Anne Boleyn: a beheaded pregnant woman?

[Prince_Lieven]

Yes, and if she thought that being pregnant would have any chance of at least prolonging her life, I'm sure she would have acquainted her gaolers with the fact!

[Lady_Aurora]

sorry to push myself into yet another topic   ... but....

just a theory... someone had to have changed her chamber pot right?  meaning someone would have known if she was pregnant and maids were often bribed for such important information...especially for a queen...a soon to be beheaded queen at that.  

[elena_maria_vidal]

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!

Very interesting, umigon!

[helenazar]

someone had to have changed her chamber pot right?  meaning someone would have known if she was pregnant...  

Sorry for my ignorance, but exactly how so?  

[Lorelei_Lee]

I think what Lady Aurora means is that if Anne had stopped menstruating because she was pregnant, her ladies who assisted with those most intimate details would have known and likely would have said something.  In Queen Elizabeth's time I think Cecil and some of her other courtiers bribed the Queen's ladies to let them know whether the Queen was still having normal periods or not.  It stands to reason that the same thing would have been going on in the days of Henry VIII, when the various factions at court had so much riding on whether the wife du jour was pregnant or not.  

It all seems to go back to the concept that in Tudor times queens had no privacy.  If Anne were pregnant in May 1536 it's hard to believe she could have kept it a secret even if she had wanted to.  

[Kimberly]

It was usually the laundresses who were bribed. All sorts of information could be gleaned from the bed sheets

[Lady_Aurora]

It was usually the laundresses who were bribed. All sorts of information could be gleaned from the bed sheets

i have also heard this kimberly. and i agree with the above statements that if Anne had been pregnant it would have been wise to tell... even if it was not Henry's (which i personaly don't believe the adultry charges against her but oh well) there would have technically been no way of proving it wasn't his back then. and if it had been a boy he was so desperate for one then that it might not have mattered so much.  if she had been pregnant it might have saved her...

[ilyala]

i think anne was too smart to cheat on henry. she was no silly kathryn howard. henry needed to get rid of her and fast, so he made up adultery charges that i don't think he even believed

[Lady_Aurora]

i agree.  anne did seem too smart for that.  i'm sure she wouldn't have endangered her position for anything.  and the charges seem very fake.  wasn't she accused of adultry with her brother George? or am I just remembering incorrectly?

[ilyala]

yes she was and her brother was executed for that too... his own wife testified against him... there's a whole thread about her, lady rochford

[Lady_Aurora]

thanks!  i'll have to check that out.

[Romanov_fan]

I think this is unlikely as Tudor queens did indeed have no privacy back then, with information gleamed from laundresses and the like. If she was, she most likely would have said so, even if it wasn't his, because there could be little proof that it wasn't. And even if she might not have wanted to say anything, one thinks there would most likely have been rumours. So it is unlikely. As for the adultery, she was a clever woman, who would most likely have not indulged in that, and it could be wondered whether Henry believed this himself. And as for her being his daughter, I doubt it. There certainly are crazy theories out there. I have never read the Alison Weir book that said this, but I have read many of her books, and I love her work!

[ilyala]

i sincerely doubt henry actually believed anne had cheated on him, unless he was able to make himself believe. maybe he believed she was a witch (another thing she was accused of)... maybe he simply hated her and wanted her to die so that he could be free

[stacey]

I think Henry always managed to believe whatever was most convenient for his "conscience"!! But deep down even he must have known that Anne had not committed adultery--she was NOT stupid!!! (And with her own brother?!? Come ON!!! That was just plain old overkill and I can't believe even Henry and his cronies got away with that one!)

As for Anne being pregnant--I find that HIGHLY unlikely. Surely she would have been the first to know (it's not like she hadn't been thru pregnancies before!) and why on earth would she not have announced that she was once again pregnant? That would almost certainly have saved her life--or at the very least, delayed her death until after the child was born. And Anne was not exactly the timid shy type--she would have been yelling it from the rooftops, especially with her life on the line! And even if Henry HAD thought she was pregnant, and even if he DID doubt that he was the father (which I find unlikely) I can't see him convincing anyone to go ahead with the execution of a pregnant woman. Under the law, anyway, the child would have been considered his, wouldn't it?? And I cannot see even Henry killing his legal heir!

I've read Weir's books about the wives of Henry V111 and I just bought the one about Henry and his court but haven't really looked at it yet. I'm gonna go check it out and see if it mentions anything about Anne being pregnant when she was executed!

[Romanov_fan]

Yes the last opinion has it right. Henry merely wanted to be free so he could pursue his chosen ends which unfortunately or fortunately for her did not include Anne Boleyn, and I doubt he ever believed this unless he made himself believe, which isn't impossible, but which is unlikely. I guess people see what they want to see, believe what they want to believe in any situation, and Henry did in this. Anna was a clever woman, not someone to do this sort of thing, unless he did believe she was a witch, given the temprament of the age, this is possible.