Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII’s Second Wife, and the First He Had Executed
Henry VIII’s first Queen, Katherine of Aragon, dedicated 24 years of her life to being Queen of England. In 1513, she even went to war with the Scots, who invaded during one of Henry’s absences in France. She was beautiful, intelligent and immensely popular with the public.
But, after six pregnancies, only Katherine’s daughter Mary reached adulthood. At 47, she was unlikely to have more children, and Henry wanted a son as heir, so he sought a new wife.
While it seems cruel to abandon such an excellent Queen for a younger woman, Henry had a point. His father, Henry VII, won the throne at the battle of Bosworth, defeating Richard III.
But Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was not strong, and had been challenged several times during his reign. So Henry VIII believed a son was essential to retain Tudor power, which he firmly believed was best for the country.
Anne Boleyn
Anne was born at Blackling Hall, Norfolk, a daughter of Thomas Boleyn, first Earl of Wiltshire and his wife Elizabeth Howard. Historians are divided about the year of her birth; some say 1501 and others 1507. She wrote a letter in French to her father in 1514, which suggests 1501 as more likely unless she was unusually precocious with languages.
Anne was educated in the Netherlands and France to be an elegant lady. She was studious ,with good manners, impressive musical talent (especially playing the lute), and spoke fluent French. She enjoyed the attention of many admirers.
In late 1521 or early 1522, she returned from France to marry her cousin, James Butler, son of the Earl of Ormond in Ireland, but these plans were broken off. In March 1522, she became Maid of Honour to Katherine of Aragon.
In 1523, plans were made for Anne to marry Henry Percy, son of the 5th Earl of Northumberland, but the Earl was against the match, and she returned home to Hever Castle.
Henry and Anne
Henry previously had an affair with Anne’s elder sister Mary, who was married; we don’t know whether her husband or the King was father of either or both of her children. In 1526, he started courting Anne, who was young, attractive and had, in theory, plenty of child-bearing years ahead.
Despite their attraction being mutual, she rejected his advances, which only excited him more, so he sought an annulment of his first marriage, and proposed to Anne in 1527. This took longer than he expected, becoming known as: “The King’s Great Matter.” Pope Clement rejected his application, a major cause of the English Reformation.
On 1 September 1532, Henry made Anne Marquess of Pembroke, and they married in secret in Whitehall on 14 November, then formally on 25 January 1533. On 23 May, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry’s first marriage null and void and Henry and Anne’s marriage legal. Pope Clement excommunicated both Henry and Cranmer.
Anne was crowned Queen on 1 June 1533; their first child was born on 7 September 1533; not the expected son, but a daughter, Elizabeth. In December 1534, and again in October 1535, Anne had either a stillborn baby or a miscarriage.
The public, who still loved Queen Katherine, found the whole situation shocking, calling Anne: “the Great Whore.”
Anne’s downfall
In January 1536, Henry had a serious accident, when he was unhorsed during a tournament.
He was unconscious for two hours after this. On 8 January, Katherine of Aragon died; on the day of her funeral, Anne miscarried at around 4 months, allegedly a male child. By this time, Henry was already paying more attention to one of her Ladies-in-Waiting, Jane Seymour, than to his Queen.
It’s hard to understand why he didn’t just divorce Anne — as Head of the new Church of England, Henry could make whatever rules he liked. Yet he wanted her dead.
There are always some things we can’t know, about any historical event or situation. Maybe she had offended him in some way he would not reveal; most likely he blamed her for not producing a son.
Deeply unpopular, and no longer loved by the King, Anne’s fall was sudden and horrific.
On 8 May 1536, Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower of London by barge. She was accused of adultery with four men, including Court musician Mark Smeaton, who “confessed” under torture, and Sir Henry Norris, who could not be tortured as he was an aristocrat. She was also accused of incest with her brother George, and of high treason, including plotting to kill the King.
Whether she could have been guilty is another topic historians disagree about, though most now believe she was innocent. To me, there are too many charges to have developed so quickly; when people create such excessive accusations, it’s often because they are making them up to support their own prejudices or ends.
Anne’s final comments stated that she had never been unfaithful to the King, and people about to die usually tell the truth. Henry’s subsequent behaviour says a lot; he was obviously unable to admit he had made a mistake, or had given in to passion for Anne. The marriage didn’t work out; nobody should have died because of it.
She was executed in a single stroke by a French swordsman on 19 May 1536. Only 11 days later, Henry married Jane Seymour.
Postscript
In an ironic twist of fate, it was not his son, Edward VI, who was the strongest monarch.
He ruled for only six years, dying of fever in 1553. Then Katherine of Aragon’s daughter Mary ruled from 1553 to 1558, when she died, probably of cancer.
It was Anne’s daughter Elizabeth who ruled for 45 years, and was one of England’s greatest monarchs, strengthening the country’s status as a leading Protestant nation, supporting a strong artistic heritage, defeating several Spanish Armadas and rebuilding the country’s finances. Elizabeth never married and died childless in 1603, aged 69.
By then, Anne Boleyn was already seen as a martyr of England’s Reformation. The Tudors were masters of propaganda, and Elizabeth did much to improve her mother’s reputation.
In removing all images of Anne, and constantly defaming her, Henry had gone too far; for example by claiming Anne had seduced him by witchcraft. She was said to have six fingers, and/or six toes, believed to be signs of a witch. In fact, Anne’s body was exhumed in 1876, and showed no abnormalities at all.
Sources
https://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/anne-boleyn/
