Elizabeth I as Princess |
- During
Anne's pregnancy, Henry's eye began to wander again, and Anne was violently
upset.
- Anne
delivered of her child on September 7, 1533. Sadly, the birth of the
child was a girl, Elizabeth. No one could have foretold the miraculous
reign of Elizabeth 25 years later. Anne was very affected by this turn
of events, but Henry assured her that since the girl was healthy, boys
would follow.
- Until
Anne gave birth to a male child, it was Mary, and not Katherine, who
was to be feared, for it was clear that the public preferred her to
the "bastard" Elizabeth, as the public called her.
- Anne
became very maternal, and although she was not able to see her daughter
often, she took great pains to ensure a good education and healthy and
prosperous life for her.
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Sir Thomas More |
- Even
though Katherine was banished and Anne was a crowned and anointed queen,
there were people who objected to the marriage, and particularly with
the break with Rome. One of these people was Henry's old friend, Sir
Thomas More.
- The fact
that More was well respected did not help the royal couple, who were
struggling with their image both at home and abroad. Any opposition
was soon not to be tolerated. More needed to be silenced.
- Sir Thomas
was as stubborn and willful as the king himself, and no amount of pressure
was able to change his mind and agree to the marriage. He was arrested
and placed in the infamous Tower of London.
- On July
6th, 1535, More was beheaded. He died stating "I die the king's good
servant, but God's first."
- People
were shocked by his death and blamed Anne for his demise. But worse
things were to come for the new Queen of England.
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Anne
Boleyn, anonyous artist
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- Anne's
troubles really began when it became apparent that she too was having
trouble giving Henry a son. As long as Anne had given birth to a son,
Henry would have stuck with her, and it is likely that the people would
have eventually forgiven her.
- Now that
we know that the male chromosome determines the sex of a child, it is
ironic that Henry blamed his wives for not giving him a son. Yet Anne
did have bad luck. In July of 1534, Anne miscarried a child, and in
June of 1535, her child was born dead. Anne was in serious trouble.
- In late
1535, Henry began to show great interest in one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting,
Jane Seymour. On the surface, Jane was quite different from Anne. She
was plain, meek and docile, yet underneath the surface, she was probably
just as ruthless and ambitious as Anne had been. Jane too wanted a crown,
and she didn't have to wait seven years to get it.
- In January,
1536, the long-suffering Katherine of Aragon died. Henry rejoiced and
asked the court to wear yellow. He also staged an elaborate jousting
match on the date of her burial.
- At first,
Anne was relieved as well, but she soon realized that she was in great
danger. As long as the child she was now carrying was a healthy boy,
all was okay. If it wasn't, then it wasn't hard to predict the outcome,
and Anne guessed it would be bad.
- Sadly,
the child was prematurely born and died. Worse still, the child was
indeed the much hoped for son. Henry was furious and refused to forgive
her. In just a few short months she was on trial for her life.
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"Anne Boleyn in the Tower"
|
- Henry
was getting older, and he felt that Anne could not give him a son. He
was determined to be rid of her, yet he didn't want another ex-wife
claiming she was the rightful Queen of England. Only by her death could
Henry truly be free.
- Anne's
many enemies began to sense that now was the time to strike. Thomas
Cromwell, a man who gained much by Anne's rise, was now quite willing
to help the king destroy his wife.
- Anne
was accused of having sexual relations with five men, including her
own brother, George. That she might have been guilty is now seen as
highly unlikely. Most of the "evidence" was clearly trumped up and in
fact could not have happened. Yet it was Anne who had the burden of
proof. As long as everyone wanted to believe her guilty, she was doomed.
- She was
sent to the Tower on May 2, 1536. Her own uncle, who despised her, was
to oversee the trial.
- Anne
was highly strung and went from varying mood swings; from sorrow to
uncontrollable laughter. She soon regained her composure, however, and
excused herself so well in the trial that it was said she "had the appearance
of innocence."
- Tudor
justice was not known for its fairness, and if the king wanted her gone,
Anne was to be found guilty. Both Anne and the five gentlemen were all
sentenced to death. For Anne, it was to be either death by axe or fire,
to be determined at "the King's pleasure."
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Thomas Cromwell
|
- Anne was to be given one more indignity before she
died. Because Henry wanted Jane's future children to be the undoubted
heirs to the throne, he wanted Elizabeth to be declared a bastard, as
her half-sister Mary had been before.
- Anne's marriage was annulled on the basis that Henry
had slept with her sister. How this conveniently escaped Henry's mind
at the marriage, and then equally mysteriously was remembered at her
death is an example of Henry's double-dealing to get his own way.
- Anne requested that she be beheaded by a swordsman
instead of the axe, and an expert was sent especially form France for
the occasion. This was the first example of a queen being executed in
England's history, so it required attenion to proper protocol.
- Anne was to die on May 19, 1536. She behaved, as at
her trial, with great dignity, and it was said that she had never looked
more beautiful. After her head was smitten off, it was noticed that
a coffin was not provided, so Anne was buried in an arrow box, just
the right size for a decapitated body with her head tucked to the side.
She was buried in the nearby chapel in the Tower, and she lies there
still.
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The Queen
of Spades
|
- Henry finally got a male child from his new queen,
Jane Seymour, but she died soon after. He married three more times before
his death in 1547.
- All of Henry's efforts to get a male child actually
did more harm than good. Edward, his son, died at the age of sixteen
after being king for only six years. Since he was a fervent Protestant,
he dreaded the idea of his eldest sister Mary taking the throne; Mary
was a strong believer in the Catholic religion.
- Edward claimed Lady Jane Grey should be his successor,
but the people didn't accept this and her "nine-days" reign came to
a swift end. Mary was declared the rightful queen.
- Mary tried to stop the growing popularity of the Protestant
religion and was to burn hundreds of innocent people for their faith.
This earned her the reputation of being "Bloody Mary." Mary was equally
afraid of the crown going to Elizabeth, since Elizabeth was brought
up as Protestant. For a time, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower,
a frightening reminder of her mother's fate.
- Mary, though married to the Spanish king, Phillip of
Spain, died childless and Elizabeth inherited the throne. Her glorious
and peaceful reign lasted for 45 years, and she became known as the
"Virgin Queen."
- Anne Boleyn can be remembered as not only the link
to great change in British history, but also as a woman ahead of her
time. Her independent spirit and willful determination enabled her to
beat the odds and win the crown of England. It was a sign of the times
that her success would not be tolerated for long. Elizabeth's proud
spirit can be easily paralleled to her mother's, and Elizabeth was her
greatest legacy of her all too brief reign.
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