Hello, today we have Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second wife. Though she was unaware of what this would do, her refusal to become Henry's mistress would become one of the most significant events in the entire history of England. This could also be construed as one of the major events in American History, too!
Anne Boleyn was born in 1501 or 1507. Her sister became Henry VIII's mistress, and though she did in fact bear him a son, Mary was thrown out the door soon after the birth of the child. By this point, Anne had been in school in France for quite some time, and she returned to court. Catherine of Aragon, the current queen (thus, the only one who could bear Henry VIII a legitimate heir), could no longer bear children and had become fat and less attractive due to many miscarriages and the stress of her status. Anne, who was more seductive than beautiful (at least by the standards of the day), played Henry like a fiddle. She paraded her virtue around and refused to give herself to Henry unless she be his lawful wife. The Pope, who virtually ruled England and many other European nations by proxy, refused to allow Henry to divorce Catherine (mostly because he was under the control of Catherine's cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor). Thus, Henry plunged England into an upheaval and broke from Catholicism. He established the Church of England (which was so tyrannical that it lead some religious individuals to leave England for America) where the King of England was also head of the church. He then granted himself a divorce and married Anne Boleyn.
Anne proved to be no more successful at producing a male heir than her counterpart, but she was not as lucid as Catherine. Catherine had spent her over twenty years of marriage to Henry being the shy woman who let her husband pretty rage and feel his own power. Unfortunately, Anne was far more independent, and often screamed at her husband and fought with him. At the point of her last miscarriage, a son, Henry had grown tired of her temper and seeming inability to bear him a male heir. Also, he was already interested in a woman named Jane Seymour. Anne was beheaded on trumped up charges of adultery, incest, and high treason on May 19, 1536. This was only days away from her third anniversary as queen of England.
In the end, Anne's responsibility for the Church of England will never be forgotten. Also, her only surviving child with Henry would become Elizabeth I. Elizabeth I would go very far in the monarchy. She would become one of the greatest of English monarchs and certainly the mot effective ruler of Henry's children.
Read More:
Her Wikipedia Page
Her Tudor History Page
Henry VIII's Fight For a Divorce from Catherine
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