Anne Boleyn: Biography of Her Life

She was born sometime in May, 1501. Her exact day of birth is unknown, because the birth of another girl child was not considered a notable event. She was the third child of Thomas, the grandson of a successful merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth, a member of one of the noblest families in England. She is perhaps one of the most famous, and one of the most misunderstood, women in history. Her name was Anne Boleyn.

From the first, Anne was different. She was small and thin, with black hair and eyes. Her sister, Mary, plump and fair, was considered the pretty sister, while Anne was largely overlooked as a child. Even now she is more known for who she married and how she died than any merit she possessed on her own. Yet, her gifts were unique and remarkable, especially given the standards of her day. She was well educated at a time when most women were not even taught to read. She spoke two languages and even her enemies agreed that she was intelligent and well-spoken. She was bold and questioning at a time when women were valued only in their ability to run a household and produce male heirs. She was fiery and bold when it was thought that women should be meek or should be beaten. In her world, women did not say no to parents, or, after marriage, to their husband. They most certainly didn't say no to their King.

Yet in all these things Anne was uniquely her own woman. She blazed her own path, earning herself a place in history as the woman whose influence on a King forever changed the face of a nation. King Henry VIII cast aside not only a loyal and loving wife, but his only living legitimate heir for love of her. He pillaged the sanctity and the coffers of sacred places, he murdered his friends and changed the religion of his entire country, so obsessed was he with marrying Anne and having her bear his sons.

What kind of woman could wield that kind of influence? What kind of woman was she, to have that much power over one of the most powerful men in the world? Certainly the people who came into direct contact with her were profoundly affected by her. Her detractors were violently against her; her friends, though few, intensely loyal. She sparked reaction, and, love her or hate her, one could not ignore her.

When she was around twelve years old, Anne accompanied her sister Mary to the Austrian court, to be a lady in waiting to Mary, the sister of King Henry VII, and learn the ways of court. After a few years, she went to the French court, and it was there that Anne learned about fashion and the arts and courtly love. As with everything else she did, she excelled at her studies, and by the time she came back to England in 1522, she was more French that English in many ways. Shortly after her return, she met and became engaged to Henry (Harry) Percy. His family, though nobility, was well disposed to overlook the fact that she was the great granddaughter of a merchant, as she was also connected to the powerful Howards. It certainly didn't hurt any that her father had done quite well for himself at the English court, having served Henry as a diplomat and been rewarded with lands and titles. It was, by all considered, a good match, though many wondered at the harmony between the shy, awkward boy and the fiery, sophisticated court favorite. She was, indeed, the most fascinating thing the court had seen in some time. She was a consummate flirt who knew well how to spark a man's interest and yet leaving him wanting more, always more of the fascinating, confounding Anne.

But, despite the fervor of the two lovers, Anne and Harry Percy were never married. Cardinal Wolsey, the King's right hand for many years, forbade the match, ostensibly because of Anne's merchant blood. It was a devastating blow to both Harry Percy and Anne; Harry was immediately married to someone else of more noble blood, and Anne was left alone to dwell upon both her broken heart and her hatred of Wolsey. But life, especially life at court, goes on. Anne, being a lady in waiting to the Queen, was required to attend the festivities of the court. She loved music and dancing and it wasn't long before King Henry noticed her. Anne's sister Mary was a former mistress of the King, but he had long since tired of her and married her off to a commoner. He had also had a few other marital indiscretions, not that unusual for a King, especially one as tall and attractive and utterly charming as he was at that time. In his later years, Henry would run to fat due to illness and lack of exercise, but when he first presented himself to Anne he was still a handsome man, if not quite as trim as when he first took the throne shortly before his eighteenth birthday. He would have been popular with the ladies on his own merit, but given the fact that he was King, all the right female fruit at the court was his for the picking. In his entire life, no woman had ever said no to Henry.

The exact year that Henry first became besotted with Anne is unknown, but most historians believe it to be sometime during 1525 or 1526. It was, in any case, sometime after Anne's disastrous betrothal to Harry Percy. Anne's father was thrilled; he had already profited greatly through his daughter Mary's relationship with the King, and assumed that he would gain even more with this new development. But Anne was not interested in being any man's mistress, even if that man was the King of England. Henry, of course, was beside himself. His ego simply would not allow him to believe that he was actually being rejected. He was at turns angry and supplicant. He wheedled, he praised, he sent jewelry and silks and anything else he could think of to win her over. It was all for naught. Anne would not be swayed. She would not be any mans mistress, and that was that. However, being a subject of the King, she could not refuse to spend time with him, nor could she refuse to remain at court as lady in waiting to his wife, Katherine.

Over time, Henry began to wear away Anne's protests, like water over a bolder. The power of her position as court favorite combined with the heady mix of her power over the man himself was heady stuff, indeed. Not to mention there was the man himself; Henry was a very intelligent, well-spoken man, known for his love of learning closely followed by his love of good fun and amusements. He and Anne were uniquely well suited in terms of their intellect and interests. They talked for hours, often hotly debating one point or another. In Anne, Henry had found his feminine counterpart; she was every bit as intelligent and strong willed as he. She spoke her mind and expected him to listen and to take her seriously.

No matter how involved her heart might be, and historians have debated that for centuries, Anne was still not willing to be just a mistress. She told Henry that she would not be with him in the fullest sense, that is, physically, unless she were his wife. Henry had been thinking for some time about getting out of his marriage to Katherine due to her failure to provide him with a male heir. Despite several pregnancies, the Queen had managed to produce only one living child, Princess Mary. Anne's words gave Henry all the impetus he needed, and he initiated divorce proceedings against his wife, using as his excuse the fact that she was previously married to his brother Arthur. He patently ignored the fact that the marriage to Arthur was never consummated, as Henry and the rest of the court well knew. As England was at that time a Catholic country, Henry had to get the Pope's permission to divorce Katherine. The Pope denied Henry's petition, and the matter was seemingly ended. Henry then decided to break with Catholic church and form a new religion for England, of which he would be the head. Thus the Church of England had its start, and Henry was at last free to marry his darling.

Anne conceived immediately, and bore her husband a daughter in September 1533. Henry, having expected a son, was not pleasantly surprised at having a daughter. However, he was still in love with Anne, and so looked forward to having a son with her still. Anne suffered at least one miscarriage in the next few years, and Henry developed a wandering eye. This was not uncommon for Kings, but Anne was not your typical wife and would not overlook such flagrant disregard. She furiously upbraided Henry to no avail. The first cracks in the royal marriage began to appear, and the two spent more and more time apart, she with her ladies and her courtiers and Henry with his own courtiers and hunting companions.

Oddly enough, it was at this time that Anne became pregnant again. Henry was thrilled, but watchful. Anne had already had prior miscarriages, and given his previous experience with Katherine he was not keen to get his hopes too far up. It did, however, keep him at home more often, and still his wandering eye for a time. He and Anne were almost their old selves, enjoying the entertainments at court as they had in days past. It was not to be; Anne miscarried of her child, a boy. Henry immediately set about to rid himself of her.

In an effort to find a way out of his marriage to Anne, Henry enlisted the services of Thomas Cromwell, a cunning, secretive man. It was Cromwell who first came up with the way to get rid of Anne; charge her with adultery. Adultery of a Queen is also treason, which is punishable by death. Cromwell arrested Mark Smeaton, one of Anne's court musicians, and tortured him for hours until he "confessed" to having a relationship with the Queen. Cromwell then arrested three more courtiers, one of whom was a good friend of Henry's, and Anne's brother, George. All were accused of adultery with the Queen. The Queen herself was arrested and taken to the Tower to await her trial. As soon as she was arrested, her household was dismantled and her servants dismissed as there was no doubt what the verdict would be. Though Anne spoke quite well for herself at her so-called trial she was indeed convicted, as were all the men accused. The men were hung, drawn and quartered on May 17^th, 1536. Anne was spared being burned to death, and was beheaded on the Tower green on May 19, 1536. Her body was then placed in an old arrow box and buried in St. Peter Ad Vincula chapel. Henry married Jane Seymour ten days after Anne's death. Jane, ever the dutiful wife, bore him a son eighteen months later, then succumbed to childbed fever and died. Henry now had his heir, but Edward was not a healthy boy, and died only a few years into his reign. Mary, Henry's daughter with Katherine, then inherited throne, and became known as the ruler "Bloody Mary" for her killing of those she considered heretics as she attempted to convert England back to Catholicism. Mary, too, died just a few years into her reign and the throne was then inherited by Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne.

Elizabeth I is widely considered the greatest ruler in English history. Life in England was more prosperous and more peaceful under her forty-five year reign than at any other time in its history. She was beloved of her people, who called her "Good Queen Bess". Elizabeth never married, nor had children. In her middle years, she commissioned a ring made for her. It was a locket containing two intricately painted miniatures; one was herself, the other, Anne.

Sources:

Nell Gavin

http://www.nellgavin.com/index.html "Threads" by Nell Gavin

Antonia Frasier, "The Wives of Henry VIII"

Alison Weir, "The Six Wives of Henry VII"

(http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleyn.html#Biography) English History