THE DOOMED ALLIANCE OF THOMAS CROMWELL & ANNE BOLEYN
FRIEND AND FOE Thomas Cromwell was instrumental in ensuring Anne Boleyn’s rise to queen, but also in her execution
BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X4
At 9am on 19 May 1536, as London began another busy day, a young woman was escorted through the courtyard at the Tower of London. Dressed conservatively in a black robe, flanked by four servants, she walked slowly towards the black-draped scaffold that had been erected for her execution. The 1,000-strong crowd murmured as she mounted the scaffold steps and turned to face them.