Posted By Claire on May 16, 2014
On this day in 1536, Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, reported to Thomas Cromwell what Anne Boleyn had said to him over dinner:
“Yet this day at dinner the Queen said she would go to “anonre” (a nunnery), and is in hope of life.”
This was following a visit from Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had been sent to the Tower of London that day to act as Anne’s confessor. It is not known what Cranmer said to Anne, but he was able to obtain her consent to the annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII. Did Cranmer offer Anne some kind of deal in return for her consent? It is impossible to say, but something caused Anne to have renewed hope.
While Cranmer was visiting Anne in the Tower, Henry VIII’s new flame, Jane Seymour, was receiving guests at her lodgings in Chelsea – courtiers who were there to curry favour with the woman who was sure to be their new queen. As for the King, he was signing death warrants, one of them his wife’s.
Notes and Sources
- LP x. 890