Was Anne Boleyn a Commoner?

Anne Boleyn became King Henry VIII's official queen consort following their marriage in 1533, and it's often said that she was a commoner and even an ambitious social climber. But what class of society did Anne Boleyn fit into really?
 
Was Anne Boleyn an aristocrat? A noble? Or was she a commoner?
 
In this edition of historian Claire Ridgway's series "Questions about Anne Boleyn", Claire, with the help of Boni the dog, explains the social class that Anne was a member of and how it fit in with the other classes. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/NCmmt9ZqvlI
 
Claire mentions Gareth Russell's course "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" which can be found at https://medievalcourses.com/overview/six-wives-henry-viii-monarchy-matrimony-tudor-england-mc05/. It's completely online.

December 8 - Anne Boleyn's Master of the Horse

On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1538, courtier and Master of the Horse to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, Sir William Coffin, died at Standon in Hertfordshire. 
 
It is thought that he died of the plague because his wife Margaret wrote to Thomas Cromwell saying that Coffin had “died of the great sickness, full of God’s marks all over his body”. 
 
Who was Sir William Coffin and what did the Master of the Horse do?
 
Find out in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway.
 
Trivia: Coffin's wife was one of Queen Anne Boleyn's ladies when she was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1536.
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1542, Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. She was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and his second wife, Marie de Guise, and she became Queen of Scotland when she was just six days old. You can find out about her life, including her three marriages and abdication, her imprisonment and downfall, in last year’s talk - https://youtu.be/OGhYsl8cL1M 

August 25 - Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and uncle of two queens

On this day in history, 25th August 1554, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, magnate, soldier and uncle of Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, died of natural causes at his home of Kenninghall in Norfolk. He was laid to rest in St Michael’s Church, Framlingham, Suffolk.
 
Find out more about this important Tudor man, and how he escaped the axe-man and died at a good age in his bed, in this talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown". You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/gkA0xdCzT6Q
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 25th August 1549, Robert Kett and his rebels launched an attack on the south side of Norwich and burned a number of buildings. Kett's Rebellion lasted from July 1549 until the Battle of Dussindale on 27th August 1549, but what was it all about? What were the rebels' grievances? Find out in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/FKq4MyLj-KM 

July 26 - Anne Boleyn and St Anne

Today, 26th July, is the feast day of St Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. Happy St Anne's Day to any Annes or Annas out there! Have a wonderful day!
 
St Anne was very important to Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, and a pageant at her coronation procession in 1533 took St Anne, combined with Anne Boleyn's falcon badge, as its theme.
 
Find out more about the pageant at Anne Boleyn's coronation, and why St Anne was chosen as the theme, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown". You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/LKTiqLj6Jz8
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 26th July 1588, 4,000 men assembled at Tilbury Fort in an effort to prevent the Spanish Armada from travelling up the Thames and attacking London. Find out what had led up to this day in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/N89PDhKj3Bk

May 31 - Henry VIII's annulment and a special Blackfriars court

On this day in Tudor history, 31st May 1529, a special legatine court opened at Blackfriars in London. The court’s purpose was to hear the case for an annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and it was presided over by papal legate Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
 
Find out about the context of this court, what happened at the court and what happened next in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of several Tudor history books. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/2yV0iepaqvI
 
Catherine’s speech - https://youtu.be/mV9DknPWlJA 
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 31st May 1533, Anne Boleyn’s coronation procession took place. Find out more about this huge procession, which included including lavish pageants, orations, music, and wine flowing in the conduits and in fountains, in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/ruzJyIMRgXs

May 30 - Knights of the Bath for Anne Boleyn's coronation

On this day in Tudor history, on the night of 30th/31st May 1533, as part of the celebrations for Queen Anne Boleyn’s coronation, which was scheduled for 1st June, eighteen men were created Knights of the Bath.
 
What did this mean? What happened in this night-long ceremony?
 
Find out in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society.
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/yp7g5dmmzRg
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, three years later on 30th May 1536, Henry VIII married his third wife, Jane Seymour. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/7mMuqyGQq5M 
 
You can find Claire at:
https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com 
https://www.tudorsociety.com
https://www.facebook.com/theanneboleynfiles/
https://www.facebook.com/tudorsociety/
https://twitter.com/AnneBoleynFiles 
https://twitter.com/thetudorsociety 
https://www.instagram.com/tudor.society/ 
https://www.instagram.com/anneboleynfiles/

April 11 - Victory for Anne Boleyn, finally!

On this day in Tudor history, 11th April 1533, Good Friday, King Henry VIII informed his council that Anne Boleyn, the woman he'd married in January 1533, was his rightful wife and queen, and should be accorded royal honours.
 
Finally, things were going right for the couple, who had been waiting for this moment since 1527.
 
Find out more about what had led Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to this point, and why they thought that the Great Matter would be sorted out much quicker, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of The Anne Boleyn Files website.
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 11th April 1534, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger was beheaded for treason. Why? What had led him to this sticky end? Find out in last year's video - https://youtu.be/HCKNH7_NFsU
 
Timeline - https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/a-timeline-of-anne-boleyns-relationship-with-henry-viii-from-1528-1533/ 
 
Series of articles on Holbein's The Ambassadors:https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/holbeins-the-ambassadors-a-renaissance-puzzle-part-one-context/6516/ https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/holbeins-the-ambassadors-a-renaissance-puzzle-part-two-symbols/6532/ https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/holbeins-the-ambassadors-a-renaissance-puzzle-part-three-jupiter-and-change/6600/ 
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/3m9MnNczwzY

March 17 - Alexander Alesius and his terrifying vision of Anne Boleyn

On this day in Tudor history, 17th March 1565, Scottish theologian and Reformer Alexander Alesius (also known as Ales, Aless), died in either Leipzig or Edinburgh.
 
Alesius wrote a huge number of theological works, was friends with reformers Philip Melancthon and Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, but had a row with the Bishop of London at one point.
 
Let Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History", tell you a bit more about Alexander Alesius and also a terrifying vision or nightmare he experience in the early hours of 19th May 1536, the day of Queen Anne Boleyn's execution.
 
Here's a link to see a list of works by Alesius - http://www.prdl.org/author_view.php?s=0&limit=20&a_id=27
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/fj6N4BEMoYc
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 17th March 1554, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I, stalled her arrest by writing her famous Tide Letter. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/oendk0s7eEs