In Search of Tudor Ghosts at Tower of London

My Fascination with the Tudors

King Henry VIII is and was a larger than life figure, both in reputation and physical size by the end of his life. Due to comfort eating all day long and an injury that left him nearly unable to participate in the sports he used to enjoy, the king gained an enormous amount of weight. In regards to comfort eating, I find him rather relatable.

King Henry VIII’s love affairs and wives are particularly interesting. Just a quick overview for those unaware. During his reign, King Henry VIII married six times. Of course, this was not legal under Catholic law, so how did he do it? More to come on that. 

I was drawn to the Tower of London not simply because of it being on an obligatory list of things to see in the city. I was on a mission to walk in the footsteps of Anne Boleyn. Boleyn was King Henry VIII’s second wife, and I find her story most compelling. I needed to visit this place that had been so paramount to her life (or the end of it).

I did not realize the scale and size of the Tower of London. It’s HUGE, almost akin to a small city in my eyes. You really need an entire day to explore it. It’s not unheard of for travelers to come back a second day to see it all. Nina (my cousin) and I were severely hungover and wandered the grounds for half a day, which I feel was definitely not enough time. But, better to see it briefly than never see it at all, right? It is, after all, a UNESCO world heritage site. 

There are also the crown jewels and the animal menagerie. In medieval times, noblemen often gave exotic animals as gifts. Many people in London had never seen such animals. You can see the types of animals that would have lived in the Tower of London complex, including lions, an elephant, and a polar bear! 

I don’t know how visiting the tower feels for normal people, but for me, it was thrilling. The magnitude of historical significance was palpable. The walls are stone and I would touch one every so often and wonder who else had touched it before me. (Probably the city pervert who doesn’t wash his hands after he pees, and less likely any sort of important figure.) The fact that Anne Boleyn had roamed these areas before me gave me chills.

Wife #1: Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII of Arrogant

Initially, he married Catherine of Aragon. She was significantly older than Henry and the king had numerous flings and affairs during their time together. It’s a fair assessment that if Henry had had a hand in choosing his first wife, he probably would not have chosen Catherine, as doting and loyal as she might be. He was a showoff, a great sportsman, and rather handsome. In his eyes, he was probably a “10” and her a “7.” The two had a daughter together, Mary. Considering she never could bear him a son, Henry no longer wanted to be wed to her and from here the pandemonium starts.

The Catholic church refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce and the English king, being a petty motherfucker, started his own church. This is now called the Church of England, or Anglican Church and it allowed for divorce. After a messy battle, Henry VIII married his beloved mistress, Anne Boleyn. 

As stated, I have a particular interest in Ms. Boleyn and looked for her ghost everywhere that I could when visiting the Tower of London. Once the shining center of Henry VIII’s world, and fascination of all of England, Anne Boleyn fell from grace. She could not produce a male heir for her king, only a daughter, who would later be Queen Elizabeth I.

Two more miscarriages following their daughter made the superstitious king second guess his marriage to Anne. Henry VIII also had his eye on a new woman to wed. Soon after, Henry VIII brought falsified charges against Boleyn, claiming that she committed adultery and had had relations with her own brother. She was executed on Tower Green by beheading. Henry VIII showed mercy by bringing in a special swordsman from France to ensure the job was done in a single blow. Reports account that when he held her head up to the crowd, her eyes were still moving and her “lips were formed in her dying prayer.” Yikes.

Henry VIII married several more times. Next was Jane Seymour, the only wife he claimed to truly love. Probably because she was the only one to give him a son. She died shortly after childbirth due to complications. 

Anne of Cleves was next, but her marriage didn’t last long. It only lasted six months. This is because she was the original catfish. Henry VIII wanted to make sure that his next wife would be a looker. He commissioned that a painter must go and paint her in all of her likeness for him to confirm the marriage. When he received the painting of her with her fair skin and delicate features, he pretty much said, “Shorty can get it. Hook it up, bro.”

However, when she arrived at court he immediately wanted out. “I like her not” he chanted over and over like a petulant child. She was perhaps not ‘ugly’ but far different from what he had wanted. Big-boned and possessing a strong stature, Anne of Cleves unfairly gained a reputation as the ugly queen. Henry VIII initially couldn’t just back out of the marriage. However, to make a long story short, he was able to finagle an excuse and have the marriage annulled. 

Catherine Howard, his next wife, was one of the reasons he divorced Anne of Cleves. Catherine Howard was incredibly young and met his idea of beauty. Unfortunately, sometime after he grew tired of her and her inability to produce a male heir. He had Catherine Howard convicted of adultery and beheaded at approximately 17 years old.

No one actually knows for sure if she had an affair. But if she did, could you blame her? Being somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 and suddenly married? Teenagers do stupid things without thinking no matter the time period. A typical teenager today pays for cheating with a painful breakup and will hopefully learn from the experience. In contrast, Catherine Howard had her head chopped off. I do not think Catherine Howard had the ability, being so young, to understand the gravity of her actions in her particular situation. I do not think it is a coincidence that her death coincides with the fact that she did not or could not give the king a son.

Catherine Parr was Henry’s final wife before he passed away. The two did not have any children, as they were both older and nearer to the end of their lives. Really, they kept each other company. Parr was a driving force in Henry VIII leaving the world on good terms with all three of his children. 

Ever infatuated with Henry VIII’s legacy and that of his offspring, I visited the “imprisonment at the tower exhibit” to see what life was like for some prisoners. To be clear, one’s status often determined prison accommodations. For instance, Queen Anne Boleyn, as his former wife, lived in royal apartments and kept her servants. Popular films depicting her as being in a small cell-like a common prisoner are untrue. Sir William Raleigh lived in a very pleasant apartment, complete with a garden that he tended to and exercised in. Priest John Gerard did not have such lavish accommodations, but escaped with his life after extensive torture.

For those not so fortunate, those whom the king had condemned to die, no doubt lived under immense psychological strain. It was haunting to see the carvings and “graffiti” they had completed while awaiting execution, perfectly preserved in the Beauchamp Tower. The carvings were a way to ensure that their memories would live on after their death.

The Tower of London is a hugely popular tourist attraction. When I went, it was full of people taking selfies. Children were running and playing. Travelers were reading maps as Yeomen guided them around the castle. Knowing the history that I do, this all felt odd to me. It was surreal to see gleeful travelers frolicking among the ghosts of those who unjustly lost their lives. 

Henry VIII’s Wives: Gone but not Forgotten

I thought a lot as I wandered around the green former execution area. As a woman, I consider the perspective of all of Henry VIII’s wives.

How must it have felt to be Catherine of Aragon? Holding onto a man who couldn’t stand the sight of her? The entire nation and world watching as he does everything in his power to rid himself of her?

What would it feel like to be Anne of Cleves? Humiliated and the name “the ugly queen” forever etched into history? How do you wake up and face the world bearing the shame that comes from enduring a divorce due to being too unattractive?

What of Catherine Howard? Imagine being a young, naive, teenager  married to a king like Henry the VIII. Imagine being thrust into a world of politics and deception that you’re probably too naive and ill-experienced to understand.

The account of her running down the halls of Hampton Court Palace, BEGGING and screaming for her life is haunting. Howard’s beheading took place on the Tower Green, just like Anne Boleyn’s.

I am most haunted by Anne Boleyn. To have the world and the king by the balls in one moment, and to feel so utterly in power — then to lose everything in the next moment is harrowing. Looking at the imposing and frightening Tower of London, I cannot imagine the terror she must have faced knowing she would be at the end of the ax, all alone. There was no one to guide her through that terror and fear.

Worse still, her execution was ordered without justification. Her biggest crime was not giving the king a male heir.  The pain of knowing she would never see her daughter again and wondering who might raise her and love her. The anguish of suffering through two miscarriages just for Henry VIII to admonish her for not carrying those children to term.

The cruelty of being euthanized for outliving her earthly usefulness is unfathomable. Anne Boleyn, as with most women during those days, had very few choices in life. They had no say in relationships. Boleyn was an instrument in bringing success to her family and ultimately paid the price for their desired advancement. I cannot fathom living my life being a puppet on a rope, a pawn in a societal game, the object of scorn and gossip. Most of these women, Anne included, were merely given the script and made to perform, so to speak. What were their options? Run away? Find a career? Certainly not in this time period. Anne was a prisoner long before she arrived at the Tower of London.

These women were pawns. Their lives were expendable depending on the sexual whims and desires of the king. Humans get one life to live, and that is all. Imagine the injustice of being beheaded for not being able to produce a son, or because your husband has fallen in love with someone else. 

Despite all of this, do I hate Henry VIII? I don’t know that I do. Remember, he had been conditioned, as had the country, that is was his divine right to rule. He truly believed that his power came directly from God. He was determined to be memorable, all-powerful, and to secure and preserve his place in history. His actions against his wives were monstrous. But, I do look at him, and even his ruthlessness with a semblance of awe. We should really hate him, and others in history such as Al Capone for instance who are like him…but do we?

King Henry VIII’s Legacy

Don’t we tend to allow our fascination for their notoriety to outweigh our disdain? Henry VIII was an alpha-male. At least here in the states… we love that shit. That machismo male arrogance, the power, the good looks (in his youth), and athleticism (in his youth) scream I’M A BOSS. If we didn’t share this cultural sentiment, the most popular shows on Netflix would be Mother Theresa documentaries, but instead, it’s “Narcos” and “Tiger King.” Sure, his actions were deplorable. But, even if you remember nothing from history class, you remember King Henry VIII.

As I walked around the Tower Green I was pensive and solemn. I could not believe how much history happened within these walls. I had to remind myself that Anne Boleyn, one of the most famous figures in history, was beheaded in front of a crowd and drew her last breaths near where I stood. “I’m really sorry. I’m sorry that your one opportunity at life was manipulated and marred. I’m sorry for all of you who have met your end here, for seemingly no reason at all. I’m sorry that your last moments in life were filled with terror and humiliation.” I said these words in my heart, but I don’t think they fell entirely on deaf ears.

 

The wind had a chill and blew through the trees strongly, knocking some leaves down right in front of me. Perhaps someone was grateful to have been remembered and seen as human, instead of a scandal personified.  

I chased after many ghosts on this trip including Shakespeare and Jane Austen. Click to read more!