Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Historical Innacuracies - 'The Tudors', Series 2, Episode 9

  • At the opening of the episode, Henry's doctors are telling him that Anne's miscarried baby was somehow 'deformed'. The only evidence of this being true is the account of Chapuys, who stated that she miscarried a 'shapeless lump of flesh'. However, the bias of Chapuys against Anne is well known, and there is nothing to actually suggest her baby truly was deformed. 
  • When Anne confronts Jane Seymour about the locket, she is wearing a ruffed collar which was not actually in fashion at the time. This style of dress was much more indicative of the Elizabethan era than the era in which Anne was queen.
  • When Chapuys is talking with Cromwell, he refers to Anne as Queen. Chapuys actually refused ever to refer to Anne as queen, always calling her 'the lady', and in his private letters 'the concubine'.
  • Thomas Boleyn is shown walking through the throne room and across the dias where Henry's throne was. In reality, he would not have been permitted to do so.
  • In the episode, Brereton actually confesses that he slept with Anne, in order to fulfill his assassin mission of having her killed. In reality, he did not confess because he had not done anything. He was brought down by Cromwell because he was a powerful figure in his local area. 
  • It's a shame that the episode did not show the trial of Anne, or of George Boleyn. Both defended themselves with great merit.
  • The men were executed on Tower Hill, not within the walls of the Tower as depicted. Anne may not have been able to see them from her room.

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