Topic > Anne Boleyn: A Significant Historical Personality

Biography of Anne BoleynAlthough Anne Boleyn's birth was so insignificant that there is no documentation about it; he made his way into the royal courts. There he earned his reputation among the famous. She charmed King Henry VIII and they soon married. She was thought to be the one to bring King Henry his long-awaited heir. However, a scandal against her materialized and she was soon executed on trumped-up charges. Anne Boleyn is known for being the most memorable and controversial of Henry VIII's wives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Anne Boleyn's birthplace was extremely controversial because it was unimportant when she was born. She may have been born at Blicking Hall in Norfolk, or perhaps at Hever Castle in Kent ("Queen" 1). His date of birth is also vague. Historians have stated that he was born between 1501 and 1507. He was born to Sir Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard (Kendell n.pg.). Being the daughter of a rather noble family, she should have taken her place as lady in waiting. When Anne Boleyn was about twelve years old, she became maid of honor to Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands. She was then transferred to the French court a year and a half later (“Tudor” 2) in the autumn of 1514 (Fraser 120) to be lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's sister, Mary. Mary had just married King Louise as a sort of peace offering between France and England (“Tudor” 2). Shortly after the wedding, King Louise died and Anne was sent back to England. As a lady-in-waiting at Queen Catherine's court, a scandal occurred between Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy around 1522 and 1523. Percy and Boleyn were secretly in love and vowed to marry. The Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, learned of their affair and told the king. King Henry VIII immediately informed Percy's father who ended the relationship and forced Percy to marry the woman of equal class he had chosen for Percy. Anne Boleyn never forgave Wolsey for this, and would prove it in the future. She returned to her home in disgrace (“Tudor” 2). Around 1524 or 1525, he joined King Henry's court. In 1526, Anne was openly sought after by King Henry VIII (“Tudor” 2). This caused her many enemies who spoke ill of her. Anne Boleyn was said to have a very ordinary appearance, pale, with black hair and black eyes ("Queen" 1). This complexion was the exact opposite of the fair-haired, blue-eyed ideal of beauty (Fraser 122). He also had a mole the size of a strawberry on his neck (“Queen” 1), known at that time as “Devil's Paw” (Lofts 36), and an extra finger on his left hand (“Queen” 1). . The Venetian ambassador describing her called her "not one of the most beautiful women in the world" (Fraser 122). But those who were loyal to her spoke of her differently. To others she was known to be very attractive with beautiful eyes, a long neck, and dark, silky hair (Fraser 123). King Henry was an expert seducer and visited her often, but Anne was sullen, cold and evasive and gave nothing. interest with him. This made King Henry want her more (“Queen” 2). Boleyn's sister Mary was known to have been Henry VIII's mistress, and she knew this would get her nowhere (“Queen” 4). She simply declared to him, “I would rather lose my life than my honesty” (“Tudor” 2). Thus, King Henry VIII began his quest to get rid of Queen Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII told Cardinal Wolsey that his marriage to Queen Catherine was an offense against God, as she was his dead brother's wife. Cardinal Wolsey was to annul the marriage between King Henry and Queen Catherine;However, Wolsey failed. The Pope stated that one Pope could not change what another Pope had declared, Wolsey was denounced from his position and shamed. He died on his way to London to face his impeachment trial. Because the Pope did not annul Henry VIII's marriage to Queen Catherine and distanced himself from papal rule. He declared himself head of the church and chose Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury. Naturally Cranmer declared the marriage between Queen Catherine and King Henry to be faulty and was able to marry Anne Boleyn (“Queen” 2). The wedding of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII was set in an undisclosed location. There is no documentation of the place, date and witnesses. Cranmer states, however, that the wedding of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn took place on January 25, 1533. However, he did not perform the wedding (Fraser 187). It was necessary to be as discreet as possible because once Anne Boleyn recognized that the king's intentions were serious, she gave in to him and became pregnant (“Queen” 2) towards the end of the first week of December 1532 (Fraser 187). If people found out that their child was conceived out of wedlock, they would see him as a bastard and reject him. His coronation began on Thursday 29 May 1533. People came, but not to cheer, only to watch. She was crowned on Sunday 1 June 1533 (Lofts 108-115) at eight in the morning. Kings were not present during their queen's coronations, so Henry VIII watched the banquet from a gallery in Westminster Hall (Fraser 195). Because the common people ridiculed and derided Queen Anne, Henry VIII made it illegal to address Katharine as queen from then on (Lofts 116). Anne Boleyn would have trouble keeping this title, as she encounters many problems trying to produce a male heir for King Henry VIII. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was born on September 7, 1533 of that year (Kendell n.pg.). Henry VIII accepted Elizabeth's birth as a promise of things to come (“Queen” 2). After having Elizabeth, however, Anne Boleyn began to worry about her safety as queen. She became pregnant again after Catherine's death and rejoiced (“Tudor” 3). Unfortunately, she had a miscarriage. He was far enough along in the pregnancy for him to be a notable boy. There is controversy over how she lost the baby. One story states that she captured Jane Seymour, one of her maids of honor, in King Henry VIII's lap. She had a fit of rage, became hysterical, and lost the baby (“Tudor” 5). The other story states that Henry VIII fell from his horse on a hunting trip and was in a coma for two months, but they told Boleyn he was dead and she collapsed and lost her son. In any case, her son was lost on January 23, 1536 (“Queen” 5). King Henry VIII was growing tired of Anne Boleyn and was beginning to think that she couldn't give him the heir he needed. With the help of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII created a plot to get rid of Anne Boleyn ("Queens" 3). King Henry accused and imprisoned her of adultery with her brother, three gentlemen of the privy chamber, and a court musician, and of conspiring with these men against the life of the king (“Boleyn” n.pg.). She and the five men were tortured into admitting that the accusations were true (“Queens” 3). Anne Boleyn was detained in the Tower of London on 2 May 1536 (“Boleyn” n.pg.). Anne Boleyn's uncle, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, presided over the judges who sentenced her to death (“Boleyn” n.pg.). On May 17 the musician was hanged and the other four beheaded. Two days later Anna was also beheaded (“Bolena” n.pg.). She was beheaded not by a clumsy axe, but by a skilled man, brought from France (“Queen” 3). As she was taken to the square, she made a speech to the watching crowd: Good Christians, I have come here to die,.