Anne Boleyn was queen consort of England, since she was married to Henry VIII. She was the first Marchioness of Pembroke, and she went down in history, after being executed in the Tower of London, for which she was her husband, with a trial of dubious guarantees. She also fathered Elizabeth I, one of the most important monarchs in the history of the United Kingdom.
Throughout this article, we will review his biography, we will talk about his curiosities, life, relationships and death.
Who was Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn, or Ann Boleyn, according to her English name, was born in Norfolk between 1501 and 1507, she was the second wife of Henry VIII. She is considered the most influential queen consort England has had in her history. She lived through a turbulent moment in the history of what is now the United Kingdom, since Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs (here you can see more information about the children of Isabella the Catholic), because she did not begot a male child. Failing to obtain permission from Pope Clement VII, she decided to create her own religion, Anglicanism, of which she was its supreme head. Ana Bolena, was the first woman that Henry VIII had, who married up to six times, after the English Reformation.
However, she was one of the two women of Henry VIII who was assassinated by the executioner in the Tower of London, the other was her cousin Catherine Howard, since the monarch accused her, with little foundation, of incest, adultery and treason. .
Life of Anne Boleyn
There is some controversy about the birth of Anne Boleyn, since there are several possible dates, although the most credible are 1501 and 1507, it has also been written about a possible birth in 1499 and 1512, so the beginnings of her life are a bit confused.
Anne was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, who was Earl of Wiltshire and Lady Elizabeth Boleyn (née Elizabeth Howard), so she grew up in a family with possible, aristocratic four generations. It is believed that she must have lived her early years between Blicking Hall in Norfolk, a mansion owned by the family, and Hever Castle in Kent.
It is said that she was not excessively beautiful for the time, they are described as thin and with too dark skin, although her dark eyes and long hair stood out. About her beauty, there are theories on both sides.
Anne Boleyn came to court in 1552 with a costume ball, when Catherine of Aragon was quite popular. By performing a rather complicated dance, she began to gain fame as the mirror of fashion, of the time. Previously, she had been raised in France, forging her education there.
His sister Mary became the king’s mistress, and she initially resisted, which exacerbated Henry VIII’s interest in her. In 1528 the couple’s interest in getting married was already official. Ana Bolena tried to finish off Cardinal Wolsey, from whom she discovered a plot to send her into exile, and favor Catherine of Aragon. With Wolsey’s death, Anne Boleyn became the most powerful person at Court. And it was with Rome’s refusal to make her queen that she began to convince her husband to lead the new Anglican church.
In 1533, it was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, who decreed that Henry and Anne’s marriage was valid, since nothing depended on Rome.
On September 7 of that same year, their daughter Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth I, was born.
Ana as queen, had more than 250 servants and 60 ladies at her disposal
Anne Boleyn would end up falling from grace, accused of treason, and was assassinated on May 19, 1536, in the Tower of London. Everything began to go wrong with an abortion and the events were unleashed.
Anne Boleyn Relations
The only marriage that Anne Boleyn had was that of Henry VIII, whom she married at the age of 31, but it is possible that she had other types of relationships, although none of them is very clear and there is a lot of confusion about it.
In fact, his fall from grace is exacerbated by the arrest of a Flemish musician who worked for him, named Mark Smeaton, who was arrested and tortured. At first he denied any relationship with Anne Boleyn, although under torture he ended up confessing.
At that time, an aristocrat was also arrested, who was linked to Anne Boleyn, after Smeaton’s confessions. It was Sir Henry Norris, also a friend of the king, who could not be tortured because of his peerage. He denied his guilt and said that Anne Boleyn was also innocent. William Brereton was also accused, although it seems that there was no basis and everything was due to previous envy and hatred. The one who was finally arrested was Jorge Bolena, brother of Ana, and accused of incest and therefore, of having relations with the queen consort.
Death of Anne Boleyn
George Boleyn and the other defendants were executed on May 17. Ana Bolena, would die on May 19, 1536, and was executed privately, in the Green Tower, of the Tower of London.
Ana was beheaded, but not before asking Jesus to keep her soul and to keep the king. Her ladies removed her headdress and blindfolded her. The execution was swift, with a sword, in traditional French fashion.
Anne Boleyn was buried in the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London.
Curiosities of Anne Boleyn
The life of Anne Boleyn also holds many curiosities for us. For example, her family, although it was an aristocrat, had a great-grandfather, who was from the common people, specifically he was a hatter. There were also rumors that her mother had been a lover of the king, Henry VIII. Also, there were rumors, unconfirmed, that she had six fingers. and a mole on her neck, which protected a jewel, which was associated with the devil.