Beloved. Betrayed. Beheaded. The story of Anne Boleyn has seeped through generations, fuelling star-studded Hollywood adaptations and small-screen retellings.<\/p>\n
But how much do we really know about Anne Boleyn? \u00a0BBC Two\u2019s docu-drama The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family uncovers the secrets of Tudor England\u2019s controversial Queen. Told through a combination of dramatic enactments and interviews with historical experts, it exposes the reality of Anne\u2019s time in court life from sex to rivalry and inevitably, tragedy.<\/p>\n
Here, two talking heads from the series, Dr Owen Emmerson \u2013 a historian who works at Anne\u2019s childhood home, Hever Castle \u2013 and Gareth Russell \u2013 a historian who wrote An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors \u2013 divulge 10 lesser-known facts about Anne Boleyn.<\/p>\n
The Importance of Hever Castle <\/strong><\/h2>\nDr Owen Emmerson reveals: \u201cHever Castle was Anne\u2019s safety valve in the 1520s when Henry turned his attentions towards her. She retreated there when things were hotting up in court and as a way of keeping Henry interested in her. It made the King go mad with desire. He wrote her incredible love letters. It wasn\u2019t normal for Henry as he hated writing. He would have usually used scribes, but with Anne he hand wrote each letter. Many show her initials enclosed in a heart. Some of them were really quite steamy \u2013 he talked about her breasts, or \u2018little duckies\u2019 as he called them. Henry proposed to Anne while she was at Hever. She sent him a beautiful little jewelled ship with a maiden on board. This was her way of saying \u2018I\u2019m going to brave the storms with you\u2019.<\/p>\n
What does Anne look like? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cShe was the antithesis of what was considered good looking at the time \u2013 blond hair and blue eyes were de rigueur at Tudor court,\u201d says Emmerson.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnne was neither \u2013 she had dark hair and dark eyes, that were described as almost black. Henry went to extraordinary lengths and finances to eradicate all images of Anne after she died. The only surviving contemporary image of Anne is a very crude and damaged medal from 1534.\u201d<\/p>
Anne\u2019s Beheading \u2013 an act of mercy or betrayal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cNormally, the victim would signal to the executioner that they were ready \u2013 which they would do by throwing their arms out. It was the last bit of agency that person had. Anne was not afforded that. The executioner distracted her. He called in French \u2018fetch me my sword\u2019 and his assistant moved,\u201d Emmerson explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnne turned to the sound of what was happening. At that moment the executioner takes her head off without her saying \u2018I\u2019m ready\u2019. It is often portrayed as an act of mercy \u2013 but I can\u2019t help but feel that this woman, who was dragged down so appallingly, even in the last moments of her life is denied agency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne Survives a Pandemic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cIn 1528, there was a dreadful pandemic, the sweating sickness. Anne and her father Thomas fell ill at Hever Castle. Henry, still courting Anne at the time, was desperately worried and sent his second-best doctor to attend to her. Henry\u2019s letters to Anne were particularly messy during this period \u2013 he was panicking, there were mistakes and crossings out,\u201d Emmerson reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose little markers I think tell us a lot about his genuine affection for her. Anne came very close to dying. It\u2019s a pivotal point because Henry saw her mortality and saw his own. Things got serious and soon after, the trials of Blackfriars took place [where Henry sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon].\u201d<\/p>\n
A Public Consummation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne Boleyn and Henry\u2019s consummation would have had public elements to it,\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cRight up until the actual act, there would have been people present \u2013 and there would have been people in the anti-chamber next to the bedroom. A crucial part of being married was the consummation. Often the marriage sheets would be kept as evidence of a successful consummation.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\""Anne\"]( "\\"\"Anne-Boleyn-documentary-bbc\"\\"")
<\/div> The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nHow the nature of Anne\u2019s death may have been a bargaining chip<\/strong><\/h2>\nEmmerson explains: \u201cHenry was intimately involved in the minutiae of how Anne was going to die. He was morbidly fascinated by it. He stipulates that all the things that are to happen to Anne will also happen to future queens. In sentencing Anne, there was also the option of burning, which is a considerably longer and more horrific death. This is speculation, but it is thought that there may have been a bartering situation going on. Henry wanted the marriage annulled. We think that Anne agreed to this \u2013 perhaps the bargaining chip was a cleaner death \u2013 but we will never really know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne\u2019s hatred of Catherine of Aragon<\/h2>\n
\u201cWe see Anne\u2019s darker side through her surviving songbook.\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cAnne\u2019s emblem was a white falcon. In the songbook is an illustration of Anne\u2019s white falcon pecking at a pomegranate \u2013 Catherine of Aragon\u2019s emblem. Anne also said that she would rather see Catherine hanged than acknowledge her as Queen. It ruffled feathers because Catherine was enormously popular.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nA Savage Re-Gifter<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was a really savage \u2018re-gifter.\u2019 She was brought pelicans from the new world that she hated and peacocks that woke her up in the morning,\u201d Gareth Russell reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave them to friends and they were so expensive, they had to say \u201c\u2019yes\u2019. She then required them to take the birds away from the Palace so that she could sleep in. There\u2019s a record of her saying, \u2018I\u2019ll pay for the feed, but you can\u2019t keep them here\u2019. She essentially gave away a really expensive alarm clock and they had to thank her for it, while she got to lie-in. \u201d<\/p>\n\n
Anne was more intelligent than Henry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was someone who, on her worst day, was Henry\u2019s intellectual equal. On her average day, she was more intelligent than him. She was educated in France; she had some experience at the Habsburg Court. Henry aspired to be more European. She had chic European glamour and great confidence,\u201d Russell continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Henry\u2019s ego seemed enormous, but fragile. She had a lot of things he wanted, or perhaps, more specifically wanted to control. <\/strong>There was a pretty intense, self-flagellating, self-loathing in his early letters \u2013 the central theme being \u2018Why am I so obsessed with you? I hate myself for being so obsessed.’\u201d<\/p>\nThe Swordsman is Called<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cThe swordsman had been ordered before Anne went to trial,\u201d Russell explains. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t send a great message on the impartiality of the judiciary. The jury\u2019s decision was something of a foregone conclusion, when accommodation for a swordsman from across the Channel had already been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs on BBC Two, 9pm on Friday the 13th August. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0hub.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\u201cShe was the antithesis of what was considered good looking at the time \u2013 blond hair and blue eyes were de rigueur at Tudor court,\u201d says Emmerson.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnne was neither \u2013 she had dark hair and dark eyes, that were described as almost black. Henry went to extraordinary lengths and finances to eradicate all images of Anne after she died. The only surviving contemporary image of Anne is a very crude and damaged medal from 1534.\u201d<\/p>
Anne\u2019s Beheading \u2013 an act of mercy or betrayal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cNormally, the victim would signal to the executioner that they were ready \u2013 which they would do by throwing their arms out. It was the last bit of agency that person had. Anne was not afforded that. The executioner distracted her. He called in French \u2018fetch me my sword\u2019 and his assistant moved,\u201d Emmerson explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnne turned to the sound of what was happening. At that moment the executioner takes her head off without her saying \u2018I\u2019m ready\u2019. It is often portrayed as an act of mercy \u2013 but I can\u2019t help but feel that this woman, who was dragged down so appallingly, even in the last moments of her life is denied agency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne Survives a Pandemic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cIn 1528, there was a dreadful pandemic, the sweating sickness. Anne and her father Thomas fell ill at Hever Castle. Henry, still courting Anne at the time, was desperately worried and sent his second-best doctor to attend to her. Henry\u2019s letters to Anne were particularly messy during this period \u2013 he was panicking, there were mistakes and crossings out,\u201d Emmerson reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose little markers I think tell us a lot about his genuine affection for her. Anne came very close to dying. It\u2019s a pivotal point because Henry saw her mortality and saw his own. Things got serious and soon after, the trials of Blackfriars took place [where Henry sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon].\u201d<\/p>\n
A Public Consummation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne Boleyn and Henry\u2019s consummation would have had public elements to it,\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cRight up until the actual act, there would have been people present \u2013 and there would have been people in the anti-chamber next to the bedroom. A crucial part of being married was the consummation. Often the marriage sheets would be kept as evidence of a successful consummation.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\""Anne\"]( "\\"\"Anne-Boleyn-documentary-bbc\"\\"")
<\/div> The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nHow the nature of Anne\u2019s death may have been a bargaining chip<\/strong><\/h2>\nEmmerson explains: \u201cHenry was intimately involved in the minutiae of how Anne was going to die. He was morbidly fascinated by it. He stipulates that all the things that are to happen to Anne will also happen to future queens. In sentencing Anne, there was also the option of burning, which is a considerably longer and more horrific death. This is speculation, but it is thought that there may have been a bartering situation going on. Henry wanted the marriage annulled. We think that Anne agreed to this \u2013 perhaps the bargaining chip was a cleaner death \u2013 but we will never really know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne\u2019s hatred of Catherine of Aragon<\/h2>\n
\u201cWe see Anne\u2019s darker side through her surviving songbook.\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cAnne\u2019s emblem was a white falcon. In the songbook is an illustration of Anne\u2019s white falcon pecking at a pomegranate \u2013 Catherine of Aragon\u2019s emblem. Anne also said that she would rather see Catherine hanged than acknowledge her as Queen. It ruffled feathers because Catherine was enormously popular.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nA Savage Re-Gifter<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was a really savage \u2018re-gifter.\u2019 She was brought pelicans from the new world that she hated and peacocks that woke her up in the morning,\u201d Gareth Russell reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave them to friends and they were so expensive, they had to say \u201c\u2019yes\u2019. She then required them to take the birds away from the Palace so that she could sleep in. There\u2019s a record of her saying, \u2018I\u2019ll pay for the feed, but you can\u2019t keep them here\u2019. She essentially gave away a really expensive alarm clock and they had to thank her for it, while she got to lie-in. \u201d<\/p>\n\n
Anne was more intelligent than Henry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was someone who, on her worst day, was Henry\u2019s intellectual equal. On her average day, she was more intelligent than him. She was educated in France; she had some experience at the Habsburg Court. Henry aspired to be more European. She had chic European glamour and great confidence,\u201d Russell continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Henry\u2019s ego seemed enormous, but fragile. She had a lot of things he wanted, or perhaps, more specifically wanted to control. <\/strong>There was a pretty intense, self-flagellating, self-loathing in his early letters \u2013 the central theme being \u2018Why am I so obsessed with you? I hate myself for being so obsessed.’\u201d<\/p>\nThe Swordsman is Called<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cThe swordsman had been ordered before Anne went to trial,\u201d Russell explains. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t send a great message on the impartiality of the judiciary. The jury\u2019s decision was something of a foregone conclusion, when accommodation for a swordsman from across the Channel had already been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs on BBC Two, 9pm on Friday the 13th August. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0hub.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\u201cIn 1528, there was a dreadful pandemic, the sweating sickness. Anne and her father Thomas fell ill at Hever Castle. Henry, still courting Anne at the time, was desperately worried and sent his second-best doctor to attend to her. Henry\u2019s letters to Anne were particularly messy during this period \u2013 he was panicking, there were mistakes and crossings out,\u201d Emmerson reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose little markers I think tell us a lot about his genuine affection for her. Anne came very close to dying. It\u2019s a pivotal point because Henry saw her mortality and saw his own. Things got serious and soon after, the trials of Blackfriars took place [where Henry sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon].\u201d<\/p>\n
A Public Consummation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne Boleyn and Henry\u2019s consummation would have had public elements to it,\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cRight up until the actual act, there would have been people present \u2013 and there would have been people in the anti-chamber next to the bedroom. A crucial part of being married was the consummation. Often the marriage sheets would be kept as evidence of a successful consummation.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\""Anne\"]( "\\"\"Anne-Boleyn-documentary-bbc\"\\"")
<\/div> The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nHow the nature of Anne\u2019s death may have been a bargaining chip<\/strong><\/h2>\nEmmerson explains: \u201cHenry was intimately involved in the minutiae of how Anne was going to die. He was morbidly fascinated by it. He stipulates that all the things that are to happen to Anne will also happen to future queens. In sentencing Anne, there was also the option of burning, which is a considerably longer and more horrific death. This is speculation, but it is thought that there may have been a bartering situation going on. Henry wanted the marriage annulled. We think that Anne agreed to this \u2013 perhaps the bargaining chip was a cleaner death \u2013 but we will never really know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne\u2019s hatred of Catherine of Aragon<\/h2>\n
\u201cWe see Anne\u2019s darker side through her surviving songbook.\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cAnne\u2019s emblem was a white falcon. In the songbook is an illustration of Anne\u2019s white falcon pecking at a pomegranate \u2013 Catherine of Aragon\u2019s emblem. Anne also said that she would rather see Catherine hanged than acknowledge her as Queen. It ruffled feathers because Catherine was enormously popular.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nA Savage Re-Gifter<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was a really savage \u2018re-gifter.\u2019 She was brought pelicans from the new world that she hated and peacocks that woke her up in the morning,\u201d Gareth Russell reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave them to friends and they were so expensive, they had to say \u201c\u2019yes\u2019. She then required them to take the birds away from the Palace so that she could sleep in. There\u2019s a record of her saying, \u2018I\u2019ll pay for the feed, but you can\u2019t keep them here\u2019. She essentially gave away a really expensive alarm clock and they had to thank her for it, while she got to lie-in. \u201d<\/p>\n\n
Anne was more intelligent than Henry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was someone who, on her worst day, was Henry\u2019s intellectual equal. On her average day, she was more intelligent than him. She was educated in France; she had some experience at the Habsburg Court. Henry aspired to be more European. She had chic European glamour and great confidence,\u201d Russell continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Henry\u2019s ego seemed enormous, but fragile. She had a lot of things he wanted, or perhaps, more specifically wanted to control. <\/strong>There was a pretty intense, self-flagellating, self-loathing in his early letters \u2013 the central theme being \u2018Why am I so obsessed with you? I hate myself for being so obsessed.’\u201d<\/p>\nThe Swordsman is Called<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cThe swordsman had been ordered before Anne went to trial,\u201d Russell explains. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t send a great message on the impartiality of the judiciary. The jury\u2019s decision was something of a foregone conclusion, when accommodation for a swordsman from across the Channel had already been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs on BBC Two, 9pm on Friday the 13th August. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0hub.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3052,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\""Anne\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/08\/Anne-Boleyn-documentary-bbc-210570d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Anne-Boleyn-documentary-bbc\"\\"")
<\/div>How the nature of Anne\u2019s death may have been a bargaining chip<\/strong><\/h2>\nEmmerson explains: \u201cHenry was intimately involved in the minutiae of how Anne was going to die. He was morbidly fascinated by it. He stipulates that all the things that are to happen to Anne will also happen to future queens. In sentencing Anne, there was also the option of burning, which is a considerably longer and more horrific death. This is speculation, but it is thought that there may have been a bartering situation going on. Henry wanted the marriage annulled. We think that Anne agreed to this \u2013 perhaps the bargaining chip was a cleaner death \u2013 but we will never really know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne\u2019s hatred of Catherine of Aragon<\/h2>\n
\u201cWe see Anne\u2019s darker side through her surviving songbook.\u201d Emmerson says. \u201cAnne\u2019s emblem was a white falcon. In the songbook is an illustration of Anne\u2019s white falcon pecking at a pomegranate \u2013 Catherine of Aragon\u2019s emblem. Anne also said that she would rather see Catherine hanged than acknowledge her as Queen. It ruffled feathers because Catherine was enormously popular.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nA Savage Re-Gifter<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was a really savage \u2018re-gifter.\u2019 She was brought pelicans from the new world that she hated and peacocks that woke her up in the morning,\u201d Gareth Russell reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave them to friends and they were so expensive, they had to say \u201c\u2019yes\u2019. She then required them to take the birds away from the Palace so that she could sleep in. There\u2019s a record of her saying, \u2018I\u2019ll pay for the feed, but you can\u2019t keep them here\u2019. She essentially gave away a really expensive alarm clock and they had to thank her for it, while she got to lie-in. \u201d<\/p>\n\n
Anne was more intelligent than Henry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was someone who, on her worst day, was Henry\u2019s intellectual equal. On her average day, she was more intelligent than him. She was educated in France; she had some experience at the Habsburg Court. Henry aspired to be more European. She had chic European glamour and great confidence,\u201d Russell continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Henry\u2019s ego seemed enormous, but fragile. She had a lot of things he wanted, or perhaps, more specifically wanted to control. <\/strong>There was a pretty intense, self-flagellating, self-loathing in his early letters \u2013 the central theme being \u2018Why am I so obsessed with you? I hate myself for being so obsessed.’\u201d<\/p>\nThe Swordsman is Called<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cThe swordsman had been ordered before Anne went to trial,\u201d Russell explains. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t send a great message on the impartiality of the judiciary. The jury\u2019s decision was something of a foregone conclusion, when accommodation for a swordsman from across the Channel had already been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs on BBC Two, 9pm on Friday the 13th August. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0hub.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3052,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A Savage Re-Gifter<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was a really savage \u2018re-gifter.\u2019 She was brought pelicans from the new world that she hated and peacocks that woke her up in the morning,\u201d Gareth Russell reveals.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave them to friends and they were so expensive, they had to say \u201c\u2019yes\u2019. She then required them to take the birds away from the Palace so that she could sleep in. There\u2019s a record of her saying, \u2018I\u2019ll pay for the feed, but you can\u2019t keep them here\u2019. She essentially gave away a really expensive alarm clock and they had to thank her for it, while she got to lie-in. \u201d<\/p>\n\n
Anne was more intelligent than Henry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cAnne was someone who, on her worst day, was Henry\u2019s intellectual equal. On her average day, she was more intelligent than him. She was educated in France; she had some experience at the Habsburg Court. Henry aspired to be more European. She had chic European glamour and great confidence,\u201d Russell continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Henry\u2019s ego seemed enormous, but fragile. She had a lot of things he wanted, or perhaps, more specifically wanted to control. <\/strong>There was a pretty intense, self-flagellating, self-loathing in his early letters \u2013 the central theme being \u2018Why am I so obsessed with you? I hate myself for being so obsessed.’\u201d<\/p>\nThe Swordsman is Called<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cThe swordsman had been ordered before Anne went to trial,\u201d Russell explains. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t send a great message on the impartiality of the judiciary. The jury\u2019s decision was something of a foregone conclusion, when accommodation for a swordsman from across the Channel had already been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs on BBC Two, 9pm on Friday the 13th August. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0hub.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3052,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cAnne was someone who, on her worst day, was Henry\u2019s intellectual equal. On her average day, she was more intelligent than him. She was educated in France; she had some experience at the Habsburg Court. Henry aspired to be more European. She had chic European glamour and great confidence,\u201d Russell continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Henry\u2019s ego seemed enormous, but fragile. She had a lot of things he wanted, or perhaps, more specifically wanted to control. <\/strong>There was a pretty intense, self-flagellating, self-loathing in his early letters \u2013 the central theme being \u2018Why am I so obsessed with you? I hate myself for being so obsessed.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe swordsman had been ordered before Anne went to trial,\u201d Russell explains. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t send a great message on the impartiality of the judiciary. The jury\u2019s decision was something of a foregone conclusion, when accommodation for a swordsman from across the Channel had already been arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs on BBC Two, 9pm on Friday the 13th August. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0hub.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3052,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-boleyns-a-scandalous-family-historians-reveal-10-facts-about-anne-boleyn-ahead-of-bbc-documentary.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"How much do you really know about Anne Boleyn?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Swordsman is Called<\/strong><\/h2>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"