14. "The executioner is, I believe, very expert, and my neck is very slender."
From Quiz Famous Last Words : I
Answer:
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII. Henry and Anne were married in 1533, and, having failed to give the king his longed-for son, Anne fell victim to Henry's wrath. (Henry obviously didn't know about X and Y chromosomes and that it is the father who determines the sex of the child.) A tissue of trumped up charges - including one of committing incest with her brother George, Lord Rochford - was filed against Anne, and she met her end, gallantly, on Tower Green. Little did Henry know it, but the daughter Anne bore would grow up to be Elizabeth I, one of the greatest monarchs ever to occupy the English throne. Henry made at least one concession in the manner of Anne's execution; he sent for a swordsman from France to carry out the deed, rather than subjecting that slender neck to the axe. Both Lady Jane Grey's and Mary Queen of Scots' last words were, "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." While Catherine (the fifth unfortunate wife of Henry VIII), who died accused of adultery, said, "I die a queen, but I would rather die the wife of Thomas Culpepper." (Which rather served to prove the charge against her, I think.)