The Fall of Anne Boleyn - 1

Tracy Borman traces the fall of Anne Boleyn over the course of three days.  She begins with Anne's arrest and the events that lead up to arrest and questioning.  She looks at original Tudor documents and walks in Anne's footsteps.

May 19th is the day when a bouquet of roses is left on the grave on Anne Boleyn.  This memento is left in honor of Anne Boleyn.  It took 7 days for the fall of Anne Boleyn.  It was the first time in history that an English Queen was arrested and executed.

May 2, 1546 - A plan is being hatched in Whitehall.  Henry VIII sent a message to the Palace of Placentia, where Anne Boleyn was residing.  Anne Boleyn was watching tennis...alone.  The day before she had been watching a joust when Henry VIII suddenly left the joust, leaving the people confused.  He had received some shocking news.  So it would have been unusual for Anne to watch tennis alone.  Anne soon received the message from the king: She was to report to the Privy Council.

Anne Boleyn reported to the Privy Council.  It suddenly becomes clear that Henry VIII is trying to get rid of her.  When she arrives to the Privy Council and was greeted by her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, the constable of the Tower, among others.  They read out the charges: adultery with two men of the court.  Anne had the presence of mind to immediately protest her innocence. 

Anne returns to her apartments under guard.  She tries to follow her normal routine, but nothing is no longer normal.  Her people are acting strangely.  The kings waiter no longer appears before her.  She wonders what happens next and what brought the charges.

Her downfall began three months before this date, when Anne was expecting a child.  Anne had a metal planned for when her son would be born.  The prototype of the medal still survives.  Anne miscarried the baby and it seemed it was a baby boy.  It was a blow to both Henry and Anne.  This caused Henry to turn against Anne and look for someone younger to give him a boy.

To continue to learn more, continue to watch the documentary.

I would use this documentary for research into Tudors and would show clips from it to a class as part of a lecture.

For use in the classroom: just highlight, copy and paste into a word document or a google document for use in the classroom.  You can easily format these questions to your specifications.  All questions should fit onto one page after formatting.

You can find the link for the YouTube video here.

The Fall of Anne Boleyn Episode 1 Questions:

1. Where was Anne Boleyn in residence?
2. What sport was she watching?
3. Where was Anne educated?
4. What happened at the May Day Joust?
5. What did Anne have to do?
6. Who was Anne’s uncle?
7. What did Anne claim about the Privy Council?
8. Who was Anne accused of adultery with?
9. What was the first thing she did when she found out about the charges?
10. Who doesn’t appear at Anne’s dinner?

The Fall of Anne Boleyn Episode 1 Answers:

1. Where was Anne Boleyn in residence? - Palace of Placentia
2. What sport was she watching? -Tennis
3. Where was Anne educated? - France
4. What happened at the May Day Joust? - Henry VIII left suddenly, leaving Anne alone
5. What did Anne have to do? - Present herself before the Privy Council
6. Who was Anne’s uncle? - Duke of Norfolk
7. What did Anne claim about the Privy Council? - That she was Treated Cruelly
8. Who was Anne accused of adultery with? - Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton, Unnamed man
9. What was the first thing she did when she found out about the charges?- Protest her innocence
10. Who doesn’t appear at Anne’s dinner? - King’s Waiter