Today I’d like to indulge my love of the wives of Henry VIII by writing a little about Anne Boleyn. You might remember this post I wrote last year about Katherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife. Anne was Henry’s second wife, who he married in secret before his divorce to Katherine was finalized. There are many who believe that Henry’s marriage to Anne was illegal, and that their daughter, Elizabeth I was illegitimate. Regardless of whether this is true, what can certainly be said of this couple is that they had a fiery union, which forever changed the course of English history.

Image from English History.net.

When I wrote about Katherine of Aragon, I described her as a hero of mine. I must admit that I cannot think of Anne Boleyn in the same way. There were many things that Anne did during her short life that I simply don’t agree with. She had an affair with a married man (a king, no less), betrayed her queen, encouraged Henry to overthrow the Catholic church and create a new church with himself at the head and was incredibly cruel to Mary, Henry’s daughter from his first marriage. Her behaviour was not always admirable, and I disagree firmly with many of her choices. For these reasons, I cannot call Anne Boleyn a hero or role model in my eyes.

However, there are many very aspects of Anne’s personality and behaviour that I do admire. Anne’s determination and ambition were fierce. This was very unusual for a woman of her time. For the most part, Tudor women were expected to marry and have children, nothing more. They were not considered to be in charge of their own destiny, usually going straight from their father’s house to their husbands’ house and having very little independence. Anne was a woman who took her fate into her own hands and worked towards her own goals. Although her father and her uncle were both powerful men who played a large role in her ascent to queen, Anne achieved her goals greatly by her own efforts. She was cunning and clever, and used her sexuality and wit to capture King Henry’s heart.

Anne had watched her sister, Mary, have an ill-fated relationship with the king, and learned from her mistakes. Mary was quick to submit to Henry’s advances, and after a short affair he grew bored with her. Although Mary was very attractive, she was not clever enough to hold the king’s attention for very long. When Anne began to pursue Henry, she employed a tactic now known as ‘playing hard to get’. She made it clear to the king that she loved him, but refused to allow him to sleep with her. She flirted with him, but refused to allow him to see her alone. During this time, Henry was overwhelmed by Anne’s wit, beauty and intelligence, and longed to spend more time with her. However, she was very clear that she would not sleep with him until she was his wife. Henry’s desire for Anne drove him to find a way to divorce Katherine of Aragon, so that he could make Anne his wife. This involved the reformation of religion in England, and the creation of the Church of England.

Anne was very highly educated, which was unusual for a woman during this time. It was normal for a wealthy woman to learn courtly arts, such as singing, dancing and playing a musical instrument. Women also typically learned how to sew and do embroidery. In addition to all of these skills, Anne was able to read and write at a very high level. She was able to speak English, Latin and French and was regularly encouraged to take part in philosophical and theological debates. She was an uncommonly smart woman, which is part of the reason that Henry found her so appealing. There were many women at court whom he could have turned to if he wanted light entertainment, but Anne was his intellectual equal. He saw in her the opportunity for a wife who was a companion as well as a lover.

Ultimately, Anne’s ambition became her downfall. Once she and Henry had married, his desire for a son and heir took over his desire for Anne. Anne was a very fertile woman, and had no difficulty becoming pregnant. Their first child was a baby girl, named Elizabeth, who went on to become one of the longest reigning monarchs in English history. After this, Anne fell pregnant many times, but failed to produce another living child. She had many miscarriages and several stillbirths. All of her stillborn babies were boys, which upset Henry. Anne had risen as high as she could while she was able to manipulate her destiny. However, once the key to her success- a male heir- was no longer something that she could control, she began to falter. She fell into a depression and her fiery temper turned on her husband. The once- happy couple began to bicker and fight on a daily basis. Henry turned his affections to a number of mistresses, and finally settled on the pious Jane Seymour, who would become his next bride.

Anne met a tragic end, when she was executed for treason. She was accused of having sexual relations with a number of men at court, including George Boleyn, her own brother. Her trial and subsequent execution were engineered by Henry, when he began fall out of love with her and doubt her ability to give him an heir. She was beheaded in a public execution. Very soon after this, Henry announced his engagement to Jane Seymour.

Although Anne is not someone that I personally look up to, there can be little doubt that she had an enormous impact on English history. Her daughter is one of the best-loved monarchs of all time and The Church of England is still a thriving. Her determination and passion are admirable, although I don’t actually agree with the purpose for which she chose to employ them.

Do you have any questions for me about Anne Boleyn? Are there any historical figures that you admire?