Anne Boleyn's Final Resting Place: Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula (London Europe Day 2.6) | April 2018
England July 24, 2019
This scaffold site, unveiled in only September 2006, is a memorial that commemorates several famous historical figures executed in that very spot in the Tower of London, although some critics believed the execution happened nearer to the Waterloo Barracks. Some of those executed include Lady Jane Grey and King Henry VIII's two wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
I was strangely obsessed with Henry VIII as a kid, and still am today. I went to the school library and national library religiously every week to dig out whatever nuggets of information there was on him (pre-internet age sucks) because I was confounded by his numerous marriages. Looking at his marriages from an adult's perspective, I am especially enthralled by his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII was most definitely one of the most prominent figures of Tudor history, and his love story with Anne Boleyn was arguably the most famous in history — one that caused numerous deaths too.
In an attempt to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, he declared his independence from Rome — risking political instability — renounced the pope's power above him and declared himself supreme head of the Church in England (I'm sure his ego played a part as well, but that's another story), resulting in a schism between the Catholic and Protestant faith.
Despite tearing the country's faith apart for Anne Boleyn, she couldn't bear him a male heir that could succeed Henry VIII's throne. She was later executed on grounds of treason.
Behind the memorial was Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, where Anne Boleyn's head and body was brought to after the execution.
I gingerly stepped down the stairs that led to the entrance Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula. Its heavy wooden doors were wide opened, beckoning me in. No photos were allowed but I'll try to describe the place as well as I can.
The chapel was a lot less grand than any English — or European, in fact — church I've been to, fitting only an estimated congregation size of 150. Chandeliers hung precariously from its wooden ceiling, lighting up the place. Wooden chairs were arranged in an orderly manner of 4 x 10.
Looking straight in, six individual golden candelabra with unlit votive candles stood atop a table covered by a gold table cloth. Fresh flowers adorned the altar, which was. Above them, diamond-grilled windows prevalent in the Renaissance period allowed the rare London sunlight in. Equally enormous windows lined the walls of Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula.
Most of all, beneath the unsuspecting, modern beige and grey tiles of Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, is where Anne Boleyn was allegedly buried. Her final resting place after her execution in 1536.
The eerie silence in the chapel was only broken by hushed whispers — a stark contrast to the animated visitors I bumped into before, or the bubbly kids running around the open area just outside of the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula. Only once did the security found the need to inform a man that he shouldn't be taking any photographs in the chapel, and he put his camera down immediately with an embarrassed smile. The visitors in the chapel were solemn, if not respectful.
Without the distraction of getting a quality photo, I found myself being truly immersed in the moment. While tourists like me were awed by the chapel, the staff patrolling the area was less than amused, having grown accustomed to it. That's probably the beauty of travelling though — you get to see places you only ever read and dreamt about.
Before I left, I muttered a short prayer. May Anne Boleyn, and all who were executed in the Tower of London, find eternal peace. I don't believe in God, but the prayer only felt right at that moment.
