Anne Boleyn

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Anne Boleyn (1507? – May 19, 1536) was the second queen consort of Henry VIII of England and mother of Elizabeth I of England. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk.

Anne came to the English court in 1522 after she had spent some time in France. Anne fell in love with Sir Henry Percy Heir to the Earl of Nothumberland and became allegedly engaged to be married to him. Wosley found out about the arrangement and ordered them to be seperated. Anne was banished to Hever and Sir Henry was forced to marry Lady Mary Talbot. Anne blamed Wosley for her lost love and was determinded to have her revenge on the one who had called her a "foolish girl".

She returned to court and Henry soon fell in love with Anne, but was unable to convince her to become his mistress. In 1527 Anne's refusal together with Henry's want of a male heir meant that he started to divorce his wife Katherine of Aragon. He used the pretext that because Katherine had been married to his older [and dead] brother that it was an invalid marrige and he was acting by his concious and he would like nothing more than to be proved wrong. He quoted a verse in Levitius which states that "a man may not marry his brother's wife and such a union would be without the blessing of God and fruitless" and used this as his case. It became referred to as the kings "Secret Matter" and a special court was held with Wosley leading it. An official from Rome was brought over and a trial was held. The official stated that he could not come to a conclusion and the case would have to be referred to Rome for the Pope to make a desicion. The Pope did not make a desicion. The matter was dragged out and Anne and King Henry were becoming increasingly impatient. King Henry was putting an ever increasing amount of pressure on Anne to succumb to his wishes and become his mistress.

Anne agreed to become Henry's mistress by 1532 and became pregnant. This meant Anne needed to be married quickly to Henry so that the baby could be a legitimate heir for the King. Anne was therefore married to Henry on January 25, 1533. Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon was finally annuled in the following May by Archbishop Cranmer.

It was a disappointment to Henry when Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. This and Anne's later miscarriage of a son caused Henry to fear that Anne could not give him a healthy male heir. She was then put on trial and found guilty of adultery and incest. She was accused and found guilty with 5 men, Sir Francis Weston, her musician Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, William Brereton, and her brother Viscount George Boleyn.

Anne was executed on May 19, 1536 in the Tower of London, London, England. She was buried in the Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower of London.