Anthony William Hall (1898–1947) was a Shropshire man who claimed to be descended directly through the male line from Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (from an illegitimate son, born before their marriage). In 1931, Hall attempted — in an "open letter" to King George V — to claim the British throne. He also made many speeches, in Birmingham and elsewhere, in which he set out his claim and challenged the King to a duel, with the loser to be beheaded. Hall was arrested many times for using "scandalous language", and was fined and bound over to keep the peace. Hall was a Shropshire police inspector.
The theory that Anthony Hall was a descendant of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn was used as the basis for a 1999 novel called Heir Unapparent, written by John Harrison.
Famous quotes containing the words anthony and/or hall:
“I’ll wager that it was impossible after we got mixed together to tell an anti from a suffragist by her clothes. There might have been a difference, though, in the expression of the faces and the shape of the heads.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
“He packs wool sheared in April, honey
in combs, linen, leather
tanned from deerhide,
and vinegar in a barrel
hooped by hand at the forge’s fire.”
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