 |
| Posthumous portrait by unknown artist (1583) |
- King Henry VIII of England and Ireland (m. 1533 - 1536)
- With King Henry VIII of England and Ireland
- Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (1533 - 1603)
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1534 - 1534) *disputed*
- *Unnamed Prince/Princess* (1535 - 1535)
- *Unnamed Prince* (1536 - 1536)
Appearance:
Anne was described as having an exotic appearance. Her skin was of an olive complexion, and she had long black hair and dark brown eyes that also nearly appeared black. Her eyes were described and credited as one of her most beautiful features. She was also admired for her long neck.
She was of medium height, slender in build, and even described as flat chested, as well as possessing high cheek bones. There are also rumours that she had a sixth finger, but this is believed to be propaganda.
Character:
She was a very independent woman, and was witty, clever, and very outspoken, something which was not deemed to be attractive traits in a woman during the Tudor period. She was also known for her fiery temper, which also caused her to frequently clash with both her husband, and other courtiers.
Anne was also viewed as very ambitious and head-strong. This strong personality also led to her being quite stubborn and even vengeful to those she believed had wronged her. She treated her step-daughter very harshly after she refused to abandon her loyalty to her mother, the previous outcast queen.
However, she was also deeply invested in religion, becoming a follower of Protestantism, and turned on what she believed to be a corrupt Catholic church. She played a role in encouraging Henry VIII to break from Rome and establish the Church of England and Protestantism within England.
She promoted education, and was a lover of the arts and French culture, popularising the French hood fashion item.
Biography:
Anne was born sometime between 1501 and 1507 in Norfolk, England. She was born into the gentry class, and her father was Thomas Boleyn, and her mother was Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Earl of Norfolk. She was one of three siblings to survive into adulthood.
Not too much is known about her early life other than she spent the majority of her education in France and Belgium. At some point during her adolescence, Anne went on to become a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret of Austria, who, at that point in time, was the governor of the Netherlands. It was there she continued with her education, where she achieved great popularity and admiration.
By 1513, her father had become a powerful and influential diplomat within the English court, and was able to send her to become a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's sister, Princess Mary, who was about to marry the King of France. She then became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France, and it was here in the French court that Anne completed her education, and is likely where she also began learning of humanism and reformist ideologies. She also greatly admired and adopted French culture, to a point where people commented she more resembled a French woman than an English woman.
However, Anne was recalled to England sometime before 1520 to marry her cousin, James Butler, due to a dispute over titles and estates within Ireland. Henry VIII was even supportive of this plan. This marriage, however, would ultimately not take place. Anne's sister, Mary, had also been recalled to England due to her growing scandalous reputation within the French court, and she was married to a minor nobleman. Despite this, Henry VIII and Mary began having an affair, and she became one of his mistresses.
Meanwhile, Anne officially established herself within the English court, and became a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's wife and queen, Katherine of Aragon. Just like in the French court, Anne quickly became very popular, and many men began competing for her hand in marriage. She even entered into a secret betrothal with Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, and the two of them were likely lovers as well. However, the marriage was unable to gain support, and they were forced to split up. She may have also had a secret relationship with the court poet, Thomas Wyatt.
It's not known exactly when Anne first caught Henry VIII's attention, but it was likely some time around 1525. It's also likely that it merely started out as a game between the two of them, with Henry eventually becoming smitten with her. The extent to which Anne returned these feelings is not known. Regardless, Anne refused to be seduced by him, and this only spurred Henry on more. She refused to sleep with him unless they were married, which resulted in Henry proposing to her.
Henry and his wife Katherine had been unable to produce any living male heirs, which was of great concern to Henry; the Tudor dynasty was still relatively new and was at high risk of instability. Henry then began attempts to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon, and both of them assumed this would be a relatively quick and easy process, but this would end up being far from the case.
The Pope would be captured by Katherine of Aragon's nephew during the Sack of Rome in 1527, and the annulment would not be granted. The Pope even offered to allow Henry to possess two wives and to recognise the legitimacy of any children he would have with Anne, but both of them refused; Anne was determined to be his queen. Katherine was banished from court, and Anne began undertaking all roles typically associated with a queen, becoming heavily involved in English government. All the while, popular support remained with Katherine, and Anne was often merely seen and referred to as the King's 'concubine'. She would be heckled, and even sometimes attacked in public.
During this period in 1528, there was another outbreak of Sweating Sickness in England, and Anne contracted the disease. However, she was able to recover, despite the high mortality rate.
It's possible that Anne played a large role in introducing reformist and Protestant ideology to Henry VIII. Though Henry always remained a devout Catholic, he was very attracted to the idea that the monarch was the authority of God in their own realms. This would mean that Henry did not need papal permission for certain issues, including the annulment of his marriage. By 1532, Henry completely broke from Rome and had established the Church of England with himself as its head. A reformer and friend of the Boleyn family, Thomas Cranmar, was then appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
Anne was officially granted the noble title of Marquess of Pembroke in order to prepare for her role as queen and grant her higher status before their marriage. This marriage would take place in secret later in 1532, before Henry's marriage annulment had even been granted. It's possible that Anne may have already been pregnant by this point. Finally, in 1533, Henry VIII's marriage to Katherine was annulled, while his marriage to Anne was declared valid. Anne was now officially the Queen Consort of England.
Anne would go on to help instigate the Protestant reformation within the kingdom. With her child predicted to be a boy, her position appeared secure. However, later in 1533, she would instead give birth to a girl, Elizabeth. Though disappointed, the birth was also reassuring to her parents as it meant that they could produce healthy children, and they were confident that their next child would be the son and heir that they so desperately wanted. Anne would often visit her daughter, though was not as kind to her step-daughter, Mary. She treated Mary with contempt and was extremely paranoid that the now illegitimate Mary posed a threat to her daughter's position in the line of succession. Mary was even forced to serve her new younger half-sister, having been completely stripped of her previous royal titles.
But through the rest of 1533 and 1534, both Anne and her husband would go on to have a tumultuous relationship. They frequently clashed and argued, and Anne's popularity decreased even more, even within her family due to her insulting attitude and behaviour towards them. Many of her enemies would also be executed. Anne also suffered two miscarriages within this time period, and may have also experienced a phantom pregnancy due to her desperation to produce a son. One moment Anne and Henry would be very loving with each other, and the next, they would be having explosive arguments. Her personality traits that had endeared her to Henry as a mistress were now viewed as unsuitable for a wife.
In 1536, Katherine of Aragon died, and it was even rumoured that Anne and Henry had poisoned her, though this was likely not the case. It's possible that Anne also celebrated the death of her previous rival by wearing yellow, but interpretations of this are not certain, since yellow is also the Spanish colour of mourning. Katherine's death also placed Anne in a more precarious position, as her husband would now be able to more easily discard her without the fear of being forced back to his previous wife.
Henry continued to take mistresses, and began courting one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting, Lady Jane Seymour. Jane appears to have adopted many of the same tactics that Anne herself had once used, and refused to sleep with Henry unless she was his wife. All the while, Anne was experiencing her final pregnancy, which would also end in a miscarriage after receiving news that Henry had suffered a jousting accident. The baby had been a boy, and many people at court noted that they knew this would cause Anne to further fall from favour.
Unfortunately for Anne, Henry, along with Anne's many enemies had begun plotting against her. Henry claimed that Anne had seduced him using witchcraft. He clearly began favouring the Seymour family over the Boleyns as well. Anne also technically committed an act of treason during an argument with a male courtier, Henry Norris, as she stated that she believed Norris hoped to marry her after the death of her husband, the King. In this period of history, to even imagine the death of the monarch was considered an act of treason; by Anne mentioning the possible death of Henry, she had broken the law.
Malicious rumours also spread that Anne had been having numerous affairs, and an investigation was launched. Various male courtiers were arrested, including Norris, as well as Anne's musician, Mark Smeaton, and her previous potential lover, Thomas Wyatt. Her brother, George Boleyn, was also arrested under charges of committing incest with Anne. Smeaton confessed under torture, and Anne's name was officially blacked beyond repair - which was likely on purpose.
Anne was officially arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. During her imprisonment, she would often be confused and even hysterical at times. She was charged with high treason, adultery, and incest, and was found guilty in a trial that was likely rigged against her. Some of the members of the jury were members of her own family, such as her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk. Her marriage to Henry was declared null and void, and their daughter, Elizabeth, was also stripped of her royal titles and declared illegitimate. Anne and the other men who were also found guilty were condemned to death. She was originally going to be executed by burning, but Henry seems to have shown a slight hint of mercy at the last moment, and converted her execution to decapitation by sword instead - a much quicker death. A specialist swordsman was called from France to carry out her execution.
While awaiting her death, Anne was reported to have joked about her execution, laughing about how small her neck was, and clasping her hands around her throat while pretending to choke. Other than these incidents, she remained brave and maintained her innocence. Those in attendance of her execution noted that Anne appeared to have accepted her fate and was happy to die. She gave a speech, as was custom, and requested prayers for both herself and the king.
She was then beheaded by a single blow of the sword.
Rule:
For the most part, Anne remained unpopular throughout her reign. Many people in England, and all over Europe, viewed her as a home-wrecker, and she was often simply referred to as 'the King's whore.' People greatly favoured her more popular predecessor, Katherine of Aragon.
She was also viewed as the reason for England's break with Rome, which was celebrated by Protestant groups, but deeply angered a large amount of the population who remained Catholic. She promoted the conversion of monasteries into houses of education.
She became a patron of the arts, and promoted French fashion and culture within the English court, also improving political ties with the Kingdom of France.
Anne was unsuccessful at producing a male heir, which is what ultimately led to her downfall.
- One of her pregnancies may have been a 'phantom pregnancy' as a result of her desperate desire to provide King Henry VIII with a son.
- She was the first royal consort of England to be executed for treason.
No comments:
Post a Comment