Anna Bolena (c. 1501-1536 EC)
Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536 CE) was the second wife of Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE). Henry was able to have Anne as his queen when his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536 CE) was finally annulled after much fuss in 1533 CE Still searching for an heir, the king would again be disappointed when Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603 CE). Anne, sometimes known as "Anne of a Thousand Days" in reference to her short reign as queen, was accused of adultery and executed at the Tower of London in May 1536 CE. This last brutal act of a bad marriage left Henry free to marry his third wife, Jane Seymour, and continue his search for a male heir.
Anna Bolena
Catherine of Aragon
Henry VIII (b. 1491 CE) married the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon in June 1509 CE Catherine married Henry's older brother Arthur in 1501 CE, but the prince had died the following year. Henry's marriage seemed happy in its early years, but of the queen's six children, only one survived childhood, a girl, Mary, born in February 1516 CE. Henry, however, had an illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond (b. 1519 CE), with a mistress, Elizabeth Blount, and so the king began to blame his queen for not producing a healthy, legitimate male heir. Catherine was six years older than Henry and the age difference began to be noticed in the mid-1520s CE; the king was eager for a younger wife who could bear him a son. Annulling his marriage, which the king called a "great matter", would, however, prove difficult and have far-reaching consequences.
in her youth, ana lived in the family home at hever castle, kent, and was then educated in the netherlands and france.
Around 1526 CE, Henry VIII's eye was caught by the beautiful lady-in-waiting Anne Boleyn, younger sister of Mary Boleyn, one of his former conquests. Anne was born in 1501 CE, daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn (future Earl of Wiltshire) and Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. She even had a royal connection, as her aunt was the youngest daughter of Edward IV of England (r. 1461-1470 and 1471-1483 CE). In her youth, Anne lived at the family home, Hever Castle in Kent, and was then educated in the Low Countries and at the French court. Anne joined King Henry's court in 1522 CE.
Dark-haired, slender and sophisticated, Anne, intelligent enough to realize she was about to become a pawn in a game of thrones, refused Henry's gifts of jewels and refused to sleep with the king until they were married. To this end, Henry wrote a letter to Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-1534 CE) in 1527, suggesting that the lack of a male heir was God's punishment for Henry marrying his late brother's wife, a point supported by the Old Testament (the "Leviticus Prohibition", Leviticus c. 20 v. 21). Consequently, the king wished the Pope to annul the marriage as it should never have been allowed in the first place.
Henry VIII meets Anne Boleyn
Daniel Maclise (Public Domain)
Unfortunately for Henry, Pope Clement VII was keen to maintain a good relationship with the most powerful ruler in Europe at the time, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain (r. 1519-1556 CE), who was, significantly , Catherine's nephew. Furthermore, it was unlikely that Catherine and Arthur, being so young at the time, would have ever slept together, and so the "Leviticus Prohibition" did not apply in this case. Despite the best efforts then of Henry's chief minister, Cardinal Archbishop of York, Thomas Wolsey (lc 1473 - 1530 CE), the "great question" was deadlocked. When Thomas Cromwell (lc 1485-1540 CE) took up the case of Henry of Wolsey (who was to be tried for treason but died en route to court), Henry's will was pushed to its logical conclusion: England would rule his country. own Church free from the obligations of Rome. Henry was maintaining his interpretation of the Bible , a higher authority than even the decision of a Pope.
Henry's next tactic was to permanently separate Catherine from her daughter Mary and move her across the country to several decrepit residences, although this did not dampen the queen's popularity among the people. Meanwhile, Henry and Anne Boleyn lived together (but did not sleep together). Anne was given the title Marchioness of Pembroke with corresponding properties and income. The king was confident enough in his moral standing to travel to France with Anne as his official consort in October 1532 CE. In December 1532 CE, Anne, perhaps seeing a baby as the best way to get rid of her rival Catherine, slept with the king and became pregnant.
A Church Divided
A new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer , who also wanted to separate the English Church from Rome, formally annulled Henry's first marriage on 23 May 1533. C.E. Cranmer had also been chaplain to Anne's father in 1529. With the passage of the Act of Retention of Appeals by Parliament (drafted by Cromwell), Catherine did not resort to any appeal. The decision was final. The annulment and passing of the Act of Succession (30 April 1534 CE) meant that Catherine's daughter Mary was declared illegitimate, allegiance was sworn to Queen Anne, and any of her descendants recognized as official heirs to the throne . Catherine was banned from using the title "Queen of England" and had to use the "Widow Princess". Catherine, effectively living under house arrest, died of cancer in January 1536.
Ana Bolena by Hans Holbein
Hans Holbein (Public Domain)
Henry was eventually excommunicated by the Pope for his actions and to replace the Pope as head of the Catholic Church of England, Henry became head of the Church of England. This was achieved by the Act of Supremacy of 28 November 1534 CE and meant that Henry, and all subsequent English monarchs, only had one superior authority: God himself. Medieval Church reform had its supporters who saw the institution as too rich, corrupt and mature for change, but also its opponents - notably the former chancellor Sir Thomas More (1478-1535 CE) who was executed in 1535 CE and the protest marchers on the so-called Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 CE in northern England.
Marriage and Daughter
Henry married Anne in secret on January 25, 1533 CE, even before his first marriage was officially annulled. The pressure was really on since a child born out of wedlock would not be recognized by everyone as the king's rightful heir. Anne, then heavily pregnant, was crowned Queen of England on June 1, 1533 CE. However, public support for Catherine was still evident, as some in the crowd booed Anne on her way to Westminster, chanting: "Nan Bullen will not be our Queen!" Ana was, without a doubt, imperturbable; she had gotten what she always wanted as she rode in a golden chariot and wore a scarlet cloak heavy with pearls and jewels, ready to fulfill her destiny.
on september 7, 1533 ce, ana gave birth to a daughter, elizabeth, the future queen of england.
Anne was by no means a passive element of the royal court. Well-educated and a believer in church reform, she sponsored scholars and reformers, supported the distribution of English Bible translations, and imported and circulated evangelical books. It was through Anne's influence that reformist figures such as Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Shaxton were made bishops. The queen also helped the poor and was an advocate of social reform.
On September 7, 1533 CE, Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. There would be other pregnancies, but these babies were lost, two through miscarriages (1534 and 1535 CE) and one stillborn (1536 CE). Henry, once again, began to blame his wife for the lack of a male heir. The royal relationship deteriorated with the headstrong Anne openly insulting the king at court and whispers abroad that the English king had married no higher than a common prostitute. Anne's fate was about to follow a similar path to her predecessor with Henry now looking for wife number three, a realistic option after Catherine's death in 1536 CE.
Trial and Execution
When the king discovered that Anne had been having an affair, or perhaps simply because her lust was already being satisfied by another lady-in-waiting at court, Jane Seymour, he ordered Anne's arrest. The queen was confined to the Tower of London on May 2, 1536 CE, in the same chambers in which he had remained before his coronation. The case against the queen was overcome by Thomas Cromwell, most likely because Anne did not produce a healthy brother to accompany Elizabeth and the king grew tired of their turbulent relationship. Cromwell was helped in his search for false evidence against the queen by the strong pro-Catherine faction still at court, who had not forgotten the shabby treatment of their Catholic champion. Just for good measure, Cromwell added a load of other accusations, too. These included incest with her own brother, Lord Rochford, affairs with at least four lovers, attempted murder by poisoning her husband, and even witchcraft. A confession and implication of others was extracted under torture from Ana's favorite musician, Mark Smeaton, but Ana herself denied all charges, as did all the other "lovers".
Ana Bolena na Torre from London
Edouard Cibot (Public Domain)
The imprisoned queen wrote an impassioned letter to her king in which she begged him not to allow "that unworthy stain of a heart disloyal to your good Grace, ever cast so foul a stain upon me, or upon the baby princess, the your daughter" (quoted in Jones, 178). Despite the allegation and flimsy evidence, Anne was found guilty by a court led by her own uncle, the Duke of Norfolk. Anne's marriage to Henry was annulled on May 17, and the queen was sentenced to execution in the Tower of London. Ana was allowed to respond to her sentence and she stated the following:
I think you know very well the reason why you condemned me is because it's different from what led you to this trial. My only sin against the King was my jealousy and lack of humility. But I'm prepared to die. What I regret most is that the men who were innocent and loyal to the king must lose their lives because of me.
(Jones, 180)
The queen offered to retire to a convent if Henry would show mercy, but did not do so, her only concession being that the queen should be beheaded and not burned at the stake as witches traditionally were. Anne received a final request to have a specialized executioner come from France who would decapitate Anne with a sword instead of the usual axe, which could sometimes require a few blows to achieve her terrible purpose. On May 19, 1536 CE, before the blade fell, Anne is said to have proclaimed:
The king has been good to me. He elevated me from a simple maid to a marchioness. Then he elevated me to be queen. Now he will elevate me to be a martyr.
(quoted in Philips, 103)
Anne's brother and her accused lovers had also been executed, two days before the queen. Princess Elizabeth, like her half-sister Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was declared illegitimate. All traces of Anne, from monogrammed cushions to portraits, were removed from all royal palaces. Within two weeks, Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour, and finally bore the king a son, Edward, born on October 12, 1537 CE. The long-awaited arrival of a male heir triggered gun salutes, bell ringings and banquets across England. Tragically, Jane died shortly afterwards and Henry would have three more wives. When Henry died of illness in 1547 CE, he was succeeded by his young and still only son Edward VI of England (r. 1547-1553 CE) who, thanks to the wars and the crisis of Henry's first marriage, only inherited a deeply impoverished kingdom divided over religious issues.