On this day in 1533, Anne Boleyn made her way in a magnificent procession from the Tower of London to Westminster Hall on the eve of her coronation. 

Anne’s procession, which began at 5pm, was led by the servants of Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador. They were followed by gentlemen, squires, and knights, then the judges and the Knights of the Bath. After them came abbots, barons, bishops, earls, marquesses, the Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of York, the Venetian ambassador, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the French ambassador himself, the Mayor of London, William Howard (acting as deputy earl marshal for his brother, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk), and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who served as Constable of England.

Anne Boleyn followed behind them all, resplendent in white cloth of gold adorned with ermine and rich jewels. Her hair was down and flowing, and above her was a canopy of cloth of gold decorated with gilt statues and silver bells. Behind her came her chamberlain, Lord Borough, and her master of the horse, William Coffin, followed by her ladies dressed in crimson velvet and cloth of gold. 

The coronation procession wove its way through London’s streets, including Fenchurch Street, Gracechurch Street (and Leadenhall), Cornhill Street, Poultry, Cheapside, St Paul’s Cathedral and Churchyard, Ludgate, Fleet Street, Temple Bar, probably the Strand, what is now Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, and finally, Westminster Hall. The procession was not just a parade; it included stops for pageants and entertainment that celebrated Anne’s ascension to the throne.

I have a future post planned which will detail the pageants Anne witnessed on this day – stay tuned for that!