The Brother Executed Alongside The Queen

On 6 May 1536 George Boleyn, brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, was arrested and taken to the Tower of London after being accused of treason and incest with his own sister, and the charges came during the sudden collapse of Anne Boleyn’s position at Henry VIII’s court as the king prepared to destroy the queen he had once risked everything to marry, and George was one of five men accused of sleeping with Anne, allegations many historians now believe were fabricated, and during the trial witnesses claimed impossible meetings and impossible dates while the outcome had already been decided long before the court assembled, and on 17 May 1536 George Boleyn was led onto the scaffold at Tower Hill where he addressed the crowd briefly before kneeling for execution, and two days later his sister Anne Boleyn followed him to the scaffold inside the Tower of London.

Interesting Fact

George Boleyn was known as one of the most intelligent men at Henry VIII’s court and had once been one of the king’s favourites. Historians still debate whether any evidence against him was real, but many believe the charges were invented to destroy Anne Boleyn completely.

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