Anne Boleyn was born in July 1501 (although there is some debate as to if it was really 1507), in Kent, and was educated in the schoolroom of Margaret, the Archduchess of Austria, where she learnt key academic skills, such as Literacy and Arithmetic. From spring 1513, she was affiliated with the Netherlands Duchies after impressing the daughter of Maximillian I, Archduchess Margaret of the Netherlands, who was temporarily ruling this land on her father’s behalf. From 1514 on, due to her father, Thomas Boleyn, and his work with these pivotal powers in Europe, she became the Lady in Waiting to Queen Mary, the sister of Henry VIII, and later served her step-daughter, Queen Claude, for seven years.
Career
- 1520, sister is King’s mistress
- Returned 1521, to sort arrangements for marriage with cousin James Butler, as this was necessary to attempt to settle Ormond affairs dispute (lands titles etc)
- 1522 debut in court at a pageant, established herself in the English court – sophisticated and attractive.
- Upon return to England, lady in waiting to Catherine of aragon
- Around this time, courting Henry Percy, son of Earl of Northumberland, 1523, secretly betrothed to lord percy. According to Cavendish, wolseys man servant, it was a celibate relationship.
- Wolsey cut this short, refusing this match – Henry’s request. She had caught his attention, although it is not fully clear when this is.
- She was very involved in Reformist movement and also refused to become Henry’s mistress, wanted to be Queen over that, refused to give sexual favours
- In this time, annulment began to be sought as the pair pursued their romantic affair.
- 1528 got a sweating sickness, Henry sent his own physician to treat her.
- Became very involved in the Politics – a French ambassador stated in 1529 that her approval was vital.
Anne returned to England in 1521, in order to sort out marital arrangements between herself and her cousin, James Butler. This marriage was necessary in an attempt to settle a dispute over the titles and lands of the Earl of Ormund. Around this time, she also served as one of Catherine of Aragon’s Ladies in Waiting, and in 1522, she debuted in the English court, establishing herself as sophisticated and attractive. She gained a lot of attention, including that of Lord Henry Percy, the son of the Earl of Northumberland, who began to court her – in 1523, they became secretly betrothed.
However, this was cut short by Wolsey, who refused to approve the matching. This was like due to Henry’s request, as it became apparent that Anne had caught his attention, although the exact point at which this occurred is debatable. When Henry began to pursue her, she refused to become a mistress, demanding marriage before she would exchange sexual favours with him. Eventually, he proposed marriage, and began to seek annulment with Catherine, thus leading to one of the most religiously significant eras in English history.
In 1533, after the break with Rome, Henry and Anne married – she was already pregnant at this time. (They had married before in secret, however it was not a lawful marriage at that said point). On the 1st of June 1533, Catherine already stripped of the title, Anne was named the Queen Consort and crowned as such, at Westminster Abbey.
However, the marriage did not start off so well. After her coronation, Anne gave birth to the future monarch, Elizabeth I. This was not the heir Henry wanted. In 1534, she had a stillborn child or a miscarriage, and Henry began, once again, considering alternatives with Cranmer’s advice. With the deaths of her children, and the failure to produce a male heir, she also began losing the support of the subjects of the real.
By 1536, Henry had begun an affair with Jane Seymour, even giving her a locket with a portrait of herself within it. She had another miscarriage in 1536, which may even be linked to her walking in on Jane Seymour sat upon her husband’s lap. The fetus appeared to be male.
Following this, her fall began. In April, Mark Smeaton was arrested, a musician who worked for Anne. After torture, he admitted to an affair with Anne, and similarly, a noble, Henry Norris was accused of this too. Further accused was her own brother, George Boleyn, pushing the charges on Anne from adultery to incest.
On the 2nd of May 1536, she was transported to the Tower of London. She was executed on the 19th of the same month.
Importance in Henry’s Reign
Her primary significance was that through the affair with her, Henry thusly began to pursue a break with Rome, in order to guarantee the annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. Upon Cranmer becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1933, English history began to untangle itself from that of the Papacy. She also was fairly significant in the fall of Wolsey – previously a good advisor to Henry, due to her existence as an interest of the King, Wolsey had to try and achieve a divorce, and ultimately failed. She also influenced Henry against the Cardinal, possibly in a revenge for his denial of her marriage with Lord Percy.
Theresa Dunthorne