40 Facts About Anne Boleyn That May Help You Understand Her Better

Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry Collection

 

There’s something about tragic figures in history that catches our interest and contributes to our desire to learn as much as we can about their life and the circumstances that led to their oftentimes tragic deaths. We read about them, scour the internet for information, and watch period movies based on their lives. It can be a little hard to relate to someone who lived centuries ago, but there are definitely common themes that continue through time no matter what era you were born into. One of the most fascinating figures we can’t seem to learn enough about is Anne Boleyn. The second wife of King Henry VIII and the Queen of England from 1533-1536, Anne’s story is filled with tragedy and drama. Seriously, it’s a surpriseĀ ShakespeareĀ didn’t use Anne’s story for inspiration.

From her humble beginnings to her rise to the throne, Anne Boleyn was a powerful figure in history. There’s no telling how much more she could have transformed the monarchy had her life not been cut short in such a horrific manner. The class system in London as we know it today traces directly back to Anne Boleyn, and even aside from her role as the Queen, there’s so much to admire about her origins, upbringing, and accomplishments. If you’re new to Anne’s story, these tragic facts about her life will give you a glimpse into why we’re still so fascinated by her. If you’re an Anne Boleyn expert, maybe there’s something here you didn’t know yet!

Anne Boleyn wasn’t born into royalty.

Wenceslaus Hollar, University of Toronto Wenceslaus Hollar Digital Collection

Anne Boleyn was born in what is now known as Norfolk, England in the year 1501. But unlike many members who’ve belonged to the Royal family, she was no royal-by-blood. Her ancestors were peasants (although fairly well-to-do), thoughĀ her parents were definitely part of the upper-echelons. Her father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, was a courtier and diplomat, and would later go on to become Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond. Her mother, Lady Elizabeth Howard, was the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Anne spent many of her teenage years as a lady-in-waiting to the French Queen, who was the sister of her future husband, Henry.

Her great-grandfather was a successful hatter.

Wikimedia Commons

Geoffrey Boleyn, Anne’s great-great-grandfather, was one of the well-to-do peasants we mentioned above. He could often be found in front of the manorial court, for such infraction as trespassing on his lord’s lands or taking water without paying for it. But he did well enough for himself to be able to set his son, another Geoffrey, up with a hat business in London. Anne’s great-grandfather Geoffrey was very successful, eventually joining Mercer’s Company in 1435 and building a substantial personal fortune. He served as Lord Mayor of London in 1457, and his wife, Anne Hoo was the daughter of a baron.

The Boleyn family claimed to have saintly connections.

Konica Minolta

Saint Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th century. The Butler side of the Boleyn family claimed to be descendants of one of Becket’s sisters. They were so proud of their assumed saintly lineage that Thomas Butler even bequeathed his soul to Saint Thomas in his will. The family had in their possession a priceless and precious family heirloom: a white ivory horn that was garnished and inlaid with gold. They claimed it to be the cup from which Saint Thomas Becket drank. It’s hard to say if their saintly lineage was indeed accurate, but it is quite the claim to fame!

Anne Boleyn was originally supposed to marry her distant cousin.

Hans Holbein the Younger

Though her marriage to King Henry was what garnered her a place in history (and cost her her life), Anne Boleyn nearly ended up with a very different life. Upon her return to England in 1522, Anne was set to marry her distant cousin, James Butler. The marriage had been arranged by her father and uncle, both of whom held the title of Earl of Ormond. A marriage between Anne and James would have secured the earldom and kept it within both families. But, perhaps because of poor negotiations, the marriage was called off. James eventually found a place on the King’s court, and Anne ended up joining the Queen’s household.

While serving in the Queen’s household, Anne caught the eye of another suitor (not the King yet!).

Anthony Van Dyck

Anne Boleyn nearly missed the chance to be Queen several times before marrying Henry. You’ve got to wonder how her life might have turned out had one of these other avenues panned out! While serving in the Queen’s household, Anne caught the eye of a young suitor named Henry Percy. Percy was the heir to theĀ Earl of Northumberland. He began to seek Anne out, and according to a contemporary of Percy’s, the two nurtured a secret love and even had plans to marry. Juicy. However, fate intervened, and the relationship ended after Cardinal Wolsey berated Percy for trying to marry beneath his status. Anne was banished from the Queen’s household for a time following the end of the relationship.

Anne Boleyn initially played hard to get when it came to King Henry.

 

Public Domain / Little Brown Co.

During his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, King Henry was known to keep mistresses. When Anne Boleyn caught his eye, he pursued her relentlessly with the goal of making her one of his several mistresses at the time. But Anne had different plans. She rebuked his advances and had no desire to be a mere mistress of the King — she wanted marriage. She refused to sleep with him and regularly encouraged him to end his marriage to Catherine so they could be together properly. Henry was quite under Anne’s spell and went to great lengths to have his marriage to Catherine annulled, thus paving the way for Anne to take her place.

Speaking of mistresses, King Henry made his rounds with the Boleyn family before marrying Anne.

Public Domain / Sourced Via Flickr

Anne Boleyn may have played her cards right to end up as Henry’s wife and Queen of England (or played them wrong, depending on your perspective). But she wasn’t the first Boleyn girl to catch Henry’s eye and spend time in his bed. Before Anne hooked up with the King, her sister Mary Boleyn spent about a year as one of his mistresses. She bore two children around this time, leading to gossip that she, and not Anne, actually supplied an heir to the throne (albeit an illegitimate one). However, historians believe that the children actually belonged to her husband, whom she married around the same time.

Mary’s affair with the King actually added another complicated layer to Anne’s eventual marriage to him.

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Given the lengths he went to in order to have his marriage to Catherine annulled so he could marry Anne Boleyn, it’s not at all surprising that Henry ran afoul of other legal standards of the time. Once his affair with Mary came to an end and he began his courtship with Anne, there were some matters that needed to be attended to before they could get married. According to laws of the time, it was considered incestuous for a man to marry a woman whose sister he had relations with. In order to get the go-ahead to go after Anne, Henry had to seek a papal dispensation. Ironically, this is the same excuse he used in his request to have his marriage to Catherine annulled (she was previously married to Henry’s brother). What complicated webs we weave.

There Were Rumors King Henry Also Had An Affair With Anne Boleyn’s Mother.

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So we know that Henry carried on an affair with Mary Boleyn and eventually went on to marry Anne Boleyn. But what was his relationship with their mother, Elizabeth Jane Howard? It’s rumored that Henry and Elizabeth alsoĀ carried on an affair and that she was his mistress for a time. In 1533, the wife of a London goldsmith named Elizabeth Amadas publicly declared that Thomas Boleyn “was bawd both to his wife and his two daughters.” Henry was challenged about this to his face by Sir George Throckmorton, who told him, “it is thought you have meddled both with the mother and sister.”

Anne Boleyn’s affair with the King sparked the English Reformation.

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Under Church law, Henry could not divorce Catherine, which meant he would not be able to marry Anne Boleyn. But Henry found a loopholeĀ that ended up completely changing the course of history in England. In order to secure an annulment in his marriage, Henry created a new church called the Church of England and made himself the leader. He completely bypassed the Catholic Church, which was based in Rome. Under power of the new Church of England, Henry was able to legally end his marriage to Catherine, paving the way to make Anne Boleyn his wife and the new Queen of England.

Anne’s death was untimely, but she nearly lost her life before Henry had her executed.

David Wilkie Wynfield

The sweating sickness was believed to be a type of influenza that plagued England during the Tudor period. It spread swiftly and killed otherwise healthy young people. It also terrified King Henry. In June 1528, one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting died of the sickness, prompting Henry to flee the castle and order his wife Anne to Kent. It sounds like an awful thing to do, but Anne was indeed infected, and she and her father both battled the illness. Henry, chivalrous as he was, sent his second-best doctor to attend to Anne and her father. They both survived, and were lucky to do so. Sweating sickness took the lives of many members of the court.

Anne and Henry had a shotgun wedding.

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Despite vowing to remain chaste and not sleep with King Henry, it appears as though Anne Boleyn was unable to stop herself before the wedding, and she became pregnant in early 1533. After six years of a clandestine relationship with Henry still legally married to Catherine, Henry and Anne secretly wed in a small ceremony led by the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer. Henry’s marriage to Catherine wasn’t declared invalid until the following year. So on top of being an all-around jerk, Henry was a bigamist as well. Interestingly enough, even though he slept with his wife’s sister, he accused Catherine of incest because she was previously married to his brother.

Anne Boleyn was unable to give Henry a son, which may have been her downfall.

ƃā€°douard Cibot

King Henry needed a male heir to inherit the throne, but he had some trouble making them. Catherine of Aragon bore him a daughter and a son who died in infancy, and Anne’s only surviving child with Henry, Elizabeth I, was also not the son he wanted. Anne conceived twice more, but the babies were stillborn both times. It’s believed that Anne’s inability to produce a male heir might have been what turned Henry against her, and started his disillusionment with their marriage. Henry felt as though God was punishing him for the events that led to his marriage to Anne and was denying him a male heir as long as he stayed married to her. Of course, we now know that sperm determines the sex of a baby, so he had only himself to blame.

Anne Boleyn was coronated with a King’s crown.

Robert White

Anne was officially made Queen in 1533. During her coronation, she was allowed to wear St. Edwards Crown, which is one of England’s most ancient and revered royal artifacts. It was incredible that she was coronated with this crown and it was quite an honor. When Henry and Catherine were crowned together, it was Henry who wore St. Edwards crown, while Catherine was only allowed to wear a headpiece that belonged to the royal’s wife. The crown was usually reserved for monarchies, so it seemed like Anne’s wearing it symbolized that she and the child she was carrying were the legitimate Royal Family. She later wore a crown that was made especially for her.

Before they even married, Henry set Anne up with a Royal title that was typically reserved for a man.

Hans Holbein via Susan Foister Holbein in England, London: Tate: 2006

Before they were married and Anne Boleyn became the Queen, King Henry bestowed upon her a royal title normally reserved for a man. Rather than stay a “lady” (which she was by virtue of her father being an Earl), Anne was given the title of Marquess of Pembroke. A Marquess would be a man, and his wife would be a marchioness. Anne was given the noble title in her own right and didn’t come to it by way of birth or marriage. Henry and Anne were about to embark on a journey to meet with his rival, Francis I of France, and he needed her to have a suitable title that granted her sufficient merit to meet the French king. With her new title, she outranked a lot of the noble males in the kingdom.

Anne tried to get her own allies to seduce the King and act as spies when she found he kept mistresses.

Cunningham & Mortimer, 1842

Despite the work that went into his being allowed to actually marry Anne Boleyn, King Henry didn’t stay faithful in any sense of the word. He began having affairs again and Anne found herself overcome with jealousy. In an effort to keep tabs on her husband, AnneĀ enlisted the help of her allies and members of her court to seduce him. She was afraid that he would turn to one of her enemies for love, who would then try to turn Henry against her so they could be queen. Rumor has it she convinced one of her own cousins to seduce him (either Mary or Margaret Shelton). But seeing her relatives carry on affairs with her husband only made Anne more jealous.

It was Anne’s second cousin who married the King after Anne’s Execution.

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Jane Seymour was Anne’s second cousin and would become Henry’s third wife. She was also the only wife to give birth to a son, Edward. Tragically, she died within two weeks of giving birth to the future King of England. But Henry and Jane’s relationship started right under Anne’s nose. Anne was aware that a relationship was blossoming between the two, and it enraged her. Henry gave Jane a picture of himself to wear around her neck, just like he did when he was courting Anne while married to Catherine. Anne reportedly tore the necklace from Jane’s neck so violently that she injured her hand. One of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, Jane Dormer, once said on the record that there was a lot fighting between the current and future Queens.

Anne Boleyn was very disliked by the public.

Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury Collection

Anne Boleyn had a reputation as a “sexually promiscuous status seeker” prior to her wedding to the King. The public was very fond of Catherine of Aragon and didn’t take too kindly to Anne’s usurping of her role as Henry’s wife and the Queen of England. However, Anne made very valiant efforts to ingratiate herself to the people during her time as Queen. She played the traditional role of a Queen who was working to make improvements in the Kingdom and particularly for the poor. She was also a bit of a fashionista and was known for her extravagant wardrobe. But her efforts to be loved by the people were largely unsuccessful. During her short life and reign as Queen, she remained disliked by much of the kingdom.

The stillbirth of a son set in motion the events that led to the end of Anne Boleyn’s life.

Jan Luyken and Jan Claesz Ten Hoornm, Rijksmuseum

Despite giving Henry a healthy baby girl, the pressure was on Anne to produce a male heir before she was cast aside in favor of a fresh wife who might give Henry a boy. In January 1536, Anne gave birth to a stillborn son who had apparent birth defects. It was this event that finally eroded Henry’s trust in her. He took action to gain control of his legacy. Henry had already settled on Jane Seymour as his next (but not last) wife and began the process of annulling his marriage to Anne Boleyn. To make this happen, he had to pull out all the stops, and Anne was detained and charged with a list of heinous crimes.

Henry had Anne detained and charged with a litany of crimes, including adultery, incest, and conspiracy.

Public Domain via On The Tudor Trails

Anne Boleyn was detained in the Tower of London on several false charges brought against her by her husband. He accused her of adultery and incest, believing that the deformities of their stillborn son were due to inbreeding. She was also accused of conspiracy against the King and witchcraft. It is believed that Thomas Cromwell was instrumental in plotting her downfall. He was Chief Minister to King Henry and Anne’s former friend. The charges alleged that she had relations with five different men, including her own brother. The conspiracy charge alleged that Anne plotted to murder King Henry so that she may marry Henry Norris.

During her imprisonment, Anne’s family was forbidden from seeing her.

Public Domain via Confessions of a Ci-Devant

Anne was kept in the same rooms in the Tower of London where she stayed during her coronation. During her imprisonment, her family was forbidden from seeing her. Her brother, Lord Rochford, was also being held under suspicion of adultery and incest. The once-revered Boleyn family was falling apart and being ostracized from the very society they were one a part of. Their daughter Anne was being held on charges of crimes against the King; Their son was being held on equally distressing charges. Anne routinely asked about her family during her imprisonment, particularly about her father and brother. She was afraid that her mother would be unable handle the stress.

The trial of Anne Boleyn began on May 15, 1536.

Hans Holbein the Younger

On May 15, 1536, the trial of Anne Boleyn commenced. There was very little evidence that proved Anne committed any of the crimes of which she stood accused. In fact, records showed that she wasn’t even in the right places at the times of the dates in question. Anne maintained her innocence from the very beginning. But it was alleged that as a witch she had the ability to materialize anywhere at any time, lending credence to the accusation and witchcraft and demolishing any chances of defense on her part. After four days, Anne was convicted by a unanimous decision and sentenced to death. Her marriage to Henry was annulled and declared invalid immediately following her conviction.

The witchcraft charges have peculiar origins.

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During her trial, which was presided over by her uncle the Duke of Norfolk, Anne was accused of sorcery. She was also accused of acting in a “libertine” manner before her marriage to Henry. It was believed that she was a disciple of Satan and used sorcery to bewitch and seduce the King of England. Apparently, Anne had a prominent neck mole and an extra finger on her hand, which only reinforced the belief that she was a witch. Additionally, her inability to produce a male heir added to the condemnation. The trial was, by all means, a complete farce. With little to no evidence supporting the charges, she was still convicted.

During her imprisonment, Anne’s own words were used against her.

Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

During her imprisonment in the Tower of London, Anne Boleyn felt comfortable enough to speak freely. She spoke of conversations she had with Mark Smeaton and Henry Norris, two men who stood accused of crimes alongside Anne. The Tower lieutenant recorded her conversations and relayed her words to King Henry. Henry took this as proof of the adultery she was accused of, and it was used against her during her trial. She also spoke of Sir Francis Weston, saying he once professed his love for her. This resulted in the arrest of Sir Weston, who previously had nothing to do with the investigation.

Five men were arrested, convicted, and executed in connection with the investigation into Anne Boleyn.

Unknown artist Public Domain via Flickr

In his quest to have Anne Boleyn quickly dispatched so he could be free to marry Jane Seymour, King Henry also ended the lives of five innocent men. Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, and Anne’s brother Lord Rochford were arrested and convicted of adultery with the Queen. Sir Thomas Wyatt, the famous poet, was also arrested but later released from imprisonment. The men who stood accused were well-known for their illicit behavior, which made the accusations seem more credible. Lord Rochford’s own wife Jane Parker testified against her husband, perhaps out of anger over his infidelity. All five men were executed just days before Anne’s execution.

The conspiracy against Anne Boleyn was well underway before she even knew it was happening.

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The plot to remove Anne was far-reaching. A secret commission was put together to investigate the accusations against Anne Boleyn by the King himself. Members of the commission included Thomas Cromwell, the Duke of Norfolk, and Anne’s own father. Anne was initially unaware of any investigation and conspiracy into crimes that would result in her downfall. When she found out, she laughed it off as absurd — after all, one of the men she stood accused of having an affair with, musician Mark Smeaton, was a rumored homosexual and someone Anne had met only briefly. It’s very likely her father tipped her off to the investigation and urged her to take the accusations seriously.

On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was sentenced to death.

Public Domain via Flickr

Despite being on the commission that led the way for the charges to be brought against Anne, it is believed that her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk,Ā read aloud her sentencing with tears in his eyes. The executions of the other accused men were horrific and painful, and Anne was left wondering if she would suffer the same fate. She didn’t know if she would be beheaded or burned at the stake on account of the witchcraft conviction. Henry VIII ordered that she should be beheaded, and the news was delivered to her by her friend and supporter Archbishop Cramner. She had very little time to prepare for her death.

Henry VIII brought in an expert to make Anne Boleyn’s death relatively painless.

Public Domain via Luminarium

Anne was terrified that her execution would be grisly and painful. But King Henry took steps to make sure that it was quick and as painless as possible — perhaps because he knew that the allegations were false just so he could move on to his next wife. King Henry brought in an expert swordsman from the French territory of Calais to perform her beheading. It was the very least he could do. In a final act of revenge on her husband, Anne kept a calm demeanor leading up to her execution and allegedly even joked that she would be remembered as Queen Anne Lack-Head after her death.

In the days and hours leading up to her execution, Anne Boleyn was calm and resigned to her fate.

Internet Archive Book Images

Given the drama she endured during her short life, it’s not surprising that Anne seemed exhausted and ready to accept her fate before her execution. Sometime during her imprisonment, she wrote a poem about her circumstances that reads in part, “OĀ Death, rock me asleep, Bring me to quiet rest, Let pass my weary guiltless ghost. Out of my careful breast. Toll on, thou passing bell; Ring out my doleful knell; Let thy sound my death tell. Death doth draw nigh; There is no remedy.” When the day arrived, she was found waiting in her room when the man came to summon her.

Her execution outfit had significance.

Focus Features

It’s been written that Anne Boleyn dressed the part for her own execution. In a letter written by an observer of the event, Anne was said to be, “in a robe of black damask, made in such guise that the cape, which was white, did fall on the outer side thereof. The cape was a short mantle furred with ermines.” The outfit was depicted on Natalie PortmanĀ inĀ The Other Boleyn Girl.Ā The color and ermines were very significant as it emphasized her role as the Queen up until the very end. She was also said to be wearing a red kirtle. Red is the color of Catholic martyrdom, so it seems like Anne was declaring her innocence with that bold statement up until she was beheaded.

Before she was beheaded, Anne addressed the crowd.

Hans Holbein The Younger

In an impassioned speech,Ā Anne Boleyn said, “Good Christian people, I have not come here to preach a sermon; I have come here 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 am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak of that whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the King and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never, and to me he was ever a good, a gentle, and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me.”

The final words Anne Boleyn spoke were a prayer for her soul.

Die Gartenlaube

Anne was blindfolded and knelt in the straw. She could be heard murmuring, “O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul. To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesus receive my soul.” Reports indicate that Anne kept turning her head in anticipation of the sword’s blow. The executioner called out to his assistant to bring over hie sword, and while Anne was distracted by what the assistant was doing, he came up behind her and beheaded her with one swift blow. It was very swift, and she likely did not realize it was about to happen.

For all the planning that went into the execution of Anne Boleyn, not much planning went into her burial.

Rennett Stowe from USA

The head of Anne Boleyn was covered immediately by a white handkerchief, and the cannons along Tower Wharf were fired signaling her death to the King. But her body lay on the scaffolding for hours following the execution. Finally, her ladies gathered her body and head, cleaned them and wrapped them in white cloth. No preparations had been made for her burial, so there was no coffin. Instead, her remains were placed in an old arrow chest and take to the altar of the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London (pictured). She was laid to rest there next to her brother. Six years later, the body of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry, was also laid to rest at the same altar next to Anne’s.

Elizabeth, the only living child of King Henry and Anne Boleyn, was just a toddler when her mother was executed.

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Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533, and would be the only living child of King Henry and Anne Boleyn. When her mother was executed at the behest of her father, their marriage was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared an illegitimate child. Elizabeth didn’t speak of her mother much, probably because she didn’t get the opportunity to get to know her before her untimely death. But in many ways, she kept her mother’s memory alive. She adopted one of her mother’s mottos, “SemperĀ EademĀ (always the same).” In the 1570s, she wore a ring that housed miniature portraits of herself and her mother.

Elizabeth was initially removed from her place in line for the throne.

Formerly attributed to William Scrots

Elizabeth’s half-brother Edward VI went on to inherit the throne from their father King Henry. He ruled until his death in 1533 and bequeathed the throne to Lady Jane Gray. This ignored the claims of both of his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. It was also against statute law. The will was set aside, and Lady Jane Gray was removed from ruling. Mary took her place and became Queen. During her rule, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year for being suspected of supporting Protestant rebels. Upon Mary’s death in 1558, Elizabeth ascended to the throne and ruled as Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603.

Elizabeth may not have known her mother, but she seems to have inherited her strong will and spirit.

Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder

Elizabeth I was known as the Virgin Queen for her insistence on never marrying or having children. Perhaps her mother’s experiences with marriage left a bad taste in her mouth? Despite being declared illegitimate after her father had his marriage to Anne Boleyn annulled, Elizabeth made it known that she was her father’s daughter. King Henry VIII was a famous redhead, and Elizabeth was known for wearing her long, red hair down. This was a symbol of both her legitimacy and her virginity, as only married women wore their hair up during the time. She eventually became celebrated for being chaste.

Rumor has it that Prince William and Duchess Kate are *both* distant relatives of Anne Boleyn.

Simev / Shutterstock.com

According to The Spectator, Kate Middleton is actually a descendant of Anne Boleyn and Mary Boleyn. Duchess Kate is a relative of Sir Thomas Leighton and his wife Elizabeth Knollys. Knollys was Anne Boleyn’s great-niece and also (allegedly) the illegitimate granddaughter of King Henry VIII himself! Remember Henry’s affair with Mary Boleyn before he married her sister Anne? That affair resulted in two illegitimate children, Catherine and Henry. Duchess Middleton is also said to be related to Catherine. So there are two Boleyn connections in the current monarchy! Prince William is also believed to be related to Sir Thomas Leighton — he is his 12th generation great-grandson! So that makes Kate and Wills … cousins?

Despite being unpopular during her life, Anne Boleyn remains one of the most fascinating figures in history.

George S. Stuart

Anne Boleyn arguably changed the course of history in England and certainly for the monarchy. She did things on her own terms and refused to become a mistress of King Henry VIII’s and instead insisted on marriage. She worked independently of the King, choosing her own ladies and running her own household according to her strict standards. She was also outspoken and refused to step back in Henry’s shadow. Anne was also instrumental in the English Reformation and influenced Henry’s actions, like appointing reforming bishops. It can be said that if it wasn’t for Anne Boleyn, England could still be a Catholic country today.

Anne Boleyn is far more popular today than she was during her life.

Focus Features

As is the case with many infamous and tragic figure in history, the life and death of Anne Boleyn has spawned several artistic and cultural works. Whether the subject of a film or book or merely mentioned in passing, it’s clear that the fascination with Anne Boleyn continues in the literary and film world. There are at least 17 television or film depictions of Anne Boleyn. She’s been the subject of plays and operas. In fact, it’s believed that Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is an allegory for the fall of the doomed Queen. She’s the main character in countless books and has been referenced in music and songs at least 15 times.

She’s even been spotted hanging around Hogwarts!

Warner Bros.

You wouldn’t think that Anne Boleyn and Harry Potter had much in common. But considering she was one of the most interesting and influential figures in English history, it’s no surprise that there’s a small connection there. As we mentioned above, the artistic works that focus on Anne directly are innumerable. But even indirectly, she pops up in popular movies from time to time. In a scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, a portrait of Anne Boleyn can be seen hanging near the staircase as Harry makes his way up the stairs. Now, whether her portrait is included because of her influence on English history or because of the rumors that she was a witch, we’ll never know.

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