On this day in 1536, Anne Boleyn went bravely to her death in a private execution at the Tower of London. It took only one stroke of the sword to sever her delicate neck, the very same neck that the poet Thomas Wyatt had once praised as & #39;fair& #39; in one of his admiring verses.
Anne& #39;s ladies carried her head & body to the royal chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, where they undressed their mistress, before placing her remains in an elm box made to hold bow-staves. She was then interred in the earth beneath the chancel pavement in an unmarked grave.
In October 1876, the chancel was restored with Queen Victoria& #39;s approval as part of a larger restoration project. Anne& #39;s remains were exhumed, examined & then reburied in the same spot. It was at this time that the memorial plaques were added to the chancel.