In a startling revelation from Victorian-era restoration work, the remains of Anne Boleyn, the executed second wife of King Henry VIII, were unearthed in 1876 beneath the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London, offering unprecedented insights into her physical appearance and a shared trait with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I.
The discovery came during a long-overdue restoration of the chapel, which had suffered from sinking floors and sanitary concerns due to centuries of shallow burials.
Doyne C. Bell, secretary to Queen Victoria’s privy purse and author of the 1877 book detailing the excavation, described how the team initially hoped to avoid disturbing the graves. However, the pavement’s instability forced them to dig directly over the spot where Anne Boleyn was believed to be interred.
On November 9, 1876, workers lifted the paving stones and removed two feet of earth. They found human bones, but not in their original order. Bell noted that the remains had been “heaped together into a smaller space,” indicating a prior disinterment.
The team concluded that the bones had not been disturbed for at least a century, based on an undisturbed burial from 1750 found deeper in the same area.
Dr. Frederick Murat, the local government inspector present, conducted a detailed examination of the skeleton believed to be Anne Boleyn.
He declared it belonged to a woman between 25 and 30 years old—slightly younger than the accepted age of 35 at her execution in 1536, though some historians argue for a later birth year of 1507, which would align better with Murat’s assessment.
The skeleton was described as “delicate frame of body” with “slender and perfect proportions.” The forehead and lower jaw were small and well-formed, and the vertebrae, particularly the atlas bone next to the skull, were notably small.
This matched Anne’s own comment about her “little neck” just before her beheading. The skull indicated a “well-formed round skull with an intellectual forehead, straight orbital ridge, large eyes, oval face, and rather square full chin.”
Bell’s account detailed the surviving bones: a nearly complete frontal bone, large portions of the occipital and parietal bones, fragments of the temporal, ethmoid, and sphenoid bones, and a lower jaw two-thirds perfect with eight teeth still in place and four loose teeth that had fallen out.
One molar showed slight decay. The vertebrae included a very small atlas, three dorsal vertebrae, and three lumbar vertebrae, all well-preserved. The ribs were fragmentary, but the curvature suggested a deep, well-formed chest.
The estimated height was between five feet and five feet three inches, consistent with contemporary descriptions of Anne as “middling height” for the Tudor era. The hands and feet bones indicated “delicate and well-shaped hands and feet with tapering fingers and a narrow foot.” Notably, no mention of a sixth finger was made, though only eleven finger phalanges were found out of an expected 28.
The tapering fingers mirrored Elizabeth I’s known long fingers, a trait mother and daughter apparently shared.
The team found no other female bones in that immediate area, reinforcing the identification. The nearest other skeleton was a large male around 50 years old, believed to be Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, executed in 1552.
Bell argued that Anne and her brother George Boleyn were the first burials in the chancel, placed in the place of honor to the right of the altar, similar to the later discovery of Richard III under a car park in 2012.
Two days later, the team excavated near the altar expecting to find John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn, and Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. They found a male skeleton about six feet tall, around 50 years old, identified as Northumberland.
Nearby, two female skeletons were found: one between 30 and 40 years old with delicate proportions, believed to be Jane Boleyn, and a taller, older woman thought to be the Countess of Salisbury, executed at age 67.
No bones of Queen Catherine Howard were found. Bell explained that at her age (17 to 24), her bones would have been softer and more cartilaginous, and the lime in the soil would have accelerated their disintegration.
He noted that even the Countess of Salisbury’s remains were eroded by lime, supporting this theory. Bell ruled out the possibility that the bones assigned to Jane Boleyn were actually Catherine’s, citing age and location, though he admitted uncertainty about the exact heights of the two women.
On April 13, 1877, the remains were reinterred in lead-lined oak coffers with engraved escutcheons bearing the names and dates.
They were placed about four inches below the surface, then covered with concrete to prevent future disturbance. Bell’s account remains the only detailed record of the exhumation, and the bones have not been examined since.
Modern historians and forensic experts debate whether the remains should be exhumed again for DNA testing or facial reconstruction.
The current monarch would have to grant permission, and the royal family is unlikely to allow it, fearing a precedent that could lead to exhumations of other royals. The skull, if still intact, could potentially yield a reconstruction, but degradation over 150 years is a concern.
This discovery sheds light on the physical reality of one of history’s most famous figures.
The description of Anne’s large eyes, oval face, and square chin matches the only contemporary portrait medal from 1534. The “intellectual forehead” comment, while rooted in the debunked pseudoscience of phrenology, reflects Victorian fascination with cranial shape.
The excavation also highlights the chaotic history of the chapel’s burials.
Many remains had been moved to make room for later interments, and the shallow graves led to mixing of bones. Bell’s meticulous recording allowed later scholars to piece together the likely identities based on location, age, and physical characteristics.
The question remains: should these remains be left undisturbed or studied further?
Advocates for exhumation argue that modern technology could confirm identities, reveal genetic traits, and provide a definitive facial reconstruction. Opponents cite respect for the dead and the sanctity of burial sites. The concrete layer added in 1877 makes future excavation more difficult, but not impossible.
For now, Anne Boleyn, Jane Boleyn, Margaret Pole, and the others lie beneath the chapel floor, their stories preserved in Bell’s account and the enduring fascination of Tudor history. The 1876 exhumation remains a pivotal moment in historical archaeology, offering a rare glimpse into the physical remains of those who shaped the tumultuous reign of Henry VIII.
