Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings: The Complete A–Z for the Entire Magical World - Theresa Cheung, Theresa Cheung - Страница 73

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII, and their marriage changed the course of English history. Her larger-than-life story is matched by the many sightings of her ghost since her death.

Besotted with the beautiful Anne, Henry asked the Catholic Church for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The Church refused, so in order to marry Anne, Henry created a reformed version of the church, making himself the head – a direct challenge to the authority of the Pope. Having obtained his divorce and married Anne, Henry was determined to have a son, but Anne gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth, in 1533, and from then on the relationship between Anne and Henry deteriorated. Henry found a new love interest in Jane Seymour. Anne became pregnant again, but the child was stillborn. Henry, determined to rid himself of Anne, fabricated a charge of treason and confined her to the Tower of London. Her execution took place on 19 May 1536.

Anne Boleyn is reputed to haunt Hampton Court – along with many of Henry’s other five wives – and the Tower of London where she was executed. Predictably, she has been seen there as a headless female figure near the Queen’s House, where she was confined prior to her execution. At Blickling Hall in Norfolk, Anne’s family home, there have been sightings of a headless young woman riding a horse and carrying a severed head on her lap, typically on the anniversary of her death. Anne has also been sighted in the Hall’s corridors. An administrator reported seeing a woman walking down towards the lake wearing an old grey gown with a white lace collar and cap. He thought she was either lost or trespassing and went out to ask if she was looking for someone. The woman replied, ‘That for which I seek has long since gone.’ Then, in a moment, she disappeared.