It was on this day, 19th May back in 1536 when an expensive French executioner swung his sword and killed Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. The execution was carried out on a scaffold erected on Tower Green, within the walls of the Tower of London. As a character in history, Anne Boleyn’s influence is often overlooked. After all she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare the English church's independence from Rome, which without doubt still effects the world we all live in today.

 

 

 

So why did she lose her head? Well it’s a topic historians cannot completely agree on. We’ve all heard the stories she was accused of witchcraft, but in actual fact the indictments make no mention of this charge. We do know that Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536 and on May 2nd she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London. Was it adultery? Incest? Had Henry simply fallen in love with Jane or maybe Anne had been plotting to kill the king.