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| 14 | <title>Anne Boleyn: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</title>
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| 20 | <tbody>
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| 21 | <tr>
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| 22 | <td width="25%" height="29"><br>
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| 23 | </td>
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| 24 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29">
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| 25 | <p align="center"><font size="4"><br>'[A] woman who is the scandal of
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| 26 | Christendom.'<br>
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| 27 | </font><i><font size="-1">Katharine of Aragon describes her
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| 28 | rival, 1531</font></i></p>
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| 29 | </td>
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| 30 | </tr>
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| 31 | <tr>
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| 32 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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| 33 | </td>
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| 34 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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| 35 | <p align="center">
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| 36 | </p>
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| 37 | <p align="center">
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| 38 | <img border="0" src="boleyncardinalbig.gif" alt="Anne Boleyn" width="352" height="90"></p>
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| 39 | <p align="center"> <b>
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| 40 | <img border="2"
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| 41 | src="boleynmainjpg.jpg"
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| 42 | alt="the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn; at the NPG, London"
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| 43 | width="275" height="357"></b></p>
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| 44 | <p align="center"> <i><font size="2">portrait of Anne Boleyn by an unknown
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| 45 | artist, late 16th century</font></i></p>
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| 46 | <p> <b> <br>Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous queens
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| 47 | in English history, though she ruled for just three years. The
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| 48 | daughter of an ambitious knight and niece of the duke of Norfolk, Anne
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| 49 | spent her adolescence in France. When she returned to England,
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| 50 | her wit and style were her greatest charms. She had a circle of
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| 51 | admirers and became secretly engaged to Henry Percy. She also
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| 52 | entered the service of Katharine of Aragon. But she soon caught
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| 53 | the eye of Henry VIII. He ordered Percy from court and tried to
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| 54 | make Anne his mistress. She refused. Her sister, Mary, had
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| 55 | been the king's mistress and gained little from it but scandal.
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| 56 | Her hopes with Percy dashed, Anne demanded that the king marry
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| 57 | her. She waited nearly seven years for Henry to obtain an
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| 58 | annulment. It finally took an irrevocable breach with the Holy
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| 59 | See before they wed in 1533. But she was unable to give Henry the
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| 60 | son he desperately needed and their marriage ended tragically for
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| 61 | Anne. She was executed on patently false charges of witchcraft,
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| 62 | incest and adultery on 19 May 1536. Her daughter, Elizabeth,
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| 63 | would become England's greatest queen.</b></p>
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| 64 | <blockquote>
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| 65 | <p><a
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| 66 | href="boleyn.html#Biography"><br>
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| 67 | <font size="4">Read the biography of Anne Boleyn</font></a><font
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| 68 | size="4">.</font></p>
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| 69 | <p><b><br>
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| 70 | Primary Sources</b> <br>
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| 71 | Read <a href="../letters.html">letters
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| 72 | written by Anne</a>. <br>
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| 73 | <a href="../ab-percy.html">The
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| 74 | romance between Anne & Henry Percy,</a> c1523 <br>
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| 75 | Eyewitness accounts of <a
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| 76 | href="../prianne1.html">her coronation in
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| 77 | 1533</a> & <a href="../prianne2.html">her
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| 78 | execution in 1536</a>. <br>
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| 79 | <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-lastdays.html">An
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| 80 | account of Anne's last days</a> <br>
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| 81 | <a href="../prianne3.html">Anne's
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| 82 | last words</a>, 19 May 1536 <br>
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| 83 | <a href="../exanne.html">Another
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| 84 | account of her execution</a></p>
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| 85 | <p>
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| 86 | <b>Secondary Sources<br></b>Read JA Froude's 1891 work <i>
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| 87 | <a href="../secondary.html">The Divorce
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| 88 | of Catherine of Aragon</a></i>. <font size="2">Understandably, it also
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| 89 | discusses Anne Boleyn as well as Henry VIII's rumored affair with her
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| 90 | sister Mary.</font></p>
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| 91 | </blockquote>
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| 92 | <blockquote>
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| 93 | <p><a href="../annedesc.html">Contemporary
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| 94 | descriptions of Anne</a> <br>
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| 95 | <a href="../lovelett.html">Henry
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| 96 | VIII's love letters to Anne</a> <br>
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| 97 | <a
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| 98 | href="boleyn-poems.html">Poetry
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| 99 | about Anne Boleyn</a> </p>
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| 100 | <p>Visit <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/images.html">Tudor
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| 101 | England: Images</a> to view portraits of Anne. <br>
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| 102 | Visit the <a href="eliz.html">Queen
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| 103 | Elizabeth I site</a> to learn more about Anne's daughter. <br>
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| 104 | Read about Anne's sister, <a
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| 105 | href="../citizens/boleyn.html">Mary Boleyn</a>.<a href="fiveanne.html"><br>The
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| 106 | Boleyn-Howard connection</a> <br>
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| 107 | <font size="-1">Anne's relationship to Henry VIII's fifth wife</font>
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| 108 | </p>
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| 109 | <p>Test your knowledge of Anne Boleyn's life at <a
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| 110 | href="../tudor1.html">Tudor Quizzes</a>.</p>
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| 111 | <p><font size="2"><b><br>Links<br></b>
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| 112 | <a href="http://www.geocities.com/boleynfamily/">The Boleyns</a>: A
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| 113 | website dedicated to the entire Boleyn family, with particular emphasis
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| 114 | upon Anne.<br><a href="http://jack-of-all-trades.ca/meandmine/">Me and Mine</a>:
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| 115 | Biography and images of Anne Boleyn.</font></p>
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| 116 | <p><font size="2"><b><br>
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| 117 | Interact<br>
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| 118 | </b> Meet other Anne Boleyn enthusiasts at <a
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| 119 | href="http://www.fine-eyes.net/anneboleyn/indextwo.html">Mistress
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| 120 | Anne: The Official Anne Boleyn Fanlisting</a>.<br>
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| 121 | Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at <a
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| 122 | href="http://ladiesallfanlist.cjb.net/">Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
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| 123 | the Six Wives of Henry VIII</a>.<a
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| 124 | href="http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=Anne+Boleyn"><br>
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| 125 | Anne Boleyn at Yahoo! Groups</a> There are numerous groups
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| 126 | dedicated to Anne. I think you need a Yahoo! ID to join.<br>
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| 127 | <a href="http://tudorhistory.org/lists/list.html"> Tudor Talk </a> This
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| 128 | email discussion list is sponsored by Tudorhistory.org. It does
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| 129 | not focus exclusively on Anne.<br>
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| 130 | <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Reign_of_the_Tudors_rpg/">Reign
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| 131 | of the Tudors</a> This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
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| 132 | England. If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
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| 133 | other Tudors, click the link to join.</font></p>
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| 134 | <p><br>
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| 135 | <b>NEWS September 2004<br>The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn:
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| 136 | The Most Happy</b> by Eric Ives has just been published
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| 137 | <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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| 138 | in the UK</a> and
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| 139 | <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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| 140 | US</a>. I will be posting a lengthy review soon.
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| 141 | <font size="2">Professor Ives had previously written the definitive
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| 142 | biography of Anne in 1986; this work incorporates new research.</font></p>
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| 143 | <p>
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| 144 | <b><br>
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| 145 | Anne
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| 146 | Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen</b> by Joanna Denny
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| 147 | was published
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| 148 | <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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| 149 | in April 2004.</p>
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| 150 | <hr>
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| 151 | <p><font size="2">The above portrait of Anne Boleyn is a late
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| 152 | 16th copy of a lost original. It can be viewed at the National Portrait
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| 153 | Gallery, London.</font></p>
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| 154 | <hr> </blockquote>
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| 155 | </td>
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| 156 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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| 157 | </td>
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| 158 | </tr>
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| 159 | </tbody>
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| 160 | </table>
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| 161 | <blockquote>
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| 162 | <blockquote>
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| 163 | <blockquote>
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| 164 | <p align="left"><font size="4"><br>
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| 165 | <br>
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| 166 | </font><a name="Biography"><br>
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| 167 | </a><font size="4">'She is of middling stature, with a swarthy
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| 168 | complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised, and in fact
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| 169 | has nothing but the King's great appetite, and her eyes, which are
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| 170 | black and beautiful - and take great effect on those who served the
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| 171 | Queen when she was on the throne. She lives like a queen, and the
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| 172 | King accompanies her to Mass - and everywhere.' </font><i><font
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| 173 | size="-1">the Venetian ambassador describes Anne, 1532</font></i> </p>
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| 174 | </blockquote>
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| 175 | <p align="left"> </p>
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| 176 | </blockquote>
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| 177 | <p> <b>Biography</b><br>
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| 178 | Anne Boleyn's birthdate is unknown; even the year is widely
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| 179 | debated. General opinion now favors 1501 or 1502, though some
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| 180 | historians persuasively argue for 1507. She was probably born at
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| 181 | Blickling Hall in Norfolk. Her father was Sir Thomas Boleyn, a
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| 182 | minor courtier with a talent for foreign languages; he was of London
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| 183 | merchant stock and eager to advance in the world. Like most men,
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| 184 | he chose to marry well. His bride was Elizabeth Howard, daughter
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| 185 | of the second duke of Norfolk and sister of the third duke.</p>
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| 186 | <p>Anne had two surviving siblings, <a
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| 187 | href="../citizens/boleyn.html">Mary</a>
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| 188 | and George. Their birthdates are also unknown, as is the order of their
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| 189 | births. We only know that all three Boleyn siblings were close in age.</p>
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| 190 | <p>In 1514, Henry VIII married his youngest sister, Mary, to the aged king of France. Anne
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| 191 | accompanied the Tudor princess as a very<img
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| 192 | height="232" alt="miniature portrait of Anne Boleyn"
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| 193 | src="boleynsmall.jpg"
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| 194 | width="175" border="0" align="right"> young lady-in-waiting; she remained in France after the French king died and
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| 195 | <a href="../citizens/brandon.html">Mary Tudor</a>
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| 196 | returned home. Anne gained the subsequent honor of being educated
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| 197 | under the watchful eye of the new French queen Claude. This
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| 198 | education had a uniquely French emphasis upon fashion and flirtation,
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| 199 | though more intellectual skills were not neglected. Anne became
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| 200 | an accomplished musician, singer and dancer. </p>
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| 201 | <p>In 1521 or early 1522, with war between England and France
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| 202 | imminent, Anne returned home. When she first caught Henry VIII's
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| 203 | eye is unknown. He was originally attracted to her sister, Mary
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| 204 | who came to court before Anne. She was the king's mistress in the
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| 205 | early 1520s and, as a mark of favor, her father was elevated to the
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| 206 | peerage as viscount Rochfort/Rochford in 1525. Mary herself would leave
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| 207 | court with only a dull marriage, and possibly the king's illegitimate son, as
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| 208 | her reward. Anne learned much from her sister's example.</p>
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| 209 | <p>Her first years at court were spent in service to Henry VIII's
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| 210 | first wife, <a href="aragon.html">Katharine of Aragon</a>. She became quite popular among
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| 211 | the younger men. She was not considered a great beauty; her
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| 212 | sister occupied that position in the family, but even Mary was merely
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| 213 | deemed 'pretty'. Hostile chroniclers <a
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| 214 | href="../annedesc.html">described Anne</a>
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| 215 | as plain, sallow, and possessing two distinct flaws - a large mole on
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| 216 | the side of her neck and an extra finger on her left hand. Such
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| 217 | praise as she received focused on her style, her wit and charm; she was
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| 218 | quick-tempered and spirited. Her most remarkable physical
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| 219 | attributes were her large dark eyes and long black hair. </p>
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| 220 | <p>The king's attraction was focused upon her sharp and teasing
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| 221 | manner, and her oft-stated unavailability. What he couldn't have,
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| 222 | he pined for all the more. This was especially difficult for a
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| 223 | king used to having his own way in everything. Anne was also
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| 224 | seriously involved with <a
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| 225 | href="../ab-percy.html">Henry Percy</a>,
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| 226 | the son and heir of the earl of Northumberland; there were rumors of an
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| 227 | engagement and declarations of true love. The king ordered his
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| 228 | great minister, <a
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| 229 | href="../citizens/wolsey.html">Cardinal
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| 230 | Thomas Wolsey</a>, to end the match. Wolsey did so, thus ensuring
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| 231 | Percy's unhappy marriage to the earl of Shrewsbury's daughter and
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| 232 | Anne's great enmity. It was safer to blame the Cardinal than his
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| 233 | king. Also, Henry's jealousy revealed the depth of his feelings,
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| 234 | and Anne quite naturally thought - if she could not be an earl's wife,
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| 235 | why not try for the crown of England? </p>
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| 236 | <p>When Anne avoided Henry's company, was sullen and evasive to him,
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| 237 | he sent her from court; he hoped that a few months in the country would
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| 238 | persuade her of his charms. It did not work. Anne was
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| 239 | already playing a far more serious game than the king. Later,
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| 240 | after she had been arrested, Henry would claim he had been 'bewitched'
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| 241 | and the term wasn't used lightly in the 16th century. But perhaps
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| 242 | it was simply the contrast between her vivacity and Katharine's
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| 243 | solemnity; or perhaps the king mistook the inexplicable ardor of true
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| 244 | love for something more ominous, long after that love had faded. </p>
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| 245 | <p>It is impossible to fully explain the mystery of attraction
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| 246 | between two people. How Anne was able to capture and maintain the
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| 247 | king's attention for such a long while, despite great obstacles and the
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| 248 | constant presence of malicious gossip, cannot be explained. Henry
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| 249 | was headstrong and querulous. But for several years, he remained
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| 250 | faithful to his feelings for Anne - and his attendant desire for a
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| 251 | legitimate male heir. </p>
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| 252 | <p> <img border="0"
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| 253 | src="aragon-min.jpg"
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| 254 | alt="miniature portrait of Katharine of Aragon" align="left"
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| 255 | width="166" height="168">One cannot separate the king's desire for a
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| 256 | son, indeed its very necessity, from his personal desire for
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| 257 | Anne. The two interests merged perfectly in 1527. Henry had
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| 258 | discovered the <a
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| 259 | href="aragon.html">invalidity
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| 260 | of his marriage</a> to Katharine. Now it was possible to annul
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| 261 | his marriage and secure his two fondest hopes - Anne's hand in marriage
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| 262 | and the long-desired heir. </p>
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| 263 | <p> Cardinal Wolsey had long advocated an Anglo-French
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| 264 | alliance. For that reason, he disliked the Spanish
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| 265 | <a href="aragon.html">Katharine
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| 266 | of Aragon</a>. He now set about securing his monarch's annulment
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| 267 | with the intention of marrying Henry to a French princess. And if
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| 268 | not a French princess, perhaps a great lady of the English court.
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| 269 | Wolsey did not like Anne, and she despised him. It was Wolsey who
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| 270 | had delivered the king's orders to Henry Percy, driving her suitor from
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| 271 | court. She never forgot that injury to her heart. And while
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| 272 | she could not revenge herself upon the king, <a
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| 273 | href="../letter8.html">she could work
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| 274 | against</a> his Lord Chancellor. His protégé and successor <a
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| 275 | href="../citizens/cromwell.html">Thomas
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| 276 | Cromwell</a> became a close ally. </p>
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| 277 | <p>But Anne alone did not cause Wolsey's fall from grace, though she
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| 278 | took the blame for it. Indeed, 'Nan Bullen', as the common people
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| 279 | derisively called her, became the scapegoat for all the king's
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| 280 | unpopular decisions. But it is important to remember that no one
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| 281 | - not Wolsey, not Cromwell, and certainly not Anne Boleyn - ever
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| 282 | controlled Henry VIII, or made him do other than exactly what he
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| 283 | wanted. He was a king who thoroughly knew and enjoyed his
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| 284 | position. <a
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| 285 | href="../citizens/more.html">Sir Thomas
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| 286 | More</a> would aptly point this out to his son-in-law, William Roper -
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| 287 | 'If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for any man to hold
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| 288 | him.' And later, when Roper commented upon the king's affection
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| 289 | for More, the philosopher replied that if his head would win the king a
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| 290 | castle in France, then Henry would not hesitate to chop it off. </p>
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| 291 | <p>But most people found it easier to hate Anne than to hate their
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| 292 | monarch. As the king's desire for an annulment became the gossip
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| 293 | of all Europe, she was roundly criticized and condemned. And she
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| 294 | was not popular at the English court either. Both her unique
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| 295 | situation and her oft times abrasive personality offended many.
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| 296 | And Katharine's solemn piety had impressed the English court for three
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| 297 | decades; her supporters were numerous, though not inclined to face the
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| 298 | king's formidable wrath. In truth, Anne was sustained only by the
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| 299 | king's affection and she knew his mercurial temper. It is
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| 300 | possible that she was as surprised by his faithfulness as everyone
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| 301 | else. </p>
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| 302 | <p>As the struggle for an annulment proceeded and the pope
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| 303 | prevaricated between Henry and Katharine's nephew, the Holy Roman
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| 304 | Emperor Charles V, Anne's position at the English court became steadily
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| 305 | more prominent. There were at first little signs. The king
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| 306 | would eat alone with her; she received expensive gifts; she began to
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| 307 | dress in the most fashionable and expensive gowns; the king paid her
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| 308 | gambling debts since Anne, like most courtiers, enjoyed cards and dice.
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| 309 | </p>
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| 310 | <p>The king was not too outlandish at first; he had no desire to
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| 311 | prejudice the pope against his case by flaunting a new love. But
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| 312 | as the delays mounted, and rumors of his new love spread, Henry
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| 313 | realized there was no purpose in hiding the truth. By 1530, Anne
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| 314 | was openly honored by the king at court. She was accorded
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| 315 | precedence over all other ladies, and she sat with the king at
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| 316 | banquets and hunts while Katharine was virtually ignored. The
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| 317 | pretense of his first marriage was allowed to continue; Katharine
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| 318 | continued to personally mend his shirts and send him gifts and
|
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| 319 | notes. But it was an untenable situation. It grated on both
|
|---|
| 320 | women. Anne perhaps taxed the king with it. To placate her,
|
|---|
| 321 | she was titled marquess of Pembroke on 4 September 1532 at Windsor
|
|---|
| 322 | Castle; she wore a beautiful crimson gown and her hair hung
|
|---|
| 323 | loose. Now elevated to the peerage in her own right, she had
|
|---|
| 324 | wealth and lands of her own. But when she accompanied him to
|
|---|
| 325 | France on a state visit a short while later, the ladies of the French
|
|---|
| 326 | court refused to meet with her. </p>
|
|---|
| 327 | <p>It is believed that her elevation to the peerage marked the
|
|---|
| 328 | physical consummation of Anne and Henry's relationship. She would
|
|---|
| 329 | give birth to <a
|
|---|
| 330 | href="eliz.html">Elizabeth</a>
|
|---|
| 331 | just a year later, and there were rumors of a secret marriage in late
|
|---|
| 332 | 1532. It is possible that she became pregnant after just a few
|
|---|
| 333 | months and a second, legitimate wedding became a necessity. </p>
|
|---|
| 334 | <p> <img border="0"
|
|---|
| 335 | src="boleyn-sketch1.jpg"
|
|---|
| 336 | alt="sketch of Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger" align="left"
|
|---|
| 337 | width="175" height="157">The king had his fondest wish within his
|
|---|
| 338 | grasp. Anne was pregnant with his long-awaited son, or so he
|
|---|
| 339 | thought, and this son must be legitimate. He could no longer wait
|
|---|
| 340 | upon the pope. Henry rejected the authority of the Holy See and
|
|---|
| 341 | Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, annulled his marriage to
|
|---|
| 342 | Katharine. Henry and Anne married again in January 1533 in a
|
|---|
| 343 | small ceremony. But though they were now husband and wife, few
|
|---|
| 344 | recognized the fact. </p>
|
|---|
| 345 | <p><a href="../prianne1.html">Her
|
|---|
| 346 | coronation</a> was a lavish affair; the king spared no expense.
|
|---|
| 347 | But the people of London were noticeably unimpressed. They cried
|
|---|
| 348 | out 'HA! HA!' mockingly as tapestries decorated with Henry and Anne's
|
|---|
| 349 | entwined initials passed by. Henry asked, 'How liked you the look
|
|---|
| 350 | of the City?' Anne replied, 'Sir, I liked the City well enough -
|
|---|
| 351 | but I saw a great many caps on heads, and heard but few tongues.'
|
|---|
| 352 | </p>
|
|---|
| 353 | <p>And so her coronation was yet another reminder of her complete
|
|---|
| 354 | dependency upon the king.</p>
|
|---|
| 355 | <p>Anne enjoyed her triumph as much as she could. She ordered
|
|---|
| 356 | new blue and purple livery for her servants and set about replacing
|
|---|
| 357 | Katharine's badge of pomegranates with her own falcon symbol. She
|
|---|
| 358 | chose as her motto, 'The Most Happy', in stark contrast to her
|
|---|
| 359 | predecessor. Katharine had been 'Humble and Loyal'; Henry's
|
|---|
| 360 | mother, Elizabeth of York had chosen 'Humble and Reverent'. But
|
|---|
| 361 | humility was not a marked characteristic of Anne Boleyn. </p>
|
|---|
| 362 | <p>She was pious, though not as rigid and inflexible as Katharine of
|
|---|
| 363 | Aragon. Anne's sympathies naturally lay with the progressive
|
|---|
| 364 | thought now challenging Catholic orthodoxy; with Henry's rejection of the papacy and his
|
|---|
| 365 | creation of a new Church of England, <a
|
|---|
| 366 | href="../faq.html#Eleven-b">the
|
|---|
| 367 | Reformation</a> had come to England. It was not as revolutionary
|
|---|
| 368 | as Luther's movement in Germany. Henry actually remained a devout
|
|---|
| 369 | Catholic, only denying what he now regarded as the illegitimate
|
|---|
| 370 | authority of the papacy. Anne knew that her marriage and future
|
|---|
| 371 | children would never be recognized as legitimate by Catholic
|
|---|
| 372 | Europe. She had to support the new church, otherwise she was no more than
|
|---|
| 373 | the king's mistress.</p>
|
|---|
| 374 | <p>And this new emphasis upon debating even the most esoteric bits of
|
|---|
| 375 | theology appealed to her nature. She was always curious and open
|
|---|
| 376 | to new ideas; she never blindly accepted<img height="175"
|
|---|
| 377 | 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."
|
|---|
| 378 | src="boleynstrong.jpg"
|
|---|
| 379 | width="175" align="right"> anything. But this is not to deny her
|
|---|
| 380 | deep faith. As queen, she was close friends with Thomas Cranmer
|
|---|
| 381 | and she also sponsored various religious books. She had none of
|
|---|
| 382 | the hard-fought pragmatism of her daughter,
|
|---|
| 383 | <a href="eliz.html">Elizabeth</a>. Religious faith was a
|
|---|
| 384 | vital part of Anne's life, as it was for every person in the 16th
|
|---|
| 385 | century. </p>
|
|---|
| 386 | <p>She entered confinement for the birth of her first child on 26
|
|---|
| 387 | August 1533. The child was born on 7 September 1533. The
|
|---|
| 388 | physicians and astrologers had been mistaken; it was not a
|
|---|
| 389 | prince. But the healthy baby girl called Elizabeth was not the
|
|---|
| 390 | disappointment most assumed, nor did she immediately cause her mother's
|
|---|
| 391 | downfall. The birth had been very easy and quick. 'There
|
|---|
| 392 | was good speed in the deliverance and bringing forth,' Anne wrote to
|
|---|
| 393 | Lord Cobham that very day. The queen recovered quickly.
|
|---|
| 394 | Henry had every reason to believe that strong princes would
|
|---|
| 395 | follow. It was only when Anne miscarried two sons that he began
|
|---|
| 396 | to question the validity of his second marriage. </p>
|
|---|
| 397 | <p>Elizabeth's christening was a grand affair, though the king did
|
|---|
| 398 | not attend. This fact was much remarked-upon, but Henry
|
|---|
| 399 | confounded all by his continuing affection for Anne. He also
|
|---|
| 400 | promptly declared Elizabeth his heir, thus according her precedence
|
|---|
| 401 | over her 17 year old half-sister,
|
|---|
| 402 | <a href="mary1.html">Princess Mary</a>. Anne could
|
|---|
| 403 | breathe a sigh of relief, recover, and become pregnant again. </p>
|
|---|
| 404 | <p>Immediately after Elizabeth's christening, Henry wrote to Mary and
|
|---|
| 405 | demanded that she relinquish her title of Princess of Wales. The
|
|---|
| 406 | title belonged to his heiress. He also demanded that she
|
|---|
| 407 | acknowledge the validity of his new marriage and legitimacy of her
|
|---|
| 408 | half-sister. But Mary could be as obstinate as her mother; she refused. Enraged, Henry evicted Mary from her
|
|---|
| 409 | home, the manor Beaulieu, so he could give it to Anne's brother, George. In December,
|
|---|
| 410 | she was moved into Elizabeth's household
|
|---|
| 411 | under the care of Lady Anne Shelton, a sister of Anne's father.
|
|---|
| 412 | It was an understandably miserable time for Mary. When told to pay her
|
|---|
| 413 | respects to the baby Princess, she said that she knew of no Princess of
|
|---|
| 414 | England but herself and burst into tears. </p>
|
|---|
| 415 | <p>Henry was infuriated and Anne encouraged the estrangement.
|
|---|
| 416 | Her daughter's status depended upon Mary remaining out of favor.
|
|---|
| 417 | In the two and a half years she lived after Elizabeth's birth, Anne
|
|---|
| 418 | proved herself a devoted mother. Soon after the birth, Elizabeth
|
|---|
| 419 | had to be moved from London, for purposes of health; London was rife
|
|---|
| 420 | with a variety of illnesses - sweating sickness, smallpox, and
|
|---|
| 421 | plague. Elizabeth and Mary were sent to Hatfield. Both
|
|---|
| 422 | Henry and Anne visited their daughter often, occasionally taking her
|
|---|
| 423 | back with them to Greenwich or the palace at Eltham. During these
|
|---|
| 424 | visits, Mary was kept alone in her room. </p>
|
|---|
| 425 | <p> <img height="186" alt="portrait of Henry VIII"
|
|---|
| 426 | src="henry8boleyn.jpg"
|
|---|
| 427 | width="150" border="2" align="left">There are account books and
|
|---|
| 428 | letters which reveal certain facts about Elizabeth's early
|
|---|
| 429 | childhood: bills for an orange satin gown and russet velvet
|
|---|
| 430 | kirtle, for the king's heir had to be fashionably dressed; a letter in
|
|---|
| 431 | late 1535, after her second birthday, from the wet nurse asking
|
|---|
| 432 | permission to wean her; a plan of study in classical languages, for
|
|---|
| 433 | Anne was determined her daughter would be as educated as Mary. </p>
|
|---|
| 434 | <p>The conflict with Mary dominated a great deal of Henry and Anne's
|
|---|
| 435 | thoughts. In January 1534, the king's new chief minister, Thomas
|
|---|
| 436 | Cromwell, went to visit Mary at Hatfield. He urged her to
|
|---|
| 437 | renounce her title and warned her that her behavior would lead to her
|
|---|
| 438 | ruin. Mary replied that she simply wanted her father's blessing
|
|---|
| 439 | and the honor of kissing his hand. When Cromwell chastised her,
|
|---|
| 440 | she left the room. Mary, and indeed most of England, believed
|
|---|
| 441 | Anne to be the cause of Henry's disgust with his eldest child. In
|
|---|
| 442 | truth, Henry had far more to do with it than Anne; this was proven
|
|---|
| 443 | after Anne's execution. Mary believed that she would regain her
|
|---|
| 444 | favor with the wicked stepmother out of the way but she was proven
|
|---|
| 445 | terribly wrong. Eventually, under threat of her life, she <a
|
|---|
| 446 | href="../primary.html">wrote the letter</a>
|
|---|
| 447 | her father had long desired. </p>
|
|---|
| 448 | <p>He and Anne also tried a gentler course with Mary; their goal was
|
|---|
| 449 | to show that she had brought Henry's displeasure upon herself and that
|
|---|
| 450 | he and Anne were quite willing - under reasonable conditions - to
|
|---|
| 451 | receive her. At their next visit to Hatfield, Anne arranged to
|
|---|
| 452 | see her stepdaughter. She invited Mary to come to court and
|
|---|
| 453 | 'visit me as Queen.' Mary responded with a cruel insult - 'I know
|
|---|
| 454 | no Queen in England but my mother. But if you, Madam, as my
|
|---|
| 455 | father's mistress, will intercede for me with him, I should be
|
|---|
| 456 | grateful.' Anne did not lose her temper; she pointed out the
|
|---|
| 457 | absurdity of the request and repeated her offer. Mary then
|
|---|
| 458 | refused to answer and Anne left in a rage. From then on, she made
|
|---|
| 459 | no attempts to gain Mary's friendship. </p>
|
|---|
| 460 | <p>The problem with Mary highlights the untenable positions Anne and
|
|---|
| 461 | Elizabeth occupied in English politics. Many of Henry's subjects
|
|---|
| 462 | did not know who to call Princess, who was the rightful heir, and who
|
|---|
| 463 | was the true wife. Katharine of Aragon lived on, still calling
|
|---|
| 464 | herself Queen, and Mary, encouraged by the spiteful Imperial ambassador
|
|---|
| 465 | Eustace Chapuys, still called herself Princess. Furthermore,
|
|---|
| 466 | Chapuys, who openly despised Anne, told Mary that Anne was planning to
|
|---|
| 467 | have her murdered. It was a terrible lie but one that Mary, in
|
|---|
| 468 | her hysterical state, was inclined to believe. When word came
|
|---|
| 469 | that she and Elizabeth's household was moving from Hatfield to The
|
|---|
| 470 | More, she refused to go. She believed she would be moved and
|
|---|
| 471 | quietly murdered. Guards had to actually seize her and throw her
|
|---|
| 472 | into her litter. Her distress naturally made her ill. </p>
|
|---|
| 473 | <p>Elizabeth, meanwhile, was too young to notice any of this.
|
|---|
| 474 | But such events helped cement the lifelong hatred Mary would have for
|
|---|
| 475 | her half-sister. Her Spanish friends continued to spread rumors
|
|---|
| 476 | about Anne and Elizabeth, saying the infant princess was physically
|
|---|
| 477 | deformed and monstrous in appearance. To dispel this, in April
|
|---|
| 478 | 1534, Henry showed the naked infant to several continental
|
|---|
| 479 | ambassadors. In that same month, Anne announced she was once
|
|---|
| 480 | again pregnant. Nothing could have pleased Henry more. She
|
|---|
| 481 | may have had a miscarriage in February for there were rumors she was
|
|---|
| 482 | pregnant in January but nothing came of it; given the heightened
|
|---|
| 483 | circumstances, it is unlikely she could have hidden her
|
|---|
| 484 | condition. Even a suspicion of pregnancy was sure to become
|
|---|
| 485 | gossip. But the main source of this miscarriage is Chapuys,
|
|---|
| 486 | hardly an impartial observer. At any rate, she was definitely
|
|---|
| 487 | pregnant again in April 1534. </p>
|
|---|
| 488 | <p>The elated king took his wife to the medieval palace at Eltham;
|
|---|
| 489 | there, they sent for the princess Elizabeth. Henry was often seen
|
|---|
| 490 | carrying her about and playing with her. The king<img border="0"
|
|---|
| 491 | src="boleynsketch2.jpg"
|
|---|
| 492 | align="right" alt="sketch of Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger"
|
|---|
| 493 | width="165" height="206"> and queen soon returned to Greenwich and
|
|---|
| 494 | then Henry left on a progress, leaving Anne at the palace. This
|
|---|
| 495 | was probably out of concern for her health and lends some credence to
|
|---|
| 496 | the belief she miscarried in February. If she had, Henry would
|
|---|
| 497 | show special concern for her health, and this he did. He was
|
|---|
| 498 | supposed to meet Francis I of France in June at Calais to sign a treaty
|
|---|
| 499 | but decided not to, writing that Katharine and Mary, 'bearing no small
|
|---|
| 500 | grudge against his most entirely beloved Queen Anne, might perchance in
|
|---|
| 501 | his absence take occasion to practice matters of no small peril to his
|
|---|
| 502 | royal person, realm, and subjects.' </p>
|
|---|
| 503 | <p>His extra attention to Anne did not help her health. In
|
|---|
| 504 | September 1534, she miscarried a six-month-old fetus; it was old enough
|
|---|
| 505 | for features to be discerned - it was a boy. Henry was bitterly
|
|---|
| 506 | disappointed. Anne was likewise. She was also angry for
|
|---|
| 507 | Henry had begun a casual affair that summer. She reproached him
|
|---|
| 508 | and Henry replied, 'You have good reason to be content with what I have
|
|---|
| 509 | done for you - and I would not do it again, if the thing were to
|
|---|
| 510 | begin. Consider from what you have come.' The scene was
|
|---|
| 511 | furious and overheard by her attendants. But it was a passing
|
|---|
| 512 | storm. Henry was already tired of his new mistress and, within
|
|---|
| 513 | days, Chapuys was sadly writing to Charles V of Henry's continued
|
|---|
| 514 | affection. But there were signs that things were not progressing
|
|---|
| 515 | smoothly. </p>
|
|---|
| 516 | <p> For example, Henry had hoped to cement his relationship with
|
|---|
| 517 | Francis I by betrothing Elizabeth to Francis's son, the Duc
|
|---|
| 518 | d'Angouleme. After Anne suffered two miscarriages, as the French
|
|---|
| 519 | ambassador reported to Francis, the French king grew wary of such a
|
|---|
| 520 | betrothal. To him, it must have seemed that Anne's position was
|
|---|
| 521 | weakening; after all, Henry had dismissed one wife because she had no
|
|---|
| 522 | sons - would he do the same to Anne? And, if he did, then what
|
|---|
| 523 | good was a marriage to Elizabeth? Of course, it was in France's
|
|---|
| 524 | interests to promote Anne for Katharine of Aragon and her daughter were
|
|---|
| 525 | Charles V's pawns. But his doubts highlight the
|
|---|
| 526 | instability of Anne's position. </p>
|
|---|
| 527 | <p>This undoubtedly affected her mental and physical health.
|
|---|
| 528 | Henry was never the mercenary adulterer of legend. In fact, he
|
|---|
| 529 | was remarkably conventional in his sexual appetites, unlike his French
|
|---|
| 530 | rival. Any affairs would have been widely reported and yet,
|
|---|
| 531 | during his long marriage to Katharine of Aragon, there were just a
|
|---|
| 532 | handful of mistresses. He enjoyed being around attractive
|
|---|
| 533 | women. He was flirtatious and would joke with them, compliment
|
|---|
| 534 | them, but only rarely did he enter into a physical relationship. </p>
|
|---|
| 535 | <p>But for Anne, any occasional fling was devastating, especially if
|
|---|
| 536 | it followed upon her miscarriage. Such behavior was said to
|
|---|
| 537 | indicate his displeasure with her; this she could not afford.
|
|---|
| 538 | They were occasionally estranged and the effect was to increase her
|
|---|
| 539 | already-noticeable anxiety. In late 1534 Anne, accompanied by the
|
|---|
| 540 | duke of Suffolk, her uncle Norfolk, and other courtiers, visited
|
|---|
| 541 | Richmond Palace, where both Elizabeth and Mary resided. Anne
|
|---|
| 542 | entered her daughter's rooms only to realize that the two dukes had
|
|---|
| 543 | left her. They were paying court to Mary and remained with her
|
|---|
| 544 | until Anne had left. Still, this slight could be forgotten when
|
|---|
| 545 | the Treason Act was passed in November. It was now a capital
|
|---|
| 546 | crime to deny the legitimacy of her marriage or children. By
|
|---|
| 547 | December, she and Henry had made up yet again. </p>
|
|---|
| 548 | <p>A scandal occurred shortly thereafter which added further damage to Anne's
|
|---|
| 549 | reputation. Her sister, Mary, who had been Henry's mistress years
|
|---|
| 550 | before, married Sir William Stafford without her family or the king's
|
|---|
| 551 | permission. Because Stafford was poor, Mary's father was angry and cut
|
|---|
| 552 | off her allowance. She appealed to the king and Anne but they would not
|
|---|
| 553 | help. (Mary did not attend court during Anne's reign, since her presence
|
|---|
| 554 | would have been an embarrassment for the king and queen.)</p>
|
|---|
| 555 | <p> <img height="194" alt="portrait of Anne Boleyn"
|
|---|
| 556 | src="anne2.jpg" width="139"
|
|---|
| 557 | border="0" align="left">Always fascinated with rumors surrounding his
|
|---|
| 558 | English 'brother', Francis I decided to hedge his bets in the mercurial
|
|---|
| 559 | Tudor court. In other words, he would remain friendly with Anne
|
|---|
| 560 | and also with Mary Tudor. And so he instructed his new
|
|---|
| 561 | ambassador, Admiral Chabot, to ignore Anne when he arrived at
|
|---|
| 562 | court. Chabot was received by Henry and two days passed without
|
|---|
| 563 | any mention of the queen. Henry asked if Chabot wanted to visit
|
|---|
| 564 | her. The ambassador replied, 'As it pleases Your Highness' and
|
|---|
| 565 | then asked permission to visit Mary. Henry refused, but Chabot
|
|---|
| 566 | made certain everyone knew of his request. He also told courtiers
|
|---|
| 567 | that Francis wanted to marry the Dauphin to Mary; when Henry reminded
|
|---|
| 568 | him of the union with Elizabeth, the ambassador said nothing.
|
|---|
| 569 | Still, Francis did enrage Charles V by acknowledging Elizabeth's
|
|---|
| 570 | legitimacy. </p>
|
|---|
| 571 | <p>It was a tedious and frightening dance for Anne. During the
|
|---|
| 572 | two and a half years after Elizabeth's birth, she was rarely secure,
|
|---|
| 573 | certain of her position and the king's affections. Her little
|
|---|
| 574 | daughter received every favor she could bestow; Anne insisted Henry
|
|---|
| 575 | favor Elizabeth because it strengthened her position. But she was
|
|---|
| 576 | surrounded by fair-weather friends who, at the slightest sign of
|
|---|
| 577 | Henry's disfavor, ignored her. She only trusted her brother,
|
|---|
| 578 | George, whose wife, Jane Rochford, was a viper in their nest.
|
|---|
| 579 | Meanwhile, Henry was again flirting openly with another woman.
|
|---|
| 580 | This time it was Anne's cousin and lady-in-waiting, Madge
|
|---|
| 581 | Shelton. Anne still had influence over her husband, but knew only
|
|---|
| 582 | one way to make his favor permanent. She must bear a son.
|
|---|
| 583 | Henry would never dismiss the mother of his long-awaited heir.
|
|---|
| 584 | Her enemies would at last be silenced. </p>
|
|---|
| 585 | <p>Meanwhile, Henry's health had begun to worsen. The first
|
|---|
| 586 | signs of the illness which would kill him appeared (occluded sinus on
|
|---|
| 587 | his leg). Headaches became frequent and severe. The king
|
|---|
| 588 | was a hypochondriac. Now unable to indulge his love of sports, he
|
|---|
| 589 | instead indulged his fear of pain and illness. And he was
|
|---|
| 590 | frequently impotent. He was in his mid-forties and increasingly
|
|---|
| 591 | obese; this, combined with his other ailments, made his continued
|
|---|
| 592 | virility questionable. Certainly his 'mistresses' did not
|
|---|
| 593 | conceive. But the continued lack of an heir and Anne's
|
|---|
| 594 | miscarriages must have reminded him of Katharine. How could it
|
|---|
| 595 | not? Like most of his contemporaries, the king blamed his wife
|
|---|
| 596 | when she did not conceive or carry to term. </p>
|
|---|
| 597 | <p>And, like Francis I, Thomas Cromwell - that influential and
|
|---|
| 598 | brilliant man - was keeping his options open as well. He visited
|
|---|
| 599 | Mary and was rumored to promise support for her reinstatement.
|
|---|
| 600 | Anne was terrified at this loss of her one-time supporter who was also
|
|---|
| 601 | the king's most trusted advisor. But Anne had one last chance,
|
|---|
| 602 | and in June 1535, became pregnant again. She lost that child as
|
|---|
| 603 | well, in January 1536; she was reported to have said, 'I have
|
|---|
| 604 | miscarried of my savior.' </p>
|
|---|
| 605 | <p>When her destruction came, it was rapid and unbelievable.
|
|---|
| 606 | Henry had always been one to plot against people while he pretended
|
|---|
| 607 | affection. Anne suffered the same fate as Katharine. She
|
|---|
| 608 | knew he was dissatisfied with her but he maintained their lifestyle
|
|---|
| 609 | together. And all the while, he was seeking the best way to
|
|---|
| 610 | destroy her. Katharine of Aragon died in January as well, just a
|
|---|
| 611 | few days before Anne's miscarriage. These events, taken together,
|
|---|
| 612 | pushed Henry into action. While Katharine had lived, most of
|
|---|
| 613 | Europe, and many Englishmen, had regarded her as his rightful wife, not
|
|---|
| 614 | Anne. Now he was rid of Katharine; if he were to rid himself of
|
|---|
| 615 | Anne, he could marry again - and this third marriage would never be
|
|---|
| 616 | tainted by the specter of bigamy. </p>
|
|---|
| 617 | <p>Henry's <a href="../prianne2.html">decision
|
|---|
| 618 | to thoroughly destroy Anne</a> baffled even her enemies. There
|
|---|
| 619 | was a possible way out which would spare Anne's life. Henry had
|
|---|
| 620 | admitted an affair with her sister,<img height="194"
|
|---|
| 621 | alt="an 18th century portrait of Anne Boleyn"
|
|---|
| 622 | src="anne3.jpg" width="144"
|
|---|
| 623 | border="2" align="right"> Mary. He could have argued that was as
|
|---|
| 624 | damning as Katharine's marriage to his brother. But he chose a
|
|---|
| 625 | more direct route. He had her arrested, charged with adultery,
|
|---|
| 626 | witchcraft, and incest; the charges were ludicrous even to her
|
|---|
| 627 | enemies. Her brother George was arrested as well. His
|
|---|
| 628 | despised wife, Jane Rochford, testified about an incestuous love
|
|---|
| 629 | affair. Whether anyone believed her was irrelevant. Henry
|
|---|
| 630 | VIII wanted Anne convicted and killed. George would also lose his
|
|---|
| 631 | life, as did three of their friends. Only one had confessed to
|
|---|
| 632 | the charge, and that was under torture; it was still enough to convict
|
|---|
| 633 | them all. </p>
|
|---|
| 634 | <p>As queen of England, Anne was tried by her peers; the main charge
|
|---|
| 635 | was adultery, and this was an act of treason for a queen. No
|
|---|
| 636 | member of the nobility would help her; her craven uncle Norfolk
|
|---|
| 637 | pronounced the death sentence. Poor Henry Percy, her first love,
|
|---|
| 638 | swooned during the trial and had to be carried from the room. As
|
|---|
| 639 | a concession to her former position, she was not beheaded by a clumsy
|
|---|
| 640 | axe. A skilled swordsman was brought over from France. She
|
|---|
| 641 | was assured that there would be little pain; she replied, with typical
|
|---|
| 642 | spirit, 'I have heard that the executioner is very good. And I
|
|---|
| 643 | have a little neck.'</p>
|
|---|
| 644 | <p> </p>
|
|---|
| 645 | <blockquote>
|
|---|
| 646 | <blockquote>
|
|---|
| 647 | <p><font size="4">'You have chosen me from low estate to be your
|
|---|
| 648 | queen and companion, far beyond my desert or desire; if, then, you
|
|---|
| 649 | found me worthy of such honor, good your grace, let not any light fancy
|
|---|
| 650 | or bad counsel of my enemies withdraw your princely favor from me;
|
|---|
| 651 | neither let that stain - that unworthy stain - of a disloyal heart
|
|---|
| 652 | towards your good grace ever cast so foul a blot on me, and on the
|
|---|
| 653 | infant princess your daughter.' </font><b> </b><i><font
|
|---|
| 654 | size="-1">from Anne Boleyn's <a
|
|---|
| 655 | href="../letter10.html">last letter</a>
|
|---|
| 656 | to King Henry VIII, 1536</font></i>;<i><font size="2"> <a
|
|---|
| 657 | href="../letter10.html">its authenticity
|
|---|
| 658 | is debated</a>.</font></i></p>
|
|---|
| 659 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 660 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 661 | <p> </p>
|
|---|
| 662 | <p>She had prayed for exile, to end her days in a nunnery, but now
|
|---|
| 663 | faced a more tragic fate. She met it with bravery and wit.
|
|---|
| 664 | She was brought to the scaffold at 8 o'clock in the morning on 19 May
|
|---|
| 665 | 1536. It was a heretofore unknown spectacle, the first public
|
|---|
| 666 | execution of an English queen. Anne, who had defended herself so
|
|---|
| 667 | ably at her trial, chose her last words carefully: 'Good
|
|---|
| 668 | Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law,
|
|---|
| 669 | and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing
|
|---|
| 670 | against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak
|
|---|
| 671 | anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray
|
|---|
| 672 | God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler
|
|---|
| 673 | nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a
|
|---|
| 674 | good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle
|
|---|
| 675 | of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my
|
|---|
| 676 | leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to
|
|---|
| 677 | pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my
|
|---|
| 678 | soul.' She was then blindfolded and knelt at the block. She
|
|---|
| 679 | repeated several times, 'To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesu
|
|---|
| 680 | receive my soul.' </p>
|
|---|
| 681 | <p>It was a sardonic message to the king. Even now he waited
|
|---|
| 682 | impatiently to hear the Tower cannon mark Anne's death. He wished
|
|---|
| 683 | to marry Anne's lady-in-waiting, <a
|
|---|
| 684 | href="seymour.html">Jane
|
|---|
| 685 | Seymour</a>. They wed ten days after the execution. </p>
|
|---|
| 686 | <p>Elizabeth was just three and a half when her mother died.
|
|---|
| 687 | She was a precocious child, though; when her governess visited her just
|
|---|
| 688 | days after the execution, <a
|
|---|
| 689 | href="eliz.html">Elizabeth</a>
|
|---|
| 690 | asked, 'Why, Governor, how hap it yesterday Lady Princess, and today
|
|---|
| 691 | but Lady Elizabeth?' </p>
|
|---|
| 692 | <p>Anne was buried in an old arrow box since no coffin was
|
|---|
| 693 | provided. But the box was too short; her head was tucked beside
|
|---|
| 694 | her. The remains were taken to St Peter ad Vincula, the church of
|
|---|
| 695 | the Tower of London. It was later rumored that her few remaining
|
|---|
| 696 | friends smuggled her body to a more suitable grave and she is buried
|
|---|
| 697 | under a plain slab in a Norfolk church. The church is said to be
|
|---|
| 698 | haunted.</p>
|
|---|
| 699 | <p align="center"> </p>
|
|---|
| 700 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'And if any person will meddle of my
|
|---|
| 701 | cause, I require them to judge the best.' <br>
|
|---|
| 702 | </font><i><font size="-1">from Anne Boleyn's speech at her execution</font></i>
|
|---|
| 703 | </p>
|
|---|
| 704 | <blockquote>
|
|---|
| 705 | <p> </p>
|
|---|
| 706 | <center>
|
|---|
| 707 | <p><font size="-1"><a
|
|---|
| 708 | href="wives.html">to the Six
|
|---|
| 709 | Wives main page</a></font> <br>
|
|---|
| 710 | <font size="-1"><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to
|
|---|
| 711 | Tudor England</a></font></p>
|
|---|
| 712 | <p><font size="-1"> <a
|
|---|
| 713 | href="../primary.html">to Primary Sources</a></font></p>
|
|---|
| 714 | </center>
|
|---|
| 715 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 716 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 717 | <p align="center"><font size="2">This page receives 15,000+ unique visitors per
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| 718 | month.</font></p>
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| 719 | </body>
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