In the ancient church of leafy Blickling in Norfolk, Anne Boleyns ancestors brasses stretch back for centuries. She was the niece of the Duke of Norfolk, a descendant of Geoffrey Boleyn, Lord Mayor of London and even related to Edward I. In short, she was a noblewoman, In the most well-known portrait of her in the National Portrait Gallery, we can see Anne Boleyn had an oval face and her thick hair which was a lustrous dark-brown was drawn back into a French hood, Her face had character, with high cheek-bones, and her magnificent eyes were a glorious brown with dilated pupils. Her sensual gaze would alight from man to man, engaging their attention and then looking away demurely, leaving them desperate for her to look back again, completely bewitched. ..Her skin was not “so white and fresh as we above all may esteem”., according to George Wyatt. Her nose was regular with a round tip, but she would purse her lips , giving an air both “prim and provocative” She was vivacious and “passing skilled” as a dancer, keeping her head high during a masque.William Forrest who was really commenting on Catherine of Aragons faction at court called Anne “a fresh young damsel who could trip and go”. Anne Boleyn was born either at Blickling Hall in 1501 or 1507 at Hever Castle. No-one really knows. Her father was Thomas Boleyn, a courtier, diplomat and linguist and her mother was Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Anne had two siblings, Mary and George. It was 1513 and across the Channel, the continent beckoned. Annes destination was the Habsburg court in Mechelen, where she would join Margaret of Austria as a maid of honour. Anne was but to study under a tutor called Symmonet. The Archduchess wrote to Thomas Boleyn, who she knew in his capacity as a diplomat, that her first impression of Anne was that she was “bright and pleasant.”Anne wrote in 1514 saying in clumsy French that she “ was keen to persevere in speaking French and in being a woman of good reputation.” She certainly improved her French, although the English commoners found plenty of fault with her when she was Queen. The essential skill of a Renaissance court was dance, with all the fashion for noble Kings, exotic foreigners and all the aspects of courtly love, Here, Anne would learn rallying wit and later indulge in doubles entendres. Anne remained in France for the next six or seven years, transferring to the court of Mary Tudor, Henry VIIIs sister.Later Anne joined the household of Queen Claude, gaining a reputation for an appealing personality and charming manners. Queen Claudes court was libidinous, with Francois I being the most lecherous of all. Brantome remembered Anne Boleyn as “the fairest and most bewitching of all the lovely dames of the French court”. Francois I who said terrible things about Annes sister, Mary, who was sent back home in disgrace, praised Anne to the skies.. Lady Antonia Fraser says Anne at least came back home with “an honest reputation.”In circa 1521, Anne was recalled from France concerning a marriage to James, Lord Butler. There was a dispute of the Butler- Ormonde inheritance which would have been resolved by Annes marriage to James, or so it was thought. While the matter of the marriage was sorted out, Anne Boleyn was placed in the household of Catherine of Aragon. Annes appearance at York Place was on March 1st, 1522.. Eight ladies took place, including Mary Tudor, who could still re-enact the part of “Beauty” and The Duchess of Devonshire was “Honour” Anne Boleyn shone in the part of “Perseverance.” The women wore white satin with their “character” picked out twenty-four times in yellow satin and the head-dresses were cauls of Venetian gold set off twenty-four times in yellow satin. Opposite them were eight male counterparts with their ideal masculine characters- “Gentleness”, “Loyalty” “Liberty” etc with Henry VIII as leading man. The women were stationed in the turreted “Chateau Vert” and the theme was unrequited love. Henry VIII led the male attack on the Castle, bombarding the fortress with fruits and sweetmeats. Did Henry catch a glimpse of Anne Boleyn in the melee? He then had the exquisite Mary Boleyn as his mistress and Anne was not so pretty as Mary. But no doubt Annes vitality and style, even from afar, made a deep initial impression on Henry VIII. Her dark eyes and lustrous hair never seemed to leave his memory.It is fair to say that Anne Boleyn was a small sensation at the English court. The projected marriage did not prosper. About the same time, Henry Lord Percy, an heir to great estates in the North, became attracted to Anne. The exact nature of their intimacy remains shrouded in mystery. Percy began by going to the “Queens Chamber” for recreation and fell deeply in love with Anne. They became precontracted but Henry VIII was himself taken with Anne who “for her excellent gesture and behaviour did excel all other “ and ordered Wolsey to intervene and break the precontract.. Henry VIII ensured much later that there was a papal dispensation in case liberties had been taken, and Henry Percy became a “ruined man.”Anne was sent home to “simmer” at Hever, while Henrys interest in her sister began to dwindle and Mary was cast aside when she became pregnant and was married to William Carey, a courtier, Anne returned to court c. 1525. Queen Catherine of Aragon was by now very stout due to her many pregnancies, and Anne, in sharp contrast, was slender, exotic and alluring. King Henry VIII had the body of an athlete and would have been a magnificent figure of a man in any gathering. When Anne came back to court, the Tudor poet. Thomas Wyatt became her admirer. Did they have an affair? No-one knows, but his most famous sonnet shows an interest in Anne particularly.: “There is written her fair neck round/ “Noli me tangere, for Caesars I am/And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.” Thomas Wyatt remains a mysterious character in Anne Boleyns history- he is sometimes put forward as a rival to Henry VIII. Having discarded Mary Boleyn Carey Henry VIII turned his attention to her younger sister, who he had held in his consciousness since the masque in 1522. At Shrovetide, 1526, King Henry VIII began his courtly pursuit of Anne Boleyn, having fallen deeply in love with her. Anne was put off by Marys experiences with the King, and she held herself aloof and refused to become Henry VIIIs mistress. In Autumn, 1526, Henry wrote the first of seventeen love letters to Anne in French, which are now in the Vatican Library. Later, the King, impelled by passion would write in language rivaling a Shakesperean sonnet to try and win Annes heart. In early 1527, Henry made consultations about an annulment from Catherine of Aragon..In mid 1527, Anne sent an etrenne or diamond brooch to Henry to seal their love and signify her surrender. Henry was ecstatic and promised to match her love entirely, assuring her that thenceforth his heart would be dedicated to her alone. The King had discovered a verse from Leviticus that he had had an incestuous marriage with Catherine of Aragon, Prince Arthurs wife. Whether there was self-delusion on Henrys part we cannot say, it certainly would not be the first time that Henrys conscience had played devils advocate. The pressure on the King to be divorced was greater still.. In 1528, Anne emerged into the Court from the Queens cloistered household feeling her marriage to the King was imminent. She was unpopular at Court because she was a Lutheran. Anne Boleyn was sufficiently independent to be interested in the religious reform she had encountered in England and the Continent. When Cardinal Campeggio arrived from Rome in October, 1528, there were to be five long years of wrangling with Rome before Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the English church and broke off relations with the Pope. On 1st September, 1528, Henry VIII made Anne the Marquess of Pembroke.She received many manor-houses up and down the country, which made her more unpopular with the commoners than ever. The truth can never be known for certain, but it is believed that Henry VIII made love -fully- to Anne Boleyn some time before the end of 1532. Some critics coyly limit this to their first sexual encounter, while other critics, notably Alison Weir, say the couple had been using”coitus interruptus” for several years.There was no doubt, however, that it was a love match. Around the end of the first week of December, 1532, Anne became pregnant. As the months went by, the question of Henry and Annes marriage became more urgent.On about St Pauls Day, 25th January, 1533, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were married in a secret ceremony. In characteristically outrageous fashion, Anne announced to the court that she had such a craving for apples and burst out laughing, retiring from the shocked court. On the 23rd May, 1533, Archbishop Cranmer gave his judgement that the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was invalid. On the 1st June, 1533, the reign of Anne Boleyn reached its apotheosis and she was crowned Queen. Anne Boleyn was six months pregnant, and Archbishop Cranmer commented adversely on this, in a letter. Henry VIII mobilized the whole of London in homage to his new wife. At eight o clock, on Whit Sunday, Queen Anne entered Westminster Abbey, resplendent in her purple robes, trimmed with ermine. Over her was carried the gold canopy of the Cinque Ports, As tradition demanded, the coronation was set in the context of a high mass. Cranmer prayed over Anne as she prostrated herself before the high altar. Then he anointed her and crowned her with St Edwards Crown, delivering the sceptre and the rod of ivory. Henry VIII was watching from above. He had delivered a massive vote of confidence in his new bride. With the passing months, Henrys relationship waxed and waned, although at the moment, there was always a rainbow round the corner. Professor Eric Ives writes how apt the expression “Anne of a Thousand Days”is, From its zenith at Annes coronation to her downfall in the Tower. On the 7th September, 1533, the Princess Elizabeth was christened. She was fair like her father. The Princess Elizabeth was announced as the Kings first “legitimate child”, but the joust to be held in the event of a male heir was cancelled.. In 1534, Anne had a stillbirth and Catherine of Aragon died still yearning for Henry. The death of Annes rival in 1536 should have brought about a triumph for Anne, but instead it ushered her downfall.Henry and Anne appeared in joyful yellow at court after Catherines death and Henry VIII showed off the Princess Elizabeth to all and sundry. On 24th January, 1536, the Kings horse fell at a joust and knocked him unconscious for two hours.On the 29th January,1536, Anne miscarried a child that was recognizably a boy. The loss of a son was a great psychological blow to Henry and once again his conscience told him that Anne had used witchcraft to incur a miscarriage. “You shall have no more sons by me!”He raged bitterly. In February, 1536, Henry VIII decided to rid himself of Anne Boleyn. Thomas Cromwell began to hatch his plot against Anne, with Henry VIIIs approval. On Sunday 30th April, Cromwell had his first subjects under arrest - Norris, Smeaton, Brereton and Weston were accused of adultery and treason with the Queen. George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was accused of incest with the Queen, his sister These charges were undoubtedly fabricated. Meanwhile, Anne was arrested and told that Henry had sent for the Swordsman from Calais. She entered the Tower via the same apartments she had occupied before her coronation. She fell on the steps crying out: “My mother! My mother!”, When she reached the rooms near to her scaffold, her body was consumed by deep racking sobs. alternating with wild laughter. Constable Kingston explained to Anne that the execution “would not be painful”, that the blow would be “so subtle”. Anne replied: “I heard say the executioner was very good and I have a little neck.” Then she put her hands round her neck and laughed hysterically,
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