Lying on its side within the historic Greenwich Park is Queen Elizabeth's Oak. Myths and legends surround the tree as thoroughly as the foliage which now covers it. We can only imagine what it has seen in its long past... Legend has it that Elizabeth picnicked near the tree. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife and Elizabeth’s mother, were also supposed to have danced around this tree during their courting days. This carefree scene can’t have lasted long - Henry had Anne arrested for high treason and beheaded three years after their marriage. The tree in Greenwich isn't the only oak that Elizabeth has been associated with. Another myth tells the story of when Elizabeth was declared queen in 1558, she was supposedly sitting under an oak tree on the grounds of Hatfield House. A deeply symbolic tree and indigenous to this island, the oak scene was meant to show that Elizabeth had a deep-rooted right to the English crown. Queen Elizabeth's Oak in Greenwich has been dead for over 100 years and its hollow trunk was big enough to make a small room that may have been used to lock up people who misbehaved in the park. After dying in the 19th century, the old oak was propped up by ivy until it fell over in 1991. Nowadays, you can see it lying on its side and locked up itself to give it the status it deserves and prevent the wear and tear of people climbing on it.
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