13 Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn Biography

Queen (c. 1501–1536)

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, served as queen of England in the 1530s. She was executed on charges of incest, witchcraft, adultery and conspiracy against the king.

IN THESE GROUPS

• FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO BECAME WEALTHY
• FAMOUS PEOPLE IN CHRISTIANITY
• FAMOUS GOVERNMENT
• FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED ANNE

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QUOTES

“I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything 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 he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord.”

—Anne Boleyn

and not be a mistress: "Your wife I cannot be, both in respect of mine own unworthiness, and also because you have a queen already. Your mistress I will not be."

Synopsis

Anne Boleyn was born circa 1501, likely in Bickling (Norfolk), England. She was the second wife of King Henry VIII—a scandalous marriage, given that he had been denied an annulment from his first wife by the Roman Church, and that his mistress was Anne's sister, Mary. Thusly, King Henry VIII broke from the Church to marry Anne. She gave birth to a daughter, but could not conceive a son. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed on false charges of incest, witchcraft, adultery and conspiracy against the king. Her daughter, Elizabeth, emerged as one of England's greatest queens. Anne Boleyn died on May 19, 1536, in London, England.

Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, who would later become earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard. After living in France for a time during her youth, Anne returned to England in 1522 and soon established a residence at King Henry VIII's court as maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's queen consort at the time.

By the mid-1520s, Anne Boleyn had become one of the most admired ladies of the court, attracting the attention of many men, among them Henry Percy, the 6th Earl of Northumberland. When Henry VIII caught wind of Lord Henry Percy’s desired marriage with Anne, he ordered against it. Around this same time—whether it was before or after Percy's interest in Anne had developed is uncertain—the king himself fell in love with the young maid. What is known is that Anne's sister, Mary Boleyn, one of the king's mistresses, had introduced her to Henry VIII, and that the king wrote love letters to Anne circa 1525.

In one of the king's letters, he wrote: "If you ... give yourself up, heart, body and soul to me ... I will take you for my only mistress, rejecting from thought and affection all others save yourself, to serve only you." Anne replied with rejection, however, explaining that she aimed to be married