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| Anne Boleyn. Unknown artist. (c. 1533-1536) |
There is some dispute over the year in which Anne was born – most likely between 1501 and 1507. Anne's father was the courtier and diplomat Sir Thomas Boleyn and her mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk.
Childhood
Anne spent some of her childhood and teenage years in Europe. She was a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Margaret in the Netherlands. In 1514, Anne's father arranged for her to be a lady-in-waiting at the French court to Queen Mary, King Henry VIII's younger sister.
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| Mary Tudor. Queen of France. (Unkknown artist). 16th century. |
She later served Queen Claude of France for almost seven years.
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| Claude of France (Corneille de Lion). 1535-1540 |
On her return to England in 1522, Anne was appointed as lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's wife Catherine of Aragon. Anne's striking looks and sophisticated manners earned her many admirers at court and by 1523 she was betrothed to Lord Henry Percy. However this relationship was cut short by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
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| Lord Henry Percy |
Before pursuing Anne, Henry VIII had already had an affair with her sister, Mary. Henry showered Anne and her family with titles and gifts. Anne's ambitious father was created Earl of Wiltshire and her brother, Lord George Rochford, was appointed to the Royal Privy Chamber.
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| Mary Boleyn. |
Henry VIII had grown tired of his wife, as she had not produced a male heir. He appealed to Pope Clement VII for an annulment to his marriage so that he could marry Anne. The Pope refused to annul the marriage as he was afraid to go against the will of Catherine's nephew Charles V, The Holy Roman Emperor.
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| Portrait of Charles I of Spain with a Dog. (Titian). 1532-1533 |
Although she resisted Henry VIII's advances, by 1533 Anne was pregnant with her first child. Henry was forced into action. In January 1533 Henry VIII and Anne were married in a secret ceremony and Henry broke with the Catholic Church. He passed the Act of Supremacy, declaring that he was the head of the English church. In June 1533 Anne was crowned Queen of England in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
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| The Banquet of King Henry in York Place. 1832. |
Henry and Anne's daughter Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I) was born in September 1533. Two more pregnancies ended in miscarriage, in the summer of 1534 and in January 1536. When Henry discovered the second baby had been a boy, he became convinced the marriage was cursed. Henry was still desperate for a male heir and he blamed Anne for this misfortune. He took on Anne’s lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour as his mistress and looked for a way to end his marriage.
Downfall
In April 1536, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris and Anne's brother Lord Rochford were arrested on suspicion of having had relations with the Queen. Anne was investigated by a secret commission which included her father, her uncle the Duke of Norfolk and Thomas Cromwell.
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| Thomas Cromwell. (Hans Holbein the Younger. 1532-33) |
On 2 May 1536 Anne was arrested on charges of adultery with five men including her own brother, Lord George Rochford. At the trial, presided over by the Duke of Norfolk, Anne was accused of adultery and witchcraft. She was convicted and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
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| Anne Boleyn in the Tower. Edouard Cibot (1835) |
On 19th May Anne was led from her quarters to Tower Green
where, spared the axe, she was granted the 'mercy' of beheading by a
French swordsman.
Anne was the first English queen to be publicly executed. Rather than deny her guilt, she used her final moments to deliver a speech praising King Henry VIII, as she stated when she spoke her last words the day of her death, which was the 19th day of may, 1536.
" Good
Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and
by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing
against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak any thing of
that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save
the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more
merciful prince was there never; and to me was he ever a good, a gentle
and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require
them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of
you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord, have
mercy on me, to God I commend my soul. "
And then she knelt down saying, "To Christ I commend my soul, Jesus receive my soul" diverse times, till her head was stricken off with the sword. And on the Ascension Day following, the king wore white for mourning.
BBC History
Wikipedia
Angelines.
