The King's Oak
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The oak under which Henry VIII sat, in Epping Forest, while Anne (Boleyn) was being executed.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The King's Oak” mean?
The oak under which Henry VIII sat, in Epping Forest, while Anne (Boleyn) was being executed.
Is “The King's Oak” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.