20 May 1536 – Henry VIII moves on

No matter how many times I read and write about it, Henry VIII’s behaviour in 1536 always disgusts me. Obviously, the whole fall of Anne Boleyn and those five courtiers is terrible, a real miscarriage of justice, but then it’s made worse by Henry VIII moving on with his life with unseemly haste.

The very same day that Anne Boleyn was executed, Archbishop Cranmer issued a dispensation for Henry VIII to marry Jane Seymour due to her being Anne Boleyn’s second cousin. Then, on this day in history, 20th May 1536, the day after Anne’s execution, Henry VIII got betrothed to Jane.