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9 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us"><title>Anne Boleyn: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</title>
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17 | <tr>
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18 | <td height="29" width="25%"><br>
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19 | </td>
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20 | <td height="29" valign="top" width="50%">
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21 | <p align="center"><font size="4"><br>'[A] woman who is the scandal of
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22 | Christendom.'<br>
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23 | </font><i><font size="-1">Katharine of Aragon describes her
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24 | rival, 1531</font></i></p>
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25 | </td>
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26 | </tr>
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27 | <tr>
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28 | <td height="610" width="25%"><br>
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29 | </td>
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30 | <td height="610" valign="top" width="50%">
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31 | <p align="center">
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32 | </p>
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33 | <p align="center">
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34 | <img src="boleyn_files/boleyncardinalbig.gif" alt="Anne Boleyn" border="0" height="90" width="352"></p>
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35 | <p align="center"> <b>
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36 | <img src="boleyn_files/boleynmainjpg.jpg" alt="the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn; at the NPG, London" border="2" height="357" width="275"></b></p>
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37 | <p align="center"> <i><font size="2">portrait of Anne Boleyn by an unknown
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38 | artist, late 16th century</font></i></p>
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39 | <p> <b> <br>Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous queens
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40 | in English history, though she ruled for just three years. The
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41 | daughter of an ambitious knight and niece of the duke of Norfolk, Anne
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42 | spent her adolescence in France. When she returned to England,
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43 | her wit and style were her greatest charms. She had a circle of
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44 | admirers and became secretly engaged to Henry Percy. She also
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45 | entered the service of Katharine of Aragon. But she soon caught
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46 | the eye of Henry VIII. He ordered Percy from court and tried to
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47 | make Anne his mistress. She refused. Her sister, Mary, had
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48 | been the king's mistress and gained little from it but scandal.
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49 | Her hopes with Percy dashed, Anne demanded that the king marry
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50 | her. She waited nearly seven years for Henry to obtain an
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51 | annulment. It finally took an irrevocable breach with the Holy
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52 | See before they wed in 1533. But she was unable to give Henry the
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53 | son he desperately needed and their marriage ended tragically for
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54 | Anne. She was executed on patently false charges of witchcraft,
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55 | incest and adultery on 19 May 1536. Her daughter, Elizabeth,
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56 | would become England's greatest queen.</b></p>
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57 | <blockquote>
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58 | <p><a href="#Biography"><br>
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59 | <font size="4">Read the biography of Anne Boleyn</font></a><font size="4">.</font></p>
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60 | <p><b><br>
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61 | Primary Sources</b> <br>
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62 | Read <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letters.html">letters
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63 | written by Anne</a>. <br>
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64 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-percy.html">The
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65 | romance between Anne & Henry Percy,</a> c1523 <br>
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66 | Eyewitness accounts of <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/prianne1.html">her coronation in
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67 | 1533</a> & <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/prianne2.html">her
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68 | execution in 1536</a>. <br>
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69 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-lastdays.html">An
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70 | account of Anne's last days</a> <br>
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71 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/prianne3.html">Anne's
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72 | last words</a>, 19 May 1536 <br>
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73 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/exanne.html">Another
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74 | account of her execution</a></p>
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75 | <p>
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76 | <b>Secondary Sources<br></b>Read JA Froude's 1891 work <i>
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77 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/secondary.html">The Divorce
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78 | of Catherine of Aragon</a></i>. <font size="2">Understandably, it also
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79 | discusses Anne Boleyn as well as Henry VIII's rumored affair with her
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80 | sister Mary.</font></p>
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81 | </blockquote>
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82 | <blockquote>
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83 | <p><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/annedesc.html">Contemporary
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84 | descriptions of Anne</a> <br>
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85 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/lovelett.html">Henry
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86 | VIII's love letters to Anne</a> <br>
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87 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleyn-poems.html">Poetry
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88 | about Anne Boleyn</a> </p>
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89 | <p>Visit <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/images.html">Tudor
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90 | England: Images</a> to view portraits of Anne. <br>
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91 | Visit the <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz.html">Queen
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92 | Elizabeth I site</a> to learn more about Anne's daughter. <br>
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93 | Read about Anne's sister, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/boleyn.html">Mary Boleyn</a>.<a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/fiveanne.html"><br>The
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94 | Boleyn-Howard connection</a> <br>
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95 | <font size="-1">Anne's relationship to Henry VIII's fifth wife</font>
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96 | </p>
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97 | <p>Test your knowledge of Anne Boleyn's life at <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/tudor1.html">Tudor Quizzes</a>.</p>
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98 | <p><font size="2"><b><br>Links<br></b>
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99 | <a href="http://www.geocities.com/boleynfamily/">The Boleyns</a>: A
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100 | website dedicated to the entire Boleyn family, with particular emphasis
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101 | upon Anne.<br><a href="http://jack-of-all-trades.ca/meandmine/">Me and Mine</a>:
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102 | Biography and images of Anne Boleyn.</font></p>
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103 | <p><font size="2"><b><br>
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104 | Interact<br>
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105 | </b> Meet other Anne Boleyn enthusiasts at <a href="http://www.fine-eyes.net/anneboleyn/indextwo.html">Mistress
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106 | Anne: The Official Anne Boleyn Fanlisting</a>.<br>
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107 | Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at <a href="http://ladiesallfanlist.cjb.net/">Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
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108 | the Six Wives of Henry VIII</a>.<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=Anne+Boleyn"><br>
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109 | Anne Boleyn at Yahoo! Groups</a> There are numerous groups
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110 | dedicated to Anne. I think you need a Yahoo! ID to join.<br>
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111 | <a href="http://tudorhistory.org/lists/list.html"> Tudor Talk </a> This
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112 | email discussion list is sponsored by Tudorhistory.org. It does
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113 | not focus exclusively on Anne.<br>
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114 | <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Reign_of_the_Tudors_rpg/">Reign
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115 | of the Tudors</a> This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
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116 | England. If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
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117 | other Tudors, click the link to join.</font></p>
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118 | <p><br>
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119 | <b>NEWS September 2004<br>The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn:
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120 | The Most Happy</b> by Eric Ives has just been published
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121 | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0631234799/qid=1096393233/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-3687195-0558069">
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122 | in the UK</a> and
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123 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0631234799/qid=1096393461/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-7093489-7046463?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">
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124 | US</a>. I will be posting a lengthy review soon.
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125 | <font size="2">Professor Ives had previously written the definitive
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126 | biography of Anne in 1986; this work incorporates new research.</font></p>
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127 | <p>
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128 | <b><br>
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129 | Anne
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130 | Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen</b> by Joanna Denny
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131 | was published
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132 | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/074995017X/qid=1076882496/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_11_2/026-9295844-3953254">in the UK</a>
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133 | in April 2004.</p>
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134 | <hr>
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135 | <p><font size="2">The above portrait of Anne Boleyn is a late
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136 | 16th copy of a lost original. It can be viewed at the National Portrait
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137 | Gallery, London.</font></p>
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138 | <hr> </blockquote>
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139 | </td>
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140 | <td height="610" width="25%"><br>
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141 | </td>
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142 | </tr>
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143 | </tbody>
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144 | </table>
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145 | <blockquote>
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146 | <blockquote>
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147 | <blockquote>
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148 | <p align="left"><font size="4"><br>
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149 | <br>
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150 | </font><a name="Biography"><br>
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151 | </a><font size="4">'She is of middling stature, with a swarthy
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152 | complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised, and in fact
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153 | has nothing but the King's great appetite, and her eyes, which are
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154 | black and beautiful - and take great effect on those who served the
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155 | Queen when she was on the throne. She lives like a queen, and the
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156 | King accompanies her to Mass - and everywhere.' </font><i><font size="-1">the Venetian ambassador describes Anne, 1532</font></i> </p>
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157 | </blockquote>
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158 | <p align="left"> </p>
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159 | </blockquote>
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160 | <p> <b>Biography</b><br>
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161 | Anne Boleyn's birthdate is unknown; even the year is widely
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162 | debated. General opinion now favors 1501 or 1502, though some
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163 | historians persuasively argue for 1507. She was probably born at
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164 | Blickling Hall in Norfolk. Her father was Sir Thomas Boleyn, a
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165 | minor courtier with a talent for foreign languages; he was of London
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166 | merchant stock and eager to advance in the world. Like most men,
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167 | he chose to marry well. His bride was Elizabeth Howard, daughter
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168 | of the second duke of Norfolk and sister of the third duke.</p>
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169 | <p>Anne had two surviving siblings, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/boleyn.html">Mary</a>
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170 | and George. Their birthdates are also unknown, as is the order of their
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171 | births. We only know that all three Boleyn siblings were close in age.</p>
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172 | <p>In 1514, Henry VIII married his youngest sister, Mary, to the aged king of France. Anne
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173 | accompanied the Tudor princess as a very<img alt="miniature portrait of Anne Boleyn" src="boleyn_files/boleynsmall.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="232" width="175"> young lady-in-waiting; she remained in France after the French king died and
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174 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/brandon.html">Mary Tudor</a>
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175 | returned home. Anne gained the subsequent honor of being educated
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176 | under the watchful eye of the new French queen Claude. This
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177 | education had a uniquely French emphasis upon fashion and flirtation,
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178 | though more intellectual skills were not neglected. Anne became
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179 | an accomplished musician, singer and dancer. </p>
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180 | <p>In 1521 or early 1522, with war between England and France
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181 | imminent, Anne returned home. When she first caught Henry VIII's
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182 | eye is unknown. He was originally attracted to her sister, Mary
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183 | who came to court before Anne. She was the king's mistress in the
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184 | early 1520s and, as a mark of favor, her father was elevated to the
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185 | peerage as viscount Rochfort/Rochford in 1525. Mary herself would leave
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186 | court with only a dull marriage, and possibly the king's illegitimate son, as
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187 | her reward. Anne learned much from her sister's example.</p>
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188 | <p>Her first years at court were spent in service to Henry VIII's
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189 | first wife, <a href="aragon.html">Katharine of Aragon</a>. She became quite popular among
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190 | the younger men. She was not considered a great beauty; her
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191 | sister occupied that position in the family, but even Mary was merely
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192 | deemed 'pretty'. Hostile chroniclers <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/annedesc.html">described Anne</a>
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193 | as plain, sallow, and possessing two distinct flaws - a large mole on
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194 | the side of her neck and an extra finger on her left hand. Such
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195 | praise as she received focused on her style, her wit and charm; she was
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196 | quick-tempered and spirited. Her most remarkable physical
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197 | attributes were her large dark eyes and long black hair. </p>
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198 | <p>The king's attraction was focused upon her sharp and teasing
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199 | manner, and her oft-stated unavailability. What he couldn't have,
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200 | he pined for all the more. This was especially difficult for a
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201 | king used to having his own way in everything. Anne was also
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202 | seriously involved with <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-percy.html">Henry Percy</a>,
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203 | the son and heir of the earl of Northumberland; there were rumors of an
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204 | engagement and declarations of true love. The king ordered his
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205 | great minister, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html">Cardinal
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206 | Thomas Wolsey</a>, to end the match. Wolsey did so, thus ensuring
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207 | Percy's unhappy marriage to the earl of Shrewsbury's daughter and
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208 | Anne's great enmity. It was safer to blame the Cardinal than his
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209 | king. Also, Henry's jealousy revealed the depth of his feelings,
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210 | and Anne quite naturally thought - if she could not be an earl's wife,
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211 | why not try for the crown of England? </p>
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212 | <p>When Anne avoided Henry's company, was sullen and evasive to him,
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213 | he sent her from court; he hoped that a few months in the country would
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214 | persuade her of his charms. It did not work. Anne was
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215 | already playing a far more serious game than the king. Later,
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216 | after she had been arrested, Henry would claim he had been 'bewitched'
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217 | and the term wasn't used lightly in the 16th century. But perhaps
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218 | it was simply the contrast between her vivacity and Katharine's
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219 | solemnity; or perhaps the king mistook the inexplicable ardor of true
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220 | love for something more ominous, long after that love had faded. </p>
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221 | <p>It is impossible to fully explain the mystery of attraction
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222 | between two people. How Anne was able to capture and maintain the
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223 | king's attention for such a long while, despite great obstacles and the
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224 | constant presence of malicious gossip, cannot be explained. Henry
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225 | was headstrong and querulous. But for several years, he remained
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226 | faithful to his feelings for Anne - and his attendant desire for a
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227 | legitimate male heir. </p>
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228 | <p> <img src="boleyn_files/aragon-min.jpg" alt="miniature portrait of Katharine of Aragon" align="left" border="0" height="168" width="166">One cannot separate the king's desire for a
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229 | son, indeed its very necessity, from his personal desire for
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230 | Anne. The two interests merged perfectly in 1527. Henry had
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231 | discovered the <a href="aragon.html">invalidity
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232 | of his marriage</a> to Katharine. Now it was possible to annul
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233 | his marriage and secure his two fondest hopes - Anne's hand in marriage
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234 | and the long-desired heir. </p>
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235 | <p> Cardinal Wolsey had long advocated an Anglo-French
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236 | alliance. For that reason, he disliked the Spanish
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237 | <a href="aragon.html">Katharine
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238 | of Aragon</a>. He now set about securing his monarch's annulment
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239 | with the intention of marrying Henry to a French princess. And if
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240 | not a French princess, perhaps a great lady of the English court.
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241 | Wolsey did not like Anne, and she despised him. It was Wolsey who
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242 | had delivered the king's orders to Henry Percy, driving her suitor from
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243 | court. She never forgot that injury to her heart. And while
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244 | she could not revenge herself upon the king, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter8.html">she could work
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245 | against</a> his Lord Chancellor. His protégé and successor <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/cromwell.html">Thomas
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246 | Cromwell</a> became a close ally. </p>
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247 | <p>But Anne alone did not cause Wolsey's fall from grace, though she
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248 | took the blame for it. Indeed, 'Nan Bullen', as the common people
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249 | derisively called her, became the scapegoat for all the king's
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250 | unpopular decisions. But it is important to remember that no one
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251 | - not Wolsey, not Cromwell, and certainly not Anne Boleyn - ever
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252 | controlled Henry VIII, or made him do other than exactly what he
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253 | wanted. He was a king who thoroughly knew and enjoyed his
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254 | position. <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/more.html">Sir Thomas
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255 | More</a> would aptly point this out to his son-in-law, William Roper -
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256 | 'If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for any man to hold
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257 | him.' And later, when Roper commented upon the king's affection
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258 | for More, the philosopher replied that if his head would win the king a
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259 | castle in France, then Henry would not hesitate to chop it off. </p>
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260 | <p>But most people found it easier to hate Anne than to hate their
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261 | monarch. As the king's desire for an annulment became the gossip
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262 | of all Europe, she was roundly criticized and condemned. And she
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263 | was not popular at the English court either. Both her unique
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264 | situation and her oft times abrasive personality offended many.
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265 | And Katharine's solemn piety had impressed the English court for three
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266 | decades; her supporters were numerous, though not inclined to face the
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267 | king's formidable wrath. In truth, Anne was sustained only by the
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268 | king's affection and she knew his mercurial temper. It is
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269 | possible that she was as surprised by his faithfulness as everyone
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270 | else. </p>
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271 | <p>As the struggle for an annulment proceeded and the pope
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272 | prevaricated between Henry and Katharine's nephew, the Holy Roman
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273 | Emperor Charles V, Anne's position at the English court became steadily
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274 | more prominent. There were at first little signs. The king
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275 | would eat alone with her; she received expensive gifts; she began to
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276 | dress in the most fashionable and expensive gowns; the king paid her
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277 | gambling debts since Anne, like most courtiers, enjoyed cards and dice.
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278 | </p>
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279 | <p>The king was not too outlandish at first; he had no desire to
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280 | prejudice the pope against his case by flaunting a new love. But
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281 | as the delays mounted, and rumors of his new love spread, Henry
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282 | realized there was no purpose in hiding the truth. By 1530, Anne
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283 | was openly honored by the king at court. She was accorded
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284 | precedence over all other ladies, and she sat with the king at
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285 | banquets and hunts while Katharine was virtually ignored. The
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286 | pretense of his first marriage was allowed to continue; Katharine
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287 | continued to personally mend his shirts and send him gifts and
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288 | notes. But it was an untenable situation. It grated on both
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289 | women. Anne perhaps taxed the king with it. To placate her,
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290 | she was titled marquess of Pembroke on 4 September 1532 at Windsor
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291 | Castle; she wore a beautiful crimson gown and her hair hung
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292 | loose. Now elevated to the peerage in her own right, she had
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293 | wealth and lands of her own. But when she accompanied him to
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294 | France on a state visit a short while later, the ladies of the French
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295 | court refused to meet with her. </p>
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296 | <p>It is believed that her elevation to the peerage marked the
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297 | physical consummation of Anne and Henry's relationship. She would
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298 | give birth to <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz.html">Elizabeth</a>
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299 | just a year later, and there were rumors of a secret marriage in late
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300 | 1532. It is possible that she became pregnant after just a few
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301 | months and a second, legitimate wedding became a necessity. </p>
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302 | <p>
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303 | <img src="boleyn_files/boleyn3sepiatinged.jpg" alt="sepia-tinged sketch of Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger" align="left" border="0" height="344" width="216">The king had his fondest wish within his
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304 | grasp. Anne was pregnant with his long-awaited son, or so he
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305 | thought, and this son must be legitimate. He could no longer wait
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306 | upon the pope. Henry rejected the authority of the Holy See and
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307 | Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, annulled his marriage to
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308 | Katharine. Henry and Anne married again in January 1533 in a
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309 | small ceremony. But though they were now husband and wife, few
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310 | recognized the fact. </p>
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311 | <p><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/prianne1.html">Her
|
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312 | coronation</a> was a lavish affair; the king spared no expense.
|
---|
313 | But the people of London were noticeably unimpressed. They cried
|
---|
314 | out 'HA! HA!' mockingly as tapestries decorated with Henry and Anne's
|
---|
315 | entwined initials passed by. Henry asked, 'How liked you the look
|
---|
316 | of the City?' Anne replied, 'Sir, I liked the City well enough -
|
---|
317 | but I saw a great many caps on heads, and heard but few tongues.'
|
---|
318 | </p>
|
---|
319 | <p>And so her coronation was yet another reminder of her complete
|
---|
320 | dependency upon the king.</p>
|
---|
321 | <p>Anne enjoyed her triumph as much as she could. She ordered
|
---|
322 | new blue and purple livery for her servants and set about replacing
|
---|
323 | Katharine's badge of pomegranates with her own falcon symbol. She
|
---|
324 | chose as her motto, 'The Most Happy', in stark contrast to her
|
---|
325 | predecessor. Katharine had been 'Humble and Loyal'; Henry's
|
---|
326 | mother, Elizabeth of York had chosen 'Humble and Reverent'. But
|
---|
327 | humility was not a marked characteristic of Anne Boleyn. </p>
|
---|
328 | <p>She was pious, though not as rigid and inflexible as Katharine of
|
---|
329 | Aragon. Anne's sympathies naturally lay with the progressive
|
---|
330 | thought now challenging Catholic orthodoxy; with Henry's rejection of the papacy and his
|
---|
331 | creation of a new Church of England, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/faq.html#Eleven-b">the
|
---|
332 | Reformation</a> had come to England. It was not as revolutionary
|
---|
333 | as Luther's movement in Germany. Henry actually remained a devout
|
---|
334 | Catholic, only denying what he now regarded as the illegitimate
|
---|
335 | authority of the papacy. Anne knew that her marriage and future
|
---|
336 | children would never be recognized as legitimate by Catholic
|
---|
337 | Europe. She had to support the new church, otherwise she was no more than
|
---|
338 | the king's mistress.</p>
|
---|
339 | <p>And this new emphasis upon debating even the most esoteric bits of
|
---|
340 | theology appealed to her nature. She was always curious and open
|
---|
341 | to new ideas; she never blindly accepted<img alt="The above portrait is of Anne Boleyn, painted by Lucas Horenbout; dated 1525-27. Sir Roy Strong identified the portrait. Anne wears a necklace with her falcon badge." src="boleyn_files/boleynstrong.jpg" align="right" height="175" width="175"> anything. But this is not to deny her
|
---|
342 | deep faith. As queen, she was close friends with Thomas Cranmer
|
---|
343 | and she also sponsored various religious books. She had none of
|
---|
344 | the hard-fought pragmatism of her daughter,
|
---|
345 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz.html">Elizabeth</a>. Religious faith was a
|
---|
346 | vital part of Anne's life, as it was for every person in the 16th
|
---|
347 | century. </p>
|
---|
348 | <p>She entered confinement for the birth of her first child on 26
|
---|
349 | August 1533. The child was born on 7 September 1533. The
|
---|
350 | physicians and astrologers had been mistaken; it was not a
|
---|
351 | prince. But the healthy baby girl called Elizabeth was not the
|
---|
352 | disappointment most assumed, nor did she immediately cause her mother's
|
---|
353 | downfall. The birth had been very easy and quick. 'There
|
---|
354 | was good speed in the deliverance and bringing forth,' Anne wrote to
|
---|
355 | Lord Cobham that very day. The queen recovered quickly.
|
---|
356 | Henry had every reason to believe that strong princes would
|
---|
357 | follow. It was only when Anne miscarried two sons that he began
|
---|
358 | to question the validity of his second marriage. </p>
|
---|
359 | <p>Elizabeth's christening was a grand affair, though the king did
|
---|
360 | not attend. This fact was much remarked-upon, but Henry
|
---|
361 | confounded all by his continuing affection for Anne. He also
|
---|
362 | promptly declared Elizabeth his heir, thus according her precedence
|
---|
363 | over her 17 year old half-sister,
|
---|
364 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/mary1.html">Princess Mary</a>. Anne could
|
---|
365 | breathe a sigh of relief, recover, and become pregnant again. </p>
|
---|
366 | <p>Immediately after Elizabeth's christening, Henry wrote to Mary and
|
---|
367 | demanded that she relinquish her title of Princess of Wales. The
|
---|
368 | title belonged to his heiress. He also demanded that she
|
---|
369 | acknowledge the validity of his new marriage and legitimacy of her
|
---|
370 | half-sister. But Mary could be as obstinate as her mother; she refused. Enraged, Henry evicted Mary from her
|
---|
371 | home, the manor Beaulieu, so he could give it to Anne's brother, George. In December,
|
---|
372 | she was moved into Elizabeth's household
|
---|
373 | under the care of Lady Anne Shelton, a sister of Anne's father.
|
---|
374 | It was an understandably miserable time for Mary. When told to pay her
|
---|
375 | respects to the baby Princess, she said that she knew of no Princess of
|
---|
376 | England but herself and burst into tears. </p>
|
---|
377 | <p>Henry was infuriated and Anne encouraged the estrangement.
|
---|
378 | Her daughter's status depended upon Mary remaining out of favor.
|
---|
379 | In the two and a half years she lived after Elizabeth's birth, Anne
|
---|
380 | proved herself a devoted mother. Soon after the birth, Elizabeth
|
---|
381 | had to be moved from London, for purposes of health; London was rife
|
---|
382 | with a variety of illnesses - sweating sickness, smallpox, and
|
---|
383 | plague. Elizabeth and Mary were sent to Hatfield. Both
|
---|
384 | Henry and Anne visited their daughter often, occasionally taking her
|
---|
385 | back with them to Greenwich or the palace at Eltham. During these
|
---|
386 | visits, Mary was kept alone in her room. </p>
|
---|
387 | <p> <img alt="portrait of Henry VIII" src="boleyn_files/henry8boleyn.jpg" align="left" border="2" height="186" width="150">There are account books and
|
---|
388 | letters which reveal certain facts about Elizabeth's early
|
---|
389 | childhood: bills for an orange satin gown and russet velvet
|
---|
390 | kirtle, for the king's heir had to be fashionably dressed; a letter in
|
---|
391 | late 1535, after her second birthday, from the wet nurse asking
|
---|
392 | permission to wean her; a plan of study in classical languages, for
|
---|
393 | Anne was determined her daughter would be as educated as Mary. </p>
|
---|
394 | <p>The conflict with Mary dominated a great deal of Henry and Anne's
|
---|
395 | thoughts. In January 1534, the king's new chief minister, Thomas
|
---|
396 | Cromwell, went to visit Mary at Hatfield. He urged her to
|
---|
397 | renounce her title and warned her that her behavior would lead to her
|
---|
398 | ruin. Mary replied that she simply wanted her father's blessing
|
---|
399 | and the honor of kissing his hand. When Cromwell chastised her,
|
---|
400 | she left the room. Mary, and indeed most of England, believed
|
---|
401 | Anne to be the cause of Henry's disgust with his eldest child. In
|
---|
402 | truth, Henry had far more to do with it than Anne; this was proven
|
---|
403 | after Anne's execution. Mary believed that she would regain her
|
---|
404 | favor with the wicked stepmother out of the way but she was proven
|
---|
405 | terribly wrong. Eventually, under threat of her life, she <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/primary.html">wrote the letter</a>
|
---|
406 | her father had long desired. </p>
|
---|
407 | <p>He and Anne also tried a gentler course with Mary; their goal was
|
---|
408 | to show that she had brought Henry's displeasure upon herself and that
|
---|
409 | he and Anne were quite willing - under reasonable conditions - to
|
---|
410 | receive her. At their next visit to Hatfield, Anne arranged to
|
---|
411 | see her stepdaughter. She invited Mary to come to court and
|
---|
412 | 'visit me as Queen.' Mary responded with a cruel insult - 'I know
|
---|
413 | no Queen in England but my mother. But if you, Madam, as my
|
---|
414 | father's mistress, will intercede for me with him, I should be
|
---|
415 | grateful.' Anne did not lose her temper; she pointed out the
|
---|
416 | absurdity of the request and repeated her offer. Mary then
|
---|
417 | refused to answer and Anne left in a rage. From then on, she made
|
---|
418 | no attempts to gain Mary's friendship. </p>
|
---|
419 | <p>The problem with Mary highlights the untenable positions Anne and
|
---|
420 | Elizabeth occupied in English politics. Many of Henry's subjects
|
---|
421 | did not know who to call Princess, who was the rightful heir, and who
|
---|
422 | was the true wife. Katharine of Aragon lived on, still calling
|
---|
423 | herself Queen, and Mary, encouraged by the spiteful Imperial ambassador
|
---|
424 | Eustace Chapuys, still called herself Princess. Furthermore,
|
---|
425 | Chapuys, who openly despised Anne, told Mary that Anne was planning to
|
---|
426 | have her murdered. It was a terrible lie but one that Mary, in
|
---|
427 | her hysterical state, was inclined to believe. When word came
|
---|
428 | that she and Elizabeth's household was moving from Hatfield to The
|
---|
429 | More, she refused to go. She believed she would be moved and
|
---|
430 | quietly murdered. Guards had to actually seize her and throw her
|
---|
431 | into her litter. Her distress naturally made her ill. </p>
|
---|
432 | <p>Elizabeth, meanwhile, was too young to notice any of this.
|
---|
433 | But such events helped cement the lifelong hatred Mary would have for
|
---|
434 | her half-sister. Her Spanish friends continued to spread rumors
|
---|
435 | about Anne and Elizabeth, saying the infant princess was physically
|
---|
436 | deformed and monstrous in appearance. To dispel this, in April
|
---|
437 | 1534, Henry showed the naked infant to several continental
|
---|
438 | ambassadors. In that same month, Anne announced she was once
|
---|
439 | again pregnant. Nothing could have pleased Henry more. She
|
---|
440 | may have had a miscarriage in February for there were rumors she was
|
---|
441 | pregnant in January but nothing came of it; given the heightened
|
---|
442 | circumstances, it is unlikely she could have hidden her
|
---|
443 | condition. Even a suspicion of pregnancy was sure to become
|
---|
444 | gossip. But the main source of this miscarriage is Chapuys,
|
---|
445 | hardly an impartial observer. At any rate, she was definitely
|
---|
446 | pregnant again in April 1534. </p>
|
---|
447 | <p>The elated king took his wife to the medieval palace at Eltham;
|
---|
448 | there, they sent for the princess Elizabeth. Henry was often seen
|
---|
449 | carrying her about and playing with her. The king<img src="boleyn_files/boleynsketch2.jpg" alt="sketch of Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger" align="right" border="0" height="206" width="165"> and queen soon returned to Greenwich and
|
---|
450 | then Henry left on a progress, leaving Anne at the palace. This
|
---|
451 | was probably out of concern for her health and lends some credence to
|
---|
452 | the belief she miscarried in February. If she had, Henry would
|
---|
453 | show special concern for her health, and this he did. He was
|
---|
454 | supposed to meet Francis I of France in June at Calais to sign a treaty
|
---|
455 | but decided not to, writing that Katharine and Mary, 'bearing no small
|
---|
456 | grudge against his most entirely beloved Queen Anne, might perchance in
|
---|
457 | his absence take occasion to practice matters of no small peril to his
|
---|
458 | royal person, realm, and subjects.' </p>
|
---|
459 | <p>His extra attention to Anne did not help her health. In
|
---|
460 | September 1534, she miscarried a six-month-old fetus; it was old enough
|
---|
461 | for features to be discerned - it was a boy. Henry was bitterly
|
---|
462 | disappointed. Anne was likewise. She was also angry for
|
---|
463 | Henry had begun a casual affair that summer. She reproached him
|
---|
464 | and Henry replied, 'You have good reason to be content with what I have
|
---|
465 | done for you - and I would not do it again, if the thing were to
|
---|
466 | begin. Consider from what you have come.' The scene was
|
---|
467 | furious and overheard by her attendants. But it was a passing
|
---|
468 | storm. Henry was already tired of his new mistress and, within
|
---|
469 | days, Chapuys was sadly writing to Charles V of Henry's continued
|
---|
470 | affection. But there were signs that things were not progressing
|
---|
471 | smoothly. </p>
|
---|
472 | <p> For example, Henry had hoped to cement his relationship with
|
---|
473 | Francis I by betrothing Elizabeth to Francis's son, the Duc
|
---|
474 | d'Angouleme. After Anne suffered two miscarriages, as the French
|
---|
475 | ambassador reported to Francis, the French king grew wary of such a
|
---|
476 | betrothal. To him, it must have seemed that Anne's position was
|
---|
477 | weakening; after all, Henry had dismissed one wife because she had no
|
---|
478 | sons - would he do the same to Anne? And, if he did, then what
|
---|
479 | good was a marriage to Elizabeth? Of course, it was in France's
|
---|
480 | interests to promote Anne for Katharine of Aragon and her daughter were
|
---|
481 | Charles V's pawns. But his doubts highlight the
|
---|
482 | instability of Anne's position. </p>
|
---|
483 | <p>This undoubtedly affected her mental and physical health.
|
---|
484 | Henry was never the mercenary adulterer of legend. In fact, he
|
---|
485 | was remarkably conventional in his sexual appetites, unlike his French
|
---|
486 | rival. Any affairs would have been widely reported and yet,
|
---|
487 | during his long marriage to Katharine of Aragon, there were just a
|
---|
488 | handful of mistresses. He enjoyed being around attractive
|
---|
489 | women. He was flirtatious and would joke with them, compliment
|
---|
490 | them, but only rarely did he enter into a physical relationship. </p>
|
---|
491 | <p>But for Anne, any occasional fling was devastating, especially if
|
---|
492 | it followed upon her miscarriage. Such behavior was said to
|
---|
493 | indicate his displeasure with her; this she could not afford.
|
---|
494 | They were occasionally estranged and the effect was to increase her
|
---|
495 | already-noticeable anxiety. In late 1534 Anne, accompanied by the
|
---|
496 | duke of Suffolk, her uncle Norfolk, and other courtiers, visited
|
---|
497 | Richmond Palace, where both Elizabeth and Mary resided. Anne
|
---|
498 | entered her daughter's rooms only to realize that the two dukes had
|
---|
499 | left her. They were paying court to Mary and remained with her
|
---|
500 | until Anne had left. Still, this slight could be forgotten when
|
---|
501 | the Treason Act was passed in November. It was now a capital
|
---|
502 | crime to deny the legitimacy of her marriage or children. By
|
---|
503 | December, she and Henry had made up yet again. </p>
|
---|
504 | <p>A scandal occurred shortly thereafter which added further damage to Anne's
|
---|
505 | reputation. Her sister, Mary, who had been Henry's mistress years
|
---|
506 | before, married Sir William Stafford without her family or the king's
|
---|
507 | permission. Because Stafford was poor, Mary's father was angry and cut
|
---|
508 | off her allowance. She appealed to the king and Anne but they would not
|
---|
509 | help. (Mary did not attend court during Anne's reign, since her presence
|
---|
510 | would have been an embarrassment for the king and queen.)</p>
|
---|
511 | <p> <img alt="portrait of Anne Boleyn" src="boleyn_files/anne2.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="194" width="139">Always fascinated with rumors surrounding his
|
---|
512 | English 'brother', Francis I decided to hedge his bets in the mercurial
|
---|
513 | Tudor court. In other words, he would remain friendly with Anne
|
---|
514 | and also with Mary Tudor. And so he instructed his new
|
---|
515 | ambassador, Admiral Chabot, to ignore Anne when he arrived at
|
---|
516 | court. Chabot was received by Henry and two days passed without
|
---|
517 | any mention of the queen. Henry asked if Chabot wanted to visit
|
---|
518 | her. The ambassador replied, 'As it pleases Your Highness' and
|
---|
519 | then asked permission to visit Mary. Henry refused, but Chabot
|
---|
520 | made certain everyone knew of his request. He also told courtiers
|
---|
521 | that Francis wanted to marry the Dauphin to Mary; when Henry reminded
|
---|
522 | him of the union with Elizabeth, the ambassador said nothing.
|
---|
523 | Still, Francis did enrage Charles V by acknowledging Elizabeth's
|
---|
524 | legitimacy. </p>
|
---|
525 | <p>It was a tedious and frightening dance for Anne. During the
|
---|
526 | two and a half years after Elizabeth's birth, she was rarely secure,
|
---|
527 | certain of her position and the king's affections. Her little
|
---|
528 | daughter received every favor she could bestow; Anne insisted Henry
|
---|
529 | favor Elizabeth because it strengthened her position. But she was
|
---|
530 | surrounded by fair-weather friends who, at the slightest sign of
|
---|
531 | Henry's disfavor, ignored her. She only trusted her brother,
|
---|
532 | George, whose wife, Jane Rochford, was a viper in their nest.
|
---|
533 | Meanwhile, Henry was again flirting openly with another woman.
|
---|
534 | This time it was Anne's cousin and lady-in-waiting, Madge
|
---|
535 | Shelton. Anne still had influence over her husband, but knew only
|
---|
536 | one way to make his favor permanent. She must bear a son.
|
---|
537 | Henry would never dismiss the mother of his long-awaited heir.
|
---|
538 | Her enemies would at last be silenced. </p>
|
---|
539 | <p>Meanwhile, Henry's health had begun to worsen. The first
|
---|
540 | signs of the illness which would kill him appeared (occluded sinus on
|
---|
541 | his leg). Headaches became frequent and severe. The king
|
---|
542 | was a hypochondriac. Now unable to indulge his love of sports, he
|
---|
543 | instead indulged his fear of pain and illness. And he was
|
---|
544 | frequently impotent. He was in his mid-forties and increasingly
|
---|
545 | obese; this, combined with his other ailments, made his continued
|
---|
546 | virility questionable. Certainly his 'mistresses' did not
|
---|
547 | conceive. But the continued lack of an heir and Anne's
|
---|
548 | miscarriages must have reminded him of Katharine. How could it
|
---|
549 | not? Like most of his contemporaries, the king blamed his wife
|
---|
550 | when she did not conceive or carry to term. </p>
|
---|
551 | <p>And, like Francis I, Thomas Cromwell - that influential and
|
---|
552 | brilliant man - was keeping his options open as well. He visited
|
---|
553 | Mary and was rumored to promise support for her reinstatement.
|
---|
554 | Anne was terrified at this loss of her one-time supporter who was also
|
---|
555 | the king's most trusted advisor. But Anne had one last chance,
|
---|
556 | and in June 1535, became pregnant again. She lost that child as
|
---|
557 | well, in January 1536; she was reported to have said, 'I have
|
---|
558 | miscarried of my savior.' </p>
|
---|
559 | <p>When her destruction came, it was rapid and unbelievable.
|
---|
560 | Henry had always been one to plot against people while he pretended
|
---|
561 | affection. Anne suffered the same fate as Katharine. She
|
---|
562 | knew he was dissatisfied with her but he maintained their lifestyle
|
---|
563 | together. And all the while, he was seeking the best way to
|
---|
564 | destroy her. Katharine of Aragon died in January as well, just a
|
---|
565 | few days before Anne's miscarriage. These events, taken together,
|
---|
566 | pushed Henry into action. While Katharine had lived, most of
|
---|
567 | Europe, and many Englishmen, had regarded her as his rightful wife, not
|
---|
568 | Anne. Now he was rid of Katharine; if he were to rid himself of
|
---|
569 | Anne, he could marry again - and this third marriage would never be
|
---|
570 | tainted by the specter of bigamy. </p>
|
---|
571 | <p>Henry's <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/prianne2.html">decision
|
---|
572 | to thoroughly destroy Anne</a> baffled even her enemies. There
|
---|
573 | was a possible way out which would spare Anne's life. Henry had
|
---|
574 | admitted an affair with her sister,<img alt="an 18th century portrait of Anne Boleyn" src="boleyn_files/anne3.jpg" align="right" border="2" height="194" width="144"> Mary. He could have argued that was as
|
---|
575 | damning as Katharine's marriage to his brother. But he chose a
|
---|
576 | more direct route. He had her arrested, charged with adultery,
|
---|
577 | witchcraft, and incest; the charges were ludicrous even to her
|
---|
578 | enemies. Her brother George was arrested as well. His
|
---|
579 | despised wife, Jane Rochford, testified about an incestuous love
|
---|
580 | affair. Whether anyone believed her was irrelevant. Henry
|
---|
581 | VIII wanted Anne convicted and killed. George would also lose his
|
---|
582 | life, as did three of their friends. Only one had confessed to
|
---|
583 | the charge, and that was under torture; it was still enough to convict
|
---|
584 | them all. </p>
|
---|
585 | <p>As queen of England, Anne was tried by her peers; the main charge
|
---|
586 | was adultery, and this was an act of treason for a queen. No
|
---|
587 | member of the nobility would help her; her craven uncle Norfolk
|
---|
588 | pronounced the death sentence. Poor Henry Percy, her first love,
|
---|
589 | swooned during the trial and had to be carried from the room. As
|
---|
590 | a concession to her former position, she was not beheaded by a clumsy
|
---|
591 | axe. A skilled swordsman was brought over from France. She
|
---|
592 | was assured that there would be little pain; she replied, with typical
|
---|
593 | spirit, 'I have heard that the executioner is very good. And I
|
---|
594 | have a little neck.'</p>
|
---|
595 | <p> </p>
|
---|
596 | <blockquote>
|
---|
597 | <blockquote>
|
---|
598 | <p><font size="4">'You have chosen me from low estate to be your
|
---|
599 | queen and companion, far beyond my desert or desire; if, then, you
|
---|
600 | found me worthy of such honor, good your grace, let not any light fancy
|
---|
601 | or bad counsel of my enemies withdraw your princely favor from me;
|
---|
602 | neither let that stain - that unworthy stain - of a disloyal heart
|
---|
603 | towards your good grace ever cast so foul a blot on me, and on the
|
---|
604 | infant princess your daughter.' </font><b> </b><i><font size="-1">from Anne Boleyn's <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter10.html">last letter</a>
|
---|
605 | to King Henry VIII, 1536</font></i>;<i><font size="2"> <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter10.html">its authenticity
|
---|
606 | is debated</a>.</font></i></p>
|
---|
607 | </blockquote>
|
---|
608 | </blockquote>
|
---|
609 | <p> </p>
|
---|
610 | <p>She had prayed for exile, to end her days in a nunnery, but now
|
---|
611 | faced a more tragic fate. She met it with bravery and wit.
|
---|
612 | She was brought to the scaffold at 8 o'clock in the morning on 19 May
|
---|
613 | 1536. It was a heretofore unknown spectacle, the first public
|
---|
614 | execution of an English queen. Anne, who had defended herself so
|
---|
615 | ably at her trial, chose her last words carefully: 'Good
|
---|
616 | Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law,
|
---|
617 | and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing
|
---|
618 | against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak
|
---|
619 | anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray
|
---|
620 | God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler
|
---|
621 | nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a
|
---|
622 | good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle
|
---|
623 | of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my
|
---|
624 | leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to
|
---|
625 | pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my
|
---|
626 | soul.' She was then blindfolded and knelt at the block. She
|
---|
627 | repeated several times, 'To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesu
|
---|
628 | receive my soul.' </p>
|
---|
629 | <p>It was a sardonic message to the king. Even now he waited
|
---|
630 | impatiently to hear the Tower cannon mark Anne's death. He wished
|
---|
631 | to marry Anne's lady-in-waiting, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/seymour.html">Jane
|
---|
632 | Seymour</a>. They wed ten days after the execution. </p>
|
---|
633 | <p>Elizabeth was just three and a half when her mother died.
|
---|
634 | She was a precocious child, though; when her governess visited her just
|
---|
635 | days after the execution, <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz.html">Elizabeth</a>
|
---|
636 | asked, 'Why, Governor, how hap it yesterday Lady Princess, and today
|
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637 | but Lady Elizabeth?' </p>
|
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638 | <p>Anne was buried in an old arrow box since no coffin was
|
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639 | provided. But the box was too short; her head was tucked beside
|
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640 | her. The remains were taken to St Peter ad Vincula, the church of
|
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641 | the Tower of London. It was later rumored that her few remaining
|
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642 | friends smuggled her body to a more suitable grave and she is buried
|
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643 | under a plain slab in a Norfolk church. The church is said to be
|
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644 | haunted.</p>
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645 | <p align="center"> </p>
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646 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'And if any person will meddle of my
|
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647 | cause, I require them to judge the best.' <br>
|
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648 | </font><i><font size="-1">from Anne Boleyn's speech at her execution</font></i>
|
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649 | </p>
|
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650 | <blockquote>
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651 | <p> </p>
|
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652 | <center>
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653 | <p><font size="-1"><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/wives.html">to the Six
|
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654 | Wives main page</a></font> <br>
|
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655 | <font size="-1"><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to
|
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656 | Tudor England</a></font></p>
|
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657 | <p><font size="-1"> <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/primary.html">to Primary Sources</a></font></p>
|
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658 | </center>
|
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659 | </blockquote>
|
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660 | </blockquote>
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661 | <p align="center"><font size="2">This page receives 15,000+ unique visitors per
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662 | month.</font></p>
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