Date of Birth: 1501/1507
Died: May 19, 1536 Reigned: 1533-1536 Parents: Thomas Boleyn (1477-1539)& Lady Elizabeth Howard (1480-1538) Spouse: Henry VIII Religion: Roman Catholic (1501/1507-1533) Anglican (15330-1536) Children: Elizabeth I (1533-1603) & Edward (1537-1553) Buried: Peterborough Cathedral Successor: Jane Seymour Anne was the second wife of Henry VIII and was a key political and religious figure in the English Reformation. Henry VIII created the Anglican church in order to get divorced from Catherine and marry Anne as she was pregnant with his child. If she was to have the child unwed and if it was a boy, he would be called a bastard and could not be king. However, the child was a girl, whom they named Elizabeth. After three more miscarriages, Henry started to court Jane Seymour. He wanted to get ride of Anne, so he accused her of treason and locked her in Tower of London. She was tried against a jury of peers, one of whom was her former betrothed, Henry Percy, and her uncle, Thomas Howard. She was sentenced to death for adultery, incest, and witchcraft, although the case against her was incredibly weak and historians today say that she was most likely innocent. It is even rumored that she accidentally stepped on her executioners toe, and even apologized as she was such a lady. After her death on May 19, 1536, Elizabeth I made sure her name was cleared and made her a saint through art and other propaganda. |
1500s |
Anne Boleyn |