It's the early hours of the 19th of May,
00:03
1536.
00:06
4 days ago, Anne Berlin, Queen of
00:10
England, was tried here at the Tower of
00:13
London and found guilty of adultery,
00:16
incest, and even worse, treason against
00:21
her husband, King Henry VIII. She's been
00:25
condemned to die.
00:29
It's a stark reminder of just how
00:32
quickly her star has fallen.
00:35
I'm historian Tracy Borman. Over three
00:41
nights, I'm exploring the extraordinary
00:44
story of Anne's downfall.
00:47
>> Look at that. It's just exquisite.
00:50
>> It's wonderful, isn't it? It all took
00:53
place in the space of just 17 days. I've
00:55
studied Anne for most of my life. I
01:00
think I know her well. But I'm going to
01:02
do something that I've never done
01:05
before. I'm going to follow in Anne's
01:06
footsteps. Take the journey with her
01:09
hour by hour during the three most
01:12
important days from queen to outcast to
01:16
find the truth behind her downfall. That
01:20
is incredible. And I just put it in my
01:23
pocket.
01:26
>> I've already seen how Anne was arrested,
01:28
tried, and sentenced to death.
01:32
Now, in this final episode, I'm focusing
01:36
on the darkest day of all, the 19th of
01:39
May, 1536.
01:43
The day Anne is set to be executed.
01:46
I'll discover the order issued by King
01:50
Henry VIII which decides Anne's fate.
01:53
>> It's sad that behind this very
01:57
bureaucratic document is a a real person
01:58
who's going to suffer a butchering
02:01
basically.
02:03
>> Will the king grant her a lastm minute
02:05
reprieve
02:07
or is this Anne's final day?
02:09
[Music]
02:17
[Music]
02:25
It's the dead of night
02:42
Nearly all of London is asleep,
02:45
but not quite everyone.
02:49
[Music]
02:52
At the Tower of London, the Yman warders
02:54
are patrolling the grounds,
02:57
their prisoners secure inside.
03:00
Unsurprisingly, in the Queen's
03:05
apartments where Anne is spending her
03:08
final hours, everyone is awake.
03:10
Although it's just a few hours until
03:18
Anne's execution, she seems remarkably
03:21
composed, even cheerful, laughing and
03:24
joking with her ladies.
03:27
The constable of the tower, Sir William
03:30
Kingston, reports that Anne's moods
03:33
swing between despair
03:35
and hope. He writes, "I have seen many
03:38
men and also women executed, and all
03:42
they have been in great sorrow.
03:46
>> But to my knowledge, this lady has much
03:49
joy and pleasure in death."
03:52
>> Maybe Anne is thinking that King Henry
03:57
will intervene and save her at the 11th
03:59
hour. Or perhaps she's just resigned to
04:02
her fate.
04:06
After all, her marriage is over. She's
04:09
lost all of her power and status. Her
04:12
family has abandoned her, and she's been
04:15
found guilty of the most evil of crimes.
04:18
Perhaps she just wants to be put out of
04:24
her misery.
04:27
[Music]
04:28
[Applause]
04:30
At his base in Austin Friars, the man
04:38
who is determined and will die today is
04:41
sleeping.
04:44
The king's chief advisor,
04:46
Thomas Cromwell.
04:49
Just 3 years ago, Cromwell masterminded
04:52
Henry's marriage to Anne, hoping she'd
04:55
give the king a son. But she hasn't.
04:58
Cromwell and Anne are now at
05:04
loggerheads, giving him the perfect
05:06
opportunity to get rid of her.
05:09
Now the final part of his plan is
05:13
falling into place.
05:16
Two days ago, the five men accused of
05:23
adultery with Anne, including her own
05:25
brother, George, have been taken from
05:28
inside the tower up to Tower Hill, where
05:30
they were executed in full public view.
05:33
An on the other hand is to have a
05:39
private execution.
05:41
She's to be the first person to be
05:45
officially executed inside the walls of
05:47
the tower.
05:50
This means that they had to build a
05:55
scaffold and quickly.
05:57
But why the need for such a rush?
06:00
Cromwell wants to get Anne's execution
06:08
over and done with as quickly as
06:11
possible
06:13
before the notoriously fickle King Henry
06:15
changes his mind.
06:18
A short distance up river at Whiteall,
06:22
the king is sleeping in his private
06:26
apartments.
06:28
[Music]
06:32
In a matter of hours, he hopes to be rid
06:37
of Anne, the woman who has failed to
06:40
give him a son.
06:42
As king, he needs a male heir to
06:47
continue the TUDA dynasty. Already
06:50
waiting in the wings is the woman he
06:53
hopes will replace Anne and provide him
06:56
with a son, Jane Seymour.
06:58
Anne's former lady in waiting.
07:02
Over the last few weeks, Thomas Cromwell
07:05
has been working tirelessly to make it
07:08
happen.
07:11
He's managed to get Anne sentenced to
07:13
death on trumped up charges. Now he has
07:15
to make sure her daughter Elizabeth can
07:19
never become queen. But to do this, he
07:22
must wipe the marriage from existence.
07:25
It's vital for Henry to have the
07:30
marriage anulled. A divorce won't do. He
07:32
wants it never to have happened in the
07:36
first place.
07:38
Nothing must get in the way of the male
07:40
heir Henry now hopes to have with Jane
07:43
Seymour.
07:46
Three days ago, Cromwell persuaded the
07:56
Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas
07:59
Cranmer, to write off Henry's marriage
08:01
to Anne.
08:04
Even though Kmer has serious doubts
08:06
about Anne's guilt, he agrees to
08:09
Cromwell's request, perhaps to save his
08:11
own skin. He says, "On the basis of some
08:14
true, just and legitimate causes
08:19
recently brought to our attention, the
08:21
marriage was null and void, and had
08:24
always been so,
08:26
which made Anne's daughter, henceforth
08:29
to be known as the Lady Elizabeth, a
08:31
bastard." This is yet another blow for
08:34
Anne because it means that her precious
08:37
daughter Elizabeth is now technically
08:40
illegitimate and has no right to the
08:43
throne. It seems that Anne's legacy will
08:45
be completely destroyed.
08:48
Today, two miles up river from the tower
08:53
at Lambeath Palace, Thomas Cranmer, like
08:56
Anne Berlin, is unable to sleep.
09:00
Cranmer is a firm supporter of an
09:05
Cranmer's mind must be spinning. In a
09:14
way, he knows Anne better than anyone
09:18
because he's acted as her personal
09:20
confessor.
09:23
Anne is deeply religious. If she had
09:26
done anything wrong, she would have told
09:30
Cranmer in order to seek forgiveness and
09:32
be received into heaven.
09:35
But even though he granted the enulment
09:40
of her marriage to Henry, Cranmer is
09:42
astounded at the charges. It's
09:45
interesting because the fact that
09:48
Cranmer is so shocked and distraught by
09:50
the allegations must mean he believes
09:53
her to be innocent.
09:57
In fact, he told Henry he is
09:59
>> amazed for I never had a better opinion
10:02
of woman.
10:05
>> He must be desperately hoping that the
10:07
king will change his mind. But he's also
10:10
painfully aware that time is quickly
10:13
running out.
10:15
As Cranmer paces around his garden, a
10:21
close friend, Alexander Alice, arrives
10:24
by boat. Alice is in an agitated state.
10:28
He tells Kmer that he's been awoken by a
10:32
terrible nightmare and recounts it all
10:35
in gory detail.
10:38
It was revealed to me whether I was
10:42
asleep or awaken or not, the queen's
10:44
neck after her head had been cut off.
10:47
And this so plainly that I could count
10:51
the nerves, the veins, and the arteries.
10:53
>> Cranmer believes this is a premonition.
11:00
Alice has not left home for days, so how
11:04
could he know an is about to be
11:07
executed?
11:09
He later recounted that Cranmer looked
11:11
up to the sky and declared,
11:13
>> "She who has been the queen of England
11:16
upon earth will today become a queen in
11:18
heaven."
11:21
>> He is now utterly overcome with grief.
11:23
>> Despite believing Anne is innocent,
11:28
Cranmer is losing hope that the king
11:31
will grant a reprieve and save her from
11:33
the sword. Time is running out. An is
11:36
just 6 hours from execution.
11:42
[Music]
11:45
[Music]
11:55
[Applause]
12:08
It's dawn.
12:12
An is in the queen's apartments at the
12:14
tower.
12:17
She's with her chaplain receiving her
12:22
final communion.
12:24
But this is a repeat of what happened
12:29
yesterday
12:32
when Anne was supposed to be executed.
12:34
Yet it was postponed
12:38
not once
12:40
but twice. Why is this?
12:42
[Applause]
12:46
One theory is that Cromwell is worried
12:48
there will be protests at the tower in
12:51
support of Anne.
12:53
People are starting to mutter against
12:56
the guilty verdict
12:58
and Cromwell needs time to clear them
13:01
out of the tower before the execution
13:04
can take place.
13:07
This is torture for Anne.
13:09
They say hope is harder to deal with
13:15
than despair. And perhaps growing within
13:18
her is a notion that the king is having
13:21
second thoughts.
13:25
[Music]
13:28
Anne, still in her apartments, is
13:47
preparing to face the world for the last
13:50
time.
13:53
Her distraught ladies in waiting dress
13:56
her.
13:58
>> Hi, Larry.
13:59
>> Hi, Tracy.
13:59
>> She carefully chooses every item of
14:00
clothing to send a message to those
14:03
watching her execution.
14:06
Lynn is a world expert in TUDA clothing.
14:10
She's reconstructing what Anne wore.
14:14
>> Well, we know that she was wearing a red
14:18
curt. So, that's what we understand to
14:20
be an underdress. A red curtain was
14:22
quite a sort of uh normal thing to wear
14:25
in the 16th century. Peasants wore red
14:27
scarlet petty coats. So, it may be that
14:30
she was wearing it to appear humble. So,
14:33
she's sort of one of the people. But it
14:37
also plays to that idea of humility. And
14:39
that's certainly what she wants to
14:41
project now.
14:42
Educated on the continent, Anne is famed
14:46
for her flamboyant French style of
14:49
dress. She usually wears rich, colorful,
14:52
imported fabrics.
14:56
But today, for her outer gown, she
14:58
chooses something much more subdued.
15:01
I think the choice of the the gray or
15:05
the black fabric is quite important
15:08
because that is the color um of piety
15:10
and sobriety at court. It's the color of
15:13
the officials and the lawyers. All play
15:16
to an trying to be quite meek, which is
15:19
not what she's known to be otherwise. I
15:21
think what she's actually doing here is
15:24
dressing down. She's using everything
15:26
possible in her armory to try and get
15:29
out of this.
15:32
[Music]
15:36
An is guilty of treason, punishable by
15:37
death.
15:41
But the jury didn't specify the method
15:43
of execution. A queen of England has
15:46
never before been sentenced to death. So
15:49
this is new territory.
15:52
Deep within the National Archives lies
15:56
an extraordinary and rarelyseen document
15:59
that provides a glimpse into how the
16:02
decision was made. Tucked away inside a
16:05
500year-old book is something truly
16:08
remarkable. A record of the execution
16:11
warrant for Anne Berlin.
16:14
It sets out how she's to die.
16:17
The penalty under the tree is an act
16:23
that this all would have proceeded under
16:25
for a woman would be to be burned and
16:27
for a man to be hanged all and
16:29
quartered.
16:30
Burning is a slow excruciating death.
16:34
Beheading isn't that much better at
16:39
least with an axe because axes can be
16:40
very blunt. It can take several blows to
16:43
sever a head.
16:46
But the document reveals that for Anne,
16:51
Henry chooses an alternative method of
16:54
execution. So they've made a record and
16:56
that's what he says.
16:59
>> We moved by pity, not wishing the lady
17:00
Anne to be burned. Direct the constable
17:04
of the tower that on the green within
17:07
the Tower of London, the said Anne shall
17:10
have her head cut from her body.
17:12
Because of course Henry orders a a sword
17:19
rather than an axe. The axe being blunt,
17:22
more kind of brutal form of death. So
17:24
that that wording could be significant.
17:26
Cut away, not chopped away.
17:29
>> Yeah, I think I think this is again some
17:31
sense of of mercy in the king's
17:34
involvement in the process.
17:36
When Anne is told of Henry's decision
17:40
that she's to be beheaded by sword, she
17:42
shows her dark sense of humor. She puts
17:45
her hands around her neck um and laughs
17:48
heartily and says, "It'll be a swift
17:52
death because I have just a little
17:53
neck."
17:56
These instructions for Anne's execution
18:02
were sent to the tower just yesterday.
18:05
giving Sir William Kingston, the
18:08
constable of the tower, little time to
18:10
prepare.
18:13
What this document does make very, very
18:15
clear is the unprecedented nature of all
18:17
of this that a queen of England has
18:20
never been executed before. They have to
18:22
get it right. And worryingly for any
18:25
future wives now, they know exactly what
18:27
to do next time.
18:30
[Music]
18:32
[Applause]
18:34
[Music]
18:49
Beheading by sword is a French method of
18:51
execution. So the king has summoned an
18:55
expert swordsman from Santoare in
18:58
France. He arrived at the tower
19:00
yesterday and soon he will have the
19:03
daunting task of being the first man to
19:06
execute an English queen.
19:09
There's something quite intriguing about
19:16
the time frame here because somebody
19:18
would have had to have gone to summon
19:20
the swordsman. You can't just pick up a
19:22
phone in those days and obviously travel
19:24
is a lot slower. So they would have
19:26
traveled down from London to do by horse
19:28
and then of course sailed over the
19:32
channel and onto Calala and from there
19:34
it was a bit further on to Santo Mayor
19:37
where the swordsman was. That would have
19:39
taken at least 3 days and then of course
19:41
at least 3 days for the swordsman to
19:44
travel back. That's six days in total at
19:47
least.
19:50
This is a damning piece of evidence
19:53
because what it means is that incredibly
19:56
the swordsman must have been summoned
19:59
before the verdict of Anne's trial was
20:02
delivered just 5 days ago.
20:04
It was a foregone conclusion. Whatever
20:09
an does or says, it seems she's going to
20:12
be executed.
20:16
[Music]
20:22
This is meant to be a private execution
20:28
to preserve Anne's dignity and to
20:32
prevent anyone from trying to rescue
20:35
her.
20:37
So, the public were ordered to leave the
20:39
tower.
20:41
But the gates have accidentally been
20:43
left open. So now crowds are gathering
20:45
in anticipation of the execution.
20:49
A thousand people have come in, people
20:53
of all ranks of society to witness what
20:56
is about to unfold here on the scaffold.
20:59
It seems incredible to think that people
21:04
would willingly choose to come and watch
21:07
as a person's head is severed from their
21:09
body. But it's like the grim fascination
21:12
we have with crime dramas or watching as
21:15
the latest celebrity is shamed by the
21:18
media. Only this is much worse.
21:21
Among those gathering are men from the
21:29
king's council, including Anne's uncle,
21:32
the Duke of Norfolk.
21:35
There is also the king's illegitimate
21:39
son, the Duke of Richmond. Well, he's
21:41
there perhaps as a reminder to Anne that
21:45
the king has no trouble fathering sons.
21:48
Then the architect of Anne's downfall
21:54
arrives,
21:57
Thomas Cromwell.
22:01
He's about to witness the concluding
22:04
part of his plan to dispose of Anne
22:06
Berlin.
22:09
Everything is in place for the
22:11
execution.
22:13
Sir William Kingston now heads for the
22:16
queen's apartments to summon Anne.
22:19
Time is running out.
22:22
[Applause]
22:47
At the Tower of London in the Queen's
22:51
apartments, Anne Berlin is dressed and
22:54
waiting to be Boo.
22:57
It's the job of the constable of the
23:02
tower, Sir William Kingston, to make
23:04
sure Anne's execution all goes to plan.
23:06
With the time approaching, he heads over
23:12
to collect her.
23:14
Kingston arrives at Anne's door. You can
23:18
only imagine what she's thinking at this
23:21
moment because on the one hand it's what
23:24
she's been dreading all along.
23:27
Perhaps she is hoping that against the
23:32
odds Kingston has come with a message
23:35
from the king informing her that he has
23:38
come to his senses and she will be
23:41
pardoned.
23:43
[Music]
23:45
Well, if she does hope that, it's soon
23:46
shattered when Kingston tells her to
23:49
make ready for her execution.
23:51
>> Anne replies calmly,
23:56
>> "Aquit yourself of your charge,
23:58
for I have you long been prepared."
24:02
It seems extraordinary that Anne is so
24:06
ready to meet her fate and it's a real
24:09
testament to her strength of character.
24:12
Her great enemy, Ambassador Shapis, once
24:16
remarked,
24:20
>> "She was braver than a lion."
24:21
>> His words were never more true than on
24:25
this the last day of her life.
24:29
Up river at his palace in Whiteall
24:35
is the one man who can put a stop to the
24:39
execution,
24:42
the king.
24:48
But there's no sign he's about to change
24:56
his mind.
24:58
As he's dressed by his gentlemen, he's
25:00
listening out for cannon fire from the
25:03
Tower of London.
25:06
This will signal that Anne is dead and
25:08
he's free to remarry.
25:11
Anne is about to be led by Sir William
25:29
Kingston
25:31
from the sanctuary of her apartments
25:33
[Music]
25:36
through Cold Harbor Gate to the scaffold
25:37
on the other side of the White Tower
25:40
where she'll be executed.
25:43
She is to be accompanied
25:46
by her four ladies in waiting.
25:48
There's a terrible irony to all of this.
25:53
The last time Anne was here was just 3
25:56
years ago for her coronation
25:59
celebrations. Her story has come full
26:01
circle.
26:04
Anne, her ladies and Kingston are met by
26:08
a procession of 200 ymen of the king's
26:11
guard, followed by the officers of the
26:15
tower and her chaplain. She is escorted
26:18
the short distance towards the cold
26:22
harbor gate. She knows that what awaits
26:25
her around that corner is the scaffold.
26:28
The masked spectators are desperate to
26:34
get a glimpse of the fallen queen.
26:37
And she also sees for the first time the
26:42
scaffold where she's to be beheaded.
26:45
There's a hushed silence as she walks
26:52
through the crowds.
26:55
People comment that she's never looked
26:58
more beautiful.
27:00
Even now with time running out, Anne is
27:06
looking all around her as if hoping to
27:09
see a messenger from the king carrying a
27:11
royal pardon.
27:14
But there is no messenger.
27:16
Among the crowd, Anne sees familiar
27:20
faces.
27:23
These are the men who once raised her to
27:25
be queen.
27:28
her own uncle, the Duke of Norolk, and
27:30
the architect of her downfall,
27:33
Thomas Cromwell.
27:37
They are here to make sure Anne's life
27:40
and her powerful influence
27:43
are destroyed
27:46
permanently.
27:49
Kingston helps Anne to mount the steps
28:03
onto the scaffold. She turns to her
28:06
ladies who are weeping and comforts
28:09
them. And then she sees the executioner
28:11
who's looking apprehensive at what he is
28:15
about to do. What Anne doesn't see is
28:19
the sword.
28:22
which is hidden underneath the straw so
28:26
as not to alarm her.
28:29
Anne asks Kingston for permission to
28:37
speak.
28:40
She doesn't look like someone who's
28:42
about to be executed. Eyewitnesses say
28:45
that she's smiling and it's with such a
28:48
cheerful countenance that she turns to
28:52
address the crowds. Good Christian
28:55
people, I am come hither to die. For
28:58
according to the law and by the law I am
29:02
judged to die.
29:05
Therefore I will speak nothing against
29:07
it.
29:09
I am come hither to accuse no man, nor
29:11
to speak anything that whereof I am
29:14
accused and condemned to die. But I pray
29:17
God save the king
29:23
and send him long to reign over you. For
29:26
a gentler nor a more merciful prince was
29:30
there never.
29:34
And to me he was ever a good, a gentle
29:36
and sovereign Lord. And thus
29:38
I take my leave of the world and of you
29:42
all.
29:45
And I heartily desire you all to pray
29:47
for me.
29:49
Oh Lord have mercy on me. To God I
29:51
commend my soul.
29:54
[Music]
29:56
>> Anne's words reduce many spectators to
29:57
tears.
30:01
Well, this is an incredibly humble
30:03
speech. Perhaps not what we expect of
30:06
Anne, the woman renowned for her
30:08
feistiness and outspoken manner. What's
30:11
she actually saying here? Well, I think
30:14
she's trying to make the king look
30:17
kindly on those whom she leaves behind,
30:20
none more so than their daughter,
30:24
Elizabeth.
30:27
Then Anne is invited to confess the
30:32
truth, but instead she replies,
30:35
"I know I shall have no pardon, but they
30:40
shall know no more from me."
30:42
>> She is maintaining her innocence right
30:46
to the very end.
30:49
The swordsman takes off his shoes so
31:01
that Anne won't hear him approach.
31:03
Anne removes her headdress.
31:07
One of her ladies hands her a linen cap.
31:10
She tucks her hair inside so it won't
31:14
get in the way of the sword.
31:17
The executioner steps forward, kneels
31:30
before Anne, and begs her forgiveness
31:33
for what he's about to do.
31:36
He asks Anne to kneel and say her
31:40
prayers.
31:43
The crowd falls to its knees.
31:47
It's time
31:52
for the execution.
31:55
[Music]
32:18
The executioner picks up his sword as
32:25
Anne Berlin kneels down on the scaffold.
32:29
Her eyes are bandaged.
32:33
[Music]
32:37
Dazed, she says, "Jesu, have pity on my
32:40
soul."
32:44
The crowd falls completely silent.
32:47
The next thing to happen is that the
32:52
swordsman signals to an assistant who
32:54
makes a noise, distracting Anne.
32:56
The executioner's hands tremble in
33:00
distress. And in that moment, the
33:03
executioner swings his sword twice over
33:06
his head to gain momentum and then in
33:09
one strike severs Anne's head.
33:13
[Music]
33:19
[Music]
33:37
Anne's head falls to the straw on the
33:44
scaffold. Horrified
33:47
eyewitnesses claim they can see her lips
33:49
still moving in silent prayer.
33:53
People begin to weep.
33:58
The Queen of England, as she was, is
34:01
dead.
34:04
One of Anne's ladies bravely picks up
34:07
her head and covers it in a linen cloth,
34:10
the blood still dripping from it.
34:13
The other three ladies, deeply
34:18
distressed and refusing to let any man
34:20
touch her, pick up her body, and
34:23
together they carry Anna away.
34:26
[Music]
34:30
Cannons at the tower fire out,
34:35
reverberating across London, announcing
34:38
that the Queen of England is dead.
34:41
[Music]
34:49
At Whiteall, the king hears the cannons.
34:51
It's the signal he's been waiting for.
34:57
Henry takes no time to mourn Anne's loss
35:01
or even to celebrate it with a great
35:05
feast as he had the death of his first
35:07
wife, Catherine. Instead, he boards his
35:10
royal barge and travels the short
35:13
distance up river to Chelsea and into
35:15
the arms of the waiting Jane Seymour.
35:18
[Music]
35:24
At the tower, Anne's body is laid to
35:33
rest,
35:36
not in a coffin, but in an old arrow
35:38
chest.
35:41
It's been taken from the tower's weapon
35:43
store, which is right next to the
35:45
execution site.
35:47
Well, you might think there isn't room
35:50
for a body in an arrow chest, but the
35:52
arrows are actually laid end to end like
35:54
this. So, it is actually quite long, but
35:58
it is also narrow. So, it's quite lucky
36:00
that Anne was a very slender lady. But
36:02
why hasn't anyone prepared a proper
36:06
coffin? Anne was once Queen of England.
36:09
It could simply be because there was no
36:13
time to source a coffin. After all,
36:16
Cromwell had rushed through the Queen's
36:19
execution as quickly as possible. I
36:22
wonder though if there is another
36:25
reason. responsibility for the execution
36:28
and all of the arrangements for it lies
36:32
with William Kingston, constable of the
36:34
tower.
36:37
Is it possible that he like an didn't
36:39
really believe that Henry would go
36:42
through with the execution?
36:44
[Music]
36:51
Anne's body is brought here to the Tower
36:57
Chapel where it's stripped of her
37:00
jewelry and her expensive but
37:02
bloodstained clothes.
37:05
[Music]
37:07
Incredibly, Henry will pass the jewels
37:10
and clothing of his dead wife onto his
37:13
new wife, Jane Seymour.
37:16
[Music]
37:19
At midday, three hours after Anne's
37:21
execution, she's buried in the chancel
37:24
next to her brother George.
37:27
Every year on May the 19th, the
37:31
anniversary of Anne's execution, an
37:33
anonymous bouquet of red roses is
37:36
delivered to the tower.
37:39
They are to be laid just over there on
37:41
the spot where Anne Berlin was buried in
37:44
1536.
37:48
It's touching to think that Anne is
37:51
still remembered almost 500 years after
37:53
her death.
37:56
In executing Anne, Thomas Cromwell has
38:03
pulled off a massive coup.
38:06
He has got rid not just of the Queen of
38:10
England, but of all her faction.
38:13
Cromwell goes on to become the most
38:17
powerful man in England after the king.
38:20
But as Anne Berlin learned, no one is
38:24
safe in the TUDA court. In a dramatic
38:27
twist of fate, he falls from Henry's
38:31
favor.
38:34
Four years later, he too is executed.
38:37
There's a final postcript to this story.
38:45
After Anne's execution, Henry and
38:49
Cromwell tried to erase her from
38:51
history.
38:54
Her letters and portraits were destroyed
38:56
and her initials and emblems that once
38:59
adorned the royal palaces were removed.
39:02
[Music]
39:05
But there was one thing they couldn't
39:09
get rid of. Despite being queen for just
39:11
3 years, Anne left England one of its
39:14
greatest legacies.
39:18
22 years later, against all odds, her
39:20
daughter was crowned Queen Elizabeth I.
39:24
She ruled for 44 years
39:28
at the prime minister's country home.
39:39
checkers is evidence that Elizabeth
39:41
never forgot her mother.
39:44
[Music]
39:47
>> We now find ourselves in the great
39:49
parlor.
39:51
>> Curator Rodney Melville is giving me
39:52
exclusive access to a ring worn by the
39:55
queen that contains a secret.
39:59
>> So,
40:02
here we have Elizabeth's ring.
40:04
Oh, this is just incredible to see.
40:08
>> If you lift the E in diamonds,
40:11
>> it's so delicate.
40:15
That's incredible. There is an with her
40:19
very characteristic French hood.
40:22
And then facing her,
40:26
>> Elizabeth, her daughter. Look at that.
40:28
It's just exquisite.
40:31
>> It's wonderful, isn't it? And the face
40:34
shape you can see um an had a very long
40:36
slim face exactly as is shown here. But
40:39
it's just so intricate, isn't it? It's
40:44
absolutely beautiful.
40:47
>> What a piece of history. I have written
40:49
about this. I've never seen it in the
40:52
flesh.
40:55
As a historian, it doesn't get much
40:56
better than seeing this. So, thank you.
40:58
Elizabeth kept her feelings about her
41:02
mother private, but she cherished this
41:05
ring.
41:08
It said it was removed from her finger
41:10
on her deathbed.
41:12
[Music]
41:14
>> If you look at the portrait of Amberlin,
41:16
right at the bottom, there is a diamond
41:18
>> whereas Elizabeth I only has a ruby.
41:22
>> Huh? So her mother's jewels are
41:26
superior. Is this Elizabeth kind of
41:29
deferring to to Anne?
41:31
>> Very possibly.
41:33
>> That's remarkable. Yet another show of
41:34
of respect, of reverence even for her
41:36
late mother.
41:39
>> Yes, I think so.
41:39
>> There's one other intriguing aspect of
41:42
this ring.
41:45
>> Elizabeth wore pearls a lot. It
41:46
symbolized her her virginity, her her
41:49
purity. And I think it's quite
41:51
interesting that this ring is fashioned
41:53
from mother of pearl. That idea of
41:56
purity, of innocence and an is there.
41:58
Elizabeth was said to rarely speak of
42:03
her mother, but this ring speaks for
42:06
her. It seems to show what Elizabeth
42:09
really felt about the woman condemned as
42:12
an adulteress.
42:15
What it also very very clearly
42:17
illustrates is Anne's most valuable
42:20
legacy, her daughter of course, who was
42:23
a disappointment at the time of her
42:26
birth and really was the beginning of
42:28
the end for an
42:30
>> but little did Henry know that it was
42:32
his reviled second wife who would give
42:34
him his most successful child.
42:37
To think that this was on Elizabeth's
42:40
finger.
42:43
>> Yes,
42:43
>> it's amazing.
42:44
When I set out on this journey to follow
42:51
three very significant days at the end
42:54
of Anne's life, I had so many
42:56
assumptions about Anne and her story.
42:59
But re-examining the evidence in real
43:03
time rather than looking back has
43:06
shattered those ideas.
43:09
Stripping back the layers of rumor and
43:12
downright lies that have surrounded Anne
43:15
for 500 years makes it clear just how
43:17
groundless the case against her was and
43:21
how courageous she was in the face of it
43:23
all.
43:26
Well, living Anne's story with her day
43:28
by day and hour by hour has brought home
43:31
to me just how deeply shocking it was to
43:35
execute a queen of England. It's also
43:38
made me realize that most people didn't
43:42
really believe Henry VII would go
43:44
through with it above all and herself.
43:46
[Music]
43:55
Heat. Heat.
44:07
[Music]
44:15
[Music]
44:41
[Music]
44:51
歌词与翻译
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重点词汇
开始练习
| 词汇 | 含义 |
|---|---|
|
king /kɪŋ/ A1 |
|
|
queen /kwiːn/ A1 |
|
|
death /dɛθ/ A2 |
|
|
trial /ˈtraɪəl/ B2 |
|
|
guilty /ˈɡɪlti/ B1 |
|
|
treason /ˈtriːzən/ C1 |
|
|
executed /ˈɛksɪˌkjuːtɪd/ B2 |
|
|
fate /feɪt/ B2 |
|
|
power /ˈpaʊər/ A2 |
|
|
married /ˈmærid/ A2 |
|
|
lie /laɪ/ A1 |
|
|
innocent /ˈɪnəsənt/ B1 |
|
|
sword /sɔːrd/ B1 |
|
|
legacy /ˈlɛɡəsi/ C1 |
|
|
shocking /ˈʃɒkɪŋ/ B2 |
|
|
grief /ɡriːf/ B2 |
|
|
brave /breɪv/ B1 |
|
重点语法结构
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我们正在更新此部分，敬请期待！
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