Thank you for clearing Anne’s name one video at a time

My all-time Favourite Anne Boleyn biographer is Eric Ives, who points out that both of Anne's European mentors -- Margaret of Austria & Queen Claude of France -- led *very* strict households. Ladies-in-waiting were regarded as pale reflections of their royal sponsors, so Margaret, Claude and later Queen Elizabeth I all emphasized the need for moral and physical purity among their ladies. Ladies-in-waiting who were promiscuous could be regarded as a mirror image of a loose royal, so all of these royal ladies were fiercely protective of their noble staff. As for Sanders...I would be sublimely happy if his ridiculous writings were ignored. Thank you as always, Claire, for an informed video.

This poor young woman didn’t have a chance against her nasty husband and his court. Politics never change. 😢

I love how affronted you are :) I myself, sitting here on my own, said audibly to the computer screen "Where on earth has THAT come from?!" I feel for Queen Anne more and more with each video I watch.

I suppose what Nicholas Sander did is the Tudor equivalent of what we in the 21st century call ‘click bait’ in order to generate unfavourable (and possibly monetary) interest against Anne in his literary endeavours.

It was also brought up in the movie, the other boylen girl. I think from all I’ve gleaned from your videos. She wasn’t, her parents were very pious people, and she herself, followed the new faith, and was up right. Also how the heck do you have 4 thumbs down, your videos are delightful and insiteful🥰🇬🇧🥰🇬🇧

I wish Anne were here to defend herself. It would be great to go back in time & see things for how they really were.

I guess "fake news" isn't a new phenomenon. 😆

Yay!! I always look forward to these videos every day!!! Thanks Claire!!!

Thank you for addressing this issue!! I love it when you said "WHAT" regarding the smear on her name because that was my reaction too😄 I am so excited about your online course, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I can't get enough of the Tudors!

Just how bad do I have to be to get sent to the French court?

I like your vids, how quickly you get to the point, and how you process and interpret what's a primary source, an opinion, or unreliable source. If not done already, perhaps you'd consider discussing how you first developed this line of inquiry and curiosity in your life? How'd you get into this? Thank you so much.

How we must sift the written words for truth😢

I've been watching you everyday. Thank you so much for all your effort. Enjoying your series a lot!

Thank you for dispelling more myths about Anne.

Hi Claire thank you for all the great information on a great woman. I am really concerned about what the guards (tour guides ) say about Anne at the Tower of London. They talk about her sleeping around and are ruining her reputation!! People who don’t know much about her will accept this crap and think it’s gospel and it’s obviously a learnt dialogue as they all say it word for word !!! Claire something has to be done !!!! Any suggestions?!!!

Scandals know no time. They have been going on for thousands of years and will continue wither or not they are true or false. The history videos sound like they would be very interesting. Can't wait. Thanks Claire

More like Nicholas *Slander* amirite

Thank you for sharing such amazing history EVERY SINGLE DAY! Dear lady Claire thank you for being you in my difficult time! Fantastic videos . We are getting closer to May 19, and it’s going to be a great video

Anne still can’t catch a break.

I've always thought that was a fallacy since she went away so young for her education. Even though back in those times some were married off to older men when only 12 or 13 years of age. She was not wed.

I think it is wild that Nicholas Sander just keeps going with all of these lies! Thanks for clearing this one up!

Thank you for all of these wonderful videos, and all of the accurate information about Anne Boleyn. I think that You would be great to write a movie script, about the real life of Her, and the Boleyn Family! 💖🌹✌

If any of this were true Anne’s enemies would have used it against while she was still alive...it would not have shown up 50 years later! 🙄 as others have said FAKE NEWS!

I enjoyed this video very much. I am amazed at your wealth of knowledge in being able track down primary, contemporary sources for so many of the topics related to the Tudors. You must mumble Latin phrases as tributes in your sleep :-) To know so much about the political, religious, and court structures of the times not only in England, but in the other territories and realms also, is amazing. I have long enjoyed your Anne Boleyn Files and started you online course before life got in the way. I must get back to that. I am just amazed at how you go right to the heart of the issue of the day and identify what is relevant and useful to know and what is biased or propaganda. Thanks for all you do! Cheers!

I look forward to your videos every day. Thank you for finally clearing the name of this amazing women who was prominent in changing the course of British history xox

Ms. Ridgway ... I absolutely love the clarity you bring to the life of Anne Boleyn and her contemporaries. Your research is second to none and your videos are highly engaging. Do you have a video that explains to us how your interest in Anne began? I would really love to know. 💕

I recently discovered your channel and am loving it! I've been a Tudor era fan for many years. I love hearing little tidbits of information I may have missed. Thank you so much!

So much to learn. Thanks Claire!

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your videos. You’re a very clear story-teller and I love that you base all of your information on historical resources and even explain to us the context of the sources. The more I watch your videos the more I wonder how little of what I thought I knew about historical figures is actually true.

I've never thought that anne was bad behaviour, in fact I always thought she was super well behaved, she was a an intelligent girl and a former lady in waiting of what three queens (?) that speaks much more about her.

Sounds like the writer confused Anne with her cousin Katherine Howard.

Thank you very much for clarifying this so well! I will look into your course, it sounds fascinating!

Great as always, Claire! Thanks🙂

Editors often are the bane of good writing.

Random question: Did ladies of the court get a salary compensation of some sort? Did their male counterparts who had various positions within the court? Or was it their “duty” to serve the King - for free.

Thank you. I love your show from Texas!

Dude. (sigh) There had already been enough derogatory stuff written about Anne, then, along comes Sander. 🙄

I am enjoying all your series'. Your information and presentation make it a real pleasure to learn in more depth about one of my favourite historical figure.

Recipe for dealing with propaganda : Dose liberally with salt and throw out window! Thank you Claire!

Very interesting! It's good to know the facts. Some people did like to twist Anne's story to suit their own agenda.

I just LOVE your videos, Ms. Claire. You are so well-researched and so succinct. As an Anglophile who loves the history and literature of England, I have learned SO much from you!!! Do you have a recommended reading list? Other than your amazing books and website that I have loved!!! I am definately going to take the course, and I didn't know about that website!!!! Wow!!! Much love and appreciation from Louisiana, USA.a

What year do you think is most likely her birth year? I really think authors should really think long and hard before they completely makeup a fictional story about a real person. Example - The other Boleyn Girl. There are so many people who believe that as fact. She completely made up things to the point she invented new people.

Thank you.

I've watched few of your videos i really enjoy them

It's going to be an amazing year.....something yummy to look forward to each & every day!

Hi there! Love your videos. Just subscribed today after watching your videos previously a few weeks ago. I'm back for more as I haven't watched in a few weeks either! But was wondering why you changed your background? I loved the sitting room and hearing the bells and seeing your cats scurry in the background! Like i said, just wondering ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

love your videos

I’ve actually heard this English Mare reference about Mary instead in a movie. Maybe the other Boleyn girl and said by Francis to Henry. Not sure it’s this movie but definitely the statement about Mary not Anne.

Hey, Claire, couple of questions as I went to the files website. You have a sign up, which when I tried to, gave a error message. Glad you posted info about your course. Do you gave a bio on yourself as I'm interested as to how you have become such a Tutor expert. If I have missed it, it is an oversight. I have loved this period for years and so thrilled to find your work. Best, cheryl

Great video, Claire; all the movies I have seen about Anne have sympathetically portrayed her as feisty but beholden to her father and her family--Saying no to the king wasn't an option--maybe if she had risked it she may have lived longer but not as well.

She was also in Mechelen, Belgium to study.

Love your speaking 😊

Hi Claire! Don't forget, the 2006 movie The Other Boleyn Girl has a bit about Anne being exiled after admitting to a consummated marriage to Henry Percy. Her return to England was a return to court where she was looking for a great man and her claim that she "found one" in Henry. The comment made by Jane Spivey is correct; fake news isn't new.

I’m glad you have sorted out this blurb, working in the book trade I know how “creative” publishers can be with the blurb, I think I might have read it and decided not to read the book. Saunders has a lot to answer for, did he do the same to Henry?? To be honest I can’t remember if Henry was blackened for the same thing, but our “dear” old Henry has a good bit of blame he’s dragging about I wouldn’t be surprised if he had this as well.

I also thought that well-bred ladies of that period were often sent to the French or other courts to acquire "polish" in courtly manners and behavior etc. to make them more marriageable and attractive to the best suitors

Sander was terribly biased against the Protestant Queen Elizabeth, and in a way I can understand his hatred of the reformists because he was persecuted because of his faith and forced to leave his own country because of it, but the reformation had really got under way in the reign of Edward V1 and Anne was merely the catalyst for it, because of Henrys split from the Roman church, the vitriol he spouted about Anne though is unforgivable and had she herself been around to read his ludicrous writings, no doubt she would have laughed out loud, he was playing on the fact that she had been executed on charges of adultery incest and high treason, and the deragotory remarks he wrote about her appearance then the monster baby she was said to have had, he goes further which is the topic of this video and mentions she had been sleeping with her father's butler and chaplain, and so disgusted were her parents she had been sent of to the court of Marguerite of Savoy and later France, it really is laughable as a young girl of the nobility would never have consorted with the lower classes, noble households reared their offspring very strictly and later when she was queen, she made a rather snobbish remark to Mark Smeaton about him not being a gentleman but merely her servant, she was well aware from an early age of what was right and wrong in that class conscious society, the young Boleyn children had their daytime routine set out like others of the period, breakfast, time for study, etc, maybe dancing lessons, they would have been strictly supervised and as if Sir Thomas Boleyns butler and Chaplain too, would ever have risked their jobs and reputation to have an affair with the daughter of the house, it's very unlikely they would ever have found work again, Sir Thomas would have had them both flogged for betraying his trust, the remark also about her being referred to as a mule in France was said about her sister Mary of which there was no actual proof either, although she was said to have slept with the French King and she has not been linked with any other man either, just like Anne, the court of Savoy was rather like the finishing schools the wealthy and the aristocracy send their daughters to today, there they ski and engage in cookery lessons etc, it sounds marvellous and Anne was highly thought of by Marguerite who court it was and who had the care and upbringing of all the ladies in her household, they were taught high moral standards and these standards were something which Anne upheld all her life.

This is an example of why authors must insist on total editorial control, even of marketing materials. Of course, any author less influential than, say Philippa Gregory, couldn’t get this condition agreed by a publisher .

I want to take the course, have to save up a bit first!

Obviously people have believed Nicky Six-sticks for hundreds of years. Catholic hatred for Protestant encroachment on Godopoly, IMO. Love these remarkable videos of yours, correcting the record in a way that everyone can access. The online course sounds great.

I wish we could exhume everyone from their resting places and use technologies today to see what they looked like, what was their diet and if there are any jewels we can get our hands on, and also to see who is related to who by using DNA genetic technology.

Claire could totally have been a defence lawyer in another life

Really interesting

Nicholas Sanders' (or Sander, or Saunders, whichever you prefer) proposition that Anne was sent to France because of her improper behavior, is ridiculous. If a girl was having trouble being virtuous, why would her parents send her to one of the most licentious courts in Europe? It makes no sense.

Sad, but if its caused controversy then the author will no doubt sell alot of copies! When I saw the title of your video Claire, I thought of the series "The Tudors" When Anne goes to France with Henry in the Tudors to party with the King of France...Anne says to King Francis something along the lines of "there are things you might remember about me that id rather the king did not know" King Francis states that he would never give away the secrets of a woman. Maybe more fuel for the scandal??? If indeed that conversation even happened.

I thought that Queens were checked for sexual behavior before they were married to the King?

Claire, do you have an opinion on whether the 1501 or 1507 birthdate for Anne is more likely accurate? If so, why do you favor one date or the other?

No queen would have accepted a girl with a dubious reputation. Anne proposed a relative for a position as an abbess who turned out to be morally unfit. Maybe some other relative was immoral, causing the scandal. Henry specifically denied sleeping with Anne's mother.

In the USA, the reaction would be WTF?!?! What unconfirmed rubbish!

Love your channel, Claire! But I'm confused. I've heard you tell conflicting stories about the number of fingers our dear Ann had...?

Wow, at the start of the video, I thought for sure this was because of The Other Boleyn Girl, where Anne was punished for getting involved with Henry Percy. But the rumors discussed here are WAY more ridiculous. 😂🤣😅

Another question for your, "Questions about Anne Boleyn" series: Do you have any guesses as to why Anne's death death is any more 'noteworthy' or 'popular' than any of KH8's other spousal 'offings'? I know I've asked this question in the past on some of your other videos. However, I want to bring it up again and add some context. My previous question was: "Was there ever any indication that KH8 ever showed remorse for killing his wives"? Along those same lines: "Did anyone of the time period ever put in writing their thoughts about KH8 after word spread of him killing his wives? It has always seemed very odd to me that he could have continued to have a court / court grounds brimming with subjects if word got around that you could be killed by a king not in control of fluxuating mood swings.

That story would be from the HBO series did the the Tudors.

I never can quite remember his whole proper name, AKA Nicklaus six fingers.

Was she not a translator at the French Court?

I love these videos. I just came across them. I'm obsessed by the Tudors especially Anne de boyelyn and Jane Seymour. I've watched the Tudors many times. I watch Lucy Worsley Dan Jones Suzzana lipscombe David Starkey etc. I would love to go back in time for a week to just be there and see everything for real. I'm 51 my eldest daughter has a love for history as well. One question I would like to ask you did king Henry 8th have a baby to her sister ? I'm aware he had a boy with miss blunt. However the movie the other boyelyn girl makes out he had a baby boy to her. I'm gathering its fictional but as your an expert is love to know. I feel Anne has been vilified to a degree. I'm the accusations about her affairs. I know her treatment of Catherine and Mary were not nice in any way. Is that also true. These scandals are ridiculous

I wonder where these myths come from and why? To sell books? It drives me nuts!

ROTFLMAO Someone in Wilkinson's blurb has an excellent command of the most purple of prose!!! Holy Toledo!

I got your book

Are you gonna talk about the musical six. Since that is getting popular .

My ancestors are fascinating 😍

What was Anne’s birthday? It could explain many things.

How did she keep from getting pregnant?

Thanks for this explanation. I believe Mary Boleyn must have been in Queen Claude’s service too. Maybe that it was slander against Mary Boleyn. If there was a bad reputation associated with Mary, why would Anne want her at court or at Calais?

You know, how amazing would it have been to have all the social media and cell phone footage to just get to the real way things went down? I can imagine it would have been fascinating to have a really good eye into that reign. He would have been Twitter Gold - I love me some Donald Trump, I'm as serious as a heart attack - but I have compared him so many times to Henry Tudor. They both are just like "Hey, I'm rich, I'm right, I'm in charge, I'll do what I need to do to remain all those things in my own eyes, and everyone else can just get with me or get out of the way." I love Anne Boleyn so much. J think she was almost as brilliant as her daughter. If she had given him a son or two, he'd have hung onto her forever, and she would have basked in his adoration. I think they could have been the real deal. But, between his irrational focus on a son, and his God- Complex, it was on to the next shiny thing for him. He didn't even give her even a smidge of time. I think, though, she probably knew just how to poke him when he hurt her feelings and it spelled her doom. She was way too smart for Henry but she didn't use her brains to protect herself. I wonder that she didn't arrange to take a baby boy off a servant and intimidate the ladies into going along with it. Or, just blame them all and have them executed. Just a random thought.

You might enjoy Rick Wakeman's musical compositions about the wives of Henry VIII

Why was there so much hate towards the Boleyn family. Was it simply religion?

Sanders sounds like a sterling example of a good honest Christian man! /s

thanks that was well helpful but could you make it more funny please

So Sander is where Fox News get their inspiration from 🙄