485 years after her execution, what is the secret behind the disappearance of Anne Boleyn's prayer book?

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was executed on May 19, 1536, and legend has it that she was carrying a book of prayers she gave to a woman who was accompanying her before the sword separated her head from her body, and her social life and execution had a profound impact on the political and religious turmoil that formed What is known as the English Reformation and the independence of the Church of Britain.

The daughter of English nobles and politically shrewd, she had diplomatic relations outside the kingdom, and an intellectual who allied herself with the Protestant reformers of the Church against the so-called evils of Roman Catholicism.

Henry married her against the will of the church in 1533 after claiming that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was invalid, who was unable to produce a male heir, but in the end it was not a happy marriage after Pauline failed to produce a male heir as well.

The king's wife and the queen's mother

And writer David Kennedy said, in his report published by the American "Smithsonian" magazine, that most historians today believe that Anne's husband, King Henry VIII, ordered her execution based on trumped-up charges of adultery, sorcery and high treason, but in fact it was the Queen's crime. That she was unable to give birth to a male heir and a desire to restrain her strong character.

After Anne's execution, her own copy of the Prayer Book, which contained her own handwriting, disappeared, remaining hidden for centuries.

According to Craig Simpson in a report for the newspaper "The Telegraph", this book did not appear until the beginning of the 20th century, when a wealthy businessman named William Waldorf Astor bought Hever Castle, where Anne Boleyn spent her childhood.

Currently, a researcher and former worker at Hever Castle believes she knows what happened to the book during part of the time it was in hiding.

In a statement, historian Kate McCaffrey, who studied Anne Boleyn's book of prayers for about a year, said that she found traces of writing of the names of women who might have passed it on among themselves - bearing the risks involved - so that they could preserve it for her daughter who ascended the throne of England, Queen Elizabeth First.

McCaffrey said, in a statement to the newspaper "The Telegraph", "What made keeping the book a dangerous business is its association with Queen Anne, and the main reason behind keeping it is the accession of Elizabeth I to the throne in 1558 who wanted to perpetuate the memory of her mother."

prayer book

After Anne was executed, Henry ordered the destruction of all of his wife's property.

And discovering that a book belonged to the Queen with one of them was considered treason, as McCaffrey explained in the Times Literary Supplement.

"It is clear that this book was transmitted within a trusted network of women, from daughter to mother and from sister to niece," the historian said, adding that "if the book had fallen into the wrong hands, questions would undoubtedly arise about what remained of Anne's possessions."

McCaffrey began to suspect that the Book of Prayers held more than the naked eye could see when she noticed almost invisible markings on one of its pages.

Using UV light and photo-editing software, I discovered the names of 3 families: Cage, West and Shirley.

According to David Sanderson of The Times, most of these names were related to the Pauline family, and to the family of Elizabeth Hill, who was one of Anne's childhood friends.

McCaffrey believes that a circle of Tudor women kept the book safe in order to protect the memory of their unjustly executed friend.

The historian explained that "in a time when opportunities for women to participate in literature and religious affairs were very limited, a simple movement such as keeping a book of prayers and concealing the identity of its true owner was a way to express belonging to the community and support."

The writer mentioned that the Hill family had a direct relationship with Elizabeth, who was only two years old when her mother was executed, and Elizabeth Hill's daughter, Mary, worked in the Queen's court, and it was said that she was her close friend.

"Elizabeth may have been able to keep this book," McCaffrey told The Times, adding that the cryptic inscription provided "a glimpse into the legacy that Anne left after her death during the 16th century after King Henry tried to erase her from history."

Hever Castle announced the discovery on May 19 during the commemoration of the 485th anniversary of the execution of Anne Boleyn.

McCaffrey prepared this research as part of her graduation project at the University of Kent.

It is noteworthy that Anne Boleyn's copy of the Book of Prayers is on display at Hever Castle, along with a second copy of the same title also belonging to the Queen.