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks) (Anne whimpers and sobs) Less than a week after
Henry's near fatal fall, Anne miscarried. (Anne whimpers and sobs) She blamed her miscarriage on her shock at hearing the news of the king's fall. The fetus was three and a half months old, old enough for them to be able to tell that it would've been a boy. (Henry breathes heavily) (screams) Although they loved each other, the success of Henry and Anne's marriage had always depended on having a son. The Spanish ambassador
Eustace Chapuys wrote that Anne had miscarried of her savior. (Henry screams in distance) He believed that the
queen had sealed her fate. While we know that Henry was distraught, reports said that he showed great distress and great disappointment and sorrow at the loss of this child. He's reported to have said, "I see that God will not
give me male children." Henry had seen his failure to sire a son with his previous wife,
Katherine as a sign that God disapproved
of his first marriage. Was the miscarriage a sign that Anne didn't God's backing either? (soft ethereal music)
(sword unsheathes) (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks) Following Anne Boleyn's miscarriage, rumors circulated in court that Henry VIII had lost interest in his wife. Anne was never a popular
queen, and without a son, she was exposed to those at court who would rejoice at her downfall. And they would've been
delighted to hear gossip that Henry was seeing another woman. (metal clink echoes) Our evidence comes from
the Spanish ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, a wily character and a staunch Roman Catholic
who never disguised his hatred for Anne, the woman who
he called the concubine. - (indistinct) writes that
he has heard in France that Anna Boullan had in some way or other incurred the royal displeasure and that she is in disgrace with the king, who is playing his court with another lady and that the people are uttering words of much indignation against them. - The other lady that Chapuys
refers to is Jane Seymour. (dark brooding music) Jane was a lady in waiting to the queen, just Anne had once been to Katherine. The Spanish ambassador wrote
that Henry had sent a letter to Jane accompanied by a
purse full of sovereigns. (items clink) It was possibly a summons to his bedroom. Jane didn't open the letter
and instead sent back the purse and the letter saying
that she was the daughter of good and on honorable parents and that if the king wanted to make
her a present of money, perhaps he'd do so at
the time that God decided to give her an advantageous marriage. (dramatic music) It does look a little like
Jane is playing hard to get, perhaps because she hoped
that the advantageous marriage would be with Henry himself. But I don't believe Henry
was planning to marry Jane. It was normal practice for kings at this time to have mistresses, and there's absolutely
no evidence that Henry was thinking of abandoning Anne or indeed that he'd even fallen
out of love with her. In fact, Henry was still
increasing pressure on the Spanish king, Charles V, to recognize Anne as his queen. But then fate intervened,
delivering a blow so powerful that it would tear Henry and
Anne's relationship apart. Scandalous rumors began to
spread through the court that the queen had been
having sexual relations with other men, some close to the king. (soft tense music) Why these allegations surfaced and who was behind them
is still fiercely debated. Was she guilty of the charges against her? Were there dark forces behind the scenes plotting her downfall? Was Anne the victim of court gossip? Did careless talk cost lives? We know that Anne could be feisty and sometimes even flirtatious, but it's extremely doubtful that Anne would commit adultery. Frustratingly, we don't have the evidence to give us a clear picture
of what was going on, but perhaps we can
understand Anne's downfall through a more recent royal scandal. Former courtier Patrick Jephson was Princess Diana's private secretary. (door shuts) - I think there are some
parallels with Diana there where some of her critics,
some of them quite close to the royal establishment, have tried to paint her as a loose cannon whereas the truth was she was
a extremely dutiful princess. - Well, Diana was painted as
this woman who had many lovers. Anne was, of course, as well, and it's extraordinary to
me that, 500 years later, the way you can really blacken
a woman's name is to suggest that she's some sort of sexual predator. - I think they were both very sassy women, and you can't sass around
in court and not expect to bear the consequences sooner or later. When your usefulness has been outlived, then you better watch out. In other words, they would
find anything they could to condemn her in the eyes of the world. - What seems to be at the
heart of this question about Henry and Anne is
the question of scandal, and, of course, you have been in a court that had a certain amount of
scandal associated with it. What can we learn from that? - Scandal is one way in which courtiers or those who make their
living from the court are able to sort of have
their own pecking order. And when scandal doesn't exist, then there will always be
somebody around to create it. - And I think the extraordinary
thing about Henry is, my conviction, is that
he does genuinely believe that she's committed adultery. - Because there would be nobody who wanted to keep their head on their shoulders who was gonna tell him he got it wrong, and this is why, today, I
think it is still the case that to give advice to a royal person, let alone tell a royal person
they're getting it wrong, that's quite an art, and I
don't know how many people have got that art or want to exercise it. There is nobody I think today
who will tell senior members of the royal family that
they're getting it wrong. (dramatic music) - [Suzannah] According to one account, when rumors of Anne's
infidelity reached Henry, he was shocked and his color changed. He immediately ordered an investigation into the allegations. Arguably the most damaging and hurtful of these involved adultery and treason with one of the king's
oldest friends, Henry Norris. Norris was a gentleman of
Henry VIII's privy chamber and a groom of the stall, a role that traditionally
entailed wiping the royal bottom. In reality, it meant the Norris was Henry's closest companion, someone he truly trusted. But in Henry's court, walls had ears. No one was immune from
the deadly consequences of rumor and gossip. (dark brooding music) In an indiscreet conversation, the queen was said to have asked Norris why he hadn't got married yet. (muffled chatter) And when he replied that he
would tarry a time, Anne said. - You look for dead men's shoes, for it ought came to the king but good, you would look to have me. (laughs) - In other words, you want to marry me when my husband's dead, don't you? Norris's response that he'd
rather his head were off suggests he knew that they'd
committed a serious faux pas. They had imagined the king's death, which, under the Treasons
Act, was illegal. Henry launched an investigation
into Norris's conduct along with many others who were suspected of having had sexual
intercourse with the queen, among them, her own brother George. (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks) Anne's final downfall
was swift and sudden. It began with what should've been a day of celebration for the king
and queen of Greenwich Palace. It was May Day. They were at a tournament. They were having a very nice time until some unwelcome
news arrived for Henry. It turned out that a musician
who'd been interrogated, possibly under torture, had
confessed to sexual intercourse with Anne on three occasions. It's my opinion that Henry
believed the accusations, and they have the power to
destroy his masculine honor, something he valued more
than his love for Anne. Henry couldn't be seen as a king who had no control of his wife. He abruptly left Greenwich,
taking Norris with him, and whatever was said on
that journey back to London was enough to convince Henry that his closest friend was guilty, too. Norris would end up on the scaffold. Henry would never see Anne again. She would never have a
chance to meet her husband, to talk it through, to give her side of the story to protest her innocence. That same night, alone
at Greenwich Palace, Anne was given all the
usual attention of queen. (soft tense music) She was still completely unaware that her life was unraveling. (tense brooding music) (birds chirp) (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks)
(dramatic music) Early in the morning on the 2nd of May, Anne was taken from Greenwich
to the tower by barge. She had no idea why. She could never have imagined that she was experiencing her
final moments of freedom. She traveled in through this water gate in St. Thomas's tower, now
known as Traitors Gate. In those days, the Thames came up all
the way to these stairs. And of course, we have
this sense with hindsight that that was the beginning of the end, that she must have known it was all up, but I wouldn't have known that. No one considered for an instant that the queen of England
might lose her head. Sometime after arriving
at the royal apartments at the tower, Anne was
accused of a long list of sexual crimes and treasonous acts. We don't know how the
news was broken to her or how she reacted. Henry, meanwhile, simply
disappeared from public life, no doubt wanting to escape the hurt and embarrassment that his
wife's trial would bring. (swords clang) I'm walking where the royal
apartments used to be, where kings and queens stayed the night before their coronation
because to hold the tower was to hold London and was to indicate that you really held England. And of course, it was where
and stayed on the night before her coronation and again on the night before her execution. It was also the site of the Great Hall, which held 2,000 people and
where Anne's trial was held. (dramatic music)
(sword unsheathes) (bell tolls) (sword clinks) And his trial took place
in front of 2,000 people, and she was judged by a jury of peers led by her own uncle, the duke of Norfolk. Surviving documents from
the trial reveal some of the more salacious
accusations leveled at Anne. (car rattles and rolls) Ooh, I'm looking forward to seeing these. This document is an extraordinary one because it is a record of that trial. This is the indictment. This is the charges laid out against Anne. It says, for example, that Anne "has diabolically
seduced these men because of her frail
and carnal appetites," because of her lust. It doesn't stop here. It goes on and on. Over here, it describes
Anne's relationships with these various men. So it mentions here, for example, Henry Norris and says
"that he has violated and carnally known the queen." (tense brooding music) And then it mentioned George
Boleyn, Anne's brother, and this bit's particularly lurid. It says that she has
allured the said George into putting his tongue in her mouth, and she has put her tongue in his mouth. This is a picture of
an as sexual predator. And that's exactly how
Henry wanted her to appear. No man could possibly
keep control of a wife with such a depraved sexual
appetite, not even the king. Henry was conspicuous by
his absence by the crowd. It was a tactic that
completely rebounded on him. Henry stayed away because it
was really humiliating for him to have his wife accused of adultery. It suggested at this time
his lack of sexual dominance, his lack of sexual prowess, and indeed, that's precisely what
came out of the trial. George Boleyn, Lord
Rochford, Anne's brother, was given a piece of
paper that he was told not to read out loud, but he did, and on it was the charge
that he and Anne had laughed at the king's manner of dressing, had laughed at his terrible poetry, and above all, that Anne
had said that the king was not skillful and
copulating with a woman and had neither vigor nor potency. Remember, that's in front
of that crowd of 2,000. Henry was right to stay away. (dramatic music) Anne was convicted on all counts. She now had just three days to live. (sword unsheathes)
(slow dramatic music) (bell tolls)
(sword clinks) The outcome of ambulance
trial was never in doubt. By a jury loyal to the king, she was unanimously
found guilty of adultery, incest, and high treason. Sentenced to death and
with nothing to lose, it was now and chance to
tell her side of the story. - I am entirely innocent
of all these accusations, so I cannot ask pardon of God for them. I have been always a faithful
and loyal wife to the king. I've not perhaps at all
times shown him that humility and reverence that his goodness to me and the honor to which
he raised me to deserve. - In some ways, Anne's trial speech is
entirely straightforward. She says that she is innocent, that she has always been
a loyal wife to the king, but then there's that curious line about not having shown him
the humility and reverence that his goodness to her and the position to which he raised her justified. In other words, she's
admitting that actually, she's been a bit feisty, that
perhaps she's spoken back. She's been out of line from time to time. She hasn't always been the wife
that Henry wanted her to be. - I confess I have had
fancies and suspicions of him, which I had not strength
nor discretion to resist, but God knows, and as my witness, I have never failed otherwise towards him, and I shall never confess any otherwise. - Anne claimed both before
and after taking the communion that she was innocent on
power of her soul's damnation, and I think she was. I also don't think there's any
evidence to sustain the idea that Henry wanted to get rid of her. In fact, I think what happened to Anne was a terrible mishap, that actually, Anne managed to look
guilty when she wasn't. Her sophisticated conversational wit, her excellence at the courtly game was where she came unstuck. Exactly what had beguiled Henry in the first place made
her look guilty as sin. (dramatic music) So like a Shakespearean tragedy, the king, feeling betrayed and hurt, sentenced the queen that he loved to death for a crime she didn't commit. (Henry screams) - I think that the concubine's
little bastard, Elizabeth, will be excluded from the succession (Anne screams) and that the king would
get himself requested by parliament to marry. (Anne screams) The joy shown by the people everyday, not only at the ruin of the
concubine but at the hope of Princess Mary's
restoration is inconceivable. (sword unsheathes)
(bell tolls) (sword clinks)
(dramatic music) - While Anne awaited her execution in her chambers at the tower, she may well have heard
the commotion outside as the five men she was
accused of sleeping with, including her brother, were beheaded. I can't begin to imagine
how she must have felt. We can't be certain, but
it is believed that this is the prayer book that Anne
had with her in the tower. I spent lots of time
thinking about Anne's weeks in the tower, how she racked her brains, how she tried to figure out
what had got her into that mess, the hysteria, the trauma, the
terrible time she must've had, and the idea that she had
this with her at the time and that I'm now holding it in my hands is something I can't quite express. This is the wonder of history, this tangible sense of
reaching out to touch the past. (soft poignant music)
(page rustles) What's even more extraordinary about it is that Anne has written in it. Now she probably wrote this
sometime before her execution, but what she wrote has
a haunting resonance. It says, "Remember me when you do pray that hope doth lead from day to day." (doors clang) - Remember me when you do pray that hope doth lead from day to day." And she signed it Anne Boleyn. (sword unsheathes)
(dark brooding music) (bell tolls)
(sword clinks) Anne left her chambers
at the tower a little before eight o'clock in the morning. Awaiting her at the end
of the short journey was an expert French swordsman summoned by Henry as an act of mercy. For a dignified execution
by fitting a queen, the scaffold had been erected
inside the walls of the tower, away from the public. An eye witness reported
Anne's final words. - Good Christian people,
I'm come hither to die, for according to the law and
by the law, I'm judged to die. Therefore, I shall speak
nothing against it. I'm come hither to accuse no
man or speak anything of that, whereof I'm accused and condemned to die. But I pray, God save the king and send him long to reign over you all for 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 of my cause, I require them to judge the best, and thus, I take my leave of
this world and of you all, and I heartily desire
you all to pray for me. Oh, Lord God, have mercy on my soul. To Christ I commend
me. Do receive my soul. Oh, Lord God, have mercy on my soul. (muffled speaking) Please do receive my soul. Oh, Lord God, have mercy on. (sword unsheathes) (wings flap)
(falcon cries) - The queen was beheaded
with a single clean strike of the French blade. (tense brooding music) (footsteps shuffle) This is the Chapel Royal
of St. Peter ad Vincula, a parish church within the
walls of the tower of London. (heels clack) After Anne was executed, she was brought here to be buried, or at least most of her was. If they did what they
did with other traitors, they would've taken her
head, boiled it, tarred it, and put it on a spike on London Bridge before throwing it into
the swirling Thames. But the rest of her is here
somewhere beneath my feet, and this is where she
should be remembered. (dramatic music) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (sword unsheathes) (sword clinks) (dramatic music)
