Anne Boleyn
- Catherine Moscatt
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
One of the most infamous Queens of all time, Anne Boleyn was Henry the VIII’s second wife. Not only did he divorce his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, to marry her, he left the Catholic Church and started his own church of England which would allow him to remarry.
Contrary to popular belief and unlike her sister, Mary, Anne Boleyn refused to settle for being Henry the VIII’s mistress. She was cunning and ambitious, her eyes set on being the Queen of England and in the end that’s what happened.
Anne Boleyn (as well as her sister) were both ladies in waiting to Katherine of Aragon.
Henry and Anne marry in secret in 1532 and then publicly in 1533 where she is crowned. She is also clearly pregnant.
It was said that Anne was "arrogant" and this made her unpopular at court (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-Boleyn).
The first child of the King and the new Queen was Elizabeth I who would grow up to be a great ruler of England. Elizabeth the 1st was the sole surviving child of the couple and, desperate for an heir, Henry began to cast his eye outside his marriage yet again.
In 1536, Thomas Cromwell (once an ally of the Queen) accused her of several charges including adultery and even threatening to kill the King. Her brother was also among the accused because Anne was also accused of incest. The King (already besotted with Jane Seymore, another lady in waiting) did not interfere when they took Anne to the Tower of London, which may show how cold the king truly was.(https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/anne-boleyn/)
Anne’s suitors who had “confessed” to be complicit in her sins may have done so under torture (https://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/anneboleyn.html)
Four of Anne’s “suitors” were executed- Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton, and George Boleyn (Anne’s brother). (https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/visit/hever-castle/timelines/anne-boleyn-timeline/)
Anne continued to claim she was innocent but she was executed on the Tower Green (by a swordsman not an executioner's axe which was a favor granted by the King). She was roughly 35.
Henry the VIII married Jane Seymour eleven days later. They didn’t even wait two weeks.