What Happened To Anne Boleyn's Famous "B" Necklace?
Aug 14, 2020 2:39:50 GMT
CrepedCrusader and maya55555 like this
Post by hi224 on Aug 14, 2020 2:39:50 GMT
Some Background
Anne Boleyn (born circa 1501) was the Queen of England from 1533 to 1536. After being educated in the Netherlands and France, Anne returned to England with the intent to marry her Irish cousin, James Butler. This union did not happen and, instead, Anne became a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, the first and current wife of her future husband, King Henry VIII.
Initially, historical records show that Anne had no interest in King Henry's pursuit of her. There were several reasons for this, including the fact that, though the movie The Other Boleyn Girl is historically inaccurate in many ways, it is correct insofar as that Anne's sister, Mary, had already been the King's mistress. King Henry remained persistent in his pursuit of Anne and, eventually, in November 1532, the two of them married in secret – even though Pope Clement VII declined to annul Henry and Catherine's marriage.
Several months later, King Henry and Anne had their official wedding on January 25, 1533; it wasn't until after the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer proclaimed Henry and Catherine’s marriage null and void in May of that year that Boleyn and the King's marriage was actually recognized as valid. The annulment also began England's historic separation from the Catholic Church.
Jewelry, Henry & Anne
Jewelry played a major role in the courtship between Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. One of his very first known love letters to her was enclosed with a gold bracelet with a picture of him inside. Reports say that Henry continually showered Anne with jewels, including rings and pendants featuring their entwined 'H' and 'A' initials. He even allegedly took pieces away from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, while they were still married, to woo Anne - including a legendary collection of rubies.
The end of their relationship was said to involve jewelry, too. Legend has it that Anne discovered King Henry’s affair with his soon-to-be-third-wife Jane Seymour when she spotted a locket around Jane’s neck at court, with a picture of the King inside. Apparently Jane had a habit of constantly opening and closing the locket in front of Anne anytime they were in a room together.
Anne's Famous Necklace
It's worth noting that there are no 100% verifiable portraits of Anne Boleyn that exist today. After Anne was decapitated (on trumped up, false charges, cough cough, but that's a post for another day), King Henry ordered all portraits of Anne to be destroyed. Even the paintings or sketches that were labeled as being of Anne could not be proven to be so – even the sketches by famous portrait painter Hans Holbein were labeled years after his death, so their subject cannot be confirmed.
There are two supposed and well-known portraits of Anne Boleyn on display at the National Portrait Gallery, but these may not be of her, either – there is a possibility that, following her death, portraits of other noblewomen who bore a resemblance were re-labelled and had new details painted on to resemble Boleyn, presumably for historical purposes.
All this to say...
The most famous images of Anne Boleyn that survive today, whether accurate or not, tend to feature her wearing a very recognizable a pearl necklace with three drops from which suspends a golden initial “B.” [example image]. The necklace was reportedly a favorite of hers, and several of the surviving/supposed paintings of her feature a necklace of this same design.
This necklace of Anne's would be part of her selection of personal jewelry, which was not part of the official crown jewels. These personal jewels could include gifts from her husband during their marriage, or pieces she owned prior to her wedding. Therefore, Anne's personal jewelry would not have been considered part of the crown jewels, even after her death and her husband's acquisition of her property.
To this day, nobody knows what happened to the famous necklace. In fact, none of Anne's jewelry has survived to be officially identified. However, there are a few prominent theories...
Theory #001: The jewels survived, and passed to Elizabeth
One theory states that the necklace was part of a small collection of jewels saved and kept safe by loyalists who remained loyal to the memory of Anne and the wellbeing her daughter Elizabeth, England's famous Queen Elizabeth I.
It’s possible that the necklace was given to Elizabeth as a memento of her deceased mother. Additionally, it's possible that the very same pearls were worn by Elizabeth as she sat for an official portrait when she was thirteen years old. (Portrait by William Scrots, c.1546)
Another clue is provided slightly earlier: in 1544, King Henry had a portrait, The Family of King Henry VIII, commissioned to reiterate his Act of Succession issued that same year. The portrait featured his then-wife Jane Seymour and his children: Mary Tudor, Edward VI, and Elizabeth, shown wearing a pendant in the shape of an "A" around her neck.
Initial pendants were popular in Tudor times; in addition to her famous "B" necklace, Anne also had an "A" pendant commissioned, as well as one with the initials "AB" as seen in a Nidd Hall portrait which is likely of, or based on, her.
Theories state that the "A" necklace worn by Elizabeth is either one saved and passed down from her mother, Anne, or is a melted-down-and-remade version of one or several pieces of Anne's jewelry.
She may have repurposed the jewels in other ways, as well, if she had them: by joining the pearls to the long ropes she wore across her bodices, and by recasting the gold into brooches or rings.
If Elizabeth was in the possession of the jewels when she died in 1603, they would have passed to her heir, James I. From there, his wife, Anne of Denmark, would likely have had the pieces melted down and re-set again, as was customary. Most of the pieces in royal hands from that point on were sold off during the civil wars and the Commonwealth era and could not be traced from that point in history.
Theory #002: The jewels were melted down and lost to the ages
After Catherine of Aragon's marriage to King Henry ended after 26 years, she was ordered to return her jewels. Most were melted down, or disassembled in order to be remade for the new Queen Anne. It was customary to make and remake pieces for the next Tudor ruler and, in Anne’s case, tradition stated that items specific to her would have been almost immediately broken up.
However, some of Anne’s belongings, including her two Books of Hours, survived the ‘coup’ following her death - it's possible other belongings survived, as well.
Theory #003: Henry repossessed the necklace
There is strong evidence that King Henry VIII personally bought back several treasures associated with Anne’s court, several of which were adorned with jewels and emblazoned with their entwined initials.
Despite ordering portraits of her destroyed and her personal possessions to be broken apart, there were several items that King Henry repurchased from a man named Thomas Trappers, including a gold bowl ‘having Queen Anne’s sapphire upon the top of the cover.' Additionally, once Henry passed away (four wives later), his post-mortem inventories included a dust bowl of gold for blotting ink with a crown on the lid and ‘H’ and ‘A’ in enamel’ and a gold tablet bearing the monogram ‘HA’ set with small emeralds, pearls and diamonds.
Theory #004: The jewels famously live on in plain sight
There is a persistent rumor that a handful of the pearls from the famous "B" necklace remained with the Crown - whether through Henry or through Elizabeth - and that they now are among the stones in the Imperial State Crown, set against the Black Prince’s Ruby and the Stuart Sapphire. This is the very same Imperial State Crown which anointed the current Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation. The Imperial State Crown has four pendant pearls suspended beneath the junction of its arches. Two or more of those pearls are rumored to have been worn by Queen Elizabeth I.
However, this is likely a myth. There is no documentation or evidence to back this story up, and many have pointed out that if Anne’s pearls were to end up in any crown, it might have been the Tudor crown worn by Henry VIII himself, which was melted down in 1649.
Anne Boleyn (born circa 1501) was the Queen of England from 1533 to 1536. After being educated in the Netherlands and France, Anne returned to England with the intent to marry her Irish cousin, James Butler. This union did not happen and, instead, Anne became a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, the first and current wife of her future husband, King Henry VIII.
Initially, historical records show that Anne had no interest in King Henry's pursuit of her. There were several reasons for this, including the fact that, though the movie The Other Boleyn Girl is historically inaccurate in many ways, it is correct insofar as that Anne's sister, Mary, had already been the King's mistress. King Henry remained persistent in his pursuit of Anne and, eventually, in November 1532, the two of them married in secret – even though Pope Clement VII declined to annul Henry and Catherine's marriage.
Several months later, King Henry and Anne had their official wedding on January 25, 1533; it wasn't until after the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer proclaimed Henry and Catherine’s marriage null and void in May of that year that Boleyn and the King's marriage was actually recognized as valid. The annulment also began England's historic separation from the Catholic Church.
Jewelry, Henry & Anne
Jewelry played a major role in the courtship between Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. One of his very first known love letters to her was enclosed with a gold bracelet with a picture of him inside. Reports say that Henry continually showered Anne with jewels, including rings and pendants featuring their entwined 'H' and 'A' initials. He even allegedly took pieces away from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, while they were still married, to woo Anne - including a legendary collection of rubies.
The end of their relationship was said to involve jewelry, too. Legend has it that Anne discovered King Henry’s affair with his soon-to-be-third-wife Jane Seymour when she spotted a locket around Jane’s neck at court, with a picture of the King inside. Apparently Jane had a habit of constantly opening and closing the locket in front of Anne anytime they were in a room together.
Anne's Famous Necklace
It's worth noting that there are no 100% verifiable portraits of Anne Boleyn that exist today. After Anne was decapitated (on trumped up, false charges, cough cough, but that's a post for another day), King Henry ordered all portraits of Anne to be destroyed. Even the paintings or sketches that were labeled as being of Anne could not be proven to be so – even the sketches by famous portrait painter Hans Holbein were labeled years after his death, so their subject cannot be confirmed.
There are two supposed and well-known portraits of Anne Boleyn on display at the National Portrait Gallery, but these may not be of her, either – there is a possibility that, following her death, portraits of other noblewomen who bore a resemblance were re-labelled and had new details painted on to resemble Boleyn, presumably for historical purposes.
All this to say...
The most famous images of Anne Boleyn that survive today, whether accurate or not, tend to feature her wearing a very recognizable a pearl necklace with three drops from which suspends a golden initial “B.” [example image]. The necklace was reportedly a favorite of hers, and several of the surviving/supposed paintings of her feature a necklace of this same design.
This necklace of Anne's would be part of her selection of personal jewelry, which was not part of the official crown jewels. These personal jewels could include gifts from her husband during their marriage, or pieces she owned prior to her wedding. Therefore, Anne's personal jewelry would not have been considered part of the crown jewels, even after her death and her husband's acquisition of her property.
To this day, nobody knows what happened to the famous necklace. In fact, none of Anne's jewelry has survived to be officially identified. However, there are a few prominent theories...
Theory #001: The jewels survived, and passed to Elizabeth
One theory states that the necklace was part of a small collection of jewels saved and kept safe by loyalists who remained loyal to the memory of Anne and the wellbeing her daughter Elizabeth, England's famous Queen Elizabeth I.
It’s possible that the necklace was given to Elizabeth as a memento of her deceased mother. Additionally, it's possible that the very same pearls were worn by Elizabeth as she sat for an official portrait when she was thirteen years old. (Portrait by William Scrots, c.1546)
Another clue is provided slightly earlier: in 1544, King Henry had a portrait, The Family of King Henry VIII, commissioned to reiterate his Act of Succession issued that same year. The portrait featured his then-wife Jane Seymour and his children: Mary Tudor, Edward VI, and Elizabeth, shown wearing a pendant in the shape of an "A" around her neck.
Initial pendants were popular in Tudor times; in addition to her famous "B" necklace, Anne also had an "A" pendant commissioned, as well as one with the initials "AB" as seen in a Nidd Hall portrait which is likely of, or based on, her.
Theories state that the "A" necklace worn by Elizabeth is either one saved and passed down from her mother, Anne, or is a melted-down-and-remade version of one or several pieces of Anne's jewelry.
She may have repurposed the jewels in other ways, as well, if she had them: by joining the pearls to the long ropes she wore across her bodices, and by recasting the gold into brooches or rings.
If Elizabeth was in the possession of the jewels when she died in 1603, they would have passed to her heir, James I. From there, his wife, Anne of Denmark, would likely have had the pieces melted down and re-set again, as was customary. Most of the pieces in royal hands from that point on were sold off during the civil wars and the Commonwealth era and could not be traced from that point in history.
Theory #002: The jewels were melted down and lost to the ages
After Catherine of Aragon's marriage to King Henry ended after 26 years, she was ordered to return her jewels. Most were melted down, or disassembled in order to be remade for the new Queen Anne. It was customary to make and remake pieces for the next Tudor ruler and, in Anne’s case, tradition stated that items specific to her would have been almost immediately broken up.
However, some of Anne’s belongings, including her two Books of Hours, survived the ‘coup’ following her death - it's possible other belongings survived, as well.
Theory #003: Henry repossessed the necklace
There is strong evidence that King Henry VIII personally bought back several treasures associated with Anne’s court, several of which were adorned with jewels and emblazoned with their entwined initials.
Despite ordering portraits of her destroyed and her personal possessions to be broken apart, there were several items that King Henry repurchased from a man named Thomas Trappers, including a gold bowl ‘having Queen Anne’s sapphire upon the top of the cover.' Additionally, once Henry passed away (four wives later), his post-mortem inventories included a dust bowl of gold for blotting ink with a crown on the lid and ‘H’ and ‘A’ in enamel’ and a gold tablet bearing the monogram ‘HA’ set with small emeralds, pearls and diamonds.
Theory #004: The jewels famously live on in plain sight
There is a persistent rumor that a handful of the pearls from the famous "B" necklace remained with the Crown - whether through Henry or through Elizabeth - and that they now are among the stones in the Imperial State Crown, set against the Black Prince’s Ruby and the Stuart Sapphire. This is the very same Imperial State Crown which anointed the current Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation. The Imperial State Crown has four pendant pearls suspended beneath the junction of its arches. Two or more of those pearls are rumored to have been worn by Queen Elizabeth I.
However, this is likely a myth. There is no documentation or evidence to back this story up, and many have pointed out that if Anne’s pearls were to end up in any crown, it might have been the Tudor crown worn by Henry VIII himself, which was melted down in 1649.