Queens of England burial places: Anne Boleyn

On May 20th 1536, the priest of St Peter Ad Vincula in the Tower of London said early morning Mass in a changed chapel.  There was no visible sign of the alteration but what had led to it happening was already one of the most well known and talked about events in history.  That has never changed.  On this day, 472 years ago, the chapel within the tower became known as the final resting place of Anne Boleyn, second queen of Henry VIII.  And many visitors still make the trip there now to visit the grave of the woman who changed English and European history forever.

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, was buried in the chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula in the Tower of London on May 19th 1536

The body of Anne Boleyn was buried in the chapel just hours after her execution on Tower Green on May 19th 1536.  The woman who had won the heart of Henry VIII and who had briefly enjoyed unimaginable power was laid to rest in an arrow chest as no coffin had been ordered for her amidst the fury and intrigue that swirled through the Tudor court in May 1536.  There was no gravestone, no memorial, not even a mark to show where the queen lay.  And for centuries, that was how things stayed.

The forgotten queen - Anne Boleyn carved her name in history but in the aftermath of her death, the court of Henry VIII tried to forget her completely

In 1876, remains believed to be those of Anne Boleyn were found during restoration work at the chapel.  The place where Anne had been buried had been recorded in 1536 in the documents of the Tower.  In the later years of Henry VIII's reign, and the bloody rule of his children, she had been joined by several other high ranking Tudors who had lost their lives at the Tower among them Catherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife.  Because of this, the original restoration work tried to avoid the area where they had all been laid to rest but it was decided that disturbing this area could not be avoided and so, 320 years after her execution, the burial spot of Anne Boleyn was opened up.

The Tower of London where Anne Boleyn was executed and buried in May 1536

Bones believed to be hers were identified with the surgeon, Dr Mouat, noting that the remains belonged to a woman who was around five feet three in height and healthy.  After the restoration work was completed, the remains believed to be those of Anne were reburied in the same spot and plaque erected to remember all those who had been executed at the Tower.  Queen Victoria had already ordered that the place on Tower Green where executions took place be cordoned off and a memorial placed there.  In 2006, a new commemoration was unveiled.

The memorial stone at Tower Green which marks the spot where Anne Boleyn, and many others, were executed

Today, the final resting place of Anne Boleyn is perhaps the most visited of all the graves of his queens.  It can only be seen while visiting the Tower of London.  The chapel where the queen was buried is a Royal Peculiar, meaning it comes under the governanace of the monarch, and is still used as a place of worship for those who live within the Tower of London.  On May 19th, every year, a bouquet of red roses with no name is delivered to St Peter Ad Vincula to be laid on the spot where Anne was buried without ceremony on that very date in 1536.  It may be among the most simple of graves belonging to a queen of England but it remains a very real part of a historic tale that continues to fascinate.

Another imagining of Anne Boleyn whose story continues to fascinate 

This begins a new series that will run over the coming months looking at the burial places of Queens of England.  Next will be Jane Seymour.