Anne+Boleyn

media type="custom" key="3431880" Anne Boleyn was King Henry’s second wife. Her birthdate is unknown to historians though it is mostly put somewhere between 1500 and 1501. A couple historians have put her year of birth as late as 1507-1509. She was most possibly born at Blickling Hall in Norfolk. Her father was Sir Thomas Boleyn and her mother was Elizabeth Howard. She grew up with two siblings, a sister Mary and a brother George. Both of their birthdates are unknown though their ages are put close together.

Anne Boleyn ruled from 1533 to 1536 and she was the first queen to come from a non-royal family. She spent part of her childhood at the court of Archduchess Margaret. When King Henry married his sister, Mary Tudor, to the aged king of France in 1514, Anne accompanied her as Mary’s lady-in-waiting. Once the king died, Mary returned to England, though Anne remained in France. She watched over the new queen Claude and learned a lot from her. Her main education was in fashion and flirtation. She became a good musician, singer and dancer while she was there. She stayed in France for six or seven years before returning home in 1521/1522 when the war was near the start.

It is unknown when Henry first noticed Anne though her first recorded appearance at his court was March 1st, 1522 at a masque ball. Anne’s sister, Mary was at court before Anne herself. She was the king’s mistress in the early 1520’s, but was quickly dropped. Anne learned from her sister’s mistake and refused to be Henry’s mistress. Her first couple years were spent as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Catherine. She was quite popular with the young men though she was considered no great beauty. She was most known for her style, wit and charm. Men were mostly attracted to her teasing manner. It is recorded that she had a large mole on her neck and a sixth finger, though it is unknown whether or not she actually had the sixth finger.

At first, Anne was involved with Henry Percy, the son and heir to Earl of Northumberland. King Henry had his eye on her and ordered Cardinal Wolsey to stop the romance. Henry Percy was forced to leave court. King Henry began to court her, though she still held out and refused to be intimate with him unless they were married.

The Christmas of 1529, Anne was giving precedence over Henry’s own sister. Anne was not very popular among the English people. For the next couple years, Henry fought for an annulment though the church would still not allow it.

In 1532, Anne decided she had better get pregnant soon before Henry loses interest. By December she was pregnant and that forced Henry to hurry the arrangements to end his marriage with Catherine. This child could not be illegitimate. In January of 1533, the two secretly married. Shortly after, with the help from Parliament, England severed their ties with the Pope. Afterwards, Henry was declared Supreme Head of Church of England and he then divorced Catherine and he was free to marry Anne in public. Anne was finally crowned queen in May of 1533. By August preparations were made for the arrival of the baby which was sure to be a boy. Henry and Anne had already decided the baby would be named Edward or Henry. On August 26th, 1533, Anne entered into confinement as was custom. On September 7th, 1533, she gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Elizabeth. Her christening was a grand affair, though King Henry did not go. And even though he was disappointed by not having a boy, he still declared Elizabeth heir over Mary, his daughter from Catherine.

Henry demanded that Mary give up her title as Princess of Wales, though she was just a headstrong as her mother, and refused. Henry took away her house and gave it to Anne’s brother, George and in December Mary was moved to the household with baby Elizabeth to help care for the baby girl.

Quickly after getting married, Henry started to lose interest in Anne. He began to realize just how much he had lost while trying to marry Anne. The marriage had cost him many good people including friends and associates to lose their lives due to treason and loyalty issues.

In January of 1534, it was rumored that Anne was pregnant again, though if she honestly was, she must have miscarried because in April of the same year she was pregnant again for sure this time. In September, she miscarried a 6-month old fetus. The fetus was formed enough to tell it had been a boy.

During this time, Henry’s health began to worsen. The first sign of the illness that would kill him was starting to appear. He was getting headaches more frequent and more severe. Since he was unable to take part in the sports he so loved, he began to gain weight and his health kept declining. He again blamed his wife for not being able to conceive or carry to term. Anne had one last change in 1535. She became pregnant in June, though she miscarried again in January of the next year. Henry had finally decided he needed to get rid of Anne and move on. He couldn’t divorce her after all the trouble he went through to marry her. He was advised to falsely accuse her of adultery with five different men. She was in the end found guilty of treason. Her father and uncle as well condemned her. Even though she was hated by most English people, many were outraged at this miscarry of justice.

Only a few weeks after Anne was killed, Henry married Jane Seymour.