Henry 8 and Anna Boleyn: A Love Story

Early in the morning on May 19, 1536, a young woman in an ermine robe rose to the scaffold erected opposite the White Tower of the Tower. It was the Queen of England, deposed from the throne , Henry III's wife Anna Boleyn, whose biography became an example of how short is the path from the love of the most august persons to hatred and from throne to plough.

Childhood, which was not

The future queen, born in 1501, and so sadly ended her life on a wet damp from the morning dew, came from an ancient and influential family that included the famous Plantagenets. This alone obliged her to meet the requirements that were set for the lucky ones, who destined to enter the circle of the highest aristocracy. That is why Anna's childhood, held in the family castle of Heather, was filled not with games and amusements peculiar to this happy time, but with endless pursuits with the best mentors of that time.

Anna was eleven years old when she and her younger sister Maria received an invitation to continue their education in Vienna, at a privileged school, patronized by Empress Margaret of Austria. After two years of study and excelling in the study of arithmetic, grammar, foreign languages, dances and many other disciplines for girls from the highest world, including riding, archery and chess, the sisters went to France.

Life at the court of Philip I

In Paris, they arrived in the suite of Mary Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII of England . Here the girls complete their education, studying not only French, but also comprehending the subtleties of court flirting. Very soon Anna's sister Maria, so carried away by this science, that she did not notice how she was among the mistresses of the ardent but inconstant King Philip I.

There are reasons to believe that Anna herself faced the temptation to respond to the love of the crowned seducer, but as the future showed, she had far-reaching plans, and she did not deceive the role of one of the innumerable concubines of the king. I must pay tribute, she did not waste the years spent in Paris. Communicating with the most enlightened people of that era, Anna not only acquired a taste for high poetry and literature, but also was imbued with ideas of religious reformism. Later it was her own initiative to translate the Bible from Latin into English.

Return to London

When in 1522, due to political differences, relations between Britain and France deteriorated, Anna returned to London. Here she receives a marriage offer from her cousin - Irish aristocrat James Butler, and spends some time as his bride, but then the wedding gets frustrated. Obviously, the reason for this was the exorbitant ambitions of the young girl. By this time fate is preparing a sharp turn in Anna's life. On the court masquerade, held on March 1, 1522, she is invited to dance by King Henry himself.

Family problems of the king

By this time the English monarch was married to Catherine of Aragon. Having ascended the throne after the death of his younger brother Arthur, Henry was forced from political considerations to inherit and his wife, the daughter of the King of Spain. However, the marriage was not only unhappy, but also failed dynastically. During the years of marriage, Catherine was not able to produce the heir to the throne. All her children died in infancy, except for a single daughter - Mary, the future Queen of England, Mary I.

It is known that King Henry the Tudor, who received the throne after the long and bloody war of the Scarlet and White Roses, was extremely scrupulous in the matter of succession to the throne. Therefore, before getting to know Anna, he was full of the desire to send in his resignation his not justified hopes to his wife and to remarry. This undertaking was of great complexity, since according to church canons a divorce was not permitted, and the Pope would not give his blessing.

Then, finding a formal, but convincing, in his opinion, an excuse, the king tried to recognize illegal the very conclusion of marriage and to achieve its annulment. This ugly story stretched out for several years, and by the time Anna Boleyn danced with him at the festive masquerade, King Henry 8 had managed to send his unhappy wife to a distant castle and was consoled in the company of several young minions.

Ambitious maid of honor

In their number, he intended to include Anna. Recently arrived from France and characterized by graceful manners, she was able to captivate the man's eye with the thoughtfulness of her outfit, combining the puritan stiffness with subtle coquetry. But, to his amazement, she rejected gifts and did not allow him to approach more than etiquette allowed. In it, accustomed to female obedience, it caused astonishment.

However, everything was explained simply: Anna did not want to share the fate of her younger sister Maria, who for a short time became the mistress of Philip I and soon abandoned him. This woman knew the price and played big. When the king spoke to her about the childlessness of his wife, she realized that fate gives her a chance. Poor Anna, she did not realize that she was to become only the next head of the tragedy, which can be provisionally called "Evil Henry 8 Tudor and his wives" ...

Intrigue, crowned with success

Once in France, observing the mores of the Paris court, Anna was a good student and perfectly mastered the "science of tender passion." She understood: nothing so kindles the man's ardor, as the apparent coldness of the chosen one and the danger of irrevocably losing her. Anna makes a risky, but justified step - for a long time is shut in his ancestral castle Heather.

When, finally, she reappears in the palace, the king, exhausted by separation and jealousy, becomes her easy prey. Having lost the hope to limit her presence in the palace only as a regular favorite, the king in love makes Anna offer to become his lawful wife, and she agrees.

Illegal, but beloved wife

However, before Henry 8 and Anna Boleyn can marry, the issue with Margarita Aragonska must be resolved. Sent by her husband to a distant estate, she still remains his lawful wife and is not going to make any concessions. As mentioned above, the case of the recognition of her marriage to the king as invalid was delayed for several years, and for a number of reasons could not be resolved in the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, Anna, who was introduced to the royal chambers, though on illegal grounds, behaved like a true master of the destinies of the state. Having Henry unlimited influence, she unceremoniously interfered in all state affairs, redrawn them in her own manner. Letters from Spanish and French diplomats have been preserved in which they warned their colleagues that before approving questions in the English parliament, it is necessary to obtain Anna's approval.

The Reformation of the Church and its Consequences

At this stage an important role in her life was played by the newly appointed First Counselor of the King Thomas Cromwell. A convinced supporter of the Reformation of the church, he managed to convince Heinrich to free himself from the supremacy of the Pope and proclaim the priority of secular power over the church. This step had far-reaching consequences for both the state that had escaped the control of the Holy See, and for the king himself, who was no longer obliged to seek permission to annul the marriage in Rome. Soon the desired document was received.

After the official recognition of the royal marriage, Henry 8 and Anna Boleyn married. At first this ceremony was secretly done by strangers, but on January 25, 1533, when Anna announced her husband about her pregnancy, an official coronation took place, the purpose of which was to legitimize their marriage. There is a description of the celebration left by one of its participants. In it, he tells how a wedding procession was moving along the streets of London. The bride was sitting in a gilded palanquin, and the most noble barons held a snow-white canopy over her head.

Thirst of the heir to the throne

Since that day, Henry 8 and Anna Boleyn have been occupied with one concern - the expectation of the birth of the heir to the British crown. In order to remove his wife as much as possible from the courtly bustle, the king settled her at his beloved residence Greenwich, where she was surrounded by the care of numerous servants. All doctors and astrologers unanimously predicted the birth of their son, but, contrary to expectations, on September 7, 1533, Anna gave birth to a girl named Elizabeth.

This was a considerable disappointment of the couple and the first step on Anna's way to the terrible platform that would be built for her opposite the White Tower of the Tower. By this time, Henry's passion, accompanying the first days of marriage, was replaced by satiety, followed by boredom and dislike for the woman who once occupied all his dreams. In addition, the issue with the successor to the throne remained unresolved, and this left an imprint on their relationship.

The story of Anna Boleyn and Henry 8 enters a completely different phase. The Queen understands that she will not be able to regain the love of her husband, and therefore only stakes on the opportunity to give him such a welcome son. A year later she is pregnant again. The king surrounds her with her former care and showered with gifts. It seemed that the best days of their love returned. But suddenly everything stops. At the end of December 1534 she had a miscarriage.

The death of the last hopes

Having lost hope, Henry VIII begins to talk openly with the people about the divorce. Anna awaits and another misfortune: at this time at the court appears a young maid of honor Jane Seymour, who took her place in the heart of the king. The last hope was a new pregnancy, which she informed her husband after they spent the summer of 1535 together. A few months later came the news of the death of the former wife of Henry VIII - Margarita of Navarre.

On a cold January day, during the funeral of her predecessor, Anna again had a miscarriage. Perhaps his reason for the unrest experienced by her, when a few days before the king fell during the tournament from a horse, or in despair that gripped her when she saw the hated Jane Seymour on her husband's knee. But in any case it was the end.

After the misfortune that happened during the funeral of Margarita of Aragon, Henry 8 and Anna Boleyn actually ceased to be spouses. She was evicted from the royal chambers, which was occupied by a happy rival. Soon Heinrich stated that he was forced to marry by force of witchcraft, and therefore considers it invalid.

One among countless enemies

It is appropriate to recall the name of Thomas Cromwell, which, according to the researchers, could provoke the fall and the subsequent execution of the queen. It was he who initiated the Reform of the Church, which Henry VIII then spent. England emerged from the influence of Rome, and as a result, significant church revenues were confiscated. Anna demanded to use them for charity, and Cromwell demanded the transfer of money to the treasury, with the deduction of significant sums in his favor. On this basis, mortal enmity arose between them.

To eliminate the disgraced queen, and get the opportunity to remarry, Henry 8 Tudor accused his wife of treason. Since the king was the personification of the nation, in this case, adultery according to law was equated with state treason and punished with death. As lovers were named men from her closest associates. For their confessions it did not become - they were obtained with the help of experienced executioners.

In early May 1536, Anna Boleyn was brought to one of the Tower's chambers. England reacted to her arrest without sympathy, since she did not enjoy the slightest popularity among the people. The prisoner understood that the upcoming court would be demonstrative and formal, so she did not doubt what sentence she would be sentenced to.

The last morning of her life

The execution of Anna Boleyn was scheduled for May 19, but two days before, the Tower Constable William Kingston reported to the king that the convict was ready to accept the fate prepared for her with humility. It is difficult to say whether Mercy moved in Henry VIII's chest or was guided by other feelings, but at the last moment he replaced her with the cutting of the head with a sword, accepted in such cases. Humanity sometimes has the most unexpected manifestations.

Early in the morning of that fateful day, when the sentence was to be carried out, there was a revival under the Tower's vaults. Here, despite the inopportune hour, came Bishop Boleyn, who, in the presence of a constable, confessed to Anna. In the face of imminent death, she swore on the Bible that she had never violated matrimonial fidelity. But this could not affect her fate. Those who in the hands of the executioner recognized themselves as her lovers, were executed two days ago. After them, Anna Boleyn had to accept death. The biography of this woman approached its sad end.

So, back to the scene with which this story began. A woman in an ermine robe rose to the scaffold built near the White Tower of the Tower. It was, now the former Queen of England, Anna Boleyn. The Tudors, cutting off the heads of the convicts, carried out this procedure with an ax taken in such cases, but in this case Henry VIII ordered to cut with a sword. I had to call a specialist from France, because among my executioners such a craftsman was not found.

When Anna said goodbye to several of the maid of honor, who had the courage to lead her on her last journey, she was removed from her robes, and her hair was tucked under her hat. Constable blindfolded Anna and helped her to kneel down. The Frenchman did not fail and performed his business with one swift blow. The witnesses of the execution and the members of the State Council, headed by Thomas Cromwell, standing around the platform, began to diverge in silence. As the contemporary wrote, some of them had the kind of people who had just committed a crime.

The demise of the old schemer

Henry 8, whose biography abounds in marriage tragedies, survived Anna Boleyn for eleven years. In 1547, he died, suffering from excessive obesity. This intriguer and voluptuary fattened so much that he could move only with the help of special tools. They say that this was retribution for all that he accomplished during his lifetime.

Henry 8 The Tudor and his wives, whom he had six, later became material for the plots of countless novels and plays. This is not surprising, because with two of them he divorced, two others executed, one died, but under very strange circumstances and only the last of them was destined to survive his wife.