Anne Boleyn: a beheaded pregnant woman?

[umigon]

Have you heard about one of Alison Weir's theories that says Anne Boleyn was pregnant of very little time when she was brought to the scaffold. What do you think about this theory?

[Kimberly]

Not heard that one before. Do you think Henry would have had Anne executd if there was any chance of a pregnancy?No matter how much he hated her at this point I tend to think the chance of an heir would have delayed her end.

[umigon]

I will try to find the magazine where I read it, but Weir had powerful proofs! It seems that was it Henry's child or not, he was convinced by Cromwell that the baby wasn't his.


Executing a pregnant woman was forbidden (at last some type of humanity in those troubled times!) but after Weir, they decided to take Anne's life along with that of her baby to eliminate a possible claimant... When I find the article and I read it I will post some more!

[Kimberly]

Excellent, I look forward to it Umigon.

[SonjaMarie]

Interesting, I've never heard that theory either unless I've forgotten about it, which is certainly possible.

I do remember reading or hearing about theories that Lady Jane Grey might have been pregnant at her execution but I seriously doubt that!

Sonja Marie

[SonjaMarie]

Just seems to be that unless Jane and Guildford were intimate before her arrest, which most historians seem to think didn't happen, or were secretly meeting while in the Tower there doesn't seem any possible way she was pregnant.

Sonja Marie

[Prince_Lieven]

Mary I was reluctant to execute Jane as it was - she certainly wouldn't have executed a pregnant woman, would she?

[umigon]

Mary would have never executed a pregnant woman, she would have never executed Jane if her father had behaved correctly....


Jane was not pregnant when beheaded nor during her imprisonment in the tower... A group of women tested her body to proove she was not pregnant. She had intimations with her husband during the first weeks of their marriage. After their arrest, Mary gave a permission to the couple to see each other, but Jane refused to see Guilford!

[Finelly]

Well, so much for the film, which had her madly in love with him......lol

But I knew the film was wrong about that.  

[lexi4]

Have you heard about one of Alison Weir's theories that says Anne Boleyn was pregnant of very little time when she was brought to the scaffold. What do you think about this theory?

I can find nothing in Weir's writings about this. But I could have overlooked something. Has anyone else tried to find it?

[ilyala]

Well, so much for the film, which had her madly in love with him......lol

But I knew the film was wrong about that.  

i know i was totally smitten by the film myself! (oh and that cute guildford, yum  )

*ahem*

no, i don't think jane and guildford got along too well unfortunatly... it would have made a nice story

[Arianwen]

Not heard that one before. Do you think Henry would have had Anne executd if there was any chance of a pregnancy?No matter how much he hated her at this point I tend to think the chance of an heir would have delayed her end.

My theory is this: I don't think Henry honestly believed Anne had been unfaithful. I think it was a way to get rid of her, and somewhat grasping at straws. Look at some of the dates/places she was supposed to have committed adultery. At least one is when she was abed recovering from the birth of Elizabeth. Henry never seems to have doubted that Elizabeth was his, nor that the son Anne miscarried in Janruary 1536 was his, so I don't see how he could have believed her an adulteress. That being said, if there were a chance Anne was carrying a child, a child that might be a son, Henry was highly unlikely to have imprisoned, tried, and beheaded her.

For some reason, this theory is giving me a sense of déjà vu. I might have read it somewhere before in Weir's works, though I don't have access to any at the moment. I believe Weir was also one to bring up the possibility of Anne being Rh negative and Henry Rh positive, resulting in her miscarriages after Elizabeth's birth. Time for Arianwen to do some research...

Regards,
Arianwen

[umigon]

I found this theory in a Spanish magazine "La Aventura de la Historia", and it said that the story went something like this:

Henry wanted to get rid of Anne, much more after having Catherine out of the way and after Anne's last miscarriage. He needed an excuse, and Cromwell (as usual) was working on it. Then the quick downfall of Anne began, that we all know... But, when Anne confessed to Cranmer, he said that she had told him "a horrible secret of which i can't speak". I can't remember why Weir got to this conclusion, but there where two parts to the theory:

1. Anne was carrying a child which could or could not have been Henry's. Cromwell supposedly convinced Henry about the baby not being his (well, if he hadn't have relations with Anne that was not a difficult task!) and Anne was beheaded on the charges of treason, adultery and wichcraft.

2. Anne was Henry's own daughter, illegitimately born from a relationship between a teenager Henry and Elizabeth Howard (the magazine said this would explain the lack of information on Anne Boleyn's birth!).

I'll continue trying to find the article where i read it!

[Kimberly]

Aaahah, yes Umigon, I have heard the one about Anne being Henry's illigitamate daughter before.

[umigon]

Well, I'm not saying anything new, then!!


I read that when all the Catherine of Aragon divorce issue, once Henry heard from someone that he had slept with both Anne's mother and sister, the King replied:

'Never with the mother'

So, I don't think the theory of Anne being his daughter (what would make Elizabeth his daughter-grandaughter) is valid.