Anne Boleyn Biography
Sexy, intelligent and ambitious. Her insistence on becoming queen played a part in
England's break from the Catholic Church but treason charges lost Anne her head.
At the age of twelve she was sent to France by her father where she learnt to speak French
fluently and developed a taste for French dress, poetry and music. When she returned, nine
years later (1522), she was immediately sent to the Royal Court to attend the Queen Catherine of Aragon.
Her unusual, sensual appearance caught the attention of all. Contemporary reports all
include descriptions of jet black hair, dark eyes, pale skin and a slender neck, as well as
conflicting details such as a wart on the chin and mysterious mark on her neck,
presumably spurred by jealousy.
Henry VIII was so enamoured by Anne's beauty, he began showering Anne with gifts and
attention. It is reported that Anne rejected his physical advances throughout his prolonged
divorce with Catherine of Aragon, who had failed to provide the king with a male heir only a daughter who became Mary I.
She also introduced the king to new ideas about religion (Protestantism) including making
the monasteries places for education and giving services in English rather than the
traditional Latin.
On 25 January 1532, Henry and Anne were secretly married before his official split from
Catherine of Aragon, which was officially dissolved by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Thomas Cranmer on 23 May 1532.
Anne was crowned Queen on 1 June 1533 in a lavish ceremony at the Tower of London. As
Anne had fallen pregnant before her marriage, her daughter, Elizabeth, was born just
three months later on 7 September 1533.
Henry and Anne continued to try for a boy, but Anne failed to follow through with any
future pregnancies, suffering miscarriages in both 1534 and 1535. This dissatisfied Henry
and his ministers, and Anne was soon proved to be as dispensable as her predecessor.
Thomas Cromwell, Anne's former friend, plotted her downfall. Anne was accused of being
a witch, apparently having six fingers on one hand, as well as of promiscuity - and an
incestuous relationship with her brother George.
Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower of London on 2 May 1536 where she was tried
by a board of noblemen, including her own uncle - the Duke of Norfolk.All involved in the
tale were tried, tortured and found guilty. Anne's musician Mark Smeaton and her friends
Francis Weston, William Brereton, Henry Norris and her brother George were all executed
for committing adultery with the queen.
Two thousand spectators arrived for Anne's trial. When found guilty, Henry allowed her
the privilege of being beheaded with a sword from France - and not the unreliable axe. She
was executed in private on 19 May on Tower Green.
'Anne of A Thousand Days' was buried three years and thirty-seven days after her
coronation, in the Chapel of St Peter.
Twelve Sentences – 36 points
Six Vocabulary Words – 12 points
Main idea – 10 points