Boleyn Boy: My Autobiography

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It is thought that Anne avoided criticising Henry to save Elizabeth and her family from further consequences, but even under such extreme pressure Anne did not confess guilt, and indeed subtly implied her innocence, in her appeal to those who might "meddle of my cause". [169] Death and burial Thomas Cranmer, who was the sole supporter of Anne in the council Henry was soon absorbed in securing an annulment from Catherine. [67] 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, 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 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 clearly referred to Anne. [68] 16th-century portrait of Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife, by an unidentified English painter Maev Kennedy (26 July 2002). "Ring that could hold clue to Elizabeth I". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 October 2022. 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. [79] Anne and Henry attended a meeting with the French king at Calais in winter 1532, at which Henry hoped to enlist the support of Francis I of France for his intended marriage. On 1 September 1532, Henry granted her the Marquessate of Pembroke, an appropriate peerage for a future queen. [80] and Henry performed the investiture himself. [81] Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1537 Ives, E. W. "Anne (c. 1500–1536)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (2004) accessed 8 September 2011

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. Shortly afterwards, Clement excommunicated Henry and Cranmer. As a result of this marriage and these 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 of England on 1 June 1533. On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter rather than a son, 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. a b Sample, Ian (15 February 2015). "Possible Anne Boleyn portrait found using facial recognition software". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 October 2022. Hibbert, Christopher (1971). Tower of London: A History of England From the Norman Conquest. Newsweek. ISBN 978-0882250021.

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Early in 1523, Anne was secretly betrothed to Henry Percy, son of Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, but the betrothal was broken off when the Earl refused to support their engagement. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey refused the match in January 1524 and Anne was sent home to Hever Castle. 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 had previously been. Henry soon focused his desires on annulling his marriage to Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne. After Wolsey failed to obtain an annulment of Henry's marriage from Pope Clement VII, it became clear that the marriage would not be annulled by the Catholic Church. As a result, Henry and his advisers, such as Thomas Cromwell, began the breaking of the Church's power in England and closing the monasteries and the nunneries. In 1532, Henry made Anne the Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Anne was recalled to marry her Irish cousin, James Butler, a man several years older than her, who was living at the English court. [41] The marriage was intended to settle a dispute over the title and estates of the Earldom of Ormond. The 7th Earl of Ormond died in 1515, leaving his daughters, Margaret Boleyn and Anne St Leger, as co-heiresses. In Ireland, the great-great-grandson of the third earl, Sir 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 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. [42] James Butler later married Lady Joan Fitzgerald, daughter and heiress of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond and Amy O'Brien. Susan Foister (2006). Holbein in England, London: Tate: 2006. Harry N. Abrams. p.58. ISBN 978-1854376459. After her daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen in 1558, Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the written works of George Wyatt. [12] She has inspired, or been mentioned in, many artistic and 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", [13] as she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare the English church's independence from the Vatican.

John Guy contends that Crispin de Milherve, who was an eyewitness to Anne Boleyn's trial and execution, and Lancelot de Carle have been shown by French scholars to be the same person. [ citation needed] In 1526, Henry VIII became enamoured of Anne and began his pursuit. [52] 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. [53] Anne resisted Henry's attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, and often leaving court for the seclusion of Hever Castle. But within a year, he proposed marriage to her, and she accepted. [54] 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. [55] Henry's annulment 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. [75] She was considered [ by whom?] 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. [193]

Licence, Amy (2017). "Anne's World 1501–6". Anne Boleyn Adultery, Heresy, Desire. Stroud, England: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445643533. On 2 May 1536, Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower of London by barge. It is likely that Anne may have entered through the Court Gate in the Byward Tower rather than the Traitors' Gate, according to historian and author of The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, Eric Ives. In the Tower, she collapsed, demanding to know the location of her father and "swete broder", as well as the charges against her. On 17 May, Cranmer declared Anne's marriage to Henry null and void. [148] Final hours Anne Boleyn in the Tower by Édouard Cibot (1799–1877) 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 Ives 2004, pp.16–17 and Fraser 1992, p.119. Wilson, Derek Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man London: Pimlico, Revised Edition (2006) ISBN 978-1-84413-918-7

Boutell, Charles (1863). A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular. London: Winsor & Newton. pp.242–243 . Retrieved 10 February 2016. 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. [210] She was then buried in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. Her skeleton was identified during renovations of the chapel in 1876, in the reign of Queen Victoria, [179] [180] and Anne's grave is now identified on the marble floor. de Carle, Lancelot (1545). Epistre Contenant le Procès Criminel Faict a l'Encontre de la Royne Anne Boullant d'Angleterre. Lyon.Bell, Doyne C. (1877). Notices of the Historic Persons Buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. pp.20–21. When Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham died in 1532, the Boleyn family chaplain, Thomas Cranmer, was appointed, with papal approval. [76] As Sander held Anne responsible for Henry VIII's rejection of the Catholic Church he was keen to demonise her. Sander's description contributed to what Ives calls the "monster legend" of Anne Boleyn. [198] Though his details were fictitious, they have formed the basis for references to Anne's appearance even in some modern textbooks. [199] Faith and spirituality 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 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. [24] [b] The most influential description of Anne, [196] but also the least reliable, was written by the Catholic propagandist and polemicist Nicholas Sander in 1586, half a century after Anne's death: