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{{short description|Queen of England from 1533 to 1536}}
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{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| image        = AnneBoleynHever.jpg
| name         = Anne Boleyn
| title        = [[Marchioness of Pembroke]]
| caption      = Near contemporary posthumous portrait of Anne Boleyn at [[Hever Castle]], {{circa|1550}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Doubts raised over Anne Boleyn portraits |url=https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/news/doubts-raised-over-anne-boleyn-portraits/ |website=Hever Castle |date=24 February 2015 |access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Spender |first1=Anna |title=The many faces of Anne Boleyn |url=http://gio6v3sgme0lorck1bp74b12-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-many-faces-of-Anne-Boleyn-UPDATED.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://gio6v3sgme0lorck1bp74b12-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-many-faces-of-Anne-Boleyn-UPDATED.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |website=Hever Castle |access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref>
| succession   = [[Queen consort of England]]
| reign        = 28 May 1533 – 17 May 1536
| coronation   = 1 June 1533
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of Anne Boleyn|Coronation]]
| house        = [[Boleyn family|Boleyn]]
| house-type   = Family
| spouse       = [[Henry VIII of England]] (m. 1532/1533;{{efn|Henry and Anne married in secret in late 1532, which was followed by second wedding in January 1533.}} ann. 1536{{efn|Anne Boleyn's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled on 17 May 1536, two days before her execution.<ref name="Weir 1991">{{harvnb|Weir|1991}}</ref>}})
| issue        = [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth I of England]]
| father       = [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire]]
| mother       = [[Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire|Elizabeth Howard]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|1501 or 1507}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The Offspring of Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn|url= https://www.tudorsociety.com/the-offspring-of-thomas-and-elizabeth-boleyn-by-conor-byrne/ |website=The Tudor Society|date= 25 March 2015|access-date=22 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII|url=https://archive.org/stream/lettersandpaper02gairgoog/lettersandpaper02gairgoog_djvu.txt |website=Internet Archive|date=13 December 1862 |access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="Ives, p.3"/>
| birth_place  = [[Blickling Hall]], [[Norfolk]], England
| death_date   = {{Death date|1536|5|19|df=yes}} (aged 28-35)
| death_place  = [[Tower of London]], London, England
| death_cause  = [[Anne Boleyn#Downfall and execution: 1536|Execution]]
| burial_date  = 19 May 1536
| burial_place = [[Church of St Peter ad Vincula]], Tower of London, London
| signature    = Anne Boleyn Signature.svg
}}

'''Anne Boleyn''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʊ|l|ᵻ|n|,_|b|ʊ|ˈ|l|ɪ|n}};<ref>Pronunciations with stress on the second syllable were rare until recently and were not mentioned by reference works until the 1960s; see [https://books.google.com/books?id=YtojrMr0Ft4C&q=anne+boleyn+pronunciation&pg=PA63 ''The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations''] (2006) by Charles Harrington Elster</ref><ref>Jones, Daniel ''Everyman's English Pronouncing Dictionary'' 12th edition (1963)</ref><ref>{{cite book
|title=Longman pronunciation dictionary
|first=John C.
|last=Wells
|publisher=Longman
|location=Harlow, England
|year=1990
|isbn=0-582-05383-8
|page=83
}} entry "Boleyn"</ref>{{efn|Also signing herself as ''Anne Rochford'' while her father and brother were Viscount Rochford, respectively.<ref>M. A. E. Wood, Letters, ii. 74-75; ''[[Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII]]'', v. 12</ref>}} {{circa}} 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was [[List of English royal consorts|Queen of England]] from 1533 to 1536, as the [[Wives of Henry VIII|second wife]] of King [[Henry VIII]]. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading for treason, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the [[English Reformation]].

Anne was the daughter of [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire|Thomas Boleyn (later Earl of Wiltshire)]], and his wife, [[Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire|Elizabeth Howard]], and was educated in the [[Seventeen Provinces|Netherlands]] and [[Kingdom of France|France]]. Anne returned to England in early 1522, to marry her cousin [[James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond]]; the marriage plans were broken off, and instead, she secured a post at court as [[maid of honour]] to Henry VIII's wife, [[Catherine of Aragon]]. Early in 1523, Anne was secretly betrothed to [[Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland|Henry Percy]], son of [[Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland]], but the betrothal was broken off when the Earl refused to support it. [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] [[Thomas Wolsey]] refused the match in January 1524.

In February or March 1526, Henry VIII began his pursuit of Anne. She resisted his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, as her sister [[Mary Boleyn|Mary]] had previously been. Henry focused on annulling his marriage to Catherine, so he would be free to marry Anne. After Wolsey failed to obtain an annulment from [[Pope Clement VII]], it became clear the marriage would not be annulled by the [[Catholic Church]]. As a result, Henry and his advisers, such as [[Thomas Cromwell]], began breaking the Church's power in England and [[Dissolution of the monasteries|closing the monasteries]]. Henry and Anne formally married on 25 January 1533, after a secret wedding on 14 November 1532. On 23 May 1533, the newly appointed [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Thomas Cranmer]] declared Henry and Catherine's marriage null and void. Five days later, he declared Henry and Anne's marriage valid. Clement [[excommunicated]] Henry and Cranmer. As a result of the marriage and excommunications, the first break between the [[Church of England]] and the Catholic Church took place, and the King took control of the Church of England. Anne was crowned queen on 1{{nbsp}}June 1533. On 7{{nbsp}}September, she gave birth to the future Queen [[Elizabeth I]]. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter, but hoped a son would follow and professed to love Elizabeth. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and by March 1536, Henry was courting [[Jane Seymour]].

Henry had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. On 2{{nbsp}}May, she was arrested and sent to the [[Tower of London]], where she was tried before a jury, including Henry Percy, her former betrothed, and her uncle [[Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk]]. She was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later. Historians view the charges, which included adultery, incest with her brother [[George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford|George]], and plotting to kill the King, as unconvincing.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Gairdner |editor1-first=James |date=1887 |title=Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 10, January–June 1536 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol10/pp349-371 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |pages=349–371}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wriothesley |first=Charles |date=1875 |title=A Chronicle of England During the Reigns of the Tudors, From A.D. 1485 to 1559 |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/chronicleengland00wriouoft |publisher=Camden Society |pages=189–226}}</ref>

After her daughter, Elizabeth, became queen in 1558, Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the [[English Reformation]], particularly through the works of [[George Wyatt (writer)|George Wyatt]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=48–50}}.</ref> She has inspired, or been mentioned in, many [[Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn|cultural works]] and retained her hold on the popular imagination. She has been called "the most influential and important [[queen consort]] England has ever had",<ref name="Ives, p. xv">{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=xv}}.</ref> as she provided the occasion for Henry to declare the English Church's independence from [[Holy See|the Vatican]].

== Early years ==

Anne was the daughter of [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire|Thomas Boleyn]], later [[Earl of Wiltshire]] and [[Earl of Ormond (Ireland)|Earl of Ormond]], and his wife, [[Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire|Elizabeth Howard]], who was the eldest daughter of [[Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk|Thomas Howard]], then Earl of Surrey and future 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife [[Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey|Elizabeth Tilney]]. Anne's date of birth is unknown.

[[File:Attributed to Remigius van Leemput (d. 1675) - Portrait of a Woman - RCIN 402991 - Royal Collection.jpg |thumb|upright=0.85|Portrait of Anne's elder sister [[Mary Boleyn]], by [[Remigius van Leemput]], c. 1630–1670]]

The academic debate about Anne's birth date focuses on two key dates: {{circa|1501}} and {{circa|1507}}. [[Eric Ives]], a British historian and biographer, advocates 1501, while [[Retha Warnicke]], an American scholar who has also written a biography of Anne, prefers 1507. The key piece of surviving written evidence is a letter Anne wrote sometime in 1514.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=260–261}}</ref> She wrote it in French to her father, who was still living in [[Kingdom of England|England]] while Anne was completing her education at [[Mechelen]], in the [[Habsburg Netherlands]], now Belgium. Ives argues that the style of the letter and its mature handwriting prove that Anne must have been about 13 at the time of its composition, while Warnicke argues that the numerous misspellings and grammatical errors show that the letter was written by a child. In Ives's view, this would also be around the minimum age that a girl could be a maid of honour, as Anne was to the regent,<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=14–15}}</ref> [[Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy|Margaret of Austria]]. This is supported by claims of a chronicler from the late 16th century, who wrote that Anne was 20 when she returned from France.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=18–20}}.</ref> These findings are contested by Warnicke in several books and articles, and the evidence does not conclusively support either date.<ref>The date 1507 was accepted in Roman Catholic circles. The 16th-century author [[William Camden]] inscribed a date of birth of 1507 in the margin of his ''Miscellany''. The date was generally favoured until the late 19th century: in the 1880s, Paul Friedmann suggested a birth date of 1503. Art historian Hugh Paget, in 1981, was the first to place Anne Boleyn at the court of Margaret of Austria. See Eric Ives's biography ''The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn'' for the most extensive arguments favouring 1500/1501 and [[Retha Warnicke]]'s ''The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn'' for her proposal of 1507.</ref>

An independent contemporary source supports the 1507 date: [[William Camden]] wrote a history of the reign of Elizabeth I and was granted access to the private papers of [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|Lord Burghley]] and to the state archives. In that history, in the chapter dealing with Elizabeth's early life, he records that Anne was born in 1507.<ref>{{harvnb|Warnicke|1989|p=12}}.</ref>{{efn|Historian Amy Licence notes that surviving examples of Burghley's handwriting show that he would use a long lead-in stroke for the number "1", so that it could be mistaken for a "7".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Licence |first1=Amy |title=Anne Boleyn Adultery, Heresy, Desire |date=2017 |publisher=[[Amberley Publishing]]|location=Stroud, England |isbn=978-1445643533 |chapter=Anne's World 1501–6}}</ref>}}

As with Anne, it is uncertain when her two siblings were born, but the evidence indicates that her sister [[Mary Boleyn|Mary]] was older than Anne. Mary's children believed their mother was the elder sister,<ref>The argument that Mary might have been the younger sister is refuted by firm evidence from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that the surviving Boleyns knew Mary had been born before Anne, not after. See {{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=16–17}} and {{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=119}}.</ref> and her grandson claimed the Ormond title in 1596 on the basis that she was the elder daughter, which [[Elizabeth I]] accepted.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=16–17}}.</ref><ref name="Fraser119">{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=119}}.</ref> Anne's brother [[George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford|George]] was born around 1504,<ref>Warnicke, p. 9.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=15}}.</ref> and Thomas Boleyn, writing in the 1530s, stated that his children were born before the death of his father, [[William Boleyn]], in 1505.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=117}}</ref>
Anne's paternal ancestor, [[Geoffrey Boleyn]], had been a mercer and wool merchant before becoming [[Lord mayor|Lord Mayor]].<ref name="Ives, p.3">{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=3}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|pp=116–117}}.</ref> The Boleyn family originally came from [[Blickling]] in Norfolk, {{convert|15|mi}} north of [[Norwich]].<ref name="Ives, p.3"/> Anne's relatives included the [[Howard family|Howards]], one of the preeminent families in England; and Anne's ancestors included King [[Edward I of England]]. According to Eric Ives, she was certainly of more noble birth than [[Jane Seymour]] and [[Catherine Parr]], Henry VIII's other English wives.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=4}}. "She was better born than Henry VIII's three other English wives".</ref> The spelling of the Boleyn name was variable, as common at the time. Sometimes it was written as ''Bullen'', hence the bull's heads which formed part of her family arms.<ref name="Fraser115">{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=115}}.</ref>

At the court of [[Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy|Margaret of Austria]] in the Netherlands, Anne is listed as ''Boullan''.<ref name="Fraser119"/> From there she signed the letter to her father as ''Anna de Boullan''.<ref name="Ives, plate 14">{{harvnb|Ives|2004|loc=plate 14}}.</ref> She was also called "Anna Bolina"; this Latinised form is used in most portraits of her.<ref name="Ives, plate 14"/>

Anne's early education was typical for women of her class. In 1513, she was invited to join the schoolroom of Margaret of Austria and her four wards. Anne was sent to Austria by her father, where she served Archduchess Margaret and studied under a tutor. During her stay, Anne was called "bright and pleasant" for her age, and it was noted by many historians that her handwriting was more impressive than her French at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bernard |first=G.W. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npjv0 |title=Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions |date=2010 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-16245-5}}</ref> Her academic education was limited to arithmetic, her family genealogy, grammar, history, reading, spelling and writing. She also developed domestic skills such as dancing, embroidery, good manners, household management, music, needlework and singing. Anne learned to play games, such as cards, chess and dice. She was also taught archery, [[falconry]], horseback riding and hunting.<ref>Wilkinson, p. 12.</ref>

=== The Netherlands and France ===
[[File:Claude de France (1499-1524).png|thumb|upright=0.85|Drawing of [[Claude of France]] by [[Jean Clouet]], c. 1520. The wife of [[Francis I of France]], she was served by Anne as [[maid of honour]] for nearly seven years.]]
[[File:Court of Savoy, Mechlin.jpg|thumb|Interior [[Hof van Savoye|Court of Savoy]], [[Mechelen]]]]
Anne's father, Thomas, continued his diplomatic career under Henry VIII. In Europe, his charm won many admirers, including [[Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy|Margaret of Austria]], daughter of [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor]]. During this period, Margaret ruled the Netherlands on her nephew [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles]]'s behalf and was so impressed with Thomas Boleyn that she offered his daughter Anne a place in her household.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=259–260}}.</ref> Ordinarily, a girl had to be 12 years old to have such an honour, but Anne may have been younger, as Margaret affectionately called her {{lang|fr|la petite Boulin}} {{sic}}.<ref>Fraser and Ives argue that this appointment proves Anne was probably born in 1501; but Warnicke disagrees, partly on the evidence of Anne's being described as "petite" physically. See Warnicke, pp. 12–13.</ref> Anne made a good impression in the Netherlands with her manners and studiousness; Margaret reported that she was well spoken and pleasant for her young age,<ref>Warnicke, p. 12.</ref> and told Thomas that his daughter was "so presentable and so pleasant, considering her youthful age, that I am more beholden to you for sending her to me, than you to me".<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=147}}.</ref> Anne stayed at the [[Court of Savoy]] in [[Mechelen]] from spring 1513 until her father arranged for her to attend Henry VIII's sister [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary]], who was about to marry [[Louis XII of France]] in October 1514.

In France, Anne was a maid of honour to [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Queen Mary]], and then to Mary's 15-year-old stepdaughter [[Queen Claude]], with whom she stayed for nearly seven years.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=261–263}}.</ref><ref name="Fraser_a">{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=121}}.</ref> In the Queen's household, she completed her study of French and developed interests in art, fashion, [[illuminated manuscripts]], literature, music, poetry and [[religious philosophy]]. Ives asserts that she "owed her evangelicalism to France", studying "reformist books", and [[Jacques Lefevre]]'s translations into French of the bible and the [[Pauline epistles]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ives |first1=Eric |author-link=Eric Ives|title=A Frenchman at the court of Anne Boleyn |journal=History Today |date=August 1998 |volume=48 |issue=8 |pages=21 |url=}}</ref> She also acquired knowledge of French culture, dance, etiquette, literature, music and poetry; and gained experience in flirtation and [[courtly love]].<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=263}}.</ref> Though all knowledge of Anne's experiences in the French court is conjecture, even Ives suggests that she was likely to have made the acquaintance of King [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]'s sister, [[Marguerite de Navarre]], a patron of humanists and reformers. Marguerite de Navarre was also an author in her own right, and her works include elements of [[Christian mysticism]] and reform that verged on heresy, though she was protected by her status as the French king's beloved sister. She or her circle may have encouraged Anne's interest in religious reform, as well as in poetry and literature.<ref name="Fraser_a"/> Anne's education in France proved itself in later years, inspiring many new trends among the ladies and courtiers of England. It may have been instrumental in pressing their King toward England's break with the Papacy.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|1994}}</ref> [[William Forrest (poet)|William Forrest]], author of a contemporary poem about Catherine of Aragon, complimented Anne's "passing excellent" skill as a dancer. "Here", he wrote, "was [a] fresh young damsel, that could trip and go."<ref name="Fraser115"/>

== At the court of Henry VIII: 1522–1533 ==
Anne was recalled to marry her Irish cousin, [[James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond|James Butler]], who was living at the English court.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=122}}.</ref> The marriage was intended to settle a dispute over the title and estates of the [[Earl of Ormond (Ireland)|Earldom of Ormond]]. [[Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond]] died in 1515, leaving his daughters, [[Lady Margaret Butler|Margaret Boleyn]] and Anne St Leger, as co-heiresses. In [[Lordship of Ireland|Ireland]], the great-great-grandson of the third earl, Sir [[Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond|Piers Butler]], contested the will and claimed the earldom himself. He was already in possession of [[Kilkenny Castle]], the earls' ancestral seat. Sir Thomas Boleyn, being the son of the eldest daughter, believed the title properly belonged to him and protested to his brother-in-law, the [[Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk|Duke of Norfolk]], who spoke to the King about the matter. Henry, fearful the dispute could ignite civil war in Ireland, sought to resolve the matter by arranging an alliance between Piers's son James and Anne Boleyn. She would bring her Ormond inheritance as [[dowry]] and thus end the dispute. The plan ended in failure, perhaps because Sir Thomas hoped for a grander marriage for his daughter or because he himself coveted the titles. Whatever the reason, the marriage negotiations came to a complete halt.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|pp=121–124}}.</ref> James Butler later married [[Lady Joan Fitzgerald]], daughter and heiress of [[James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond]] and Amy O'Brien.

[[File:King Henry and Anne Boleyn Deer shooting in Windsor Forest.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.85|''King Henry and Anne Boleyn Deer shooting in [[Windsor Forest and Great Park|Windsor Forest]]'' by [[William Powell Frith]], 1903]]

[[Mary Boleyn]], Anne Boleyn's older sister, had been recalled from France in late 1519, ostensibly to end her affairs with the French king and his courtiers. She married [[William Carey (courtier)|William Carey]], a minor noble, in February 1520, at [[Greenwich]], with Henry VIII in attendance. Soon after, Mary became the English king's mistress. Historians dispute Henry VIII's paternity of one or both of Mary Boleyn's children born during this marriage. ''Henry VIII: The King and His Court'', by [[Alison Weir]], questions the paternity of [[Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon|Henry Carey]];<ref>{{harvnb|Weir|2001|p=216}}.</ref> Dr [[G. W. Bernard]] (''The King's Reformation'') and [[Joanna Denny]] (''Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen'') argue that Henry VIII was their father. Henry did not acknowledge either child, but he did recognise his illegitimate son [[Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset|Henry Fitzroy]], by [[Elizabeth Blount]], Lady Talboys.

As the daughter of courtier Thomas Boleyn, by New Year 1522 Anne had gained a position at the royal court, as lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=264}}.</ref> Her public début at a court event was at the ''Château Vert'' (Green Castle) pageant in honour of the [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] ambassadors on 4{{nbsp}}March 1522, playing "Perseverance" (one of the dancers in the spectacle, third in precedence behind Henry's sister [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary]], and [[Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter]]). All wore gowns of white satin embroidered with gold thread.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=265}}; {{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=37–39}}.</ref> She quickly established herself as one of the most stylish and accomplished women at the court, and soon a number of young men were competing for her.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=271}}; {{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=45}}.</ref>

{{Wives of Henry VIII}}

Warnicke writes that Anne was "the perfect woman courtier ... her carriage was graceful and her French clothes were pleasing and stylish; she danced with ease, had a pleasant singing voice, played the [[lute]] and several other musical instruments well, and spoke French fluently ... A remarkable, intelligent, quick-witted young noblewoman ... that first drew people into conversation with her and then amused and entertained them. In short, her energy and vitality made her the center of attention in any social gathering".<ref>{{harvnb|Warnicke|1989|p=59}}.</ref> Henry VIII's biographer [[J. J. Scarisbrick]] adds that Anne "revelled in" the attention she received from her admirers.<ref>{{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|p=349}}.</ref>

During this time, Anne was courted by [[Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland|Henry Percy]], son of the [[Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland|Earl of Northumberland]], and entered into a secret betrothal with him. [[Thomas Wolsey]]'s [[Gentleman Usher#History|gentleman usher]], [[George Cavendish (writer)|George Cavendish]], maintained the two had not been lovers.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|pp=126–127}}; {{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=67, 80}}.</ref> The romance was broken off when Percy's father refused to support their engagement. Wolsey refused the match for several conjectured reasons. According to Cavendish, Anne was sent from court to her family's countryside estates, but it is not known for how long.<ref>Richard S. Sylvester & Davis P. Harding, ''Two Early Tudor Lives'' (Yale, 1962), p. 36.</ref> Upon her return to court, she again entered the service of Catherine of Aragon.<ref>Richard S. Sylvester & Davis P. Harding, ''Two Early Tudor Lives'' (Yale, 1962), p. 37.</ref> Percy was married to [[Mary Percy, Countess of Northumberland|Lady Mary Talbot]],<ref name=":0">{{cite DNB|last=Archbold|pages=416–417|first=William Arthur Jobson|volume=44|wstitle=Percy, Henry Algernon (1502?-1537)}}</ref> to whom he had been betrothed since adolescence.

Before marrying Henry VIII, Anne had befriended Sir [[Thomas Wyatt (poet)|Thomas Wyatt]], one of the greatest poets of the [[Tudor period]]. In 1520, Wyatt married Elizabeth Cobham, who by many accounts was not a wife of his choosing.<ref>6E. K. Chambers, Sir Thomas Wyatt and Some Collected Studies (London, 1933), p. 138; Richard.</ref> In 1525, Wyatt charged his wife with adultery and separated from her; coincidentally, historians believe that it was also the year when his interest in Anne intensified. In 1532, Wyatt accompanied the royal couple to Calais.<ref>{{harvnb|Warnicke|1986|pp=565–579}}.</ref>

In 1526, Henry VIII became enamoured of Anne and began his pursuit.<ref>{{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|p=154}}.</ref> Anne was a skilful player at the game of courtly love, which was often played in the antechambers. This may have been how she caught the eye of Henry, who was also an experienced player.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Elizabeth I|last=Loades|first=David|publisher=Hambledon and London|year=2003|isbn=1-85285-304-2|location=London|page=6}}</ref> Anne resisted Henry's attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, and often left the court for the seclusion of Hever Castle. But within a year, he proposed marriage to her, and she accepted.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=278–283}}.</ref> Both assumed an annulment could be obtained within months. There is no evidence to suggest that they engaged in a sexual relationship until very shortly before their marriage; Henry's love letters to Anne suggest that their love affair remained unconsummated for much of their seven-year courtship.<ref>{{harvnb|Norton|2009|p=64}}.</ref>

=== Henry's annulment ===
It is probable that Henry had thought of the idea of annulment (not divorce as commonly assumed) much earlier than this as he strongly desired a male heir to secure the [[House of Tudor|Tudor]] claim to the crown.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=197}}</ref> Before [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] ascended the throne, England was beset by [[Wars of the Roses|civil warfare]] over rival claims to the crown, and Henry VIII wanted to avoid similar uncertainty over the succession. He and Catherine had no living sons: all Catherine's children except [[Mary I of England|Mary]] died in infancy.<ref>{{harvnb|Lacey|1972|p=70}}.</ref> Catherine had first come to England to be bride to Henry's brother [[Arthur, Prince of Wales]], who died soon after their marriage. Since Spain and [[Kingdom of England|England]] still wanted an alliance, [[Pope Julius II]] granted a [[Dispensation (Catholic canon law)|dispensation]] for their marriage on the grounds that Catherine was "perchance" ({{lang|la|forsum}}) still a virgin.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=86–87}}.</ref>

Catherine and Henry married in 1509, but eventually he became dubious about the marriage's validity, claiming that Catherine's inability to provide an heir was a sign of God's displeasure. His feelings for Anne, and her refusals to become his mistress, probably contributed to Henry's decision that no pope had a right to overrule the Bible. This meant that he had been living in sin with Catherine, although Catherine hotly contested this and refused to concede that her marriage to Arthur had been consummated.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=224}}.</ref> It also meant that his daughter Mary was a bastard, and that the new pope ([[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]]) would have to admit the previous pope's mistake and annul the marriage. Henry's quest for an annulment became euphemistically known as the "[[Catherine of Aragon#The King's great matter|King's Great Matter]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=133}}.</ref>

Anne saw an opportunity in Henry's infatuation and the convenient moral quandary. She determined that she would yield to his embraces only as his acknowledged queen. She began to take her place at his side in policy and in state, but not yet in his bed.<ref>{{harvnb|Graves|2003|p=132}}.</ref>

Scholars and historians hold various opinions as to how deep Anne's commitment to the Reformation was, how much she was perhaps only personally ambitious, and how much she had to do with Henry's defiance of papal power: Ives, [[Maria Dowling]] and [[David Starkey]] are among those who believe that she was a devout evangelical,<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|1985|pp=29–30}}: "a determined patroness of the 'new' in religion".</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ives|1994}}: "Anne embraced [the] reformist spirit for herself".</ref> whereas Warnicke and [[George W. Bernard|George Bernard]] hold that her religious beliefs were "conventional".<ref>{{harvnb| Warnicke |1989|pp=108–109}}</ref> Warnicke acknowledges that Anne promoted vernacular (French or English) editions of the bible, but remained, "deep seated[ly], a Catholic".<ref>{{harvnb| Warnicke |1989|p=154}}</ref> There is anecdotal evidence, related to biographer [[George Wyatt (writer)|George Wyatt]] by her former lady-in-waiting [[Anne Gainsford]],<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=145}}.</ref> that Anne brought to Henry's attention a heretical pamphlet, perhaps [[William Tyndale]]'s ''[[The Obedience of a Christian Man]]'' or one by [[Simon Fish]] called ''A Supplication for the Beggars'', which cried out to monarchs to rein in the evil excesses of the Catholic Church. She was sympathetic to those seeking further reformation of the Church, and actively protected scholars working on English translations of the scriptures.<ref>{{harvnb|Borman|2023|loc=Chapter 1 "Fettered with chains of gold"}}.</ref> According to [[Maria Dowling]], "Anne tried to educate her waiting-women in scriptural piety" and is believed to have reproved her cousin, [[Margaret and Mary Shelton|Mary Shelton]], for "having 'idle poesies' written in her prayer book."<ref>{{harvnb|Dowling|1986|p=232}}.</ref>

In 1528, [[sweating sickness]] broke out with great severity. In London, the mortality rate was great and the court was dispersed. Henry left London, frequently changing his residence; Anne Boleyn retreated to the Boleyn residence at Hever Castle, but contracted the illness; her brother-in-law, William Carey, died. Henry sent his own physician to Hever Castle to care for Anne,<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=331}}.</ref> and shortly afterwards she recovered.

Henry was soon absorbed in securing an annulment from Catherine.<ref>{{harvnb|Brigden|2000|p=114}}.</ref> He set his hopes upon a direct appeal to the [[Holy See]], acting independently of Wolsey, to whom he at first communicated nothing of his plans. In 1527 [[William Knight (bishop)|William Knight]], the King's secretary, was sent to [[Pope Clement VII]] to sue for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine, on the grounds that the dispensing [[papal bull|bull]] of Julius II permitting him to marry his brother's widow, Catherine, had been obtained under false pretences. Henry also petitioned, in the event of his becoming free, a dispensation to contract a new marriage with any woman even in the first degree of affinity, whether the affinity was contracted by lawful or unlawful connection. This referred to Anne.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=301}}.</ref>

[[File:Catalina de Aragón, palacio de Lambeth.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|16th-century portrait of [[Catherine of Aragon]], Henry's first wife, by an unidentified English painter]]

As Clement was at that time a prisoner of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], the [[Holy Roman Emperor]], as a result of the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|Sack of Rome]] in May 1527, Knight had some difficulty obtaining access. In the end he had to return with a conditional dispensation, which Wolsey insisted was technically insufficient.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=308–312}}.</ref> Henry then had no choice but to put his great matter into Wolsey's hands, who did all he could to secure a decision in Henry's favour,<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=314, 329}}.</ref> even going so far as to convene an [[ecclesiastical court]] in England, with a special emissary, [[Lorenzo Campeggio]], from Clement to decide the matter. But Clement had not empowered his deputy to make a decision. He was still Charles{{nbsp}}V's hostage, and Charles{{nbsp}}V was loyal to his aunt Catherine.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|1998|p=166}}.</ref> The Pope forbade Henry to contract a new marriage until a decision was reached in Rome, not in England. Convinced that Wolsey's loyalties lay with the Pope, not England, Anne, as well as Wolsey's many enemies, ensured his dismissal from public office in 1529. Cavendish, Wolsey's chamberlain, records that the servants who waited on the King and Anne at dinner in 1529 in Grafton heard her say that the dishonour Wolsey had brought upon the realm would have cost any other Englishman his head. Henry replied, "Why then I perceive ... you are not the Cardinal's friend.".<ref>{{harvnb|Cavendish|1641|p=242}}</ref> Henry finally agreed to Wolsey's arrest on grounds of ''[[praemunire]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=430–433}}.</ref> Had it not been for his death from illness in 1530, Wolsey might have been executed for treason.<ref>{{harvnb|Haigh|1993|pp=88–95}}.</ref> In 1531 (two years before Henry's marriage to Anne), Catherine was banished from court and her rooms given to Anne.

Public support remained with Catherine. One evening, in the autumn of 1531, Anne was dining at a manor house on the [[River Thames]] and was almost seized by a crowd of angry women. Anne just managed to escape by boat.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=171}}.</ref>

When [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[William Warham]] died in 1532, the Boleyn family chaplain, [[Thomas Cranmer]], was appointed, with papal approval.<ref>{{harvnb|Graves|2003|pp=21–22}}; {{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=467–473}}.</ref>

In 1532, [[Thomas Cromwell]] brought before [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] a number of acts, including the [[Supplication against the Ordinaries]] and [[Submission of the Clergy]], which recognised [[Acts of Supremacy|royal supremacy]] over the church, thus finalising the break with Rome. Following these acts, [[Thomas More]] resigned as [[Lord Chancellor]], leaving Cromwell as Henry's chief minister.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=136}}.</ref>

=== Premarital role and marriage ===
Even before her marriage, Anne Boleyn was able to grant petitions, receive diplomats and give patronage, and had an influence over Henry to plead the cause of foreign diplomats.{{sfn|Ives|2004|pp=107–108, 144}}

[[File:Silver Falcon Badge.svg|thumb|right|200px|Anne's personal badge prior to becoming queen]]During this period, Anne played an important role in England's international position by solidifying an alliance with France. She established an excellent rapport with the French ambassador, [[Gilles de la Pommeraie]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=54}}.</ref> On 1{{nbsp}}September 1532, Henry granted Anne the [[Marquess of Pembroke|Marquessate of Pembroke]], an appropriate [[peerage]] for a future queen.<ref>Sylvia Barbara Soberton, "Marquis or Marchioness? Analysing BL, Harley MS 303 and Other Previously Unpublished Sources about Anne Boleyn's Elevation to the Marquisate of Pembroke", ''The Court Historian'', 29:3 (November 2024), pp. 219–228. {{doi|10.1080/14629712.2024.2419791}}</ref> Anne was a former lady-in-waiting at the French court, and the new title was a necessary mark of her new status before she and Henry attended a meeting with the French king [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] at Calais in winter 1532. Henry hoped to enlist Francis's public support for the intended marriage.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=158}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=459|ps= —The Pembroke lands and the title of [[Earl of Pembroke]] had been held by Henry's great-uncle.}}</ref> Henry performed the investiture himself, with de la Pommeraie as guest of honour.<ref>{{harvnb|Wooding|2009|p=167}}.</ref>

Henry lost fifteen shillings playing cards with Anne on 11 November.<ref>John Gough Nichols, ''Chronicle of Calais'' (London: Camden Society, 1846), p. 67.</ref> The conference at Calais was a political triumph, but even though the French government gave implicit support for Henry's remarriage and Francis I had a private conference with Anne, the French king maintained alliances with the Pope that he could not explicitly defy.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=123}}.</ref>

[[File:Hans Holbein, the Younger, Around 1497-1543 - Portrait of Henry VIII of England - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.85|''Portrait of Henry VIII'' by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], c. 1537]]

Anne's family also profited from the relationship. Her father, already Viscount Rochford, was created [[Earl of Wiltshire]]. Henry also came to an arrangement with Anne's Irish cousin and created him [[Earl of Ormond (Ireland)|Earl of Ormond]]. At the magnificent banquet to celebrate her father's elevation, Anne took precedence over the [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Duchesses of Suffolk]] and [[Elizabeth Howard, Duchess of Norfolk|Norfolk]], seated in the place of honour beside the King that was usually occupied by the Queen.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=366}}.</ref> Thanks to Anne's intervention, her widowed sister Mary received an annual pension of £100 (although later, when Mary remarried, Anne was to countermand this) and Mary's son, [[Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon|Henry Carey]], was educated at the prestigious [[Bridgettines|Brigettine]] nunnery of [[Syon Abbey]]. Anne arranged for [[Nicholas Bourbon (the elder)|Nicholas Bourbon]], exiled from France for his support for religious reform, to be Henry's tutor there.<ref>{{harvnb|Weir|2011|pp=218, 226}}</ref>

Soon after returning to [[Dover]], Henry and Anne married in a secret ceremony on 14 November 1532.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=462–464}}.</ref> She soon became pregnant and as the first wedding was considered to be unlawful at the time, a second wedding service, also private in accordance with the precedents established in ''[[Liber Regalis|The Royal Book]]'',<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=463}}.</ref> took place in London on 25 January 1533. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer (who had been hastened, with the Pope's assent, into the position of Archbishop of Canterbury recently vacated by the death of [[William Warham|Warham]]) sat in judgement at a special court convened at [[Dunstable Priory]] to rule on the validity of Henry's marriage to Catherine. He declared it null and void. Five days later, on 28 May 1533, Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry and Anne good and valid.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=124}}.</ref>
{{Family tree of the Wives of Henry VIII}}

== Queen of England: 1533–1536 ==
[[File:Coat of Arms of Anne Boleyn.svg|thumb|upright=0.75|Anne Boleyn's coat of arms as queen consort<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boutell|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Boutell|title=A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular|year=1863|publisher=Winsor & Newton|location=London|pages=242–243|url=https://archive.org/stream/amanualheraldry00boutgoog#page/n346/mode/2up|access-date=10 February 2016}}</ref>]]
[[File:John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|''Bishop [[John Fisher]]'', by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]. Fisher refused to recognise Henry's marriage to Anne.]]

Catherine was formally stripped of her title as queen and Anne was consequently [[Coronation of Anne Boleyn|crowned]] [[queen consort]] on 1{{nbsp}}June 1533 in a magnificent ceremony at [[Westminster Abbey]] with a banquet afterwards.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=195}}.</ref> She was the last queen consort of England to be crowned separately from her husband.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Roy |author1-link=Roy Strong |title=Coronation: a history of kingship and the British monarchy |date=2005 |publisher=HarperCollinsPublishers |location=London |isbn=978-0-00-716054-9 |page=xxix}}</ref> Unlike any other queen consort, Anne was crowned with [[St Edward's Crown]], which had previously been used to crown only monarchs.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=179}}.</ref> Historian Alice Hunt suggests that this was done because Anne's pregnancy was visible by then and the child was presumed to be male.<ref name=Hunt>Alice Hunt, ''The Drama of Coronation: Medieval Ceremony in Early Modern England'', Cambridge University Press, 2008.</ref> On the previous day, Anne had taken part in an [[Royal entry|elaborate procession]] through the streets of London seated in a [[litter (vehicle)|litter]] of "white cloth of gold" that rested on two [[palfrey]]s clothed to the ground in white damask, while the barons of the [[Cinque Ports]] held a canopy of cloth of gold over her head. In accordance with tradition, she wore white, and on her head, a gold coronet beneath which her long dark hair hung down freely.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=177}}; {{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=489–500}}.</ref> The public's response to her appearance was lukewarm.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|pp=191–194}}.</ref>

Meanwhile, the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]] had forbidden all appeals to Rome and exacted the penalties of ''[[praemunire]]'' against all who introduced papal bulls into England, by introducing the [[Ecclesiastical Appeals Act 1532]] ([[24 Hen. 8]] c. 12).<ref>1533: [[24 Hen. 8]] c. 12: ''An Act that the appeals in such cases as have been used to be pursued to the see of Rome shall not be from henceforth had nor used but within this realm''.</ref> It was only then that Pope Clement, at last, took the step of announcing a provisional [[excommunication]] of Henry and Cranmer. He condemned the marriage to Anne, and in March 1534 declared the marriage to Catherine legal and again ordered Henry to return to her.<ref>{{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|pp=414–418}}; {{harvnb|Haigh|1993|pp=117–118}}.</ref> Henry now required his subjects to swear an [[Act Respecting the Oath to the Succession|oath]] attached to the [[First Succession Act]], which effectively rejected papal authority in legal matters and recognised Anne Boleyn as queen. Those who refused, such as Sir [[Thomas More]], who had resigned as [[Lord Chancellor]], and [[John Fisher]], Bishop of Rochester, were placed in the Tower of London. In late 1534 parliament declared Henry "the only supreme head on earth of the [[Church of England]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Haigh|1993|pp=118–120}}.</ref> The Church in England was now under Henry's control, not Rome's. On 14 May 1534, in one of the realm's first official acts protecting [[Protestant Reformers]], Anne wrote a letter to [[Thomas Cromwell]] seeking his aid in ensuring that English merchant Richard Herman be reinstated a member of the [[Merchant Adventurers of London|merchant adventurers]] in [[Antwerp]] and no longer persecuted simply because he had helped in "setting forth of the New testament in English".<ref>Robert Demaus. William Tyndale, a Biography. Religious Tract Society. London. 1904 p. 456.</ref> Before and after her coronation, Anne protected and promoted [[Protestantism#Evangelical|evangelicals]] and those wishing to study the scriptures of [[William Tyndale]].<ref>Brian Moynahan. William Tyndale. Abacus, London 2002 p. 293.</ref> She had a decisive role in influencing the Protestant reformer [[Matthew Parker]] to attend court as her chaplain, and before her death entrusted her daughter to Parker's care.<ref>Brian Moynahan. William Tyndale. Abacus, London 2002 pp. 294–295.</ref>

=== Struggle for a son ===
After her coronation, Anne settled into a quiet routine at the King's favourite residence, [[Greenwich Palace]], to prepare for the birth of her baby. Anne's first attempt to produce an heir was seemingly described by historians as "a shapeless mass of flesh". This caused Anne's detractors, such as imperial ambassador [[Eustace Chapuys]], to accuse her of witchcraft. These accusations were quickly discounted due to lack of evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bernard |first=G. W. |date=1991 |title=The Fall of Anne Boleyn |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/573258 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=106 |issue=420 |pages=584–610 |issn=0013-8266}}</ref> The actual child was a girl, born slightly prematurely on 7{{nbsp}}September 1533.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=170}}</ref> She was christened Elizabeth, probably in honour of either Anne's mother [[Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire|Elizabeth Howard]] or Henry's mother [[Elizabeth of York]], or both.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|pp=128–131}}.</ref> The birth of a girl was a heavy blow to her parents, who had confidently expected a boy. All but one of the royal physicians and astrologers had predicted a son and the French king had been asked to stand as his godfather. Now the prepared letters announcing the birth of a ''prince'' had an ''s'' hastily added to them to read ''princes[s]'' and the traditional jousting tournament for the birth of an heir was cancelled.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=508}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol6/pp449-466 |title=1112. Letter from Chapuys to Emperor Charles V, dated 10 Sept. 1533 |series='''Henry VIII: September 1533, 1–10''': pp. 449–466 in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 6, 1533, (HMSO, London, 1882). |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526055127/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol6/pp449-466 |archive-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |quote=[On] Sunday last, the eve of Our Lady (7 Sept.), about 3 p.m., the king's mistress (''amie'') was delivered of a daughter, to the great regret both of him and the lady, and to the great reproach of the physicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and sorceresses, who affirmed that it would be a male child. |website=[[British History Online]]}}</ref>
[[File:The Palace of Placentia.jpg|thumb|left|Greenwich Palace, also known as the [[Palace of Placentia]], after a 17th-century drawing]]

The infant princess was given a splendid christening, but Anne feared that Catherine's daughter [[Mary I of England|Mary]], now stripped of her title of princess and labelled a [[Bastard (law of England and Wales)|bastard]], posed a threat to Elizabeth's position. Henry soothed his wife's fears by separating Mary from her many servants and sending her to live at [[Hatfield House]], where Elizabeth would also reside with her own sizeable staff of servants as the country air was thought better for the baby's health.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=512}}.</ref> Anne frequently visited her daughter at Hatfield and other residences.<ref>{{harvnb|Somerset|1997|pp=5–6}}.</ref>

The new queen had a larger staff of servants than Catherine. There were more than 250 servants to tend to her personal needs, from priests to stable boys, and more than 60 maids-of-honour who served her and accompanied her to social events.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} She also employed several priests to act as her [[Confession (religion)|confessors]], chaplains and religious advisers. One of these was [[Matthew Parker]], who became one of the chief architects of [[Anglican]] thought during the reign of Anne's daughter, [[Elizabeth I]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/actions/page.do?forward=about_parker |title=About Matthew Parker & The Parker Library |website=ParkerWeb.Stanford.edu |access-date=27 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910000309/https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/actions/page.do?forward=about_parker |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Strife with the king ===
[[File:Henry's reconciliation with Anne Boleyn cph.3g08965.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Henry's reconciliation with Anne Boleyn, by [[George Cruikshank]], 19th century]]

The King and his new queen enjoyed a reasonably happy accord with periods of calm and affection. Anne's sharp intelligence, political acumen and forward manner, although desirable in a mistress, were at the time unacceptable in a wife. She was once reported to have spoken to her uncle in words that "shouldn't be used to a dog".<ref name="Fraser">{{harvnb|Fraser|1992}}</ref> After miscarriage or stillbirth in summer 1534,<ref>{{harvnb|Porter|2007|p=104}}</ref> Henry was discussing with Cranmer and Cromwell the possibility of divorcing her without having to return to Catherine.<ref name=will138>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=138}}.</ref> Nothing came of the matter as the royal couple reconciled and spent the summer of 1535 on [[Tudor Royal Progresses|progress]], [[Royal Entry|visiting]] [[Gloucester]] and hunting in the local countryside.<ref>''Historical Manuscripts Commission, 12th Report, Appendix 9: Gloucester'' (London, 1891), p. 444.</ref> By October, she was again pregnant.

Anne presided over a court within the royal household. She spent lavish amounts of money on gowns, jewels, head-dresses, ostrich-feather fans, riding equipment, furniture and upholstery, maintaining the ostentatious display required by her status. Numerous palaces were renovated to suit the extravagant tastes she and Henry shared.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=231–260}}.</ref> Her motto was "The most happy", and she chose a white falcon as her [[Heraldic badge|personal device]].

Anne was blamed for Henry's tyranny and called by some of her subjects "the king's whore" or a "naughty paike [prostitute]".<ref>Farquhar, Michael (2001). ''A Treasure of Royal Scandals'', p. 67. Penguin Books, New York. {{ISBN|0-7394-2025-9}}.</ref> Public opinion turned further against her after the marriage produced no male heir. It sank even lower after the executions of her enemies [[Thomas More|More]] and [[John Fisher|Fisher]].<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|pp=137–138}}.</ref>

== Downfall and execution: 1536 ==
[[File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Jane Seymour, Queen of England - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Shortly after Anne's execution, [[Jane Seymour]] became Henry's third wife.]]

On 8 January 1536, news of Catherine of Aragon's death reached Anne and the King, who was overjoyed. The following day, Henry wore yellow, a symbol of joy and celebration in England but of mourning in Spain, from head to toe, and celebrated Catherine's death with festivities.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=549–551}}; {{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|p=436}}.</ref><ref>Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.</ref> With Catherine dead, Anne attempted to make peace with Mary.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=551}}.</ref> Mary rebuffed Anne's overtures, perhaps because of rumours circulating that Catherine had been poisoned by Anne or Henry.<ref>{{harvnb|Bordo|2014|pp=14–15}}</ref> These began after the discovery during her [[embalming]] that Catherine's heart was blackened. Modern medical experts are in agreement that this was not the result of poisoning, but from [[heart cancer]], the cause of her death and an extremely rare condition that was not understood at the time.<ref name="Fraser"/>

Queen Anne, pregnant again, was aware of the dangers if she failed to give birth to a son. With Catherine dead, Henry would be free to marry without any taint of illegality. At this time, Henry began paying court to one of Anne's maids-of-honour, [[Jane Seymour]], and allegedly gave her a locket containing a [[portrait miniature]] of himself. While wearing this locket in the presence of Anne, Jane began opening and closing it. Anne responded by ripping the locket off Jane's neck with such force that her fingers bled.<ref name="Weir 1991">{{harvnb|Weir|1991}}</ref>

Later that month, the King was unhorsed in a tournament and knocked unconscious for two hours, a worrying incident that Anne believed led to her miscarriage five days later.<ref>{{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|p=452}}.</ref> Another possible cause of the miscarriage was an incident in which, upon entering a room, Anne saw Jane Seymour sitting on Henry's lap and flew into a rage.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=300}}</ref> Whatever the cause, on the day that Catherine of Aragon was buried at [[Peterborough Abbey]], Anne miscarried a baby which, according to the Imperial ambassador [[Eustace Chapuys]], she had borne for about three and a half months, and which "seemed to be a male child".<ref>{{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|pp=452–453}}; {{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=552–553}}.</ref><ref name=cjd/> Chapuys commented "She has miscarried of her saviour."<ref>{{harvnb|Weir|1991}}.</ref> In Chapuys's opinion, this loss was the beginning of the end of the royal marriage.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=553–554}}.</ref>

Given Henry's desperate desire for a son, the sequence of Anne's pregnancies has attracted much interest. Mike Ashley speculated that Anne had two stillborn children after Elizabeth's birth and before the male child she miscarried in 1536.<ref>{{harvnb|Ashley|2002|p=240}}.</ref> Gynaecologist [[Christopher John Dewhurst|John Dewhurst]] studied the sequence of the birth of Elizabeth in September 1533 and the series of reported miscarriages that followed, including the miscarriage of a male child of almost four months' gestation in January 1536, and postulates that, instead of a series of miscarriages, Anne was experiencing [[pseudocyesis]], a condition "occur[ing] in women desperate to prove their fertility".<ref name=cjd>{{cite journal |last1=Dewhurst |first1=John |author-link1=Christopher John Dewhurst|title=The alleged miscarriages of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn |journal=Medical History |date=January 1984 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=49–56 |doi=10.1017/S0025727300035316|pmid=6387336 |pmc=1139382 }}</ref>

As Anne recovered from her miscarriage, Henry declared that he had been seduced into the marriage by means of "[[wikt:sortilege|sortileges]]" – a French term indicating either "deception" or "spells".<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=233}}</ref> His new favourite Jane Seymour was quickly moved into royal quarters at Greenwich; Jane's brother [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset|Edward]] and his wife, for the sake of propriety, moved with her.<ref name="Fraser 1992 241">{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=241}}</ref>{{efn|The rooms had previously been occupied by the King's secretary, Thomas Cromwell, and were connected to those of the King by hidden passageways.<ref name="Fraser 1992 241">{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=241}}</ref>}} This was followed by Anne's brother George Boleyn's being refused the prestigious honour of the [[Order of the Garter]], given instead to Sir [[Nicholas Carew (courtier)|Nicholas Carew]].<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=142}}.</ref>

=== Charges of adultery, incest and treason ===
[[File:Cromwell,Thomas(1EEssex)01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Thomas Cromwell]], Anne's one-time strong ally, with whom she clashed over foreign policy and the redistribution of church wealth. [[Portrait of Thomas Cromwell|Portrait]] by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], c. 1532.]]

Anne's biographer [[Eric Ives]] believes that her fall and execution were primarily engineered by her former ally Thomas Cromwell.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=318–319}}. See also {{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=559–569}}, and {{harvnb|Elton|1977|pp=252–253}}, who share this view.</ref> The conversations between Chapuys and Cromwell indicate Cromwell as the instigator of the plot to remove Anne; evidence of this is seen through letters written from Chapuys to Charles{{nbsp}}V.<ref>{{harvnb|Bordo|2014|p=83}}</ref> Anne argued with Cromwell over the redistribution of Church revenues and over foreign policy. She advocated that revenues be distributed to charitable and educational institutions; and she favoured a French alliance. Cromwell preferred an alliance with the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and insisted on filling the King's depleted coffers. For these reasons, Ives suggests, "Anne Boleyn had become a major threat to Thomas Cromwell."<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=315}}</ref> Cromwell's biographer John Schofield, on the other hand, contends that no power struggle existed between Anne and Cromwell and that "not a trace can be found of a Cromwellian conspiracy against Anne&nbsp;... Cromwell became involved in the royal marital drama only when Henry ordered him onto the case." Schofield claims that evidence for the power struggle between Anne and Cromwell comprises no more than "fly-by-night stories from Alesius and the ''[[Spanish Chronicle]]'',{{efn|The ''Spanish Chronicle'' was an unreliable contemporary account based on "hearsay and rumour" by an unknown author. One passage describes how the musician [[Mark Smeaton]] was supposedly hidden, naked, in Anne's confectionery cupboard and smuggled into her bedroom by a waiting-woman. One Thomas Percy, another member of Anne's household, became jealous and reported the affair to Cromwell.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=329}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Weir|2010|p=436}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |translator-last1= Hume|translator-first1= Martin|translator-link1=Martin Hume|orig-date=1556 |year= 1889|publisher=George Bell|place=London|title=Crónica del rey Enrico Octavo de Ingalaterra |trans-title=Chronicle of King Henry VIII of England |language= Spanish|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V2YNAAAAIAAJ&q=Spanish+Chronicle+hume}}</ref>}} words of Chapuys taken out of context, and an untrustworthy translation of the ''Calendar of State Papers''."<ref>{{harvnb|Schofield|2008|pp=106–108}}</ref> Cromwell did not manufacture the accusations of adultery, though he and other officials used them to bolster Henry's case against Anne.<ref>Warnicke, pp. 212, 242; {{harvnb|Wooding|2009|p=194}}.</ref> Warnicke questions whether Cromwell could have or wished to manipulate the King in such a matter. Such a bold attempt by Cromwell, given the limited evidence, could have risked his office, even his life.<ref>Warnicke, pp. 210–212. Warnicke observes: "Neither Chapuys nor modern historians have explained why if the secretary [Cromwell] could manipulate Henry into agreeing to the execution of Anne, he could not simply persuade the king to ignore her advice on foreign policy".</ref> Henry himself issued the crucial instructions: his officials, including Cromwell, carried them out.<ref>{{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|p=350}}:"Clearly, he [Henry] was bent on undoing her by any means."</ref> The result was by modern standards a legal travesty;<ref>{{harvnb|Wooding|2009|pp=194–195}}; {{harvnb|Scarisbrick|1972|pp=454–455}}; {{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=245}}.</ref> however, the rules of the time were not bent in order to assure a conviction; there was no need to tamper with rules that guaranteed the desired result since law at the time was an engine of state, not a mechanism for justice.<ref name="scholarship.law.wm.edu">{{cite journal|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol22/iss1/3|title=Law as the Engine of State: The Trial of Anne Boleyn |journal=William & Mary Law Review|date=October 1980|volume=22|issue=1|page=49|last1=Schauer|first1=Margery|last2=Schauer|first2=Frederick}}</ref>

Towards the end of April, a [[Flemish people|Flemish]] musician in Anne's service named [[Mark Smeaton]] was arrested. He initially denied being the Queen's lover but later confessed, perhaps after being [[torture]]d or promised freedom. Another courtier, Sir [[Henry Norris (courtier)|Henry Norris]], was arrested on [[May Day]], but being an aristocrat, could not be tortured. Prior to his arrest, Norris was treated kindly by the King, who offered him his own horse to use on the May Day festivities. It seems likely that during the festivities, the King was notified of Smeaton's confession and it was shortly thereafter the alleged conspirators were arrested upon his orders.<ref>{{harvnb|MacCulloch|2018|pp=337–338}}.</ref> Norris denied his guilt and swore that Queen Anne was innocent; one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against Norris was an overheard conversation with Anne at the end of April, where she accused him of coming often to her chambers not to pay court to her lady-in-waiting [[Madge Shelton]] but to herself.{{sfn|Warnicke|1989|p=212}} Sir [[Francis Weston]] was arrested two days later on the same charge, as was Sir [[William Brereton (courtier)|William Brereton]], a groom of the King's [[Privy Chamber]]. Sir [[Thomas Wyatt (poet)|Thomas Wyatt]], the poet and friend of the Boleyns who was allegedly infatuated with her before her marriage to the King, was also imprisoned for the same charge but later released, most likely due to his or his family's friendship with Cromwell. Sir [[Richard Page (courtier)|Richard Page]] was also accused of having a sexual relationship with the Queen, but he was acquitted of all charges after further investigation could not implicate him with Anne.{{sfn|Bernard|2011|pp=174–175}} The final accused was Queen Anne's own brother, [[George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford|George Boleyn]], arrested on charges of [[incest]] and [[treason]].<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|pp=143–144}}.</ref> He was accused of two incidents of incest: November 1535 at [[Palace of Whitehall|Whitehall]] and the following month at [[Eltham Palace|Eltham]].<ref name="Ives, p. 344">{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=344}}.</ref>

On 2 May 1536 Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. In the Tower, initially she became hysterical, demanding to know the location of her father and her "sweet brother", as well as the charges against her.{{sfn|Warnicke|1989|p=226}}{{sfn|Ives|2004|p=353}} The charge was treason, in that she and the other defendants had intended Henry's death: the shock of the news of her adultery was alleged to have put his life at risk.{{efn|Eric Ives points out that the King, amusing himself with Jane Seymour, was far from perturbed by any news of Anne's activities. The other strand of the indictment, that adultery with the Queen was a treasonable offence, had to be twisted to fit Cromwell's purported facts because this was a moral offence only, triable exclusively in the church courts.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/557|title=Anne [Anne Boleyn] (c. 1500–1536)}}</ref>}} Anne was taken by barge from Greenwich to the Tower of London and lodged in the royal apartments.{{sfn|Ives|2004|p=334}}

In what is reputed to be her last letter to Henry, dated 6 May, she wrote:

{{blockquote|Sir,

Your Grace's displeasure, and my imprisonment are things so strange unto me, as what to write, or what to excuse, I am altogether ignorant. Whereas you send unto me (willing me to confess a truth, and so obtain your favour) by such an one, whom you know to be my ancient professed enemy. I no sooner received this message by him, than I rightly conceived your meaning; and if, as you say, confessing a truth indeed may procure my safety, I shall with all willingness and duty perform your demand.

But let not your Grace ever imagine, that your poor wife will ever be brought to acknowledge a fault, where not so much as a thought thereof preceded. And to speak a truth, never prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne Boleyn: with which name and place I could willingly have contented myself, if God and your Grace's pleasure had been so pleased. Neither did I at any time so far forget myself in my exaltation or received Queenship, but that I always looked for such an alteration as I now find; for the ground of my preferment being on no surer foundation than your Grace's fancy, the least alteration I knew was fit and sufficient to draw that fancy to some other object. You have chosen me, from a low estate, to be your Queen and companion, far beyond my desert or desire. If then you found me worthy of such honour, good your Grace let not any light fancy, or bad council of mine enemies, withdraw your princely favour from me; neither let that stain, that unworthy stain, of a disloyal heart toward your good grace, ever cast so foul a blot on your most dutiful wife, and the infant-princess your daughter. Try me, good king, but let me have a lawful trial, and let not my sworn enemies sit as my accusers and judges; yea let me receive an open trial, for my truth shall fear no open flame; then shall you see either my innocence cleared, your suspicion and conscience satisfied, the ignominy and slander of the world stopped, or my guilt openly declared. So that whatsoever God or you may determine of me, your grace may be freed of an open censure, and mine offense being so lawfully proved, your grace is at liberty, both before God and man, not only to execute worthy punishment on me as an unlawful wife, but to follow your affection, already settled on that party, for whose sake I am now as I am, whose name I could some good while since have pointed unto, your Grace being not ignorant of my suspicion therein. But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my death, but an infamous slander must bring you the enjoying of your desired happiness; then I desire of God, that he will pardon your great sin therein, and likewise mine enemies, the instruments thereof, and that he will not call you to a strict account of your unprincely and cruel usage of me, at his general judgment-seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear, and in whose judgment I doubt not (whatsoever the world may think of me) mine innocence shall be openly known, and sufficiently cleared. My last and only request shall be, that myself may only bear the burden of your Grace's displeasure, and that it may not touch the innocent souls of those poor gentlemen, who (as I understand) are likewise in strait imprisonment for my sake. If ever I found favour in your sight, if ever the name of Anne Boleyn hath been pleasing in your ears, then let me obtain this request, and I will so leave to trouble your Grace any further, with mine earnest prayers to the Trinity to have your Grace in his good keeping, and to direct you in all your actions. From my doleful prison in the Tower, this sixth of May;

Your most loyal and ever faithful wife,
Anne Boleyn.{{efn|A copy of this letter was found among the papers of the King's secretary, Thomas Cromwell, after his execution.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strickland |first1=Agnes |author1-link=Agnes Strickland |title=Lives of the Queens of England |date=1845 |publisher=[[Henry Colburn]] |location=London |page=196|volume=IV}}</ref>}}}}

Four of the accused men were tried in [[Westminster]] on 12 May 1536. Weston, Brereton and Norris publicly maintained their innocence and only Smeaton supported [[the Crown]] by pleading guilty. Three days later, Anne and George Boleyn were tried separately in the Tower of London, before a jury of 27 [[Peerage of England|peers]]. She was accused of [[adultery]], incest, and [[high treason]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hibbert|1971|pp=54–55}}.</ref> The treason alleged against her (after Cromwell had used the nine days of her imprisonment to develop his case{{sfn|Ives|2004|pp=333–338}}) was that of plotting the King's death, with her "lovers", so that she might later marry Henry Norris.<ref name="Ives, p. 344"/> One of Anne's ladies-in-waiting, the [[Elizabeth Somerset, Countess of Worcester (1502–1565)|Countess of Worcester]], gave evidence against her, claiming she had knowlege of the Queen's adultery with [[Henry Norris (courtier)|Henry Norris]], [[Mark Smeaton]], and [[George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford|Lord Rochford]], the queen's brother.<ref>Kelly Hart, ''The Mistresses of Henry VIII'' (The History Press, 2009), [https://archive.org/details/mistressesofhenr0000hart/page/25 p. 25]</ref> Anne's one-time betrothed, [[Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland]], sat on the jury that unanimously found her guilty. When the verdict was announced, he collapsed and had to be carried from the courtroom.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=339,341}}.</ref> He died childless eight months later and was succeeded by his [[Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland|nephew]].<ref name=":0" />

On 17 May, Cranmer declared Anne's marriage to Henry null and void.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=581}}.</ref>

=== Final hours ===
[[File:Anne Boleyn London Tower.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Anne Boleyn in the Tower by [[Édouard Cibot]] (1799–1877)]]

The accused were found guilty and condemned to death. George Boleyn and the other accused men were executed on 17{{nbsp}}May 1536. [[William Kingston]], the [[Constable of the Tower]], reported that Anne seemed very happy and ready to be done with life.<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|p=582}}</ref> Henry commuted Anne's sentence from burning to beheading, and rather than have a queen beheaded with the common axe, he brought an expert swordsman from [[Saint-Omer]] in France to perform the execution.

An anonymous manuscript of a poem "[[O Death Rock Me Asleep]]" that came into the possession of prolific 18th-century author [[John Hawkins (author)|John Hawkins]], and now in the [[British Museum]], was thought to be in the style of "the time of Henry VIII". On this weak premise, Hawkins conjectured that the writer was "very probabl[y]" Anne Boleyn, writing after her conviction.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hawkins |first1=John |author1-link=John Hawkins (author) |title=A General History of the Science and Practice of Music |date=1776 |publisher=[[Thomas Payne (publisher)|T. Payne & Son]] |location=London |page=30|volume=III}}</ref> ''[[Defiled is my Name]]'', a similar lament, is also attributed to Anne. According to Ives, she could not have produced any such writings while under the scrutiny of the ladies set to watch over her in the Tower.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=58}}.</ref> Mary Joiner of the [[Royal Musical Association]] examined the BM documents and concluded that the attributions, although held in wide belief, are no more than an "improbable ... legend".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joiner |first1=Mary |title=British Museum Add MS. 15117: A Commentary, Index and Bibliography |journal=R.M.A. Research Chronicle |publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1969 |volume=7 |issue=7 |page=68 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/25093674 |issn=0080-4460|doi=10.1080/14723808.1969.10540840|jstor=25093674 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

On the morning of 19 May, Kingston wrote:

{{blockquote|This morning she sent for me, that I might be with her at such time as she received the good Lord, to the intent I should hear her speak as touching her innocency alway to be clear. And in the writing of this she sent for me, and at my coming she said, "Mr. Kingston, I hear I shall not die afore noon, and I am very sorry therefore, for I thought to be dead by this time and past my pain." I told her it should be no pain, it was so little. And then she said, "I heard say the executioner was very good, and I have a little neck," and then put her hands about it, laughing heartily. I have seen many men and also women executed, and that they have been in great sorrow, and to my knowledge this lady has much joy in death. Sir, her [[almoner]] is continually with her, and had been since two o'clock after midnight.<ref>{{harvnb|Hibbert|1971|p=59}}.</ref>}}

Shortly before dawn, she called Kingston to hear [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] with her and swore in his presence, on the eternal salvation of her soul and upon the Holy [[Sacrament]]s, that she had never been unfaithful to the King. She ritually repeated this oath immediately before and after receiving the sacrament of the [[Eucharist]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=356}}.</ref>

On the morning of Friday 19 May, Anne was taken to a scaffold erected on the north side of the [[White Tower (Tower of London)|White Tower]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=423}}, based on the contemporary Lisle letters.</ref> She wore a red [[petticoat]] under a loose, dark grey gown of [[damask]] trimmed in fur, and a mantle of ermine.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=146}}.</ref> Accompanied by two female attendants, Anne made her final walk from the Queen's House to the scaffold; she showed a "devilish spirit" and looked "as gay as if she was not going to die".<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1992|p=256}}.</ref> She climbed the scaffold and made a short speech to the crowd:

{{blockquote|Good Christian people, […] I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.{{sfn|Foxe|1838|p=134}}<ref name="Ives 357–358">{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=357–358}}</ref>}}

This version of her speech is found in [[John Foxe]]'s ''[[Foxe's Book of Martyrs|Actes and Monuments]]'' (also known as ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs'').{{sfn|Foxe|1838|p=134}}

[[Lancelot de Carle]], a secretary to the French Ambassador, [[Antoine de Castelnau]], was in London in May 1536,{{sfn|Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII|loc=12(2), [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75700 78]}} and was an eyewitness to her trial and execution. Two weeks after Anne's death,{{sfn|Schmid|2011|pp=[http://www.historytoday.com/susan-walters-schmid/henry-viii-and-anne-boleyn-0 7–11]}} de Carle composed the 1,318-line poem ''[[Épistre Contenant le Procès Criminel Faict à l'Encontre de la Royne Anne Boullant d'Angleterre]]'' (''A Letter Containing the Criminal Charges Laid Against Queen Anne Boleyn of England''),<ref>For a French version of the poem, ''Épistre Contenant le Procès Criminel Faict à l'Encontre de la Royne Anne Boullant d'Angleterre'', at the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]], see {{harvnb|de Carle|1545}}.</ref>{{sfn|Schmid|2013|pp=110–175|postscript=. A complete English translation of the entire poem, side by side with the original French is provided here.}} which provides a moving account of her last words and their effect on the crowd:

{{blockquote|She gracefully addressed the people from the scaffold with a voice somewhat overcome by weakness, but which gathered strength as she went on. She begged her hearers to forgive her if she had not used them all with becoming gentleness, and asked for their prayers. It was needless, she said, to relate why she was there, but she prayed the Judge of all the world to have compassion on those who had condemned her, and she begged them to pray for the King, in whom she had always found great kindness, fear of God, and love of his subjects. The spectators could not refrain from tears.{{sfn|Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII|loc=10, [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75435 1036] An English summary of the poem is given here}}{{sfn|Schmid|2013|pp=171–172}}{{sfn|Weir|2010|p=340}}<ref>{{harvnb|Guy|2009}}: [[John Guy (historian)|John Guy]] contends that a letter, purportedly from [[Crispin de Milherve]] corroborating de Carle's account, was  in 1845 shown by French scholars to be a forgery.</ref>}}

It is thought that Anne avoided criticising Henry because she wished to save Elizabeth and her family from further consequences, but even under such extreme pressure, she did not confess guilt and indeed subtly implied her innocence in her appeal to those who might "meddle of my cause".<ref>William Hickman Smith Aubrey, ''The National and Domestic History of England'' (1867), p. 471.</ref>

=== Death and burial ===
[[File:Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Thomas Cranmer]], Anne's sole supporter in the council]]

The ermine mantle was removed, and Anne lifted off her headdress and tucked her hair under a [[coif]].{{sfn|Ives|2004|p=358}} After a brief farewell to her weeping ladies and a request for prayers, she knelt down; one of the ladies tied a blindfold over Anne's eyes.{{sfn|Ives|2004|p=358}} She knelt upright, in the French style of beheadings.{{sfn|Weir|2010|pp=338, 343–344}} Her final prayer consisted of her continually repeating, "[[Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament#"Jesus" forms|Jesu]] receive my soul; O Lord God have pity on my soul."{{sfn|Ives|2004|pp=358–359}}

The execution, which consisted of a single stroke,<ref>{{harvnb|Hibbert|1971|p=60}}.</ref> was witnessed by Thomas Cromwell; [[Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk]]; the King's illegitimate son, [[Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset|Henry FitzRoy]]; and Sir [[Ralph Warren (Lord Mayor)|Ralph Warren]], [[Lord Mayor of London]], as well as aldermen, sheriffs and representatives of the various craft guilds. Most of the King's Council was also present.<ref>Bruce, Marie Louise (1973). ''Anne Boleyn''. New York: Warner Paperback Library Edition. p. 333.</ref> Cranmer, who was at [[Lambeth Palace]], reportedly broke down in tears after telling [[Alexander Ales]], "She who has been the Queen of England on earth will today become a Queen in heaven."<ref>{{harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|p=159}}.</ref> When the charges were first brought against Anne, Cranmer had expressed his astonishment to Henry and his belief that "she should not be culpable".<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Nicholas|editor-first=A. H.|year=1835|title=The Republic of Letters: A Republication of Standard Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob84AQAAMAAJ |location=New York |publisher=George Dearborn |page=70 |language=en |volume=III |quote=And I am in such a perplexity, that my mind is clean amazed: for I never had better opinion in woman than I had in her; which maketh me to the that she should not be culpable.}}</ref>
 
[[File:Tomb of Anne Boleyn.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Anne Boleyn's grave marker]]
Cranmer felt vulnerable because of his closeness to the Queen; on the night before the execution, he declared Henry's marriage to Anne to have been void, like Catherine's before her. He made no serious attempt to save Anne's life, although some sources record that he had prepared her for death by hearing her last private confession of sins, in which she had stated her innocence before God.<ref>{{harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|p=159}}</ref>

She was buried in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of [[Church of St Peter ad Vincula|St Peter ad Vincula]] at the Tower of London. Her skeleton was identified during renovations of the chapel in 1876, in the reign of [[Queen Victoria]],<ref>{{harvnb|Warnicke|1989|p=235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bell|first=Doyne C.|title=Notices of the Historic Persons Buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London|publisher=John Murray, Albemarle Street|year=1877|location=London|pages=20–21}}</ref> and reinterred there in 1877. Her grave is now clearly marked on the marble floor, although the historian Alison Weir believes that the bones identified as belonging to Anne might in fact be those of [[Catherine Howard]].<ref>{{harvnb|Weir|2010|pp=411–415}}</ref>

== Recognition and legacy ==
{{See also|Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn}}

[[Nicholas Sanders]], a Catholic [[recusant]] born {{circa|1530}}, was committed to deposing Elizabeth I and re-establishing Catholicism in England. In his ''De Origine ac Progressu schismatis Anglicani'' (''The Rise and Growth of the Anglican Schism''), published in 1585, he was the first to write that Anne had [[Polydactyly|six fingers]] on her right hand.<ref name="Ives 2004 39">{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=39}}.</ref> Since physical deformities were generally interpreted as a sign of evil, it is unlikely that Anne Boleyn would have gained Henry's romantic attention had she had any.<ref>Warnicke, pp. 58–59.</ref> Upon exhumation in 1876, no abnormalities were discovered. Her frame was described as delicate, approximately {{convert|5|ft|3|in}}, "the hand and feet bones indicated delicate and well-shaped hands and feet, with tapering fingers and a narrow foot".<ref>{{cite book |author1=British Archaeological Association |title=The Archaeological Journal |date=1877 |publisher=Longman, Rrown [sic] Green, and Longman |page=508 |edition=Vol. 34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rn7QAAAAMAAJ&q=The+hand+and+feet+bones+indicated+delicate+and+well-shaped+hands+and+feet%2C+with+tapering+fingers+and+a+narrow+foot&pg=PA508 |access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref>

Anne Boleyn was described by contemporaries as intelligent and gifted in musical arts and scholarly pursuits. She was also strong-willed and proud, and often quarrelled with Henry.<ref>Warnicke, pp. 58–59; {{harvnb|Graves|2003|p=135}}.</ref> Biographer Eric Ives evaluates the apparent contradictions in Anne's persona:
{{blockquote|To us she appears inconsistent—religious yet aggressive, calculating yet emotional, with the light touch of the courtier yet the strong grip of the politician—but is this what she was, or merely what we strain to see through the opacity of the evidence? As for her inner life, short of a miraculous cache of new material, we shall never really know. Yet what does come to us across the centuries is the impression of a person who is strangely appealing to the early 21st century: A woman in her own right—taken on her own terms in a man's world; a woman who mobilised her education, her style and her presence to outweigh the disadvantages of her sex; of only moderate good looks, but taking a court and a king by storm. Perhaps, in the end, it is Thomas Cromwell's assessment that comes nearest: intelligence, spirit and courage.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=359}}.</ref>}}

Following the coronation of her daughter as queen, Anne was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of [[John Foxe]], who argued that Anne had saved England from the evils of Roman Catholicism and that God had provided proof of her innocence and virtue by making sure her daughter Elizabeth I ascended the throne. An example of Anne's direct influence in the reformed church is what [[Alexander Ales]] described to Queen Elizabeth as the "evangelical bishops whom your holy mother appointed from among those scholars who favoured the purer doctrine".<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=261}}</ref> Over the centuries, Anne has inspired or been mentioned in numerous [[Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn|artistic and cultural works]]. As a result, she has remained in the popular memory and has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had."<ref name="Ives, p. xv"/>

==Appearance and portraits==
[[File:Anne boleyn.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Copy from a lost original at [[National Portrait Gallery, London]]]]

Anne's appearance has been much discussed by historians, as all of her portraits were destroyed following an order by Henry VIII, who wanted to erase her from history.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 20, 2015|title=El misterioso rostro de Ana Bolena|trans-title=The Mysterious Face Of Anne Boleyn|language=es|url=https://www.elmundo.es/la-aventura-de-la-historia/2015/02/16/54e1d23bca4741bf298b4575.html|website=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]|access-date=October 10, 2022}}</ref> Many surviving depictions of her may be copies of a lost original that apparently existed as late as 1773. One of the few contemporary likenesses of Anne was captured on a medal referred to as "The Moost Happi Medal" which was struck in 1536, probably to celebrate her pregnancy which occurred around that time.<ref name="Ian Sample">{{Cite news|last=Sample|first=Ian|date=February 15, 2015|title=Possible Anne Boleyn portrait found using facial recognition software|url=https://theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/16/anne-boleyn-portrait-found-using-facial-recognition-software|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 10, 2022}}</ref> The other possible portrait of Anne is the [[Chequers Ring]], a secret locket ring that her daughter Elizabeth I possessed and was taken from one of her fingers at her death in 1603.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Maev Kennedy|date=July 26, 2002|title=Ring that could hold clue to Elizabeth I|url=https://theguardian.com/uk/2002/jul/26/humanities.monarchy|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 10, 2022}}</ref> 
 
[[File:Anne Boleyn? the Nidd Hall portrait.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Nidd Hall Portrait currently unidentified]]
 
Another possible portrait of Anne was discovered in 2015 painted by artist Nidd Hall. Some scholars believe that it portrays Anne because it resembles the 1536 medal more than any other depiction. However, others believe that it is actually a portrait of her successor [[Jane Seymour]].<ref name="Ian Sample"/>

===Holbein sketches===
[[File:A Lady, called Anne Boleyn, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|A sketch by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], depicting Anne Boleyn]]
[[File:Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Sketch headed with Anne's name]]
 
[[Hans Holbein the Younger]] originally painted Anne's portrait and also sketched her during her lifetime. There are two surviving sketches that have been identified to be of Anne, by historians and people who knew her. Most scholars believe that Anne cannot be one of the two, as the portrayals do not look similar to each other, whilst others think that they do show the same woman but in one sketch she is pregnant, whilst in the other she is not.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Susan Foister|date=2006|title=Holbein in England, London: Tate: 2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LABrQgAACAAJ|page=58|publisher=Harry N. Abrams |isbn=978-1854376459 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=42–44}}.</ref>

She was considered{{By whom|date=March 2022}} brilliant, charming, driven, elegant, forthright and graceful, with a keen wit and a lively, opinionated and passionate personality. Anne was depicted as "sweet and cheerful" in her youth and enjoyed cards and dice games, drinking wine, [[French cuisine]], flirting, gambling, gossiping and good jokes. She was fond of archery, falconry, hunting and the occasional game of bowls. She also had a sharp tongue and a terrible temper.<ref>Weir, p. 47.</ref>
 
Anne exerted a powerful charm on those who met her, though opinions differed on her attractiveness. The Venetian diarist [[Marino Sanuto the Younger]], who saw Anne when Henry VIII met Francis I at [[Calais]] in October 1532, described her as "not one of the handsomest women in the world; she is of middling stature, swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised&nbsp;... eyes, which are black and beautiful".<ref>{{harvnb|Strong|1969|p=6}}.</ref> Simon Grynée wrote to [[Martin Bucer]] in September 1531 that Anne was "young, good-looking, of a rather dark complexion". [[Lancelot de Carle]] called her "beautiful with an elegant figure", and a Venetian in Paris in 1528 also reported that she was said to be beautiful.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=20}}.</ref>
 
The most influential description of Anne,<ref>Warnicke, p. 243.</ref> but also the least reliable, was written by the Catholic propagandist and polemicist Nicholas Sanders in 1586, half a century after Anne's death: 
{{blockquote|Anne Boleyn was rather tall of stature, with black hair, and an oval face of a sallow complexion, as if troubled with [[jaundice]]. It is said she had a projecting tooth under the upper lip, and on her right hand six fingers. There was a large [[Trichilemmal cyst|wen]] under her chin, and therefore to hide its ugliness she wore a high dress covering her throat&nbsp;... She was handsome to look at, with a pretty mouth.<ref>{{harvnb|Strong|1969|p=6}}; {{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=39}}.</ref>}}
 
As Sander held Anne responsible for Henry VIII's rejection of the Catholic Church he was keen to demonise her. Sanders description contributed to what Ives calls the "monster legend" of Anne Boleyn.<ref name="Ives 2004 39"/> Though his details were fictitious, they have formed the basis for references to Anne's appearance even in some modern textbooks.<ref>Warnicke, p. 247.</ref>

== Faith and spirituality ==

Because of Anne's early exposure to court life, she had powerful influences around her for most of her life. These early influences were mostly women who were engaged with art, history and religion. [[Eric Ives]] described the women around Anne as "aristocratic women seeking spiritual fulfillment".{{sfn|Ives|2004|p=278}} They included Queen [[Claude of France|Claude]], of whose court Anne was a member, and [[Margaret of Valois-Angoulême|Marguerite of Angoulême]], who was a well-known figure during the [[Renaissance]] and held strong religious views that she expressed through poetry. These women along with Anne's immediate family members, such as her father, may have had a large influence on Anne's personal faith.

Anne's experience in France made her a devout Christian in the new tradition of [[Renaissance humanism]].<ref>{{harvnb|Starkey|2003|pp=368–370}}.</ref> Anne knew little [[Latin]] and, trained at a French court, she was influenced by an "evangelical variety of [[French humanism]]", which led her to champion the [[vernacular Bible]].<ref>{{harvnb|Dowling|1991|p=39}}.</ref> Due to her Christian faith, she expected her council, among other things, to be both honest and modest, that they should wholly embrace faith in God, and that they would not associate with vice of any sort.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bernard |first=G. W. |date=1993 |title=Anne Boleyn's Religion |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2639513 |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |issn=0018-246X}}</ref> She later held the reformist position that the papacy was a corrupting influence on Christianity, but her conservative tendencies could be seen in her devotion to the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=219–226}}. For a reevaluation of Anne's religious beliefs, see {{harvnb|Ives|2004|pp=277–287}}.</ref> Anne's European education ended in 1521, when her father summoned her back to England. She sailed from Calais in January 1522.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1971|p=103}}.</ref>

Another clue to Anne's personal faith could be found in Anne's [[book of hours]], in which she wrote, "''le temps viendra''" ["the time will come"]. Alongside this inscription, she drew an [[armillary sphere]], an emblem (also used by her daughter Elizabeth) representing contemplation of heavenly wisdom.<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=240}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Borman|2016|pp=290–291}}.</ref>

Anne Boleyn's last words before her beheading were a prayer for her salvation, her king, and her country. She said, "Good Christian people! I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law, I am judged to death; and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I come hither to accuse no man, nor to any thing of that whereof I am accused and condemned to die; but I pray God save the king, and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler, or a more merciful prince was there never; and to me he was ever a good, a gentle, and a sovereign lord."<ref>{{harvnb|Ives|2004|p=358}}.</ref> [[John Foxe]], [[martyrologist]], included Anne in his book, ''Actes and Monuments'', claiming she was a good woman who had sincere faith and trust in her God. Foxe also believed a sign of Anne's good faith was God's blessing on her daughter, Elizabeth I, and God allowing Elizabeth to prosper as queen.

[[File:St. Mary's church, Erwarton, Suffolk - geograph.org.uk - 283396.jpg|thumb|St Mary's Church, [[Erwarton]], Suffolk, where Boleyn's heart was allegedly buried]]

== Legends ==
Many legends and stories about Anne Boleyn have existed over the centuries. One is that she was secretly buried in [[Salle, Norfolk#St Peter and St Paul's Church|Salle Church]] in Norfolk under a black slab near the tombs of her ancestors.<ref>{{harvnb|Lofts|1979|p=181}}.</ref> Her body was said to have rested in an [[Essex]] church on its journey to Norfolk. Another is that her heart, at her request,<ref>{{cite web|title=St Mary, Erwarton|url=http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/erwarton.html|access-date=21 June 2023|website=Suffolk Churches}}</ref> was [[Heart-burial|buried]] in [[Erwarton]] (Arwarton) Church, [[Suffolk]] by her uncle Sir Philip Parker.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Anne Boleyn's Heart|journal=Notes and Queries|series=6|volume=4|date=1881|page=326}}</ref>

In 18th-century [[Sicily]], the peasants of the village of [[Nicolosi]] believed that Anne Boleyn, for having made Henry VIII a heretic, was condemned to burn for eternity inside [[Mount Etna]]. This legend was often told for the benefit of foreign travellers.<ref>Pratt, Michael (2005). ''Nelson's Duchy, A Sicilian Anomaly''. UK: Spellmount Limited. p.48 {{ISBN|1-86227-326-X}}</ref>

A number of people have claimed to have seen Anne's [[ghost]] at [[Hever Castle]], [[Blickling Hall]], Salle Church, the Tower of London and [[Marwell Zoo|Marwell Hall]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lofts|1979|p=182}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://theshadowlands.net/ghost/ghost342.html |title=Ghosts and Hauntings |publisher=The Shadowlands |access-date=7 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zurichmansion.org/halls/marwell.html|title=Marwell Hall – Haunted Mansions Around the World|website=www.zurichmansion.org}}</ref> One account of her reputed sighting was given by [[paranormal]] researcher [[Hans Holzer]]. In 1864, Captain (later Major General) J. D. Dundas of the [[King's Royal Rifle Corps|60th Rifles]] regiment was [[billet]]ed in the Tower of London. As he was looking out the window of his quarters, he noticed a guard below in the courtyard, in front of the lodgings where Anne had been imprisoned, behaving strangely. He appeared to challenge something, which to Dundas "looked like a whitish, female figure sliding towards the soldier". The guard charged through the form with his bayonet, then fainted. Only the captain's testimony and corroboration at the [[court-martial]] saved the guard from a lengthy prison sentence for having fainted while on duty.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holzer|first=Hans|author-link=Hans Holzer|title=Ghosts I've Met|isbn=978-0760766316|year=1965|page=196|publisher=Barnes & Noble, Incorporated }}</ref>

== Issue ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Birth !! Death !! Notes
|-
| [[Elizabeth I]] || 7 September 1533 || 24 March 1603 || Never married, no issue
|-
| Miscarriage or false pregnancy<ref name=":2">Eustace Chapuys wrote to Charles{{nbsp}}V on 28{{nbsp}}January reporting that Anne was pregnant. A letter from George Taylor to Lady Lisle dated 27{{nbsp}}April 1534 says that "The queen hath a goodly belly, praying our Lord to send us a prince". In July, Anne's brother, Lord Rochford, was sent on a diplomatic mission to France to ask for the postponement of a meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I because of Anne's condition: "being so far gone with child she could not cross the sea with the king". Chapuys backs this up in a letter dated 27{{nbsp}}July, where he refers to Anne's pregnancy. We do not know what happened with this pregnancy as there is no evidence of the outcome. Dewhurst writes of how the pregnancy could have resulted in a miscarriage or stillbirth, but there is no evidence to support this, he therefore wonders if it was a case of pseudocyesis, a false pregnancy, caused by the stress that Anne was under – the pressure to provide a son. Chapuys wrote on 27{{nbsp}}September 1534 "Since the king began to doubt whether his lady was enceinte or not, he has renewed and increased the love he formerly had for a beautiful damsel of the court". Muriel St Clair Byrne, editor of the Lisle Letters, believes that this was a false pregnancy too.</ref> ||colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" |Summer 1534<ref>{{harvnb|Porter|2007|p=337}}</ref>||
|-
| Possible miscarriage || colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | 1535<ref name=":3">The only evidence for a miscarriage in 1535 is a sentence from a letter from Sir William Kingston to Lord Lisle on 24 June 1535 when Kingston says "Her Grace has as fair a belly as I have ever seen". However, Dewhurst thinks that there is an error in the dating of this letter as the editor of the Lisle Letters states that this letter is actually from 1533 or 1534 because it also refers to Sir Christopher Garneys, a man who died in October 1534.</ref> ||
|-
| Miscarried son ||colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" | 29 January 1536<ref name=":4">Chapuys reported to Charles V on 10 February 1536 that Anne Boleyn had miscarried on the day of Catherine of Aragon's funeral: "On the day of the interment [of Catherine of Aragon] the concubine [Anne] had an abortion which seemed to be a male child which she had not borne 3 1/2 months".</ref> ||
|}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Anne Boleyn'''
|2= 2. [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire]]
|3= 3. [[Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire]]
|4= 4. [[William Boleyn]]
|5= 5. [[Lady Margaret Butler]]
|6= 6. [[Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk]]
|7= 7. [[Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey]]
|8= 8. [[Geoffrey Boleyn]]
|9= 9. [[Anne Hoo]]
|10= 10. [[Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond]]
|11= 11. [[Anne Hankford]]
|12= 12. [[John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk]]
|13= 13. [[Katherine Moleyns]]
|14= 14. [[Frederick Tilney]]
|15= 15. [[Elizabeth Cheney (1422–1473)]]}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|England|Christianity}}
* ''[[Bring Up the Bodies]]'', a book by [[Hilary Mantel]] (2012)
* ''[[Anna Bolena]]'', an opera by [[Gaetano Donizetti]] with lyrics by [[Felice Romani]] (1830)
* ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]'', a 1969 film distributed by Universal Pictures based on the stage play by [[Maxwell Anderson]]
* "[[With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm]]", a darkly humorous song about Anne's ghost
* ''[[The Other Boleyn Girl]]'', a book by [[Philippa Gregory]] later adapted into a [[The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)|2008 film]] which has [[Mary Boleyn|Mary]]'s sister Anne as one of the main characters. An earlier television [[The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 film)|adaptation]] of the book was made by the [[BBC]] in 2003.
* ''The Boleyn Heresy: The Time Will Come'' by [[Kathleen McGowan]], a novel about a 21st century researcher into the life of Anne Boleyn seeking to exonerate her reputation.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Ashley|first=Mike|title=British Kings & Queens|year=2002|publisher=Running Press |isbn=0-7867-1104-3}}
* Baumann, Uwe, ed. ''Henry VIII in history, historiography, and literature'' (Peter Lang, 1992).
* Bell, Doyne C. ''Notices of the Historic Persons Buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London'' (1877)
* {{cite book |last=Bernard |first=G. W. |year=2011 |title=Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions |location=New Haven; London |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-17089-4 }}
* —— "The fall of Anne Boleyn", ''English Historical Review'', 106 (1991), 584–610 [https://www.jstor.org/pss/573258 in JSTOR]
*{{cite book |last1=Bordo |first1=Susan |author1-link=Susan Bordo |title=The Creation of Anne Boleyn A New Look at England's Most Notorious Queen |date=2014 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=978-1780743653|location=London}}
* {{cite book |last1=Borman |first1=Tracy |author1-link=Tracy Borman |title=The Private Lives of the Tudors |date=2016 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |location=London |isbn=978-1444782912}}
*{{cite book |last1=Borman |first1=Tracy |title=Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: the mother and daughter who changed history |date=2023 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |isbn=978-1399705097|author-mask1=——}}
*{{cite book|last=Brigden|first=Susan|title=New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485–1603|year=2000|publisher=Allen Lane|isbn=978-0713990676}}
* {{cite book |last=de Carle|first=Lancelot|year=1545 |title=Epistre Contenant le Procès Criminel Faict a l'Encontre de la Royne Anne Boullant d'Angleterre |location=Lyon |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k71312g/f2.image.r=Lancelot%20de%20Carles }}
*{{cite book |last1=Cavendish |first1=George |author1-link=George Cavendish (writer) |editor1-last=Singer |editor1-first=Samuel |editor1-link=Samuel Weller Singer |title=The Life of Cardinal Wolsey |date=1641 |publisher=Harding Triphook and Lepard |location=London |publication-date=1825|oclc= 457354116}}
* {{cite book|last=Elton|first=G. R.|author-link=Geoffrey Elton|title=Reform and Reformation|location=London|publisher=Edward Arnold|year=1977|isbn=0-7131-5953-7}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Dowling|first=Maria|author-link=Maria Dowling|title=A Woman's Place? Learning and the Wives of King Henry VII|magazine=[[History Today]]|volume=41|issue=6|url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/womans-place-learning-and-wives-henry-viii|date=June 1991|access-date=June 21, 2023}}
* {{cite book|last=Dowling|first=Maria|author-link=Maria Dowling|year=1986|isbn=0709908644|title=Humanism in the Age of Henry the VIII|publisher=Croom Helm|author-mask1=——}}
* {{cite book |last=Foxe |first=John |editor-last=Cattley |editor-first=S. R. |title=The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe |volume=V |year=1838 |url=https://archive.org/stream/actsandmonument03towngoog#page/n164/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book|last=Fraser|first=Antonia|title=The Wives of Henry VIII|location=New York|publisher=Knopf|year=1992|isbn=0-679-73001-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Graves|first=Michael|title=Henry VIII|location=London|publisher=Pearson Longman|year=2003|isbn=0-582-38110-X}}
* {{cite news |last=Guy |first=John |date=1 November 2009 |title=The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir |newspaper=The Sunday Times |location=London |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article188852.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219031116/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article188852.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2013 |access-date=15 December 2013|url-access=limited}}
* {{cite book|last=Haigh|first=Christopher|title=English Reformations: Religion, Politics, and Society under the Tudors|year=1993|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0198221623}}
* {{cite book|last=Hibbert|first=Christopher|title=Tower of London: A History of England From the Norman Conquest|year=1971|publisher=Newsweek |isbn=978-0882250021}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ives |first1=E. W. |title=Ann Boleyn and the early reformation in England: the contemporary evidence |journal=The Historical Journal |date=1994 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=389–400 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00016526|s2cid=162289756 }}
*{{cite book |last=Ives |first=E. W.  |year=2004|title=The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: The Most Happy |location=Oxford |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn= 978-0-631-23479-1|author-mask1=——}}
* —— "Anne (c. 1500–1536)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', (2004b) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/557, accessed 8 September 2011]
* {{cite book|last=Lacey|first=Robert|title=The Life and Times of Henry VIII|year=1972|asin=B000KL8N6W}}
* Lehmberg, Stanford E. ''The Reformation Parliament, 1529–1536'' (1970)
* {{cite web |title=Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/catalogue.aspx?type=3&gid=126 |publisher=British-history.ac.uk |access-date=15 December 2013 |ref={{sfnref|Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII}} }}
* Lindsey, Karen ''Divorced Beheaded Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII'' (1995) {{ISBN|0-201-40823-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Lofts|first=Norah|title=Anne Boleyn|year=1979|publisher=Coward, McCann & Geoghegan|isbn=978-0698110052}}
* {{cite book|last=MacCulloch|first=Diarmaid|title=Thomas Cranmer: A Life|location=New Haven|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-300-07448-4}}
* {{cite book|last=MacCulloch|first=Diarmaid|title=Thomas Cromwell: A Life|publisher=Penguin|year=2018|isbn=978-1846144295|author-mask1=——}}
* {{cite book|last=Morris|first=T. A.|title=Europe and England in the Sixteenth Century|year=1998|location=London|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.4324/9780203014639|isbn=978-0203014639}}
* {{cite book|last=Norton|first=Elizabeth|title=Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII's Obsession|year=2009|publisher=Amberley |isbn=978-1-84868-084-5}}
* Parker, K. T. ''The Drawings of Hans Holbein at Windsor Castle'' Oxford: Phaidon (1945), {{OCLC|822974}}
*{{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=Linda R. |author1-link=Linda Porter (historian) |title=Mary Tudor: the first queen |date=2007 |publisher=[[Judy Piatkus|Piatkus]] |location=London |isbn=9780749909826 |edition=2009}}
* Rowlands, John ''The Age of Dürer and Holbein'' London: British Museum (1988) {{ISBN|0-7141-1639-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Scarisbrick|first=J. J.|author-link=Jack Scarisbrick|title=Henry VIII|year=1972|isbn=978-0-520-01130-4|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|publisher=[[University of California Press]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Schmid |first=Susan Walters |year=2013 |orig-year=2009 |publisher=[[Arizona State University]] |chapter=Chapter 3: The Poem: Poem Translation |title=Anne Boleyn, Lancelot de Carle, and the Uses of Documentary Evidence |number=[[University Microfilms International|UMI]] 3538762 |type=PhD thesis |location=Ann Arbor |chapter-url=http://gradworks.umi.com/35/38/3538762.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219034526/http://gradworks.umi.com/35/38/3538762.html |archive-date=19 December 2013 |pages=110–175 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Schmid |first=Susan Walters |date=March 2011 |title=Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII |journal=History Review |volume=69 |pages=7–11 |url=http://www.historytoday.com/susan-walters-schmid/henry-viii-and-anne-boleyn-0 |access-date=23 March 2014 |archive-date=14 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814230102/http://www.historytoday.com/susan-walters-schmid/henry-viii-and-anne-boleyn-0 |url-status=dead|author-mask1=—— }}
* {{cite book |last1=Schofield |first1=John |title=The rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII's most faithful servant |date=2008 |publisher=History Press |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0-7524-4604-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Somerset|first=Anne|title=Elizabeth I|location=London|publisher=Phoenix|year=1997|isbn=0-385-72157-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Starkey |first1=David |title=The reign of Henry VIII: personalities and politics |date=1985 |publisher=George Philip |location=London |isbn=0-540-01093-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Starkey|first=David|title=Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII|year=2003|publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-06-000550-5|author-mask1=——}}
* {{cite book|last=Strong|first=Roy|author-link=Roy Strong|title=Tudor & Jacobean Portraits|location=London|publisher=HMSO|year=1969|oclc=71370718}}
* Walker, Greg. "Rethinking the Fall of Anne Boleyn", ''Historical Journal'', March 2002, Vol. 45 Issue 1, pp 1–29; blames what she said in incautious conversations with the men who were executed with her
* Warnicke, Retha M. "The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Reassessment", ''History'', Feb 1985, Vol. 70 Issue 228, pp 1–15; stresses role of Sir Thomas Cromwell, the ultimate winner
* {{cite journal |last=Warnicke |first=Retha M. |author-link=Retha Warnicke|date=Winter 1986 |title=The Eternal Triangle and Court Politics: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Sir Thomas Wyatt |journal=Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=565–579 |jstor=4050130|doi=10.2307/4050130|author-mask1=——}}
* {{cite book|last=Warnicke|first=Retha M.|author-link=Retha Warnicke|title=The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII|year=1989|isbn=978-0521370004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|author-mask1=——}}
*——. ''Sexual heresy at the court of Henry VIII''. ''Historical Journal'' 30.2 (1987): 247–268.
* {{cite book|last=Weir|first=Alison|author-link=Alison Weir|title=The Six Wives of Henry VIII|year=1991|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=978-0-8021-3683-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Weir|first=Alison|title=Henry VIII: The King and His Court|year=2001|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=0345436598|author-mask1=——}}
* {{cite book |last=Weir|first=Alison|author-link=Alison Weir|year=2010 |title=The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn |location=London |publisher=Vintage |isbn=978-0-7126-4017-6|author-mask1=——}}
* {{cite book|last=Weir|first=Alison|title=Mary Boleyn The Mistress of Kings|year=2011|publisher=Ballantine|isbn=978-0771089220|author-mask1=—— }}
* {{cite book|last=Williams|first=Neville|title=Henry VIII and His Court|year=1971|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|isbn=0297003690}}
* Wilson, Derek ''Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man'' London: Pimlico, Revised Edition (2006) {{ISBN|978-1-84413-918-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Wooding|first=Lucy|title=Henry VIII|location=London|publisher=Routledge|year=2009|isbn=978-0-415-33995-7}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite Q|Q115749742|editor1=Henry Gardiner Adams}}<!-- [[s:A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Anne Boleyn]] -->
* ''To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn'', (2011) by Sandra Byrd, {{ISBN|978-1-4391-8311-3}}
* ''The Politics of Marriage'' by David Loades (1994)
* The Hever Castle Guide Book
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{Commons category|Anne Boleyn}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Boleyn, Anne}}
* [https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/anne-boleyn-s-last-secret/ Leanda de Lisle: Why Anne Boleyn was Beheaded with a Sword and not an Axe]
* [https://archive.org/details/henryviiitoanneb00henriala Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn: the love letters] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130818123431/http://bobmeades.pages.qpg.com/id29.html Anne Boleyn at Salle church] Norfolk, UK
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Boleyn, Anne | volume= 4 |last= Yorke | first= Philip Chesney |author-link= | pages = 159&ndash;161 |short= 1}}
* {{Librivox author |id=16359}}
* {{NPG name}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-roy|en}}
|-
{{S-vac |last=[[Catherine of Aragon]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of English consorts|Queen consort of England]]<br />Lady of Ireland |years=28 May 1533 – 17 May 1536}}
{{S-vac|next=[[Jane Seymour]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Anne Boleyn}}
{{English consort}}
{{1500sProtestantwomen}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boleyn, Anne}}
[[Category:Anne Boleyn| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:1500s births]]
[[Category:1536 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century English women]]
[[Category:16th-century English royal consorts]]
[[Category:Boleyn family|Anne]]
[[Category:Burials at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula]]
[[Category:Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:Hereditary peeresses created by Henry VIII]]
[[Category:Daughters of English earls]]
[[Category:English Anglicans]]
[[Category:Executed English women]]
[[Category:Executed English royalty]]
[[Category:People convicted under a bill of attainder]]
[[Category:Executions at the Tower of London]]
[[Category:Howard family (English aristocracy)]]
[[Category:English maids of honour]]
[[Category:Marquesses in the Peerage of England|Pembroke, Anne Boleyn, 1st Marquess of]]
[[Category:People executed by Tudor England by decapitation]]
[[Category:People executed for adultery]]
[[Category:People executed under Henry VIII]]
[[Category:People executed under the Tudors for treason against England]]
[[Category:People from Blickling]]
[[Category:Wives of Henry VIII]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:16th-century Anglicans]]
[[Category:Household of Catherine of Aragon]]
[[Category:Court of Francis I of France]]
[[Category:Mothers of English monarchs]]