Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
A little bit of British history.
When Henry tired of Catherine,
his first wife, he decided to marry Anne Boleyn. Catherine had been a good wife but
he wanted a son and she had only given him a daughter; Mary. The Pope however would
not give him a divorce, so with the help of Thomas Cromwell, his chief minister,
he nationalised religion and destroyed churches, cathedrals, monasteries and anybody
who stood in his way. Having seized their assets he then gave away land and wealth
to those who supported him. He appointed himself as head of the new Church of England
and in due course his Archbishop Thomas Cranmer arranged the divorce.
Henry married Anne who in time gave birth to Elizabeth. Once again Henry was disappointed.
Anne was known to have a sharp tongue and from time to time Henry felt the edge of
it. Now, while Henry had desires for her this was no problem, part of her charm,
but as Henry tired of Anne too, this made him angry. The Aristocracy passed their
days indulging in sport. One day Anne had organised a tournament during which Henry
was seen to join her. However there was strong words between them and Henry departed.
The
next day she was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. Four men who knew her
well, one her brother, were also arrested. They were each accused of having had an
illegal relationship with Anne. They were tortured and then executed. Their so-called
confessions were then used as evidence to convict Anne.
When Anne learned what her
loving husband had in store for her it is said she was beside herself with fear.
Totally incoherent she would babble on. The Governor of The Tower, her jailor, was
ordered to write down anything she said that could be used in evidence against her.
Before
her end Anne had resigned herself to her fate and become calm. Henry made one concession,
rather than having her head hacked off with an axe he allowed a French swordsman
to be brought over from Calais.
It is said that after she had knelt down and her clothes
had been cleared from around her neck, the swordman who was behind her distracted
her attention by shouting to someone up front “bring me my sword”. Picking up the
sword from where he had hidden it in the straw he removed her head cleanly with one
swipe.
The British legal system has not really changed very much. It is still adversarial
and those who set out to get someone convicted usually manage it whether they are
guilty or not. It is just as inaccurate today. We still have deaths in custody, there
is plenty of evidence of beatings (torture) being given in recent decades. If you
are accused and it goes to trial it is odds-on you will be found guilty. Those with
power usually succeed, however these days you ARE allowed to keep your head. Technology
may change but not people.
HENRY VIII - the real truth.
"The plain truth is, that he was a most intolerable ruffian, a disgrace to human
nature, and a blot of blood and grease upon the history of England". Quote by Charles
Dickens.
"...a pig, an ass, a dunghill, the spawn of an adder, a basilisk, a lying buffoon, a mad fool with a frothy mouth... a lubberly ass... a frantic madman...". Quote by Martin Luther.
www.slimeylimeyjustice.org