The death of Anne Boleyn, Queen of England

the testimony of a portuguese in London

Abstract

On 19th of May, 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, was beheaded at the Tower of London, accused of treason, adultery, incest and witchcraft. Two days earlier, five courtiers, including the queen’s brother, were executed for treason against the king. These tragic events culminated a tumultuous political and diplomatic process that had begun in 1527, when Henry VIII asked the Holy See to declare his marriage to Catherine of Aragon null and void. This request would, in short order, result in a breach between England and Rome, and the creation of the Anglican Church - the English King at its head. These events were witnessed by a Portuguese in London. Of the set of letters that he is known to have sent to a nobleman in Portugal, one of them, which we publish here, gives a detailed account of Anne Boleyn's death, an unpublished Portuguese testimony, and one of the most complete, of a key moment in the history of England.