Kate Hammack
5/29/23
Her Story
Anne Boleyn was the Queen of England from 1533 to 1536. She was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard. Throughout her life, she was betrothed to different men, but the weddings never happened. She served as one of the maids of honor during the wedding of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, which is when Henry VIII noticed Anne. Henry VIII started to pursue Anne, even though he refused to become his mistress and resisted him, he wanted to annul his marriage with Catherine so he could be free to marry Anne. Henry would even harass Anne with sexual love letters every day.
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were married on January 25, 1533, after Henry took over the Church of England, consequently when Anne became the Queen of England. However in 1536, Anne Boleyn was charged with conspiracy against the king, adultery, and incest by Thomas Cromwell, who conspired with Henry VIII. In her trial, she was found guilty, leading to her beheading on May 29, 1536. Why was she executed? Well, the answer is horrifying, but normal for many women at that age. Anne Boleyn failed to produce a male heir to the throne for Henry VIII. She suffered 3 miscarriages and gave birth to their daughter Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I), which Henry was very disappointed about. Henry failed to get their marriage annulled because he wanted to marry Jane Seymour, in hopes to gain a male heir from her, so he charged Anne with false charges to get her executed.
Later on, rumors about Henry cheating on Anne with several mistresses sprouted, along with his ignoring Anne’s desperate pleas of innocence toward him. Anne was
beheaded on Tower Green, protesting her innocence until her last breath. 11 days after her execution, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour.
“I have come hither to die, for according to the law and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it… I pray God to save the King… for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never”
Our Opinion
The story of Anne Boleyn is saddening and heartbreaking to read because she was murdered solely because she couldn't produce a male heir. In those times, women were blamed for not being able to keep a baby to term, and for only producing women, they were seen as cursed. On the other hand, men were never taken into consideration for this, they were never criticized and looked down upon. It’s horrible to see that this was the reality of many women at that age, and it still is now.
Anne Boleyn has had a bad reputation for centuries, she’s seen as a temptress scheming woman, but she was just a lover and a humanitarian for England. She did not deserve her death, especially the horrible reasons behind it. Many women in history have suffered similar fates to those of Anne, such as the thousands of innocent women murdered for witchcraft.
Resources
Anne Boleyn. Historic Royal Palaces. (n.d.). https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/anne-boleyn/#:~:text=Execution%20and%20Burial,will%20speak%20nothing%20against%20it%20…
Haynes, S. (2019, December 2). Why Anne Boleyn doesn’t deserve her bad reputation. Time. https://time.com/5739697/anne-boleyn-biography-women-history/
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, May 16). Anne Boleyn. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-Boleyn
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