Boleyn, << BUL ihn or bu LIHN, >> Anne (1507?-1536), was the second, and most famous, of King Henry VIII’s six wives. Henry’s determination to marry her led to the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. The princess she bore the king became Queen Elizabeth I.
Anne was a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, when the king became interested in her. Pope Clement VII resisted Henry’s request to annul (declare invalid) Henry’s marriage to Catherine. In spite of the pope’s refusal, Henry secretly married Anne in January 1533, after she became pregnant. A church court presided over by the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, then declared Henry’s first marriage invalid. Anne Boleyn was crowned queen in June. In September, she gave birth to Elizabeth. Parliament, at the king’s bidding, broke with the Catholic Church in 1534 and established Henry as supreme head of the Church of England.
Anne’s marriage to Henry did not last long. The couple failed to have the son that Henry thought he needed to assure a peaceful succession to the throne after he died. The king quickly lost interest in Anne, who had become proud, spiteful, and unpopular. She was condemned on a charge of unfaithfulness and beheaded on May 19, 1536.
