Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and, despite being declared illegitimate following the annulment of her parents’ marriage, came to the throne as the next in line behind her Catholic half-sister under the terms of the Third Act of Succession.

Although found unanimously guilty by a jury of 27 peers, the evidence against Anne was questionable. Only the Flemish musician Mark Smeaton admitted to having an affair with her, and this confession is reputed to have been extracted under torture.

Abbot Robert Fuller surrendered the abbey and its property on 23 March 1540, and within just a few years all the buildings except for the parish nave had been demolished or had collapsed due to neglect.

On the 11th October 1521, Pope Leo X granted the title “Defender of the Faith” to King Henry VIII of England.