It was May 19th: Ann Boleyn was beheaded

On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, was beheaded in the Tower of London on the orders of her husband, King Henry VIII. Three years earlier, the monarch had shaken Christian Europe to its core by marrying her, breaking with Rome and giving rise to the Church of England. But after several miscarriages and the absence of a male heir, the favorite, who had become queen, fell abruptly from grace. Accused of adultery, incest, and high treason following a summary trial, she was condemned to death despite flimsy evidence. Her demise marks one of the most dramatic episodes of the Tudor reign.

A passion that is shaking England

Born into an ambitious English noble family, Anne Boleyn received a refined education in the Netherlands and then at the French court. Elegant, cultured, and quick-witted, she rapidly charmed the English court upon her return. Around 1525, Henry VIII fell in love with her, despite having been married for nearly twenty years to Catherine of Aragon. The king, desperate for a surviving son, sought to have his marriage annulled.

Faced with the Pope's refusal, Henry VIII initiated an unprecedented break with the Catholic Church. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy made the king the head of the Church of England. Anne eventually married the sovereign and became queen. A few months later, their daughter, the future Elizabeth I, was born. But the lack of a male heir quickly weakened Anne's position, while her enemies multiplied at court.

A political trial

In the spring of 1536, the king's chief advisor, Thomas Cromwell, orchestrated the queen's downfall. Several courtiers, as well as Anne's own brother, George Boleyn, were arrested and accused of having had affairs with her. Under torture, the musician Mark Smeaton confessed; the other accused vehemently denied everything. Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London on May 2, 1536, and then tried for adultery, incest, and conspiracy against the king.

The verdict was a foregone conclusion. Despite a vigorous defense, Anne was found guilty and sentenced to death. Henry VIII opted for a "French-style" execution, by sword rather than axe, considered quicker and more dignified. On the morning of May 19, dressed in a dark gown and a red cloak, Anne Boleyn calmly mounted the scaffold and proclaimed her innocence to the very end before being beheaded with a single blow of the sword.

The birth of a legend

A few days after the execution, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, who finally gave him a son. However, it was Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth, who would ensure England's lasting greatness. Becoming queen in 1558 as Elizabeth I, she definitively established Anglicanism, developed the kingdom's maritime power, and ushered England into a golden age of politics and culture.

Long portrayed as an ambitious schemer or a manipulative seductress, Anne Boleyn is now seen more as a victim of the power struggles at the Tudor court. Her tragic fate has inspired countless novels, plays, and films, making her one of the most famous and fascinating figures in English history.