Anne Boleyn- The Woman Who Became Queen and Transformed the Church of England with Her Seduction and Witt

A tale of female perseverance and cunningness that led to unimaginable power, with an unfortunate ending. 

By. Liliana Kotval

Did you know that a king´s lust for a woman was the reason for the entire transformation of the Church of England in the 16th century? Before Anne Boleyn came into King Henry VIII´s life, the English church was strictly Catholic and was loyal to the Roman Pope. However, when Catholic law did not allow for divorces nor annulments of marriages, King Henry VIII changed history in order to declare his marriage to his then-wife, Queen Katharine of Aragon, null and void, and marry Anne Boleyn.

Anne Boleyn was born into a wealthy family at Hever Castle, spent most of her childhood at the French court, and in 1522, at 22 years old, joined the English court as a lady in waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon, wife of King Henry VIII. King Henry had his fair share of mistresses, including Anne’s sister, Mary, and had laid his eyes on Anne as his next target. Anne did not want the same fate for her- she did not want to be someone’s mistress and not have any title nor wealth to accompany it. She sought for power, and this is exactly what she got. 

In the following years, King Henry VIII grew infatuated by Anne. They sent several love letters to each other, but Anne did not allow to be his mistress still. She wanted to be queen. The king was growing more and more weary of his marriage to Queen Katharine of Aragon and wanted a male heir. Queen Katharine (at this time, around 40 years old) had only had one child with King Henry- Mary- and suffered several miscarriages thereafter. The king applied for his marriage to Queen Katharine to be annulled, however, as the Pope would not grant the divorce to the king since it went against Catholic beliefs, Anne offered another solution: William Tyndale’s ‘Obedience of a Christian Man’, which stated that only God has the ultimate say, not the Pope. Anne, a nonconformist herself (such beliefs were deadly at the time), was able to convince the king to declare himself head of the English church and therefore be in command of his own divorce. Thomas Cromwell, the English Secretary of State at the time and supporter of the English reformation, described Anne as having ´intelligence, spirit and courage´. While others, like Queen Catherine, described her as ´a person who is the scandal of Christendom´. 

In 1533, after many years of trial and error and conflict with the Catholic church, the king declared himself the supreme head of the Church of England and state and granted himself the divorce and then married Anne Boleyn. This marriage did not last long, however, as Anne failed to produce a male heir and was accused of adultery by her enemies at court seeking power. The king was so frustrated by the fact that Anne did not conceive a male heir that he believed the rumors that Anne used witchcraft to seduce him and several other men, including her own brother. As a result, Anne and all of her suspected male lovers were beheaded by the king’s orders in 1536. 

An obviously harsh treatment of a queen, some historians have investigated the drastic change in King Henry´s demeanor during his marriage to Anne. In 1536, when Henry was 44 years old and 3 years into his marriage with Anne, he suffered a jousting accident which left him unconscious for 2 hours and seriously damaged his leg for the rest of his life. This accident could have been the cause of his new intolerant, violent, and tyrannical personality. Following his marriage to Anne, Henry took on 4 more wives, one of which, he also had beheaded on accounts of accused adultery.

Nevertheless, Anne’s life left a powerful trail: the church of England would never be the same, and still, to this day, most of the English are Anglicans, or followers of the Church of England. Also, Anne did have one child with Henry-Elizabeth- who would become one of the best rulers of England and shared many of her mother’s cunning traits. 

Fun facts:

As a teenager and young adult, King Henry VIII was described as being very handsome and fit at six-feet and two-inches (189 cm), as he participated in sports, such as tennis and jousting. As Henry grew older, his health declined, suffering from reoccurring malaria, leg ulcers, and morbid obesity that caused daily chronic pain. He was so heavy in his final years that he needed servants to lift him and carry him around the castle. When he died at age 55, he weighed around 400 lbs. (181 Kg). 

Anne was described as having dark eyes and hair, and an oval face. How Anne looked exactly has been a question for centuries, as propaganda at court led to Anne´s rivals describing her in twisted ways, such as having a 6th finger on her right hand and a protruding top tooth. Others described her as being tall and beautiful. 

References: 

“Anne Boleyn. She Failed to Give Henry VIII a Son and Paid with Her Life”. Historical Royal Palaces, https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/anne-boleyn/#gs.60fyg1  

Crowther, David. “Quotes About Anne Boleyn”. The History of England, 2018, https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/resource/quotes-about-anne-boleyn/  

John, Laura. "Henry VIII's Deteriorating Health 1509-1547". Historic UK, 2018, https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Henry-VIII-Health-Problems/