Anne Boleyn was Henry's second wife.
She was probably born in 1500 or 1501.
Anne was witty, confident, and full of herself—not quiet, gentle or timid—which is what a 16th century woman was supposed to be like. She was charming and talkative, but also had a fiery temper that she never learned to control.
Anne learned to play many musical instruments, to sing and to dance. When she was 12, Anne’s father managed to get her into the Belgian court. Two years later, she moved to the court of Henry VIII’s sister, Mary, who was, by now, the Queen of France.
Around 1521 Anne went to the English court to attend Queen Catherine as maid-of-honour.
By 1528, Anne becomes known at court. When the court spent Christmas at Greenwich that year, Anne was lodged in nice apartments near those of the King.
It was at this time that Henry wanted to divorce Catherine. But it all took a long time, and this did not suit fiery-tempered Anne. As a result, she had famous arguments with and Henry right in front of the court. Anne feared that Henry might go back to Catherine if the divorce did not happen quickly and Anne would have wasted time that she could have used to make another profitable marriage.
Anne was not popular with the people of England, who did not like Anne living openly with the King while Catherine was still Queen.
Of course, it was in Anne’s interests to have Henry leave the catholic church, for then he would get his divorce, so she supported the Protestants in England. This was not popular with many people in England either.
Because Anne wanted to be powerful she made many enemies at court. She schemed to remove Cardinal Wolsey from his position of power and influence at court. He was, of course, too smart to let that happen.
But the king was now losing interest in Anne and had found a new lover , Jane Seymour, who was one of Anne’s ladies in waiting. This was just what Anne’s enemies at court were waiting for.
On May 2, the Queen was arrested at Greenwich on charges of
plotting to murder the King. She was then taken to the Tower, found guilty and sentenced to death. Shortly before her execution, the Queen’s marriage to the King was dissolved and declared invalid. Anne was beheaded on May 19.
