Anne Boleyn's place in court, in Henry VIII's life, and the misconceptions about her personality and the allegations that led to her premature death.
Anna de Bullen (as her French companions nicknamed her) was born circa 1501 to Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard and grew up in Hever Catle in Kent. Though little is known about her upbringing in England, we do know that as a teenager and young woman she spent a lot of time at the French Court, attending to Queen Claude, after travelling there at the age of 12 in 1513, having previously spent a fear years at the court of Margaret of Burgundy.
It was in France that Anne gained her famous and highly misleading reputation as a promiscuous and sexual woman - and although the French court was one of the most risque at the time, it is unlikely that a lady of Anne's piety would have given up her innocence and virtue at this point. Anne learned much during her 8-9 years spent at the French court, and when she returned to England in 1522, she was a young woman aware of not only the duties of a queen but also well rounded in arts and fashions.
Anne returned to marry her cousin James Butler, however, the marriage plans fizzled out (for unknown reasons) and she was sent to become a lady-in-waiting for the current Queen, Catherine of Aragon. By the mid-1520s, Anne was one of the most renowned and sought-after ladies at court; she received a marriage proposal from Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland - however, when Henry VIII discovered the proposal, he ordered Percy to revoke his offer. By 1525, Henry was writing her profuse love letters, he was besotted.
An important detail of Anne's character is shown when she refuses to become his mistress ("Your wife I cannot be, both in respect of mine own unworthiness, and also because you have a queen already. Your mistress I will not be.") after Henry confesses his love in "If you … give yourself up, heart, body and soul to me … I will take you for my only mistress, rejecting from thought and affection all others save yourself, to serve only you." . This detail of Anne's sense of duty and respect highly contradicts the popular view that Anne Boleyn was a sexual predator, as it shows here her respect for Queen Catherine and her ability to confront the King in his disrespect to his Queen.
Henry decided his love for Anne outweighed his love for his Queen, and - via means mentioned in the previous article "The loyal Queen" - he divorced Catherine of Aragon and the two became lovers, and on January 25th 1533, Henry married his second Queen, Anne Boleyn, in a secret ceremony led by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury - after Anne had discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to her only surviving child, Elizabeth, on September 7 of the same year.
Unfortunately, even after her coronation the following June, Queen Anne remained unpopular with the majority of the country, who still believed their rightful Queen to be Catherine. Though Anne did try and become the Queen the kingdom wanted, notably with her making many improvements for the poor, she would remain resented by many until the end of her short life.
After 3 miscarriages, a fiery marriage that he had waited 7 years to achieve, a jousting accident in January 1536 that nearly killed him and a newly blossoming love for submissive and quiet Jane Seymour, Henry demanded his Lord Privy Seal and right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell find a way to dispose of Anne. She was arrested on trumped-up accusations of treason, adultery and incest and sent to the Tower to await trial.
On May 15th, Anne was presented in court, accused with adultery, incest (sexual relations with her own brother, George) and discussing the King's death with Henry Norris (a treasonous act). She remained level-headed and calm, denying all charges against her, a final show of strength and defiance against her husband. Unfortunately, on May 15th, a court of peers headed by her own uncle, the Duke of Norfolk declared Anne Boleyn a traitor, and worthy of death. After a day's delay from Cromwell, on May 19th 1536 she was executed by a Calais Swordsman - the best in Europe, the only mercy Henry granted the wife he once loved so dearly. It is reported that once upon the scaffolding she repeated "I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord," pausing before adding, "I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul."
On May 19th 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn was executed with one strike and buried in an unmarked grave alongside her brother, and remained there until 1876. Henry was betrothed to Jane Seymour the next day, and they married on May 30th, just 11 days after Anne's death.
In her book of hours, young Anne wrote to Henry, "By daily proof, you shall me find, To be to you both loving and kind." and it is my opinion that she was both of these in her prime. With a strong sense of duty, respect and self, she dominated court throughout her time there. She was witty, outspoken and confident, with a fiery temper that she never quite learnt to control, though as a woman in the 16th century, that was not necessarily a negative thing.
Anne Boleyn's image is still debated upon today, was she a seducer, a woman out of her depth, or a political mastermind beaten at her own game? No matter which you decide on, know this, Anne Boleyn was beautiful, clever, forward-moving and loving, tainted by history to become the temptress she is remembered as. Consider the truth in Henry's charges against her carefully, for you will find no evidence for adultery, incest or treason - only a young girl with a personality few in the Tudor court could match.
"Remember me when you pray, that hope doth lead from day to day."
"The time will come, I, Anne Boleyn."
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