Anthony William Hall (1898–1947), self-declared as King Anthony I and Anthony Tudor, was a 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). Early life Hall joined the Shropshire Constabulary after World War I as Police Constable 168. He was praised as a "first-class" photographer, shorthand-writer and typist, with a good working knowledge of fingerprinting. He was promoted to Police Inspector at the age of 28 but in 1927 abruptly resigned after a disagreement with his Chief Constable. He moved to Canada that year, where he broke up with his wife, who returned to the UK in December. He remained in Canada until April 1929. During the next decade, he lived in the city of Hereford and then London. Claims to the English throne Background Anthony William Hall claimed to be the direct male descendant of Henry VIII, the 11th in the line. According to his story, the line was founded by John Hall, a son of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who was born prior to the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Since Anne was not more than nine years old, possibly less, and since the English Crown does not descend to illegitimate children, the claim was ludicrous. At the same time as Hall was declaring his lineage, there was also a Jacobite pretender to the throne, Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, as well as several others for monarchies on the European mainland. Actions In 1931, Hall attempted — in an "open letter", in the form of a pamphlet, to King George V, whom he addressed as "George Frederick Ernest Albert Windsor (alias Guelph)" — to claim the English 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. He also set forth an agenda to deal with the national debt, for the dissolution of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the abolition of income tax. One of his more popular pledges was to increase the alcoholic strength of beer. These claims were eventually raised with King George V, as records released in 2006 showed that the monarch had discussed this with the Private Secretary to the Sovereign, Sir Clive Wigram. In those notes, Wigram wrote in 1931, "His Majesty quite