Anne Boleyn

• Anne Boleyn was born circa 1501,  (Norfolk), England. She was the second wife of King Henry VIII—a horrible marriage, given that he had been denied an breakup from his first wife by the Roman Church, and that his mistress was Anne’s sister, Mary.  King Henry VIII broke from the Church to marry Anne. She gave birth to a daughter, but could not produce  a son. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was beheaded on untrue charges of witchcraft,  and conspiracy against the king. Her daughter, Elizabeth, came up as one of England’s greatest queens. Anne Boleyn died on May 19, 1536, in London, England.

• Anne spent some of her childhood and teenage years in Europe she was a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Margaret in the Netherlands. In 1514, Anne’s father arranged for her to be a lady-in-waiting at the French court to Queen Mary, King Henry VIII’s younger sister. She later served Queen Claude of France for almost seven years.

• On her return to England in 1522, Anne was appointed as lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s wife Catherine of Aragon. Anne’s striking looks and sophisticated manners earned her many admirers at court and by 1523 she was betrothed to Lord Henry Percy. However this relationship was cut short by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

• Henry VIII had grown tired of his wife, as she had not produced a male heir. He appealed to Pope Clement VII for an annulment to his marriage so that he could marry Anne. The Pope refused to annul the marriage as he was afraid to go against the will of Catherine’s nephew Charles V, The Holy Roman Emperor.