The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Tudors series. Anne Boleyn's execution

King Henry had favorites. As a rule, he took on new lovers during his wife’s pregnancy. For Catherine of Aragon this was not news, and she turned a blind eye to such pranks of her husband. One of these favorites was the sister of the future queen, Mary Boleyn. Anna and Maria came from an old family, their family occupied a high position in the circles of the English aristocracy. Both girls were raised at the court of Queen Claude of France. There they studied language, dance, etiquette, singing, literature, music, religion and philosophy. Maria left the French court before Anna, most likely due to a sex scandal. Anna had to return to England in 1522 after relations between the two powers cooled. Henry's first meeting with her occurred, presumably, at the same time.

Henry VIII took on new lovers while his wife was pregnant

Returning to England, Anna was presented to the court, where she had great success. She was well educated, attractive, and knew how to carry on a conversation. Not much is known for certain about Boleyn’s personality; the characteristics that were awarded to her in books and films are mostly speculation. The queen's appearance is also described very differently. Thus, Catholic propagandist Nicholas Sanders claimed that Anna had 6 fingers on one hand, as well as a huge wart on her neck. It is not surprising that such a demonic appearance is contained in the description of an ardent Catholic preacher. In other sources there are much more prosaic notes. Anna was of average height, fragile build, with dark hair, olive skin and deep brown, almost black, eyes. She looked more French than English, with her milky skin and blue eyes.

At the English court, Count Henry Percy courted Anna; the lovers wanted to get married, but the engagement was terminated by their parents, perhaps not without the participation of the king himself. Anna was sent to the family estate. She returned back to the court only in 1526 as a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon.

It is not known exactly how and when Henry became interested in Anna; most likely, he paid attention to her during one of the court holidays. The king showed Anna signs of attention, sending expensive gifts and love letters in which he openly offered to become his mistress, but was refused. One day the king sent as a gift a gold pendant in the shape of a whistle and a touching note: “If you whistle, I will come running.” Anna gently rejected advances and teased Henry: she only wanted to be a wife, but not a mistress.

The same pendant in the form of a whistle

Henry had long been looking for a reason to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and take a new wife, who, he hoped, would bring him an heir. Having received Anna's consent, the king decided to turn to the Vatican with a request to annul his union with Catherine. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was entrusted with this issue. As the main argument, the cardinal was going to use the fact that, the king and Catherine, ex-wife the late brother of the sovereign were considered relatives, and therefore Pope Julius II did not have to give consent to this union. In May 1527, the first court hearing took place, which did not bring the desired results: the jury demanded a theological examination, which was supposed to confirm or refute the legality of the marriage.

Meanwhile, Catherine herself did not even want to hear about the annulment of the marriage, or about voluntarily going to a monastery. In this case, in addition to the loss of the title and all bonuses due, her own daughter- Mary Tudor - would have lost the right to claim the throne and would have been declared a bastard. Catherine's nephew, Charles V, takes Pope Clement VII prisoner, and therefore the issue of Henry's divorce is postponed indefinitely. However, the pope, one way or another, refused the king of England.

Anne Boleyn pushed Henry VIII to break with the Vatican

It is believed that it was Anne Boleyn who pushed Henry to break off relations with Catholic Church and make England independent of the power of the Pope. Most likely, her influence on the king is somewhat exaggerated: Henry himself was not satisfied with the position of a vassal of the Vatican. However, now he had another good reason - the long-awaited marriage with Boleyn. His new adviser, Thomas Cromwell, a supporter of the Reformation, also pushed the king to take this decisive step.

Portrait of Henry and Anne

In 1531, Catherine was removed from the palace, and her chambers were given to Anna. A year later it took place secret wedding lovers, the future queen was already pregnant. The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared Henry's previous marriage illegal, and recognized new union. The official wedding took place in London on January 25, 1533. That same year, Pope Clement VII excommunicated Henry from the church.

On September 7, 1533, Princess Elizabeth was born. Henry was disappointed. The feast prepared in honor of the birth of the heir had to be cancelled. However, the king was still under the influence of Anna’s spell, and therefore decided to secure Elizabeth’s position by depriving his first daughter, Mary, of all possible privileges. In 1534, the Vatican issues a papal bull, which states that Henry’s marriage to Catherine is considered legal, and therefore the king of England must return to his “legitimate” wife. In response to this attack, the English parliament adopted the First Act of Succession to the Throne, according to which Mary was declared illegitimate and deprived of all rights to the throne. Elizabeth becomes the heir.

What about the new queen? Anna bathes in luxury and is never denied anything. Its staff of servants was expanded to 250 people. She spends England's money on clothes, hats, fashionable furniture, horses, and jewelry. The people treated the new queen with more than restraint, if not hostility. It is believed that Anna took active participation V government affairs almost on a par with Henry: she met with ambassadors and diplomats, attended official events and presented petitions. Anna, of course, had influence on the king, but it is unlikely that she conducted really vigorous political activity.

At the end of 1534, Anna had a miscarriage. The relationship between spouses is cracking. The fickle Heinrich is already thinking about a new divorce. At the same time, to Anna's great displeasure, he welcomes new favorites. The monarch's wife sometimes has to put up with her husband's infidelity and pacify a woman's pride. But Anna was not fully prepared for such a role. She is jealous and openly expresses her complaints to Henry, which infuriates her husband. The couple separates, however, not for long.

Henry's love letter to Anne

In 1535, Anna became pregnant again. She understands the fragility of her position and desperately wants to give birth to an heir for Henry. But, alas, a miscarriage occurs. By that time, the king had already found a new favorite - Jane Seymour, Boleyn's maid of honor.

Boleyn, who failed to give birth to an heir, was executed on charges of treason

It becomes obvious: the fall of Anna and her entire family is inevitable. The king's wife was accused of witchcraft, treason and incest. At the trial, Boleyn behaved with restraint and calmly denied all charges. However, she was found guilty and sentenced to death by beheading.

A sword was chosen as a tool instead of the usual axe. It is believed that this was the last “mercy” shown by the king to his disgraced wife. While imprisoned, preparing for execution, Anna writes her last letter to Henry, assuring him of her love and devotion. Nevertheless, on May 19, 1536, the sentence was carried out, and on May 20, the King of England secretly became engaged to his new wife, Jane Seymour.

The English king Henry VIII was stern and loving. Not getting along with his first wife, the Spanish Catherine, he divorced her with great difficulty. For which he even had to change the state religion in England - from Catholic to Protestant.

His second wife, Anne Boleyn, turned out to be a Protestant and special strong character. To please her, Henry was even forced to execute opponents of their marriage, including his friends Cardinal Wolsey and former Lord Chancellor Thomas More. Gradually, the king’s irritation grew: not only was his wife quarrelsome, but she also could not give him an heir. In September 1533, Anna gave birth to a girl, but who then could have known that this girl would grow up to be Queen Elizabeth I. And Anna’s second child was stillborn. Meanwhile, Boleyn behaved more and more defiantly, throwing lavish holidays in the absence of her husband and purchasing expensive jewelry.

Finally Henry got tired of it all. On May 15, 1536, Anne Boleyn appeared in court. She was accused of incest with her brother John Rochford, witchcraft (she had a sixth finger on one hand), and conspiracy to assassinate Henry VIII. Moreover, they said that Anna promised each of the conspirators to marry him after the death of her crowned husband. It is curious that the queen was also accused of ridiculing the poems that Henry VIII wrote.

Soon Anne Boleyn, as well as her friends and accomplices in the conspiracy - Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton and her brother, Lord Rochford, were sentenced to execution.

The queen was sentenced to be burned at the stake or beheaded - at Henry's discretion. He ordered her head to be cut off, but to do it not with an ax, but with a sword - following the example of neighboring France. True, in England there was no executioner who could skillfully operate this weapon, and they had to order a specialist from Calais.

On May 19, 1536, Anne was brought to the Tower lawn, guarded by two hundred archers. For her sad death, the queen dressed up as if for a ball. She was wearing long dress made of green damask silk with a red petticoat. Her hair was pulled up with a white ribbon, and her hairstyle was crowned with a small dark hat. There was a gold cross on a chain on her chest, and white gloves on her hands. And only the Bible in her hands emphasized that this outfit was not for a holiday.

Climbing the stairs to the scaffold, Anna took off her hat and veil. They say that before the execution she made a speech praising the king for all sorts of virtues. But this could no longer help the disgraced queen. One of the court ladies accompanying her blindfolded her with a large white scarf. Anna put her head on the block, and the executioner, waving his long two-handed sword, cut off her head with one blow.

After this, Henry VIII cheered up and shouted: “The job is done! Let the dogs out, let's have fun!" On the same day, he married his mistress, lady of the court Jane Seymour.

Seymour became his third wife, but not his last.

Henry VIII also sent his fifth wife to the chopping block. She was young Catherine Howard. With her, Henry seemed to become younger. Tournaments, balls and other entertainment, to which he had lost interest even during his marriage to Anne Boleyn, resumed at the English court. The king admired Catherine’s youthful freshness and affectionately called her “a rose without thorns.” Alas, the queen turned out to be just a young, flighty person without great mind. She began to cheat on Henry with friends from her youth, and it also turned out that she was engaged to one of them. Henry did not tolerate betrayal and sent his “rose” to the scaffold. True, Catherine was in such shock from everything that was happening that she had to be carried to the place of execution. Catherine Howard was publicly beheaded on February 13, 1542, and then buried next to the remains of Anne Boleyn.

The tradition of beheading queens, established by Henry VIII, had to be continued by his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. And the next queen to be executed was sixteen-year-old Jane Gray, nicknamed the “queen for nine days.” She was just a pawn in the hands of the Duke of Northumberland, John Dudley, who elevated her to the throne. The Duke, first of all, wanted to make his son Guildford, who was Jane's husband, but did not have royal blood, king.

Northumberland, as a result of a military coup, seized power in London and installed Jane Gray on the throne. But when John Dudley announced to Jane that she was obliged to crown her husband Guildford, the young queen refused. However, the relatives had no time to sort things out among themselves. Soon the troops of Notumberland were defeated and the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Mary, was proclaimed Queen of England.

Mary had to, following the example of her father, send the deposed Queen Jane to the chopping block. On February 12, 1554, Jane Gray and her husband Guildford Dudley were publicly beheaded.

Some time later, another daughter of Henry, Elizabeth, became Queen of England. She was responsible for signing the death warrant for her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. She supported Babington's plot, which planned the assassination of Elizabeth I and the landing of the Spaniards in England. However, the plot was discovered, and Babington's correspondence fell into the hands of the Queen of England. For reasons of state security, Elizabeth signed Mary's death warrant.

Mary Stuart, with her head held high in a chic dress of dark brown velvet trimmed with marten fur, ascended the scaffold at Fotheringate Castle on February 8, 1587. The execution procedure itself was brilliantly described by Stefan Zweig:

“At first the executioner missed; his first blow did not hit the neck, but hit the back of the head dully - a strangled wheezing, dull moans escaped from the sufferer. The second blow deeply cut the neck, blood sprayed out like a fountain. And only the third blow separated the head from the body. And one more terrible detail: when the executioner grabs the head by the hair to show it to the audience, his hand is holding only the wig. The head falls out and, covered in blood, rolls along the wooden floor with a roar like a skittle ball.”

This woman changed history the whole country, charmed the king so much that for her sake he went against the Pope and changed his faith, she controlled the king himself, because of her many died famous people of her time, she became the first queen to lay her head on the chopping block, dreaming of giving birth to an heir, she gave birth to a daughter, during whose reign England reached its highest peak. If not for Anna, who knows, England would have been Protestant.

The execution of Anne Boleyn has been interpreted differently by biographers and historians. Some say that the English king Henry VIII sent Queen Anne to the scaffold because she, at that time, fully deserved it: she was an intriguer, hysterical, arrogant and arrogant “plebeian,” as Henry himself called her after the passion. And she also tried to conduct her own politics right under the king’s nose, and this was more than palace intrigue. Others present her as a victim of the morally flawed Henry VIII, a usurper and tyrant. But, probably, the truth is somewhere in the middle. And most likely, Anna and Henry were worth each other.

Anne Boleyn and her brother George were put on trial on 15 May 1536. In the Royal Hall of the Tower, special stands were built for 2,000 invited spectators and a separate bench with a high back for the judges - 26 peers led by the Duke of Norfolk, the queen's uncle.
Anna, raising her right hand, declared her innocence. No, she did not cheat on the king and did not promise to marry Henry Norris if the king died, no, she did not poison Katherine of Aragon and did not try to poison her daughter Mary. Not to mention the fact that she could not have had so many lovers (according to the articles of the prosecution) during her three years on the throne. But the verdict, which the peers traditionally passed on to each other, consisted of one single word - guilty, guilty, guilty...
Count Norfork announced the verdict. He cried as he sent his niece (and then his nephew) to her death - but weren’t these tears of relief because the tip of the ax was not aimed at him? In his last word Anna said that she was ready to die, but she regretted the loyal servants and friends of the king who would die because of her, and asked not to execute the innocent. Suddenly, a small incident attracted everyone's attention. Henry Percy, Duke of Northumberland, Anne's former lover, fainted after delivering his verdict.

French in spirit

Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, was a noble courtier, while her mother Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, belonged to one of the oldest English families. In terms of her origin, Anna, born at the end of 1501 (or 1507 - the exact date is unknown), stood at a higher level than the three subsequent English wives of the king. But this fact will not prevent Henry VIII from subsequently calling her a plebeian, unworthy to take the royal throne. Thomas Boleyn knew French and Latin better than all the courtiers and corresponded with Erasmus of Rotterdam, from whom he even bought several excerpts from his works. Henry once said that he had never met a more dexterous and cunning negotiator.

His son George, an Oxford graduate, inherited his father's diplomatic talents and was a good poet, having begun his court career as a page. In 1513, Anna was sent abroad - and she lived in Europe for nine years. First at the Habsburg court in Brabant as one of the 18 ladies-in-waiting of Margaret of Austria (she was regent for her nephew Charles of Burgundy). This courtyard was considered the center for the education of future princes and princesses. The European elite sent their offspring to special trainings with Margarita, famous for her education. It was difficult to think of a better start for the beginning of a court career.

Anna knew her father's demands - to learn not only manners, but also the ability in the future, when she became a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, daughter-in-law of the most powerful king in the world, Charles V, to put in a good word at court for members of the Boleyn family. She easily mastered the French language, the secrets of court social and political life and the art of intrigue, without which, as well as without knowledge of the language of courtly love, the courtyard would look like a withered garden. At the same time, her mentor Margarita was known not only as an adept at court games of love, but also strictly guarded the morality of her young ladies-in-waiting. Chastity and inaccessibility - great ways for a woman to achieve her goal, much more effective than promiscuity. Anna also learned other lessons from her mentor - kings do not marry for love, and women should not let love for men into their hearts too deeply. It was then that Anna decided that her motto would be “all or nothing”...

Flanders at the beginning of the 16th century was considered the heart of the cultural life of Europe. The maid of honor learned to understand painting and the art of book design, music. She learned a lot about expensive fabrics and jewelry; in total, Anna spent seven years in France and returned to England only at the end of 1521.

Mutual passion

Beautiful black hair and bright eyes are the most attractive thing about Anne Boleyn's appearance. Her figure was not very impressive - short, with small breasts. High cheekbones, prominent nose, narrow mouth, strong chin. They often mention a large wen on a slender long neck and a very unpleasant defect - something like a sixth finger on right hand, although in fact it was a small growth, similar to an ingrown nail. But for many in those days, and even now, such a detail is very eloquent: they say, this is all from the devil, normal people There cannot be extra, ugly or fused fingers, eyesores, etc.

Anna behaved more like a Frenchwoman: she knew how to be a witty conversationalist, her movements were distinguished by grace and liveliness, her outfits were elegant, which certainly made her stand out in the company of other ladies. Anne's first admirer at the English court was Henry Percy, heir to the Earl of Northumberland, who served with the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, the main and all-powerful minister of Henry VIII. Anna reciprocated the passion that Percy showed her, not at all within the framework of courtly worship. They secretly decided to get married.

But then Wolsey, who did not like Thomas Boleyn, intervened. He considered his daughter an unworthy bride for one of the most noble aristocrats in England and convinced the king of this. Henry did not give permission for the marriage. The Earl of Northumberland, in turn, threatened to deprive his son of his title and inheritance. Percy stood firm and even wrote marriage contract, according to which he undertook to marry Anna. But lawyers found a way to cancel the document. Anna vowed to take revenge on the cardinal - he dared not only to hinder her passion by belittling her origin and dignity, but also dared to resist the independence that she put at the forefront of her life position. After all, only she herself will decide who she marries.

Anne's next admirer was Thomas Wyatt, the first great poet of the Tudor era. At first, conversations with her simply brought delight to the poetic ear, but soon Thomas was captivated by the very sensuality that nature endowed Anna with in abundance. Although Anna was flattered by Wyatt's passion, it was more likely an episode than a separate chapter in her love book. He was married, and she was not ready to lose her head over a man who could only offer her the role of “mistress” of his heart, so common at court. Moreover, the king himself drew attention to her in 1527 (immediately after he lost interest in her older sister Mary). Before this, Mary was Henry's favorite and, according to rumors, bore him one or even two sons.

26-year-old Anne Boleyn disappeared from a bridal fair, setting herself the seemingly impossible goal of becoming Queen of England. And the king, hoping only to spend the night with the woman who arouses such interest among his courtiers, encountered unexpected resistance. The chronicle of the relationship between Anne and the king is best traced in the 17 love letters of Henry VIII - it is known that the king did not like the epistolary genre. One of the first is full of reproaches that Anna not only did not answer his love call, but also did not deign to write a letter. (How cunning and far-sighted Anna was - to resist the temptation to answer the king!) The message was accompanied by a gift - a duck killed the day before. In the third letter a year later, Heinrich insists on an answer: does she love him as much as he loves her? But he still doesn’t offer her his hand and heart. And this is exactly what Anna is now waiting for, more than confident in her feminine power.

Without waiting for offers more serious than the status of “the only mistress to whom he will completely devote himself to service,” she disappears for a while, forcing him to experience a hitherto unfamiliar feeling of guilt and loss. For the first time, Henry was forced to build a relationship with a woman with his own hands. At this time, he was already trying to find a way to divorce Katerina, who, having lost her charm and gentle disposition by the age of 40, was unable to bear him an heir, and Henry had long since stopped visiting her bedroom. Then he came up with an undeniable, from his point of view, argument in favor of divorce - the Pope made an unacceptable mistake by allowing him to marry the widow of his brother Arthur (he died almost immediately after his wedding to Katerina). It is said in the Bible: a man who marries his brother’s wife will have no heirs. Katerina gave birth to his daughter, and she had 6 miscarriages. This means that now he must get married like the first time, for real.

In response to the marriage proposal, Anna confessed her love back and sent the king a gift. A toy boat with a woman and a diamond carved on the bow. The ship is a symbol of protection, the diamond is a heart filled with the same strong intentions as a precious stone. Along with the gift, she promised to give him her virginity - but only when she became his wife. From then on, Anna would check and calculate her closeness with the king with the accuracy of a calculator. Henry wrote to his bride: “My heart will forever belong to you alone, seized by this desire so strongly that it will be able to subordinate to it the desires of my body.”

Is it worth commenting on this “novel” and can it be called love? Probably possible, but with one caveat: each participant in this story had their own plans. The king has an heir and, of course, the satisfaction of what is commonly called “lust.” And Anna has the fulfillment of her cherished desire: to become a queen. And on this path - all means are good.

The Seven Year Battle for Love Marriage

The divorce process began and lasted about seven years. While waiting for the decision of the Pope, Henry was exhausted from passion, and Catherine of Aragon hoped that Clement VII would not allow the marriage to be annulled, because Rome was under the influence of her nephew Emperor Charles V. For the time being, Catherine showed wisdom: as long as the wife is tolerant of the lady of her heart, threats seem to and does not exist, and even helped Anna repel the king’s love attacks. Anna allowed herself to create scenes for Henry: her youth was passing aimlessly, the wait was too long, she was in danger of becoming an old maid. And living under the same roof with the queen also infuriated her.

In response, Henry broke loose - no one dares argue with him, much less reproach him for anything. He can return her to the place where he took her from, he has already done too much for her, others would be happy. But the anger subsided as quickly as it flared up. The king, like, in fact, anyone else in his place, was excited by Boleyn’s inaccessibility, as well as by the fact that she was not afraid to challenge him, known for her indomitable and cruel temper, - a magnificent maneuver of a far-looking woman. Well, the courtiers expected a “reasonable step” from the king - a marriage with a French princess. France had always been England's ally against Spain and Charles V, and therefore this marriage would have strengthened the country's international position. But Henry seemed omnipotent even without this. Although, being a despot, he needed from time to time the decisions he made to be prompted by someone or approved. Until now it was Cardinal Wolsey, a man who had a magical (in the opinion of the courtiers) influence on the king, who knew how to solve both internal and international problems to the benefit of England and the king.

Anna was too cunning and resourceful to limit herself to scenes and female hysterics. A skilled politician, she was able to create a faction (the most effective behind-the-scenes method court war and at that time) from a circle of people close to the king, but supporting her plans, betting on her future. Now access to the king's mind was completely blocked by his bride. She even opened the hunt, like the goddess Diana, not one step behind Henry, and during important backstage meetings her figure was visible in the shadow of the window opening. Therefore, neither Wolsey nor Thomas More managed to convince the king to abandon his decision to dissolve his marriage with Katherine. Thomas More was defeated. Anna used not only her feminine power over Henry, she in every possible way exploited his idea that the king, as the highest sovereign over people, has power not only over their bodies, but also over their souls. He, Henry VIII, is able to prove to Rome and the whole world that he can become higher than the Pope and lead the Anglican Church. This meant the realization that he was the only monarch in the world who dared to give himself such a status. Warming up Henry's mood, Boleyn delivered him anti-clerical literature. She even organized a kind of propaganda, ordering heretical manuscripts to be brought from abroad and distributed in England.

At the end of 1528, Henry finally ordered Katerina to leave the court, although he left her with 200 servants and 30 ladies-in-waiting. But she continued, which especially angered Anna, out of a long-term habit of keeping an eye on Henry’s linen and clothes, giving orders to wash, clean or throw away his nightgowns or camisoles. “...I don’t care about her or her family members. Let all the Spaniards sink to the bottom of the sea!” - Boleyn raged at Katerina.

At the same time, she was implementing her plan for revenge against Wolsey, who, in fact, not wanting to quarrel with Henry, had long been trying to turn the divorce case entrusted to him in favor of the king and his lady of the heart. But Anna convinced the king that Wolsey was sabotaging the divorce case and negotiations with the Pope. When the king, having dinner with Anna in her apartment, was informed, according to tradition, of the cardinal’s arrival, Anna said contemptuously: “Is it worth announcing this so solemnly? To whom else, if not to the king, should he come?” And Heinrich nodded his head in agreement. The Cardinal begged the King not to send the Pope a radical petition, provoked by Anne's faction, in which Rome, in essence, was accused of refusing to annul Henry's marriage to Katherine, depriving the English people of hope for the future. But she was sent. The king, under the influence of Boleyn, decided to secretly complete the matter in England, entrusting the relevant work with the parliament to Wolsey and the papal legate Campeggio. But the hearings failed. And in 1530, Henry received a decree from the Pope “to remove Anne Boleyn from the court.” Here is evidence of Wolsey's double game - Anna's rage mixed with triumph. Now the cardinal will not be able to use his famous “magic”. He was removed from business and deprived of all property in favor of the king, and soon the latter signed a decree on his arrest. Wolsey died on the way to his first interrogation. His overthrow is Boleyn's first serious victory.

And Henry for the first time publicly declared himself “the sole protector and head of the Anglican Church and clergy.” And Boleyn received the title of Marchioness of Pembroke, a patent for belonging to the highest English nobility, along with the lands. For the first time in history, this title went to a woman, and Anne not only convinced the king that, as a last resort, she wanted her children to be the legal heirs, but also had a hand in composing this ambiguous decree.

The road to Westminster

...A storm in the Strait of Dover turned ships into splinters. The wind did not allow passers-by to stick their noses out into the narrow streets of Calais. Recently, a meeting between Henry VIII and the French king ended here. In London, in St. Paul's Cathedral, they prayed for the monarch's safe return to his homeland, but he was in no hurry: while the bad weather was raging, Boleyn finally “gave herself” to Henry. It's here right moment. In November 1532, she realized that the king was ready to disobey the Pope. And then one day, in the company of courtiers, she said: “Somehow I fell in love with apples.” - “Darling, this is a sure sign of pregnancy.” On January 25, 1533, the lovers secretly got married. Henry simply dared to fool the priest who performed the sacrament of marriage. Does he really believe, the king said in response to a request to show the necessary papers with the Pope's permission for marriage, that he, Henry VIII, is a liar?

The king acted quickly. The lawyer Thomas Cromwell and Archbishop Cranmer, armed with the necessary bills, managed to obtain permission from both houses of parliament to declare the previous royal marriage invalid.

But Henry’s victory could not be considered complete without the coronation procedure of the now official “most precious and beloved wife.” Boleyn was 6 months pregnant, and the king was in a hurry - in just two and a half weeks, unprecedented celebrations were prepared. On May 29, 1533, the coronation took place. 50 barges, accompanied by countless boats, set off from Billingate to the Tower. Flags, bells, gold foil and gold banners shimmered in the bright summer sun. And the number of guns probably exceeded safety on such a congested waterway. Leading the procession was a ship with an iron dragon on its prow spewing flames, and with Boleyn on board. It turned out symbolic...

Three short years

On September 23, 1534, Anna gave birth to a healthy girl, Elizabeth (the future Queen of England). The knightly tournament in honor of the birth of the heir had to be cancelled, but Henry took the news about the girl surprisingly calmly. Well, sons will certainly follow their daughter. The christening was organized by Cromwell with the same deliberate pomp as the coronation. The young mother, recovering from childbirth, participated in political affairs, strove for what would later be called humanitarian Christianity - she encouraged education and learned men, was the patroness of many students and educational institutions, especially Oxford and Cambridge. Anna understood that the correct creation of the image was the little that could help her win people's trust. After all, she was still considered a woman of easy virtue, a “thief” who stole the king from his wife. Katerina would never have dared to despise all laws and split the country into two parts - conformists and true believers, and sow confusion among the aristocrats and clergy.

In vain Cromwell tried to control the situation, stopping all conspiracies and attempts to denigrate the queen. A special decree was even issued commanding all men, regardless of their origin, to take an oath of allegiance to Anna. And those who did not want to obey were poisoned on the chopping block. The situation became especially aggravated after the execution of Thomas More - she allowed innocent blood to be shed only because More refused to appear at her coronation. Moreover, he dared to declare that on that day the entire English nobility and all adherents of the true church were “publicly deflowered.” Boleyn tried to make friends with Mary, Henry's daughter from Katherine. But the princess refused to recognize the new queen. Boleyn, unlike Henry, who was enraged by his daughter’s disobedience and known for his attacks of cruelty towards her, wanted to see Mary at court. Of course, on the condition that she renounces all claims to the throne and becomes only the stepdaughter of the new queen, obedient as a lamb.

...The queen's new pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Anna blamed her husband for this, who dared not only to sleep with one of her court ladies, but also to show her courtly signs of respect. Soon she became pregnant again. And at the beginning of 1536, Catherine of Aragon died. There was even a ball held at court to mark the occasion. Well, Henry continued to wait for the heir, disappointed and amorous, he had already turned his attention to Jane Seymour, the former maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, who only recently, thanks to her influential brothers, had the opportunity to return to the court. Boleyn saw with her own eyes how one day this unremarkable person sat on her husband’s lap and he played with a necklace around her neck. Then the queen tore off Jane's necklace. Then Henry made peace with his wife and she became pregnant again, instilling in him yet another hope of an heir.

...Usually Henry stayed with Anna if she could not accompany him on the hunt. But this time he did not give up his favorite entertainment. During the trip, the king stayed at the house of Jane's parents. And on January 24, 1536, Henry Norris burst into Anna’s apartment (he occupied one of the most prestigious and important positions of “groom at the king’s stool” and was his close friend) with terrible news - Henry fell from his horse and had been unconscious for several hours. Boleyn screamed, convinced that Henry was dead. The king recovered with difficulty, but his wife again gave birth prematurely - this time with a dead boy. Henry's anger was all the more terrible because what happened again returned his thoughts to humiliating suspicions about his own male inadequacy.
Women who dealt with the Tudors often had problems with childbearing - miscarriages, difficulty getting pregnant and rare appearance into the world of boys. These problems were clearly of genetic origin, but how could the all-powerful Henry VIII know about this? Therefore, he preferred to return to the already tested model - since God did not want to reward him crown princes and in this marriage, it means that it must be declared invalid and the woman who has not fulfilled her destiny must be replaced. This is the will of the king.

Death in French

In the spring of 1536, Anne had a serious quarrel with her patron, Thomas Cromwell. This quarrel became the decisive moment in her fate. Cromwell, having already realized that the current queen had no future, enlisting the support of the Seymour family, supporters of Princess Mary, promised to overthrow her from the throne and help the king take Jane as his wife. To convince the king of this, Boleyn should be accused of treason - in the literal sense of the word, because the queen’s betrayal of her husband is tantamount by law to treason to the crown. It is no coincidence that soon after the loss of the child, rumors appeared - was the unfortunate 6-month-old “male fetus” the result of the queen’s adultery with one of her courtiers? Didn't her brother's wife boast that Anne complained to her about Henry's inability to make love?

And on April 29, Anna loudly and furiously quarreled with Henry Norris. That same day, the entire court and the king were aware of a suspicious scandal. And Anna’s carelessly thrown phrase, “Don’t count on being able to take the king’s place if he dies,” became the key phrase in her indictment process. On this same sad day for Anna (and so lucky for Cromwell) Mark Smeaton, a young musician of “low” origin, expansive by nature, allowed himself to behave too freely in her chambers. Anna loved music and called Mark to calm down a little after her quarrel with Norris. Cromwell immediately ordered the musician to be taken into custody, he was brought to the house of the royal secretary, and at the 24th hour of torture he admitted to adultery with the queen, after which he was taken to the Tower.

The next day, May 1, right during the knightly tournament, the king showed himself more than ever: he personally ordered Henry Norris and George Boleyn to confess their affair with his wife. Despite protestations of innocence, they were sent to the Tower after Smeaton. Boleyn was charged with incest - his wife had long argued that he spent too much time with his sister. Henry, famous for his ability feeling sorry for himself - one of the most repulsive traits of his personality - stated that Anna cheated on him with more than a hundred men, and even immediately tried to compose a tragedy dedicated to his grief.

After which he went for consolation to the Seymours' house. There, sobbing, he complained about the queen, assenting to his owners, who had long been trying, at Cromwell’s instigation, to feed him the version that she poisoned Katherine of Aragon and only an accident prevented her from sending him and Princess Mary to the next world. Jane, meanwhile, charmed Henry with her inaccessibility (a technique that Anne herself successfully used) and the fact that she was the complete opposite of his current wife.

At dawn on May 2, Boleyn, accompanied by hostile guards, arrived at the Tower along the same waterway as three years earlier on the occasion of the coronation. Having passed through the gate, she lost courage and, falling on her knees, begged to be taken to the king. "Will you send me to prison?" - Without getting up from her knees, she asked Kingston, constable of the Tower, in a trembling voice. “No, madam, you will go to the royal apartments.” The feeling of relief provoked a nervous release - Anna began to go into hysterics for many hours.

Kingston, at Cromwell’s request, with the pedantry of an experienced jailer, conveyed all the words, phrases and even interjections that, along with screams, tears or laughter, came out of her mouth. Nervous breakdown a woman who had lost control of herself turned Cromwell's impromptu into a brilliant accusation that deprived Boleyn of her last hope of salvation. And at the same time he brought two more hostages of the conspiracy from the Boleyn faction to the Tower - the king’s courtiers and her friends Francis Weston and William Brereton... Henry compensated for the feeling of guilt and pity with a touching permission not to send his wife to the stake. He ordered a French executioner from Calais, who masterfully wielded a sword. Having learned about this, Boleyn burst out laughing and, clasping her throat with her hands, said: “I heard he is a good master, but I have such a small neck.”

Shortly before the queen was allowed to die, the king declared the marriage to her null and void. Elizabeth became illegitimate. The formal announcement was made by Archbishop Cranmer on June 17 - the eve of the queen's execution. The basis for it was old story with the Earl of Northumberland, as well as the king’s relationship with Anne’s sister Mary (according to the law, this was also contrary to the marriage of both parties) and, finally, an argument drawn from the latest “evidence” - the king’s doubt that Elizabeth is his daughter, and not already executed Norris. The royal lawyers tried to ensure that the king got what he wanted - now neither Anna, nor her daughter, nor Maria, nor the first wife stood in the way of a new marriage and the appearance of heirs. Henry, in the event that his new wife did not give birth to the desired prince, had the right to name his successor in a special decree before his death.

The scaffold was covered with black cloth, and the sword was hidden between the boards. Spectators - about a thousand, only Londoners (no foreigners) - under the leadership of the mayor of the city came to witness the first execution of the queen in the history of England. She, in a dress of gray damask trimmed with fur, climbed to the first step of the scaffold and addressed the crowd: “I will die according to the law. I am not here to accuse anyone or talk about what I am accused of. But I pray to God that he will save the king and his reign, for there never was a kinder prince, and to me he has always been a most gentle and worthy lord and sovereign. I say goodbye to the world and from the bottom of my heart I ask you to pray for me.”
...Boleyn fell to her knees and repeated: “Jesus, accept my soul. O almighty God, sorrow for my soul." Her lips were still moving when it was all over. The ladies covered the queen's body with a simple, rough sheet and carried it to St. Peter's Chapel, passing along the way the fresh graves of her “lovers” executed a few days earlier. Then they stripped her and put her in a small, carelessly put together coffin, barely able to fit the severed head there.

Henry, who received news of the execution, immediately ordered Jane Seymour to be brought to him. 11 days later, on May 30, 1536, they got married. Jane Seymour died, giving birth to the king's son, for whom he entered into a deal with the devil so many times.

And in 1558 the unexpected happened, as often happens in history - fate smiled on Elizabeth, Boleyn’s daughter, who looked like her father and fully inherited from her mother her character and ability to influence people, manipulating their thoughts and feelings. The people called the princess to the throne, and to the cheers of Londoners and the roar of the Tower artillery, Elizabeth occupied the fortress as Queen of England and remained so for many years.

Maria Obelchenko

About exact date the birth of Anne Boleyn, no factual material has been preserved. It is assumed that she was born either in 1501 or 1507. Her father was the noble courtier Thomas Boleyn, and her mother, Elizabeth Howard, was a scion of one of the oldest English families.

In 1513, Thomas Boleyn sent his daughter abroad, where she spent nine years. At first, Anna was a maid of honor to Margaret of Austria in Brabant, at a court considered the best in terms of raising future princesses and princes. Almost the entire European elite placed their own offspring in Margarita’s retinue, because only here could they learn true court manners and correct behavior. Anna easily learned to speak French and mastered the art of court intrigue. In addition to political and secular morality, Margarita explained to her ladies-in-waiting that kings, unlike plebeians, cannot marry for love, and a woman should not fall too much in love with men. From her crowned teacher, Anna also learned her life motto - “all or nothing.” Having learned the intricacies of court life, Anna left for France, where she lived for seven years. In 1521, the father recalled his daughter to England.

Anne Boleyn did not shine with bright beauty. The only thing that attracted her was beautiful eyes and gorgeous black hair. Despite her very small stature, Anna had small breasts. She stood out among other women for her purely French manners, wit, elegance in dress and grace of movement. The first at the court of the English king to appreciate the merits of Anne Boleyn was the son of the Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy. He served under Cardinal Wolsey, the all-powerful and powerful minister to King Henry VIII. Anna reciprocated his feelings, and the young people even decided to have a secret wedding, but the cardinal found it necessary to intervene in these plans. Wolsey had an extremely bad attitude towards Anne's father, Thomas Boleyn, and in his conversations with the king he suggested that Boleyn's daughter could not become a worthy bride of such a noble aristocrat as Henry Percy. As a result, Henry VIII did not give permission for the marriage so desired by Anna. The Earl of Northumberland was also dissatisfied, even threatening his son with deprivation of his inheritance and title. But the young lover turned out to be persistent and, contrary to the will of his father, even drew up a document according to which he undertook to take Anna as his wife. This document was later annulled by the count's lawyers. Insulted, Anna vowed to take revenge on the cardinal for the humiliation and encroachment on her independence.

Not much time passed, and Thomas Wyatt fell at the feet of Anne Boleyn - one of greatest poets during the reign of the Tudors. Nature, having deprived Anna of her beauty, abundantly endowed her with sensuality, which captivated Wyatt. However, the poet was married, and although Anna was flattered by his passion, she did not intend to become the mistress of his heart alone. Moreover, in 1527, Anna became the subject of attention of the king himself. True, the king only hoped to have a short affair and give a couple of nights to a woman who was of such obvious interest to the male part of his court. The king's claims completely unexpectedly encountered Anna's resistance - she was not going to give in just like that and was ready to accept only the crown of England in payment for her favor.

Henry VIII persisted, and his claims are beautifully traced in seventeen letters to Anne Boleyn. For the king, this was a kind of record - after all, Henry hated writing letters. In his third letter, Henry literally demanded that Anna confess her love for him, but was still far from proposing her hand and heart. However, Anna was not at all satisfied with the status of a mistress, and she waited, skillfully inflaming the king’s passion. By disappearing for a while, she forced the king to experience feelings of loss and guilt that were still unfamiliar to him. By this time, the king had already found a pretext for a divorce from his wife Katerina, who was never able to produce an heir to the throne, and began divorce proceedings. Anne Boleyn practically achieved what she wanted - the king offered her legal marriage immediately after the divorce. In a reply letter with an attached gift in the form of a small boat, the intriguer said that she was ready to hand over her virginity to the king - but only after the official wedding. Undoubtedly, the king was motivated not only by the desire to obtain an heir, but also by lust. In turn, Anne Boleyn aspired to become queen.

The king's divorce proceedings lasted seven years. His wife, Catherine of Aragon, hoped until the last moment that Pope Clement VII would not give permission to dissolve the marriage. As a matter of fact, all interested parties persisted, including the king, both in attempts to divorce his wife and in seeking love pleasures from the unapproachable Anna. Anna skillfully manipulated Henry, arranging scenes, declaring that her youth was passing, and the wait was too long, and even threatening to marry someone else. In turn, the courtiers expected completely different actions from their king - the marriage of Henry VIII and the French princess was certainly politically beneficial. Alas, this was not the first case in history when a weak woman influenced big politics. Anne Boleyn even managed to create a faction of people especially close to the English monarch who supported her claims.

Through quite short time It turned out that access to the royal mind was practically blocked and captured by his bride while his wife was alive - Anna controlled Henry even during important political meetings. The power and influence of Anne Boleyn reached the point that she opened the royal hunt. During conversations, Anna supported the king’s ideas that his position was extremely high in Europe. She even ordered anti-clerical literature for him, convincing Henry that he could rise above the Pope and lead the English Church himself.

Finally, in 1528, the king ordered his lawful wife to leave the court. It was almost a victory for Anne Boleyn in the struggle for the throne. But Cardinal Wolsey became a special target in the deeds and thoughts of Anne Boleyn. Anna hated him with all her heart and, for an old, now meaningless insult, was ready to denigrate him in the eyes of the king by any means available. It is worth noting that Cardinal Wolsey absolutely did not want to quarrel with the king and tried with all his might to quickly complete the divorce process entrusted to him. Anna accused the cardinal of not caring enough about the benefit of the king and the divorce. The king found confirmation of this in the cardinal's attempts to keep the monarch from making a categorical petition to Rome. However, under the influence of Anne Boleyn and her faction, a letter offensive to the papacy was sent. In 1530, the Pope sent Henry VIII a decree to remove Anne Boleyn from the king's person and from his court. Anna was angry, at the same time triumphant, because the king was again convinced of the cardinal’s supposed double game. Henry removed the cardinal from business, seized all his property in his favor and ordered Wolsey himself to be thrown into prison. On the way to his first interrogation, Cardinal Wolsey died, which in a different situation would have caused fear in Henry. But now the king declared himself the sole head and protector of the clergy and the entire English church. Well, Anne Boleyn was given the title - she became the Marchioness of Pembroke and the owner of vast lands. For the first time in all English history a similar title went to a woman.

Carefully observing the developing events, Anne Boleyn decided in the fall of 1532 that the right moment had come, and began to live with the king in a sinful marriage. It is almost impossible to hide anything at court, and besides, a few months later Anna made a “knight’s move” - at one of the court receptions she loudly declared that she had recently started eating a lot of apples. Those around her instantly diagnosed her with pregnancy. On January 25, 1533, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII were married secret marriage. During the wedding, the king fooled the priest - when he demanded to see written permission for the marriage from the Pope, Henry asked if the priest considered the King of England a liar. The priest hesitated and performed the sacrament of marriage - in general, illegal.

Then the king began to act rapidly. Archbishop Cranmer and the king's lawyer, Thomas Cromwell, put pressure on parliament and got both houses of parliament to declare the king's previous marriage invalid. Now Henry VIII only needed to complete the coronation procedure for Anne. He was in a hurry - after all, Anna’s pregnancy was already noticeable, and the celebrations were prepared in just seventeen days. The coronation took place on May 29, 1533 and eclipsed all previous holidays with its splendor. But the main thing for Anne Boleyn was that she received the highest prize of her life - the crown.

By the time of your birth new wife the king also prepared adequately. A knightly tournament was organized, festivities were planned and all the nuances were taken into account. However, on September 23, 1534, the queen gave birth to a girl, who received the name Elizabeth. Oddly enough, Henry took what happened quite calmly and only canceled the knightly tournament. He was sure that next child The queen will definitely have a boy. Cromwell organized a magnificent christening, and the young mother, barely getting to her feet, began to participate in the political life of the country. She devoted much of her time to charity and the promotion of education, trying to win the trust of the British. For the new queen, this was simply necessary - after all, the people still considered her a thief who kidnapped the king from his lawful wife. Cromwell showed particular zeal in strengthening the power of Anne Boleyn, who mercilessly suppressed all conspiracies and even thoughts of denigrating the queen. Through his efforts, a special decree was issued requiring all men in England to take an oath of allegiance to Queen Anne. Those who did not want to do this were mercilessly handed over to the executioner. By the way, the refusal to appear at Anna’s coronation cost even Thomas More dearly - he was executed.

The queen's next pregnancy inspired Henry VIII, but there was a miscarriage. Anna immediately blamed her husband for the incident, who, while waiting for an heir, slept with one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. In the early days of 1536, Henry's ex-wife, Katherine of Aragon, died. Having learned about this, Anne Boleyn insisted on organizing a ball to mark the pleasant event. But by that time, the king, still waiting for an heir, was already slightly disappointed in his wife and focused his attention on Katherine’s former maid of honor, Jane Seymour.

At the end of January 1536, the king went hunting. While chasing the beast, he fell from his horse and lost consciousness for several hours. Having received this message, Anna also fainted and went into premature labor - a dead boy was born. Henry recovered from the fall from his horse, but very sad thoughts about his own failure as a man settled in his soul. These gloomy thoughts of the king were supported by the fact that miscarriages often occurred in the Tudor family, and the birth of boys was generally rare. These thoughts led Henry to a paradoxical decision: if God does not give him an heir in marriage with Anne Boleyn, then it is necessary to annul the marriage and find new woman. All that remained was to implement the solution.

At the beginning of spring, a serious quarrel occurred between Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell, which became a turning point in the queen's fate. Cromwell had already decided for himself that Anne had no future, and therefore it was necessary to “replace” Anne under the crown with Jane Seymour. The shortest way Such a castling was accompanied by an accusation of the queen of treason against her husband, and Cromwell began to prepare the ground for this. In addition, at the end of April of the same year, Anna quite loudly quarreled with Henry Norris, and Cromwell did not want to miss such a gift of fate. Literally the next day, the whole court was just discussing a very suspicious scandal, and the king was informed of Anna’s carelessly thrown phrase, which she allegedly said to Norris: “You can’t count on taking the king’s place after his death.” Later, during the trial, this phrase gained force key accusation. In addition, Anna, in order to calm down, invited the young musician Mark Smithton to her place, and as soon as he left the queen’s chambers, Cromwell ordered his capture. After a day of continuous torture, the musician admitted that he was the queen’s lover.

On May 1, the day after Smithton's arrest, a knightly tournament took place, at which the king demanded that Henry Norris and the queen's brother George Boleyn confess to adultery with the queen. Both pleaded not guilty, but were arrested and sent to the Tower. Later, Boleyn was also accused of incest with his own sister. Henry VIII, always prone to exaggeration and self-pity, generally stated that the queen had cheated on him with a hundred or even more men. A version also surfaced that Catherine of Aragon was poisoned by Anne Boleyn, and only an accident saved Princess Mary, Catherine’s daughter, and the king himself from death.

On the morning of May 2, Anne Boleyn was arrested and taken into custody to the Tower. Even her hours-long hysteria in prison did not soften the king, although he was informed about his wife’s behavior. Although Henry was no stranger to feelings of guilt - he replaced the demand to send the queen to the stake with a scaffold and even sent him from Calais for his legal wife the best French executioner. Immediately after the verdict, in anticipation of his impending execution, Henry VIII declared his marriage to Anne Boleyn null and void. Their daughter Elizabeth automatically became illegitimate.

Anne Boleyn's "lovers" were executed before hers, and without much pomp. But for his ex-wife, Henry prepared a truly royal scaffold. Due to the historical incident - this was the first execution of a queen in England - only Londoners were allowed to attend the event, and foreigners were not allowed. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn ascended the scaffold and was executed by sword.

Henry VIII was not present at the execution, but upon receiving news of the death of his wife, he ordered Jane Seymour to be immediately brought to the palace. Just eleven days after the execution, the king married again. By the way, Jane Seymour did not disappoint the king - but, having given birth to his son, she died of childbed fever.

One of the experts on this period of English history rightly noted that the devil smiled very willingly at all the participants in this tragedy - except for the daughter of Anne Boleyn. A completely different fate awaited her - twenty-two years later, at the request of the people, she was elevated to the throne, and Elizabeth ruled England for many years.

12 chosen

She died exactly 475 years ago, after the entire English nobility watched with interest her ascension to the throne.
For her sake, he decided to hint at a divorce from the current Queen of England.
Their union was not accepted by the public, but their life together was bright, allowing them to experience the whole range of feelings from love to hate...

She…

Thanks to the favor of Henry VIII to Anne's father, a successful politician and ambitious man, the girl found a place among the ladies-in-waiting of Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands.

She spent her childhood in Belgium, where people spoke warmly about her. Later, Anna and her sister will go to France to become ladies-in-waiting in the retinue of the pious Queen Claudia of Valois.

Unlike his sister Mary, Anna did not succumb to the temptations of the French court– becoming just one of François I’s mistresses did not appeal to her. The girl had far-reaching plans.

When relations between France and England became, to put it mildly, cool, the Boleyn sisters appeared among the ladies-in-waiting of the English Queen Catherine of Aragon.

Anna had a fragile build, with long black hair and dark eyes, plus education, knowledge of languages ​​and talent as a poet. She also supported the translation of the Bible into English language and patronized people of art. In addition, it was she who introduced the fashion for the French hood headdress.

She was witty, charming and full of character. At the French court she was called the “mirror of fashion.” But in England at that time, the generally accepted canons of beauty had completely different parameters.

However, as soon as her engagement to the Earl of Northumberlain, Henry Percy, was a done deal, the King of England intervened...

He…

Along with the crown after his sickly brother Arthur Henry also received his wife– Catherine of Aragon – in 1505, an agreement was reached between the English and Spanish courts that Catherine would marry younger brother when he turns 15 years old. Pope Julius II issued a dispensation - a special permission for Catherine’s second marriage, despite the commandment of the Bible: “If anyone takes his brother’s wife, it is abominable; he has revealed his brother’s nakedness, they will be childless...”

England rejoiced - athletic, fit, charming, a first-class archer inspired hope for a bright future in his loyal subjects.

He was adored by scientists and reformers for his enlightened mind. He was a polyglot (Latin, Spanish, French, Italian!) and played the lute well.

However, there is evidence from contemporaries that the king’s education “miraculously” coexisted with despotism and numerous vices.

Alas, despite the “family castling,” the marriage of Henry and Katerina did not bear the long-awaited fruits - Katerina could not conceive, and, consequently, the throne remained without an heir. Until She appeared on the horizon...

They…

For the first time Henry VIII saw Anne March 1, 1522 at the court masquerade "The Virtues"": the King had a costume of “Sincerity”, Anna had a costume of “Perseverance”.

Henry believed that he would quickly win Anna's favor. But I was wrong - the girl was adamant.

The king upset her engagement to the count Percy didn't understand the real reason Anna was simply furious then. But... realizing what was what, for a long time she rejected the king’s gifts and refused to become his mistress (the example of the sister abandoned by the king became a clear example).

Anna went on the “offensive” immediately after Henry, in conversations with her, began to regret his childless marriage with Katerina. But for a long time the king did not dare to offer Anna anything higher than the status of “only mistress.” This, of course, did not suit her.

For Henry, such relationships were new - for the first time in his life, he was independently looking for an approach to a woman. Anna disappeared from the king's sight for some time. And he decided to divorce Katerina - she had long ago lost her ability to give birth. In addition, Henry found an excellent reason/explanation for his unsuccessful marriage: Pope Julius II should not have given the go-ahead for their wedding.

Anna is back. And she agreed to belong to Henry body and soul. In addition, Anna’s pregnancy became an additional reason for the decisive actions of the English King. The divorce from Katerina dragged on for seven years.

January 25, 1533– before receiving official papers from the Pope – The secret wedding of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII took place. Anna's coronation took place on May 29 of the same year. It is noteworthy that the bow of the ship on which Boleyn went to the coronation was a dragon spitting fire.

Alas, the birth of his wife brought disappointment to Henry - a girl appeared, the future Elizabeth I. In addition, he was extremely surprised and annoyed that Anna decided to breastfeed the baby on her own.

Perhaps this was the beginning of a split within the family - Anna was willful and jealous, and she flatly refused to obey her husband(unlike the flexible Katerina). An old wound that opened after falling from a horse during a tournament in 1536 added fuel to the fire. Henry's character was rapidly deteriorating - he was bothered by his wife's claims and jealousy. In addition, a young woman appeared on the horizon Jane Seymour- fully met the canons of English beauty (besides, the people did not like their new queen).

IN Heinrich’s head began to stir again with thoughts of divorce. And thanks to Prime Minister Thomas Cromwell, Anna was accused of treason. The process has begun.

The trial of Anne Boleyn took place in the main hall of the Tower. The king was not present. Anna calmly listened to the accusation of treason, and witchcraft, and the verdict. As a “privilege”, instead of a bonfire for the execution of the Queen of England, they specially sent an executioner from France, who executed her May 19, 1536 by cutting off the head with a sword…

Thinking out loud . Truly: the higher you rise, the more painful it is to fall. But bright personalities always remain in history, becoming a source of inspiration.

What do you think motivates the ladies who decide to “tame” kings? Or is this a question from the area of ​​“kings are people too”?