On This Day in History...

May 19, 1536…Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded after she was convicted of adultery, incest, and high treason.

In July of 2000, I took Corey to England to visit some of my friends.  We stayed in London for a few days so I could show him some of the tourist sights.  One of the places we went to was the Tower of London, which is in fact a series of towers and not just one tower.  One of the towers we visited was the Bloody Tower. In the mid-16th century, the Tower became known as the Bloody Tower because (or, so James I was told when he visited in 1604) it was where the "Princes in the Tower" had been murdered. Today, a display on the upper floor retells this infamous story.

The princes, 12-year old Edward and his young brother, Richard, sons of Edward IV, had been lodged in the tower following their father's death in 1483, under the protection of their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester. Preparations began for Edward's coronation but in the event it was their uncle who was crowned in his place as Richard III. The princes remained in the Tower for a time and then disappeared from view. Much has been written about their fate, mainly in order to prove or disprove Richard's involvement in their deaths, but no conclusive evidence has been produced. Even the bones of two children found buried close to the White Tower in 1674, which were officially reburried in Westminster Abbey as the remains of the princes, cannot be positively identified. 

There have, however, been two authenticated cases of violent death within the Bloody Tower. In 1585 the 8th Earl of Northumerland shot himself to escape conviction for treason and the forfeiture of his lands to Elizabeth I. In James I's reign, in scandalous circumstances that touched the King himself, Sir Thomas Overbury was poisoned while a prisoner there.

That's Corey in the middle with his backpack.  We were heading towards the Bloody Tower.

Corey in front of Bloody Tower

Outside the gate of Bloody Tower.  Some famous prisoners held here include Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh and Elizabeth I.

Inside Bloody Tower gate.

Some writings of previous prisoners.

The ravens are one of the most famous sights at the Tower of London.  Legend has it that Charles II was warned that should the ravens leave the Tower, the monarchy would fail and he therefore order that henceforth a small populations should always remain.  We were told that the raven's wings are clipped so that they cannot fly away.

Seven famous prisoners were executed here (see below). The private executions took place on the Tower Green within the walls of the Tower to avoid embarrassing the prisoner- or the monarch. Normally, the executions took place outside on Tower Hill and were usually viewed by thousands of spectators

On this site stood a scaffold on which were executed:

Queen Anne Boleyn 19 May 1536
Second wife of Henry VIII
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury 28 May 1541
Last Plantagenet Princess
Queen Katherine Howard 13 Feb 1542
Fifth wife of Henry VIII
Jane, Viscountess Rochford 13 Feb 1542
Wife of Anne Boleyn's brother
Lady Jane Grey 12 Feb 1554
Uncrowned Queen of 9 days
Robert Devereux 25 Feb 1601
Earl of Essex
Lord Hastings
was also beheaded near

Beheading was confined to those of noble birth who were convicted of treason and was an alternative to the normal punishments for this crime. Men convicted of High Treason were condemned to hanged drawn and quartered and women to be burned at the stake. In the case of the nobility the monarch could vary these punishments to death by beheading. Beheading was both far less painful and considered far less dishonourable than these other methods. Several members of Royalty were beheaded, including Charles I, Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots and Lady Jane Grey. Many other Earls, Lords and Knights, including Sir Walter Raleigh, and even some bishops were executed this way.

The majority of English beheadings took place at the Tower of London. Seven were carried out in private within the grounds, of which five were of women. A further 86 men were decapitated on Tower Hill outside the walls of the Tower, where there stood a permanent scaffold from 1485. Only a very small number of beheadings were carried out elsewhere, as the Tower was the principal prison for traitors of high birth. Treason often meant displeasing the monarch, rather than betraying the country.

Corey with a Yoeman Warders (often called Beefeaters) who have been at the Tower of London since the 14th century.  The origin of the word "Beefeater" is unknown.  One theory is that the Yeoman Warders were fond of beef.

Changing of the Guard in front of The Tower Green and the Queen's House.