Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for May 29.
Today was the first day of Anne Boleyn’s coronation, in 1533. Just a week before Archbishop Cranmer had pronounced Henry VIII’s marriage with Katherine of Aragon annulled, and then subsequently declared the validity of her own marriage to Henry, which was already several months old. Now, pregnant with the future Elizabeth I (but still assuming it was Henry’s longed-for son) she was ready to officially become Queen.
Today, the festivities of her coronation all began. First thing, the Mayor, Alderman, and representatives of all the City guilds assembled a great flotilla of barges, to row down the Thames to Greenwich. There were about 50 decorated barges headed towards Greenwich, with accompanying smaller boats, and minstrels. It was a giant party on the water. In Greenwich, everyone had been ordered to gather at 3pm to watch Anne enter her own barge, to go back up to the Tower, where she would spend the days in the royal rooms before the coronation.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.