ANN BOLEIN . LOVE LIKE DEATH.
When I was preparing material on Queen Bess, I came across an image of her mother made by the talented photographer Hiroshi Sujimoto. Of all the portraits of Anne Boleyn, this one seemed to me the most beautiful; in the queen’s black eyes I saw her fate.
Here she sits, thoughtfully plucking the strings of the mandolin, but her thoughts are not here, not with us - they are turned to inner world Anna. A dreamy smile, a slight turn of the head - what is the beautiful queen thinking about, what dreams does she see in reality?
Anne Boleyn was not a beauty. In 1532, a year before she became queen, the Venetian ambassador to England wrote: “...Not the most beautiful woman in the world. Medium build, dark skin, long neck, big mouth, low chest; in general, nothing special - except that she aroused the king's interest. And the eyes - black beautiful eyes...”
It’s strange, but ceremonial portraits, as expected, do not exist. There are a couple of sketches by Hans Holbein the Younger, and then for a long time There were disputes about who served as the model for the famous artist.
And now about Anna herself.
Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, was a noble courtier, while her mother Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, belonged to one of the oldest English families. Anna spent her childhood in the wonderful Hever Castle, Kent.
In 1513, Anna was sent abroad - and she lived in Europe for nine years. First at the Habsburg court in Brabant as a maid of honor to Margaret of Austria. This courtyard was considered the center for the education of future princes and princesses. It was difficult to think of a better start to begin a court career. Anna easily mastered French, secrets of the court secular and political life and the art of intrigue. At the same time, her mentor Margarita was known not only as an adept at court games of love, but also strictly guarded the morality of her young ladies-in-waiting. Chastity and inaccessibility are excellent ways for a woman to achieve her goal, much more effective than promiscuity. Anna also learned other lessons from her mentor - kings do not marry for love, and women should not let love for men into their hearts too deeply. It was then that Anna decided that her motto would be “all or nothing”...
Arriving from “gallant” France, Anna immediately became the most popular young lady at the English court. Although not possessing outstanding beauty, she was elegantly and expensively dressed, danced inimitably and was smart, unlike many of her peers.
The marriage with Lord Butler did not take place. Her affair with Lord Henry Percy, the son of the Duke of Northumberland, dates back to the same period, but the hopes of the young couple were not destined to come true, because the king himself noticed Anna.
King Henry VIII aged 40, thin. Joos Van Cleeve
The first meeting between Anna and the king was a reception in honor of the Spanish ambassadors in March 1522. By this time, Henry had accumulated many claims, both to the queen, Catherine of Aragon, and to the favorites, Betsy Blount and Mary Carrie (by the way, Anne Boleyn’s sister).
Michiel Sittow. Infanta Catharina of Aragon. 1503.
The Courtship of Anne Boleyn, art. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, art. Arthur Hopkins
Henry VIII presents Anne Boleyn to court. (W. Hogwarts).
At the end of 1532, Anna announced that she was pregnant, and on January 25, 1533, the king and Anna secretly got married. It was only in May that the archbishop officially announced that the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was considered invalid.
In vain Cromwell tried to control the situation, stopping all conspiracies and attempts to denigrate the queen. A special decree was even issued commanding all men, regardless of their origin, to take an oath of allegiance to Anna. And those who did not want to obey were poisoned on the chopping block. The situation became especially aggravated after the execution of Thomas More - she allowed innocent blood to be shed only because More refused to appear at her coronation.
Princess Mary at the age of 28, thin. Master John
...The queen's new pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Anna blamed this on her husband, who dared to sleep with one of her court ladies. Well, Henry continued to wait for the heir, disappointed and amorous, he had already turned his attention to Jane Seymour, the former maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, who only recently, thanks to her influential brothers, had the opportunity to return to the court. Boleyn saw with her own eyes how one day this unremarkable person sat on her husband’s lap and he played with a necklace around her neck. Then the queen tore off Jane's necklace. Then Henry made peace with his wife and she became pregnant again, instilling in him yet another hope of an heir.
Shortly before the queen was allowed to die, the king declared the marriage to her invalid. Elizabeth became illegitimate. The formal announcement was made by Archbishop Cranmer on June 17, the eve of the queen's execution. The basis for it was old story with the Earl of Northumberland, as well as the king’s relationship with Anne’s sister Mary (according to the law, this was also contrary to the marriage of both parties) and, finally, an argument drawn from the latest “evidence” - the king’s doubt that Elizabeth is his daughter, and not already executed Norris. The royal lawyers tried to ensure that the king got what he wanted - now neither Anna, nor her daughter, nor Maria, nor the first wife stood in the way of a new marriage and the appearance of heirs. Heinrich, in case new wife would not give birth to the desired prince, he had the right to name his successor in a special decree before his death.
The scaffold was covered with black cloth, and the sword was hidden between the boards. Spectators - about a thousand, only Londoners (no foreigners) - under the leadership of the mayor of the city came to witness the first execution of the queen in the history of England. She, in a dress of gray damask trimmed with fur, climbed to the first step of the scaffold and addressed the crowd: “I will die according to the law. I am not here to accuse anyone or talk about what I am accused of. But I pray to God that he will save the king and his reign, for there never was a kinder prince, and to me he has always been a most tender and worthy lord and sovereign. I say goodbye to the world and from the bottom of my heart I ask you to pray for me."
Anne Boleyn before her execution (J.S. Stewart. Historical figures).
Having received the news of the execution, the king, who was impatiently awaiting it, shouted cheerfully: “The job is done! Let the dogs go, let's have fun!” and immediately ordered Jane Seymour to be brought to him. 11 days later, on May 30, 1536, they got married. Jane Seymour died, giving birth to the king's son, for whom he entered into a deal with the devil so many times.
Anne Boleyn rests in the Chapel St. Peter ad
Experts in the history of music believe that the famous “Greensleevs” is a dedication of a loving king to his future wife Anna, set to an ancient melody. It is unknown whether Henry VIII actually wrote these lines, but a beautiful legend cherished - and it is generally accepted that the beautiful stranger in a green dress is Lady Anne Boleyn
Alas, my love, you do me wrong...
Greensleeves, now farewell! adieu! - Goodbye, Greensleeves!
"My Lady Greensleeves" as depicted in an 1864 painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.
Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
Your vows you"ve broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.
If you intend to disdain in this way,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.
My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt feel safe to love me.
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still your lover true,
Come once again and love me.
Boleyn family
The intrigues of the Boleyn family played a huge role in the fate of England, since they largely determined the establishment there of a new branch of Protestantism - Anglicanism.
The head of the family, Thomas Boleyn, received a court rank after the end of the War of the Scarlet and White Roses. The son of minor minor nobles, he successfully married Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the second Duke of Norfolk. Norfolk is the most ancient ducal family of England in the court hierarchy british crown they come immediately after the heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales (aka the Duke of Cornwall). Boleyn was able to marry a girl from such a noble family only for the reason that Norfolk in the War of the Roses were supporters of Richard III of York and after the war were in semi-disgrace.
Around 1501, the couple had a daughter, Anna. Already growing up in the family eldest daughter Maria, and soon a son, George, appeared.
In the year of Anna's birth, England celebrated a big event - the marriage of the Catholic couple's youngest daughter, 16-year-old Catherine of Aragon, and the heir to the English throne, Prince Arthur. The girl was led to the wedding by 10-year-old Henry of York, the groom's younger brother.
As I already told you, a few months after the wedding, the newlyweds fell ill with a severe contagious disease, prickly heat, and Arthur died. Henry of York was proclaimed heir to the throne and Duke of Wales, and Catherine, as the widow of the failed king, remained to live in London. In June 1503, a marriage contract was signed between Catherine of Aragon and the heir to the throne, Henry of Wales.
At the end of 1504, Isabella of Castile died, and Henry VII sharply changed his political course in favor of France. First of all, the king hastened to revoke the marriage contract, and Catherine found herself out of work. In order not to take his daughter away from England, Ferdinand of Aragon appointed her in 1507 as the Spanish ambassador to the English court. Thus, the first female ambassador was forced to appear in world history.
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn hunting in Windsor Forest. Artist W. Firth. 1903
At the beginning of 1509, Henry VII became seriously ill. On his deathbed, he persuaded his son to fulfill the marriage contract with Arthur's widow. On June 11, 1509, King Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon. To the young spouse It was 20 years old, my wife was 25 years old.
Catherine continued to serve as Spanish ambassador for another five years as Queen of England. During these years, Henry VIII was completely under her influence and pursued a pro-Spanish policy. The queen was regent when her husband fought in France, and even herself led a victorious war with Scotland. However, over time, her role under her husband began to weaken; Catherine’s place as the king’s adviser was taken by the Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
At the end of January 1516, Ferdinand of Aragon went to his forefathers, and Catherine was left without her main support in life. A month later, the queen gave birth to a girl, who was named Mary. It was she who was later destined to ascend the English throne and receive the nickname Bloody.
Meanwhile, life for the Boleyn family went on as usual. The mother of the family, Elizabeth Boleyn (Howard), joined Catherine of Aragon's retinue in 1509, immediately after the royal wedding. In 1514, through the efforts of the father of their daughters, Mary and Anna (from 1513 the younger Boleyn studied at the court of Margaret of Austria, the beloved guardian of the future Emperor Charles V) were included in the retinue of Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, who was supposed to marry the French king Louis XII. Three months after the wedding, Louis died, and the now dowager queen Mary Tudor returned to England. But the Boleyn sisters stayed in Paris for a long time: the time has come finest hour Maria - a 15 year old girl went on a rampage. Already in 1516, one of her lovers, also the new French king Francis I, described Mary as “a great lover of adventure.” However, it was debauchery that made the girl the “locomotive” of the Boleyn family. Less beautiful, Anna also received her share of entertainment and bad fame, but, being an ambitious girl, she did not become like her harlot sister.
In 1520, embarrassed by rumors from France, the parents demanded their daughters to come to London. Maria was urgently married off (her husband soon died) and assigned as a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon - under the supervision of her mother. This did not calm the girl down, she continued her cheerful life and in the same year became the mistress of Henry VIII.
Thomas Boleyn could not have imagined greater happiness. But when in 1527, Henry VIII, who had lost interest in Mary, noticed Anne and began to pay more and more attention to her, the Boleyns thought about the unimaginable - to become related to royal family. True, the insurmountable obstacle for them was Catherine, the legal wife of the king, and also the aunt of the most powerful man in Europe - Emperor Charles V.
Here Anna proved herself to be a skilled seductress. On the one hand, she in every possible way aroused ardent passion in Heinrich, who fell in love with her, and on the other hand, she refused him intimate intimacy until marriage was concluded between them. The king, who had long been burdened by Catherine of Aragon, began to look for a reason for divorce. And he was found: the hired casuists announced that Pope Julius II was mistaken: Henry VIII’s marriage was incestuous and lawless, which is why there is no heir, no successor to the dynasty.
The organization of the divorce was entrusted to Cardinal Wolsey, who had a bad attitude towards Thomas Boleyn and was Anne's personal enemy. Divorce negotiations lasted seven years! All this time, the court was engulfed in numerous intrigues, when Queen Catherine and her maid of honor Anna lived under the same roof, outwardly remained loyal to each other, and behind the back of the enemy they put together their own political groups. But gradually Anna began to gain the upper hand, increasingly pushing the queen away from the throne. After all, she was young and could give birth to the heir that Henry VIII so dreamed of, and Catherine was getting older every day. In the summer of 1531, the king removed his wife from the court. Exiled to the remote castle of Kimbleton, she died on November 7, 1536.
But while the divorce proceedings lasted, the queen had powerful allies - Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas More. Until 1529, Wolsey, as Lord Chancellor, conducted unsuccessful negotiations with the papacy to recognize the royal couple's marriage as illegal. But when in 1530 the decree of the last philanthropic pope, Clement VII de Medici, came to London to immediately remove Anne Boleyn from the court, the favorite’s patience ran out: Wolsey was declared a traitor to France, arrested and apparently committed suicide in the Tower.
Thomas More was appointed as the new Lord Chancellor. He was a staunch opponent of the king's divorce, but continued negotiations with the pope and resigned only in 1532, when it became known that, under pressure from the Boleyn family, Henry VIII decided to finally break off relations with the Roman clergy and create his own - the Anglican Church.
It was Anne Boleyn, seeking the royal throne, who strongly supported the idea of Henry VIII that the king had power not only over the bodies of people, but also over their souls, and therefore stood above the Pope. On her personal orders, the delivery of heretical literature to England was organized to undermine the influence of the Catholic Church.
With the support of the Boleyn family, in 1533 Thomas Cranmer, the main reformer of the English church, became Archbishop of Canterbury. He, in alliance with the lawyer Thomas Cromwell, quickly substantiated and carried through both houses of Parliament the divorce of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon. The marriage to Anne Boleyn was immediately arranged, and the adventuress was officially crowned.
The king's sister Mary Tudor and Thomas More refused to attend the coronation. Very soon, Mary suddenly died, and the vengeful Anna organized a trial against More, accusing him of treason - the former Lord Chancellor was beheaded. 20 days before More's execution, Cardinal Fisher's head was cut off - he refused to recognize the act by which the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine Mary was declared illegal, and the right of inheritance was transferred exclusively to his future children from Anne. At the same time, the Catholic Church recognized both sufferers as saints, and declared Henry VIII and Anne adulterers, and their possible children - bastards.
During her three years of reign, Anna gave birth to her only girl, the future Queen Elizabeth I.
On January 24, 1536, at a tournament, Henry VIII fell from his horse and lost consciousness. Anna was not at all upset by this, and her father and brother hastened to prepare papers for the regency of Thomas Boleyn under the young Elizabeth. But the king survived, and from then on hatred for the Boleyns arose in his soul.
In February of the same year, Anna suffered another miscarriage. It was caused by the fact that the queen accidentally caught Henry in the company of his new favorite Jane Seymour. After the miscarriage, the king finally came to the conclusion that his wife was a witch, that she had charmed the monarch into marrying her and destroying many people close to him.
By order of the king, Thomas Cromwell and the Duke of Suffolk staged a trial falsely accusing Anne and her brother George Boleyn of plotting to murder Henry VIII and his daughter Princess Mary, of poisoning Catherine of Aragon, and of adultery. On May 15, 1536 they were sentenced to execution. George was beheaded on May 17, Anna on May 19.
On May 30 of that year, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour. The new queen was a kind woman, she reconciled her husband with both of his daughters, but died a year later, giving birth to the long-awaited heir - the future King Edward VII.
Thomas Boleyn was also accused of treason, but the king forgave him. Together with his wife Elizabeth Howard, he lived alone in the rural wilderness, where he died in 1539, a year after his wife.
The cheerful Mary Boleyn was expelled from the court by her sister-queen because she secretly married for love to a man of low birth. After the execution of Anna and George and the death of her parents, Mary inherited all their property and lived out the rest of her days in a quiet family circle.
14 August 2011, 12:03The execution of Anne Boleyn has been interpreted differently by biographers and historians. Some say that the English king Henry VIII sent Queen Anne to the scaffold because she, at that time, fully deserved it: she was an intriguer, a hysterical woman, an arrogant and arrogant “plebeian,” as Henry himself called her after the passion. And she also tried to conduct her own politics right under the king’s nose, and this was more than palace intrigue. Others present her as a victim of the morally flawed Henry VIII, a usurper and tyrant. But, probably, the truth is somewhere in the middle. And most likely, Anna and Henry were worth each other. Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, was a noble courtier, while her mother Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, belonged to one of the oldest English families. According to her origin, Anna, born at the end of 1501 (or 1507 - exact date unknown), stood on a higher level than the three subsequent English wives of the king. But this fact will not prevent Henry VIII from subsequently calling her a plebeian, unworthy to take the royal throne. Thomas Boleyn knew French and Latin better than all the courtiers and corresponded with Erasmus of Rotterdam, from whom he even bought several excerpts from his works. Henry once said that he had never met a more dexterous and cunning negotiator. His son George, an Oxford graduate, inherited his father's diplomatic talents and was a good poet, having begun his court career as a page. In 1513, Anna was sent abroad - and she lived in Europe for nine years. First at the Habsburg court in Brabant as one of the 18 ladies-in-waiting of Margaret of Austria (she was regent for her nephew Charles of Burgundy). This courtyard was considered the center for the education of future princes and princesses. The European elite sent their offspring to special trainings with Margarita, famous for her education. It was difficult to think of a better start for the beginning of a court career. Anna knew her father's demands - to learn not only manners, but also the ability in the future, when she became a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, daughter-in-law of the most powerful king in the world, Charles V, to put in a good word at court for members of the Boleyn family. She easily mastered the French language, the secrets of court social and political life and the art of intrigue, without which, as well as without knowledge of the language of courtly love, the court would have looked like a withered garden. At the same time, her mentor Margarita was known not only as an adept at court games of love, but also strictly guarded the morality of her young ladies-in-waiting. Chastity and inaccessibility are excellent ways for a woman to achieve her goal, much more effective than promiscuity. Anna also learned other lessons from her mentor - kings do not marry for love, and women should not let love for men into their hearts too deeply. It was then that Anna decided that her motto would be “all or nothing”... Flanders at the beginning of the 16th century was considered the heart of cultural life Europe. The maid of honor learned to understand painting and the art of book design, music. She learned a lot about expensive fabrics and jewelry; in total, Anna spent seven years in France and returned to England only at the end of 1521. 
Beautiful black hair and bright eyes are the most attractive thing about Anne Boleyn's appearance. Her figure was not very impressive - short, with small breasts. High cheekbones, prominent nose, narrow mouth, strong chin. They often mention a large wen on a slender long neck and a very unpleasant defect - something like the sixth finger on the right hand, although in fact it was a small process similar to an ingrown nail. But for many in those days, and even now, such a detail is very eloquent: they say, this is all from the devil, normal people cannot have extra, ugly and fused fingers, an eyesore, etc. That is why it is often considered a witch. However, in portraits she does not have a sixth finger, which does not mean anything, because before Cromwell portraits were painted without all the sores. Anna behaved more like a Frenchwoman: she knew how to be a witty conversationalist, her movements were distinguished by grace and liveliness, her outfits were elegant, which certainly made her stand out in the company of other ladies. Anne's first admirer at the English court was Henry Percy, heir to the Earl of Northumberland, who served under the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, the main and all-powerful minister of Henry VIII. Anna reciprocated the passion that Percy showed her, not at all within the framework of courtly worship. They secretly decided to get married. But then Wolsey, who did not like Thomas Boleyn, intervened. He considered his daughter an unworthy bride for one of the most noble aristocrats in England and convinced the king of this. Henry did not give permission for the marriage. The Earl of Northumberland, in turn, threatened to deprive his son of his title and inheritance. Percy held on steadfastly and even drew up a marriage contract, according to which he undertook to marry Anna. But lawyers found a way to cancel the document. Anna vowed to take revenge on the cardinal - he dared not only to hinder her passion by belittling her origin and dignity, but also dared to resist the independence that she put at the forefront of her life. life position. After all, only she herself will decide who she marries. There was another enemy against whom she swore revenge - the king himself. It must be said that Anna knew how to love and hate with all her soul - the future will show this - and there is a lot of evidence of this that Henry Percy remained her love almost for the rest of her life. And the king, for better or worse, prevented them from being together. And Anna played back as best she could. Well, at least in the heat of passion she could imagine her lover in the place of the king - and not be afraid that she would mix up the name. 
Anna's next admirer was Thomas Wyatt - the first great poet Tudor. At first, conversations with her simply brought delight to the poetic ear, but soon Thomas was captivated by the very sensuality that nature endowed Anna with in abundance. Although Anna was flattered by Wyatt's passion, it was more likely an episode than a separate chapter in her love book. He was married, and she was not ready to lose her head over a man who could only offer her the role of “mistress” of his heart, so common at court. Moreover, the king himself drew attention to her in 1527 (immediately after he lost interest in her older sister Mary). 26-year-old Anne Boleyn disappeared from the bride's fair, setting herself a seemingly impossible goal - to become Queen of England. And the king, hoping only to spend the night with the woman who arouses such interest among his courtiers, encountered unexpected resistance. The chronicle of the relationship between Anne and the king is best traced in the 17 love letters of Henry VIII - it is known that the king did not like the epistolary genre. One of the first is full of reproaches that Anna not only did not answer his love call, but also did not deign to write a letter. (How cunning and far-sighted Anna was - to resist the temptation to answer the king!) The message was accompanied by a gift - a duck killed the day before. In the third letter a year later, Heinrich insists on an answer: does she love him as much as he loves her? But he still doesn’t offer her his hand and heart. And this is exactly what Anna is now waiting for, more than confident in her feminine power. Without waiting for offers more serious than the status of “the only mistress to whom he will completely devote himself to service,” she disappears for a while, forcing him to experience a hitherto unfamiliar feeling of guilt and loss. For the first time, Henry was forced to build a relationship with a woman with his own hands. At this time, he was already trying to find a way to divorce Katerina, who, having lost her charm and gentle disposition by the age of 40, was unable to bear him an heir, and Henry had long since stopped visiting her bedroom. Then he came up with an undeniable, from his point of view, argument in favor of divorce - the Pope made an unacceptable mistake by allowing him to marry the widow of his brother Arthur (he died almost immediately after his wedding to Katerina). It is said in the Bible: a man who marries his brother’s wife will have no heirs. Katerina gave birth to his daughter, and she had 6 miscarriages. This means that now he must get married like the first time, for real. In response to the marriage proposal, Anna confessed her love back and sent the king a gift. A toy boat with a woman and a diamond carved on the bow. The ship is a symbol of protection, the diamond is a heart filled with the same strong intentions as a precious stone. Along with the gift, she promised to give him her innocence - but only when she became his wife. From then on, Anna would check and calculate her closeness with the king with the accuracy of a calculator. Henry wrote to his bride: “My heart will forever belong to you alone, seized by this desire so strongly that it will be able to subordinate to it the desires of my body.” 
Henry Is it worth commenting on this “novel” and can it be called love? Probably possible, but with one caveat: each participant in this story had their own plans. The king has an heir and, of course, the satisfaction of what is commonly called “lust.” And Anna has the fulfillment of her cherished desire: to become a queen. And on this path - all means are good. The divorce process began and lasted about seven years. While waiting for the decision of the Pope, Henry was exhausted from passion, and Catherine of Aragon hoped that Clement VII would not allow the marriage to be annulled, because Rome was under the influence of her nephew Emperor Charles V. For the time being, Catherine showed wisdom: as long as the wife is tolerant of the lady of her heart, threats seem to and does not exist, and even helped Anna repel the king’s love attacks. Anna allowed herself to create scenes for Henry: her youth was passing aimlessly, the wait was too long, she was in danger of becoming an old maid. And living under the same roof with the queen also infuriated her. In response, Henry broke loose - no one dares argue with him, much less reproach him for anything. He can return her to the place where he took her from, he has already done too much for her, others would be happy. But the anger subsided as quickly as it flared up. The king, like, in fact, anyone else in his place, was aroused by Boleyn’s inaccessibility, as well as by the fact that she was not afraid to challenge him, known for her indomitable and cruel temper, - a magnificent maneuver of a far-looking woman. Well, the courtiers expected a “reasonable step” from the king - a marriage with a French princess. France had always been England's ally against Spain and Charles V, and therefore this marriage would have strengthened the country's international position. But Henry seemed omnipotent even without this. Although, being a despot, he needed from time to time the decisions he made to be prompted by someone or approved. Until now, it was Cardinal Wolsey, a man who had a magical (according to the courtiers) influence on the king, who knew how to solve both domestic and international problems to the benefit of England and the king. Anna was too cunning and resourceful to limit herself to scenes and female hysterics. A skilled politician, she was able to create a faction (the most effective behind-the-scenes method of court warfare at that time) from a circle of people close to the king, but who supported her plans and bet on her future. Now access to the king's mind was completely blocked by his bride. She even opened the hunt, like the goddess Diana, not one step behind Henry, and during important backstage meetings her figure was visible in the shadow of the window opening. Therefore, neither Wolsey nor Thomas More managed to convince the king to abandon his decision to dissolve his marriage with Katherine. Thomas More was defeated. Anna used not only her feminine power over Henry, she in every possible way exploited his idea that the king, as the highest sovereign over people, has power not only over their bodies, but also over their souls. He, Henry VIII, is able to prove to Rome and the whole world that he can become higher than the Pope and lead the Anglican Church. This meant the realization that he was the only monarch in the world who dared to give himself such a status. Warming up Henry's mood, Boleyn delivered him anti-clerical literature. She even organized a kind of propaganda, ordering heretical manuscripts to be brought from abroad and distributed in England. Heinrich and Anna hunting At the end of 1528, Henry finally ordered Katerina to leave the court, although he left her with 200 servants and 30 ladies-in-waiting. But she continued, which especially angered Anna, out of a long-term habit of keeping an eye on Henry’s linen and clothes, giving orders to wash, clean or throw away his nightgowns or camisoles. “...I don’t care about her or her family members. Let all the Spaniards sink to the bottom of the sea!” - Boleyn raged at Katerina. At the same time, she was implementing her plan for revenge on Wolsey, who, in fact, not wanting to quarrel with Henry, had long been trying to turn the divorce case entrusted to him in favor of the king and his lady of the heart. But Anna convinced the king that Wolsey was sabotaging the divorce case and negotiations with the Pope. When the king, having dinner with Anna in her apartment, was informed, according to tradition, of the cardinal’s arrival, Anna said contemptuously: “Is it worth announcing this so solemnly? To whom else, if not to the king, should he come?” And Heinrich nodded his head in agreement. The Cardinal begged the King not to send the Pope a radical petition, provoked by Anne's faction, in which Rome, in essence, was accused of refusing to annul Henry's marriage to Katherine, depriving the English people of hope for the future. But she was sent. The king, under the influence of Boleyn, decided to secretly complete the matter in England, entrusting the relevant work with the parliament to Wolsey and the papal legate Campeggio. But the hearings failed. And in 1530, Henry received a decree from the Pope “to remove Anne Boleyn from the court.” Here's the proof double play Wolsey - Anna's rage mixed with triumph. Now the cardinal will not be able to use his famous “magic”. He was removed from business and deprived of all property in favor of the king, and soon the latter signed a decree on his arrest. Wolsey died on the way to his first interrogation. His overthrow is Boleyn's first serious victory. And Henry for the first time publicly declared himself “the sole protector and head of the Anglican Church and clergy.” And Boleyn received the title of Marchioness of Pembroke, a patent to belong to the highest English nobility, along with lands. For the first time in history, this title went to a woman, and Anne not only convinced the king that, as a last resort, she wanted her children to be the legal heirs, but also had a hand in composing this ambiguous decree. 
...A storm in the Strait of Dover turned ships into splinters. The wind did not allow passers-by to stick their noses out into the narrow streets of Calais. Recently, a meeting between Henry VIII and French king. In London, in St. Paul's Cathedral, they prayed for the monarch's safe return to his homeland, but he was in no hurry: while the bad weather was raging, Boleyn finally “gave herself” to Henry. The right moment has come. In November 1532, she realized that the king was ready to disobey the Pope. And then one day, in the company of courtiers, she said: “Somehow I fell in love with apples.” - “Darling, this is sure sign pregnancy." On January 25, 1533, the lovers secretly got married. Henry simply dared to fool the priest who performed the sacrament of marriage. Does he really believe, said the king in response to a request to show necessary papers with the Pope's permission for the marriage, that he, Henry VIII, is a liar? The king acted quickly. The lawyer Thomas Cromwell and Archbishop Cranmer, armed with the necessary bills, managed to obtain permission from both houses of parliament to declare the previous royal marriage invalid. 
Courting Anna But Henry’s victory could not be considered complete without the coronation procedure of the now official “most precious and beloved wife.” Boleyn was 6 months pregnant, and the king was in a hurry - in just two and a half weeks, unprecedented celebrations were prepared. On May 29, 1533, the coronation took place. 50 barges, accompanied by countless boats, set off from Billingate to the Tower. Flags, bells, gold foil and golden banners shimmered in the bright glow summer sun . And the number of guns probably exceeded safety on such a congested waterway. Leading the procession was a ship with an iron dragon on its prow spewing flames, and with Boleyn on board. It turned out symbolically... On September 23, 1534, Anna gave birth to a healthy girl, Elizabeth. The knightly tournament in honor of the birth of the heir had to be cancelled, but Henry took the news about the girl surprisingly calmly. Well, sons will certainly follow their daughter. The christening was organized by Cromwell with the same deliberate pomp as the coronation. The young mother, recovering from childbirth, participated in political affairs, strove for what would later be called humanitarian Christianity - she encouraged education and learned men, and was the patroness of many students and educational institutions, especially Oxford and Cambridge. Anna understood that the correct creation of the image was the little that could help her win people's trust. After all, she was still considered a woman of easy virtue, a “thief” who stole the king from his wife. Katerina would never have dared to despise all laws and split the country into two parts - conformists and true believers, and sow confusion among the aristocrats and clergy. In vain Cromwell tried to control the situation, stopping all conspiracies and attempts to denigrate the queen. A special decree was even issued commanding all men, regardless of their origin, to take an oath of allegiance to Anna. And those who did not want to obey were poisoned on the chopping block. The situation became especially aggravated after the execution of Thomas More - she allowed innocent blood to be shed only because More refused to appear at her coronation. Moreover, he dared to declare that on that day the entire English nobility and all adherents of the true church were “publicly deflowered.” Boleyn tried to make friends with Mary, Henry's daughter from Katherine. But the princess refused to recognize the new queen. Boleyn, unlike Henry, who was enraged by his daughter’s disobedience and known for his attacks of cruelty towards her, wanted to see Mary at court. Of course, on the condition that she renounces all claims to the throne and becomes only the stepdaughter of the new queen, obedient as a lamb. ...The queen's new pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Anna blamed her husband for this, who dared not only to sleep with one of her court ladies, but also to show her courtly signs of respect. Soon she became pregnant again. And at the beginning of 1536, Catherine of Aragon died. There was even a ball held at court to mark the occasion. Well, Henry continued to wait for the heir, disappointed and amorous, he had already turned his attention to Jane Seymour, the former maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, who only recently, thanks to her influential brothers, had the opportunity to return to the court. Boleyn saw with her own eyes how one day this unremarkable person sat on her husband’s lap and he played with a necklace around her neck. Then the queen tore off Jane's necklace. Then Henry made peace with his wife and she became pregnant again, instilling in him yet another hope of an heir. 
Anna during pregnancy...Usually Henry stayed with Anna if she could not accompany him on the hunt. But this time he did not give up his favorite entertainment. During the trip, the king stayed at the house of Jane's parents. And on January 24, 1536, Henry Norris burst into Anna’s apartment (he occupied one of the most prestigious and important positions of “groom at the king’s stool” and was his close friend) with terrible news - Henry fell from his horse and had been unconscious for several hours. Boleyn screamed, convinced that Henry was dead. The king recovered with difficulty, but his wife again gave birth prematurely - this time with a dead boy. Henry's anger was all the more terrible because what happened again returned his thoughts to humiliating suspicions about his own male inadequacy. Women who dealt with the Tudors often had problems with childbearing - miscarriages, difficulty getting pregnant and rare appearance into the world of boys. These problems were associated with Henry’s illnesses - they suspected either syphilis, which was fully explained by the monarch’s love of love, or genetic abnormalities, but how could the all-powerful Henry VIII know about this? Therefore, he preferred to return to the already tested model - since God does not want to reward him with crown princes in this marriage, it means that it must be declared invalid and replaced by a woman who has not fulfilled her destiny. This is the will of the king. In the spring of 1536, Anne had a serious quarrel with her patron, Thomas Cromwell. This quarrel became the decisive moment in her fate. Cromwell, having already realized that the current queen had no future, enlisting the support of the Seymour family, supporters of Princess Mary, promised to overthrow her from the throne and help the king take Jane as his wife. To convince the king of this, Boleyn should be accused of treason - in the literal sense of the word, because the queen’s betrayal of her husband is tantamount by law to treason to the crown. It is no coincidence that soon after the loss of the child, rumors appeared - was the unfortunate 6-month-old “male fetus” the result of the queen’s adultery with one of her courtiers? Didn't her brother's wife boast that Anne complained to her about Henry's inability to make love? 
And on April 29, Anna loudly and furiously quarreled with Henry Norris. That same day, the entire court and the king were aware of a suspicious scandal. And Anna’s carelessly thrown phrase “Don’t count on being able to take the king’s place in the event of his death” became key in her indictment process. On this same sad day for Anna (and so lucky for Cromwell) Mark Smeaton, a young musician of “low” origin, expansive by nature, allowed himself to behave too freely in her chambers. Anna loved music and called Mark to calm down a little after her quarrel with Norris. Cromwell immediately ordered the musician to be taken into custody, he was brought to the house of the royal secretary, and at the 24th hour of torture he admitted to adultery with the queen, after which he was taken to the Tower. The next day, May 1, right during the knightly tournament, the king showed himself more than ever: he personally ordered Henry Norris and George Boleyn to confess their affair with his wife. Despite protestations of innocence, they were sent to the Tower after Smeaton. Boleyn was charged with incest - his wife had long argued that he spent too much time with his sister. Henry, known for his capacity for self-pity - one of the most repulsive traits of his personality - declared that Anne had cheated on him with more than a hundred men, and even immediately tried to compose a tragedy dedicated to his grief. After which he went for consolation to the Seymours' house. There, sobbing, he complained about the queen, assenting to his owners, who had long been trying, at Cromwell’s instigation, to feed him the version that she poisoned Katherine of Aragon and only an accident prevented her from sending him and Princess Mary to the next world. Jane, meanwhile, charmed Henry with her inaccessibility (a technique that Anne herself successfully used) and the fact that she was the complete opposite of his current wife. At dawn on May 2, Boleyn, accompanied by hostile guards, arrived at the Tower along the same waterway as three years earlier on the occasion of the coronation. Having passed through the gate, she lost courage and, falling on her knees, begged to be taken to the king. "Will you send me to prison?" - Without getting up from her knees, she asked Kingston, Const:) Tower in a trembling voice. “No, madam, you will go to the royal apartments.” The feeling of relief provoked a nervous release - Anna began to go into hysterics for many hours. Kingston, at Cromwell’s request, with the pedantry of an experienced jailer, conveyed all the words, phrases and even interjections that, along with screams, tears or laughter, came out of her mouth. Breakdown a woman who had lost control of herself turned Cromwell’s impromptu into a brilliant accusation that deprived Boleyn of her last hope of salvation. And at the same time he brought to the Tower two more hostages of the conspiracy from the Boleyn faction - the king’s courtiers and her friends Francis Weston and William Brereton... Henry compensated for the feeling of guilt and pity with a touching permission not to send his wife to the stake. He ordered a French executioner from Calais, who masterfully wielded a sword. Having learned about this, Boleyn burst out laughing and, clasping her throat with her hands, said: “I heard he good master, and I have such a small neck.” Anne Boleyn and her brother George were put on trial on 15 May 1536. In the Royal Hall of the Tower, special stands were built for 2,000 invited spectators and a separate bench with a high back for the judges - 26 peers led by the Duke of Norfolk, the queen's uncle. Anna, holding up right hand, declared her innocence. No, she did not cheat on the king and did not promise to marry Henry Norris if the king died, no, she did not poison Katherine of Aragon and did not try to poison her daughter Mary. Not to mention the fact that she could not have had so many lovers (according to the articles of the prosecution) during her three years on the throne. But the verdict, which, according to tradition, the peers passed on to each other, consisted of one single word - guilty, guilty, guilty... Count Norfork announced the verdict. He cried as he sent his niece (and then his nephew) to her death - but weren’t these tears of relief because the tip of the ax was not aimed at him? In her last word, Anna said that she was ready to die, but she regretted the loyal servants and friends of the king who would die because of her, and asked not to execute the innocent. Suddenly, a small incident attracted everyone's attention. Henry Percy, Duke of Northumberland, ex-lover Anna, after delivering his verdict, lost consciousness. Anna in the Tower Shortly before the queen was allowed to die, the king declared the marriage to her invalid. Elizabeth became illegitimate. The formal announcement was made by Archbishop Cranmer on June 17, the eve of the queen's execution. The basis for it was the old story with the Earl of Northumberland, as well as the king’s relationship with Anne’s sister Mary (by law, this was also contrary to the marriage of both parties) and, finally, an argument drawn from the latest “evidence” - the king’s doubt that Elizabeth - his daughter, and not the already executed Norris. The royal lawyers tried to ensure that the king got what he wanted - now neither Anna, nor her daughter, nor Maria, nor the first wife stood in the way of a new marriage and the appearance of heirs. Henry, in the event that his new wife did not give birth to the desired prince, had the right to name his successor in a special decree before his death. 
Anna's execution The scaffold was covered with black cloth, and the sword was hidden between the boards. Spectators - about a thousand, only Londoners (no foreigners) - under the leadership of the mayor of the city came to witness the first execution of the queen in the history of England. She, in a dress of gray damask trimmed with fur, climbed to the first step of the scaffold and addressed the crowd: “I will die according to the law. I am not here to accuse anyone or talk about what I am accused of. But I pray to God that he will save the king and his reign, for there never was a kinder prince, and to me he has always been a most tender and worthy lord and sovereign. I say goodbye to the world and from the bottom of my heart I ask you to pray for me.” ...Boleyn fell to her knees and repeated: “Jesus, accept my soul. O almighty God, sorrow for my soul." Her lips were still moving when it was all over. The ladies covered the queen's body with a simple, rough sheet and carried it to St. Peter's Chapel, passing along the way the fresh graves of her “lovers” executed a few days earlier. Then they stripped her and put her in a small, carelessly put together coffin, barely able to fit the severed head there. Henry, who received news of the execution, immediately ordered Jane Seymour to be brought to him. 11 days later, on May 30, 1536, they got married. Jane Seymour died, giving birth to the king's son, for whom he entered into a deal with the devil so many times. And in 1558, the unexpected happened, as often happens in history - fate smiled on Elizabeth, Boleyn’s daughter, who looked like her father and fully inherited from her mother her character and ability to influence people, manipulating their thoughts and feelings. The people called the princess to the throne, and to the cheers of Londoners and the roar of the Tower artillery, Elizabeth occupied the fortress as Queen of England and remained so for many years. 
Elizabeth. future queen
At your request, a friend was the first to suggest the idea panoramov , this note is about the “cursed queen” Anne Boleyn. “Queen for 1000 days” - as they call her. She became the second legal wife of the English king Henry VIII and received the crown, which cost her her life.
A gloomy foreboding gripped Anna after the death of her rival, Catherine of Aragon, the king's first wife.
“Lately, Anna often recalled an old prophecy, according to which British Queen should be buried alive. At the beginning of 1536, a fire suddenly broke out in her bedroom, and she was terribly scared. Living in constant fear for her life, she became convinced that there was some kind of mystical connection between her death and the death of Catherine. Therefore, having heard that the former queen had finally passed on to another world, Anna began to think about her end ... "- K. Errickson "Bloody Mary"
Catherine, the abandoned wife of the king, died in January 1536, and in May of the same year Anna was executed. As if a curse overtook everyone who married Henry VIII Tudor, who became the prototype of the fairy-tale villain “Bluebeard”.
Young Anne Boleyn
Anna received a worthy education of her time, lived in France, whose court was famous for its liberties.
“Anna has just returned from France after studying at the court academy. She was a lively, witty woman of twenty-four years old, very graceful and fragile, with wonderful black eyes. Her voluminous black hair, flowing loosely over her shoulders, was so long that she could sit on it. “Madame Anna,” wrote the Venetian envoy, “is not the most beautiful woman in the world. She is of average height, with dark skin, long neck, wide mouth, rather flat-chested.” Anna had a hot temper, was distinguished by directness, frankness and loved to command. Although not everyone liked the favorite, she soon gained adherents, known for the most part as people who gravitated toward Luther’s new religious doctrine.”- this is how Winston Churchill describes the future queen in the book “Britain in Modern Times (XVI-XVII centuries)”
Anna was "married" to the king by her father, Thomas Boleyn. Initially, the king's favorite was Thomas's eldest daughter, Mary, who lived for a long time at the French court and managed to be the favorite of King Francis I. Thomas Boleyn received many favors from Henry VIII for Mary's attention, and was very dissatisfied when the king lost interest in his daughter. As the king's favorite, Mary was married to the aristocrat William Carey.
Mary Boleyn - Anne's sister
Accustomed to living in luxury, Thomas introduced the king youngest daughter Anna. It was said that old Boleyn regretted that “he only had two daughters.” Maria did not take offense at her sister, who took a place next to the king after her resignation. Having been widowed, Maria was left without the means to live a luxurious life and joyfully accepted Anna’s rich gifts. Marie secretly married William Stafford, a man of lower birth. Anna did not approve of her sister's marriage, continuing to help Mary financially, the queen removed her and her husband from the court.
According to legend, the then popular poet Clément Marot dedicated poems to Anna.
What name is alien to change,
At least turn it inside out?
All the letters in it are painfully blissful,
In it is the focus of my grief,
My suffering and triumph.
Let this name destroy me, -
But there is no more beloved name in the world.
In 1525, King Henry VIII began his persistent courtship of Anne Boleyn. At first, Anna proudly rejected the king's advances, making it clear that she only agreed to be queen. The King is 33 years old, Anna is 24 years old.
“I can and will love only my husband" - she said.
The king had never received such a rebuff before and could not resist.
“My heart will forever belong to you alone, seized by this desire so strongly that it will be able to subordinate to it the desires of my body.”- the king wrote to Anna.
It is believed that the king dedicated the poem “Green Sleeves” to Anna. According to another version, the poems had a different author.
My love, do I deserve it?
Is it rude to be rejected?
I've loved you for so long
I loved everything with you
Chorus:
Green sleeves,
I'm happy, you're fun,
You are a heart of gold
Grass colored sleeves
Always alone next to you,
I was glad to fulfill my whims,
He paid with both life and land,
To know love and harmony with you
Chorus
It was enough just to wish -
And everything was at your feet,
I could sing and play for you,
But he was unworthy of love
Chorus
My love, that I am faithful,
Understand, I pray again and again,
As before I love you
Come and give love
According to one version, Anne Boleyn wore a green dress on the day they met. According to another, the phrase “green sleeves” was a common noun and meant “the color of ease in love.”
Natalie Portman as Anne, The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Once upon a time, the king dedicated similar lines to another woman.
"In a few years you will be my wife, and I will be the most happy man England!“- Prince Henry once said to his bride Catherine of Aragon.
Anna believed that she was able to outwit the king. Perhaps she understood that royal love fickle, but hoped to strengthen her position with the birth of a son-heir.
The King and Anna on a hunt as depicted by a 19th century artist
This is what King Henry VIII looked like
In 1528, the king ordered his first wife Catherine to leave the palace, gave her 200 servants to serve her and assigned her a lifelong allowance. To questions about the conflict with Catherine’s Spanish relatives, the king answered “...I don’t care about her or her family members. Let all the Spaniards sink to the bottom of the sea!”
However, the Pope refused to grant a divorce to the king. Anna convinced Henry that he, as a monarch - God's viceroy on earth, should himself become the head of the church of his subjects. The vain king agreed, in 1530 he declared himself "sole protector and head of the Church of England and clergy" and assigned himself the status "a king and ruler who recognizes no one above him except God, and is not subject to the laws of any earthly creatures".
Anna (Geneviève Bugeaud) in the film "1000 Days of Queen Anne", 1969
In January 1533, Anna and the king got married. She patiently waited for this moment for more than 7 years. Anna was 32 years old, the king was 41 years old.
In May 1533, Anne was crowned, which caused the indignation of her subjects, who considered the legitimate “good Queen Catherine”, and Anne was called “the whore Boleyn who bewitched the king.”
After the coronation, the king asked Anna:
“How do you like the view of the city, my love?”
“Sire, the city was beautiful, but I saw many covered heads, and heard at most a few voices.”- she answered.
Chronicler Edward Hall describes the magnificent coronation: " On the first of June, Queen Anne proceeded in solemn procession from Westminster Hall to St. Peter's Abbey. She was accompanied by the monks of Westminster in rich golden robes and thirteen abbots in miters. And behind them are all from the royal chapel, and the four bishops, and the two archbishops in mitres, and all the lords in their parliamentary vestments; and before her the crown was borne by the Duke of Suffolk, and two scepters were carried by two earls. The queen herself walked under a rich canopy of gold brocade, dressed in a dress of dark red velvet and ermine, and an overdress of purple velvet, decorated with ermine, and on her head a rich crown of pearls and precious stones.
The old Duchess of Norfolk, in crimson velvet and a crown of gold, carried her train, and Lord Burgh, the queen's chamberlain, supported the train in the middle.
She was followed by ten ladies in scarlet robes trimmed with ermine, with gold crowns on their heads.
And behind them rode the queen's ladies-in-waiting in scarlet dresses trimmed with white Baltic fur. And so she arrived at St. Peter's Church in Westminster, and was seated in the royal seat, erected on a high platform in front of the altar. There the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York anointed her and crowned her Queen of England. And so she sat, crowned, on her royal seat, throughout the mass, and prayed. And when the mass was over, everyone, each in his place, went to Westminster Hall, and she still walked under the canopy, crowned, with two scepters in her hands, and she was led by my Lord Wilshire, her father, and Lord Talbot. And there they dined, and it was the most solemn feast that had ever been seen.”
Shakespeare, who received the patronage of Queen Elizabeth, Anne's daughter, wrote an enthusiastic ode.
The order has already been given to crown her.
But this is new news. Her
We won't disclose it. Well, my lords,
The girl is good, everything about her is charming,
Both body and soul. I predict
What blessing will come from her
To England for many years.
... Well, the queen stood up and humbly
She was now approaching the altar.
And, like a saint, she raised her gaze to the sky,
And on her knees she offered a prayer,
She stood up again and bowed to the people.
Then the archbishop gave her
Everything that befits a queen:
Holy oil, and then the crown,
What did Confessor Edward wear?
And the rod, and the dove, and all the emblems
Get to her! When the ceremony was over,
That's a choir to the sounds of the best orchestra
Sang Te Deum. Then she left
And with the same retinue she returned
To the palace of York, where the feast will begin.
William Shakespeare. King Henry VIII (translation by V. Tomashevsky)
Queen Anne's coat of arms featured a white falcon with the caption "Happiest of Women."
The family life of Anna and Henry did not work out. The aging king demanded that his wife give birth to an heir to the throne. Anna gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, who was destined to become great. Then she had a stillborn son. The king was indignant; he personally blamed Anna for the death of the child.
In the film "The Other Boleyn Girl" Mary, Anne's sister, is played by Scarlett Johansson
“Would you like to see your little daughter?”- the old nanny asked the king.
“Daughter, daughter! You old witch, don’t you dare talk to me anymore!”- the king was indignant.
The monarch began to realize that Anna and her family only needed titles and the royal treasury, and became even more angry. The king suffered from paranoia; he began to imagine murderous conspirators. The king suspected that Anna had bewitched him.
The queen's obstinate disposition also irritated Henry. Anna executed and pardoned without his knowledge, and distributed titles and gifts to her supporters.
Soon the king noticed the maid of honor Jane Seymour, on whom he placed new hopes. The king decided to get rid of his wife Anna as quickly as possible. Once he figured out how to get rid of his first wife, which means he could get rid of his second.
The day before, Anne had quarreled with her main political supporter, Thomas Cromwell. The politician, dissatisfied with Anna, went over to the side of the family new passion King - Jane Seymour. The treacherous Cromwell contributed to the overthrow of the upstart queen.
Anna was accused of state and personal treason against the king. She was credited with many lovers, including her own brother. Her father, pimp Thomas Boleyn, was also arrested.
Court musician Mark Smeaton admitted under torture that he was the queen's lover.
“Finally, the king, having learned about all these crimes, dishonors and betrayals, was so saddened that it had a harmful effect on his health“- read the accusation. The king himself was not present at the trial.
"On Friday morning, for the trial of Anne's lovers, a special commission of inquiry into treason, appointed the previous week, which included, among others, Anne Boleyn's father, the Earl of Wiltshire, and all the royal judges, formed a jury. It consisted of twelve nobles. They considered the accused were guilty, and were sentenced to be hanged and quartered, but the execution was deferred until the trial of the queen, which opened on the following Monday in the Tower. Twenty-six peers (half of all that existed), presided over by the Duke of Norfolk, who was promoted on the occasion to the office of chief justice of the court of peers, were seated on a special eminence. The Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Audley, a commoner by birth, had no right to judge the Queen. He was next to the Duke as a legal adviser. Also present were the Lord Mayor of London, a deputation of aldermen and representatives of the public (as ordered by the King) who took the seats reserved for lawyers.
Sir Edmund Walsingham brought the Queen into the hall, after which the Attorney General read out the charge. She was charged with the following crimes: infidelity to the king; a promise to Norris to marry him after Henry's death; giving Norris medallions to poison Catherine and Mary, as well as other crimes, including incest with his brother. The Queen vigorously denied her guilt, answering each accusation in detail. The peers retired and after the meeting pronounced a verdict: “guilty.” Norfolk announced the verdict: Anne Boleyn should be burned or beheaded, at the discretion of the king,” wrote Winston Churchill in his historical works.
The poet Wyatt, who wrote about Anne as a forbidden game of the royal forests, was also accused of conspiracy.
Whoever wants to, let him hunt for her,
Behind this light-footed white doe;
I yield to you - take risks boldly,
Who doesn’t feel sorry for their labors and days.
Sometimes, seeing her between the branches,
And I suddenly freeze, dumbfounded,
I’ll rush forward - but no, it’s a waste of time!
It’s better to catch clouds with nets.
Try it and see for yourself
That you will only waste your time;
On her golden collar
Written in diamond words:
“Dashing catcher, don’t touch me, don’t hurt me:
I’m not yours, I’m Caesar’s hind.”
A contemporary who witnessed the last meeting of Anna and the king later told Elizabeth: “Alas, I will never forget the painful feeling that I experienced when I saw how the righteous queen, your mother, having raised you, still a child, in her arms, knelt before the most merciful of rulers, your father, and he looked through the window somewhere in the distance..."
Queen before execution
In May 1536, Anne was transported to Tower Prison. She proceeded by boat along the same route as at the coronation. The frightened queen fell to her knees in front of the guards.
"Will you send me to prison?"- she asked.
"No, madam, you will go to the royal apartments“- they answered her with gloomy sarcasm. In the Castle Tower, royal chambers were built long ago, which did not receive visitors. The castle became a dungeon.
From prison, Anna wrote to the king, asking him to spare the others accused of conspiracy: “Sovereign!
Your Majesty's displeasure and my imprisonment seem so strange to me that I do not know what I should write to you about and what I should ask for forgiveness about. You sent my well-known doctor to tell me that I must confess the truth if I want to regain your favor. Before he had time to explain his instructions to me, I already noticed what your intention was. But if, as you say, confession of the truth can give me freedom, I obey your commands with all my heart and with all spiritual submission. Don’t imagine, V.V., that your poor wife could ever be driven to such a crime that she never allowed herself to even think about. Never has any Sovereign had a wife so faithful to all her duties, so filled with the most tender affection, as Anne Boleyn (in the original - Bulen), your own wife. She knew how to appreciate the high state to which the mercy of Providence and your condescension had elevated her. But standing at the height of greatness and the throne to which I was elevated, I never forgot that I could have fallen to the same fate as I have now suffered. My elevation had no other basis than your short-term inclination towards me, and I have no doubt that the slightest change in those external pleasantries that produced it in your heart could turn you to a different subject.
You brought me out of insignificance, elevated me to the highest level in the state, added me to your August family: I never dared to expect this splendor; this greatness is beyond my merits. Meanwhile, if you have already awarded me this honor, then, great Sovereign, you will not tolerate that inconstancy or the evil advice of my enemies could deprive me of Your Majesty’s favor. Do not allow the censure of infidelity, a stain so black and so unworthy, to dishonor the name of your wife, and with it the name of the young Princess, your daughter.
So, command, Sovereign, to investigate my case, strictly observing the laws of justice and do not allow my enemies to be my informers and my judges. Command that my trial be carried out publicly. My fidelity will protect me from reproach and shame. You will see: my innocence will be justified, your suspicions will be dispelled, your spirit will calm down and silence will take the place of censure, or my crime will be revealed before the eyes of the whole world. So, command me to do with me what pleases God and you. You can, V.V., avoid public rumors through this; my crime, being discovered in justice, will give you, before God and before people, the right not only to punish me as an unfaithful wife, but also to freely follow the inclination you feel towards the one that is the cause of my unhappy state. I could have pronounced her name before you long ago. You don’t know, V.V., how far my suspicions extend in this case. Finally, if you have already decided to destroy me and if you consider my death, based on shameful slander, the only means to obtain the good you desire, then I will ask God to forgive this great crime both to you and to my enemies who served in this instruments and so that on the last day, sitting on His throne, before which you and I will soon appear and before which my innocence, if I dare say, will be clearly revealed, He will not strictly demand from you an account of an act so unworthy of you and so hard-hearted.
My last and only request is that you place the entire burden of your anger on me alone and that you do not subject to any misfortune those unfortunates who, as I have heard, are being held in a cramped prison for my cause. If I could ever ask you for anything, if the name Anne Boleyn (in the original - Bulen) was ever pleasing to your ears, do not refuse me this request and I will not bother you with anything else; otherwise, all I can do is send up fervent prayers to God so that he will be merciful to you and control all your actions.”
Having learned about the postponement of the sentence, Anna burst into tears; another day of waiting for the execution was painful.
According to the memoirs of Constable Tower: “... when I arrived, she said: "Mr. Kingston, I heard that I will not die at noon today, and I am very sorry, because I thought that by this time I would be beyond suffering." I told her that there would be no suffering. Then she said: “I heard that the executioner is very good, but I have a thin neck,” and she wrapped her arms around her, laughing heartily. I saw not only men, but also women awaiting execution, and they all grieved greatly, but, as I know, this lady rejoiced in death.”
On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed. The executed woman was 35 years old and had been Queen of England for three years. Preparing for execution, proud Anna said: “I lived as a queen, I will die as a queen, even if you all burst out of frustration!”
At first, Anna was sentenced to be burned at the stake for telling fortunes, but by the mercy of the king, the execution was commuted - the queen was beheaded.
The last words of the condemned woman were:
“Good Christians, I am here to die according to the law and thus submit to the will of the king, my lord. And if in my life I caused suffering to the king, my death will atone for my guilt. I ask and implore you to pray for the king. My and your rightful lord, one of the most worthy monarchs on Earth, who treated me so well. I accept death with good will and humbly ask for forgiveness from the whole World. If anyone takes up my case, then I ask you to judge mercifully. With that, I say goodbye to the World and to you, and with all my heart I wish you to pray for me...”
“In the name of restoring justice, I consider it my duty to declare that this sweet woman is completely innocent of the crimes of which she was accused, as evidenced by her beauty, grace and cheerful disposition, not to mention the solemn oaths of innocence, the groundlessness of the charges brought against her , and the king’s disposition: all of the above can serve as additional arguments in her defense, albeit perhaps less compelling than those put forward earlier...”- wrote about Jane Austen about Anne Boleyn, “History of England. From the reign of Henry IV to the death of Charles I."
"It is done! Let the dogs out, let's have fun!"- said the king after Anna’s execution.
He did not listen to his dying request, and all the accused were beheaded. Only the poet Wyeth managed to obtain a pardon.
Before her execution, Anna wrote to the king: “I have now fully experienced your good deeds. I was nothing; you made me a lady of state, a marquise, a queen; and when it was no longer possible to completely exalt me on earth, you make me a saint.”
King Henry VIII was married six times and may have been the inspiration for Bluebeard, who killed his wives. The third wife, Jane Seymour, whom the king married 11 days after Anne's execution, died in childbirth. The fifth wife, Catherine Howarth, was also executed. The fourth wife, Anna of Cleves, received a divorce immediately because the king did not like her - she was lucky. The sixth wife, Catherine Parr, survived the king.
Henry and his wives
"The most intolerable bastard, a disgrace to human nature, a bloody and greasy stain in the history of England", wrote Charles Dickens about the reign of Henry VIII.
And the ghost of Anne Boleyn appears in the Tower and its environs. Sometimes her funeral carriage, drawn by headless horses, passes by. The executed queen holds her head in her hands.
In 1830, the premiere of Donizetti's opera Anna Boleyn took place in Milan.
Friend eugesha suggested poems in English that the queen wrote before her death (presumably). It sounds very beautiful in English, the meaning, I think, will be clear to many without translation.
O 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.
My pains who can express?
Alas, they are so strong;
My dolor will not suffer strength
My life for to prolong.
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Let thy sound my death tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
There is no remedy.
Alone in prison strong
I wait for my destiny.
Woe worth this cruel hap that I
Should taste this misery!
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Let thy sound my death tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
There is no remedy.
Farewell, my pleasures past,
Welcome, my present pain!
I feel my torments so increase
That life cannot remain.
Cease now, thou passing bell;
Rung is my doleful knell;
For the sound my death doth tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
There is no remedy.
When I was preparing material on Queen Bess, I came across an image of her mother made by the talented photographer Hiroshi Sujimoto. Of all the portraits of Anne Boleyn, this one seemed to me the most beautiful; in the queen’s black eyes I saw her fate.
Here she sits, thoughtfully plucking the strings of the mandolin, but her thoughts are not here, not with us - they are turned to Anna’s inner world. A dreamy smile, a slight turn of the head - what is the beautiful queen thinking about, what dreams does she see in reality?
Anne Boleyn was not a beauty. In 1532, a year before she became queen, the Venetian ambassador to England wrote: “...Not the most beautiful woman in the world. Medium build, dark skin, long neck, large mouth, low chest; in general, nothing special - except that she aroused the king's interest. And the eyes - black beautiful eyes...”
It’s strange, but ceremonial portraits, as expected, do not exist. There are a couple of sketches by Hans Holbein Jr., and for a long time there were disputes about who served as the model for the famous artist.
And now about Anna herself.
Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, was a noble courtier, while her mother Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, belonged to one of the oldest English families. Anna spent her childhood in the wonderful Hever Castle, Kent.
In 1513, Anna was sent abroad - and she lived in Europe for nine years. First at the Habsburg court in Brabant as a maid of honor to Margaret of Austria. This courtyard was considered the center for the education of future princes and princesses. It was difficult to think of a better start to begin a court career. Anna easily mastered the French language, the secrets of court social and political life, and the art of intrigue. At the same time, her mentor Margarita was known not only as an adept at court games of love, but also strictly guarded the morality of her young ladies-in-waiting. Chastity and inaccessibility are excellent ways for a woman to achieve her goal, much more effective than promiscuity. Anna also learned other lessons from her mentor - kings do not marry for love, and women should not let love for men into their hearts too deeply. It was then that Anna decided that her motto would be “all or nothing”...
Arriving from “gallant” France, Anna immediately became the most popular young lady at the English court. Although not possessing outstanding beauty, she was elegantly and expensively dressed, danced inimitably and was smart, unlike many of her peers.
The marriage with Lord Butler did not take place. Her affair with Lord Henry Percy, the son of the Duke of Northumberland, dates back to the same period, but the hopes of the young couple were not destined to come true, because the king himself noticed Anna.
The first meeting between Anna and the king was a reception in honor of the Spanish ambassadors in March 1522. By this time, Henry had accumulated many claims, both to the queen, Catherine of Aragon, and to the favorites, Betsy Blount and Mary Carrie (by the way, Anne Boleyn’s sister).
Michiel Sittow. Infanta Catharina of Aragon. 1503.
The Courtship of Anne Boleyn, art. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
Without waiting for offers more serious than the status of “the only mistress to whom he will completely devote himself to service,” she disappears for a while, forcing him to experience a hitherto unfamiliar feeling of guilt and loss. At this time, the king was already trying to find a way to divorce Katerina, who, having lost her charm and gentle disposition by the age of 40, was unable to bear him an heir, and Henry had long since stopped visiting her bedroom. Then he came up with an undeniable, from his point of view, argument in favor of divorce - the Pope made an unacceptable mistake by allowing him to marry the widow of his brother Arthur (he died almost immediately after his wedding to Katerina). It is said in the Bible: a man who marries his brother’s wife will have no heirs. Katerina gave birth to his daughter, and she had 6 miscarriages. This means that now he must get married like the first time, for real.
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, art. Arthur Hopkins
Henry VIII presents Anne Boleyn to court. (W. Hogwarts).
At the end of 1532, Anna announced that she was pregnant, and on January 25, 1533, the king and Anna secretly got married. It was only in May that the archbishop officially announced that the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was considered invalid.
In vain Cromwell tried to control the situation, stopping all conspiracies and attempts to denigrate the queen. A special decree was even issued commanding all men, regardless of their origin, to take an oath of allegiance to Anna. And those who did not want to obey were poisoned on the chopping block. The situation became especially aggravated after the execution of Thomas More - she allowed innocent blood to be shed only because More refused to appear at her coronation.
Princess Mary at the age of 28, thin. Master John
...The queen's new pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Anna blamed this on her husband, who dared to sleep with one of her court ladies. Well, Henry continued to wait for the heir, disappointed and amorous, he had already turned his attention to Jane Seymour, the former maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, who only recently, thanks to her influential brothers, had the opportunity to return to the court. Boleyn saw with her own eyes how one day this unremarkable person sat on her husband’s lap and he played with a necklace around her neck. Then the queen tore off Jane's necklace. Then Henry made peace with his wife and she became pregnant again, instilling in him yet another hope of an heir.
Shortly before the queen was allowed to die, the king declared the marriage to her invalid. Elizabeth became illegitimate. The formal announcement was made by Archbishop Cranmer on June 17, the eve of the queen's execution. The basis for it was the old story with the Earl of Northumberland, as well as the king’s relationship with Anne’s sister Mary (by law, this was also contrary to the marriage of both parties) and, finally, an argument drawn from the latest “evidence” - the king’s doubt that Elizabeth - his daughter, and not the already executed Norris. The royal lawyers tried to ensure that the king got what he wanted - now neither Anna, nor her daughter, nor Maria, nor the first wife stood in the way of a new marriage and the appearance of heirs. Henry, in the event that his new wife did not give birth to the desired prince, had the right to name his successor in a special decree before his death.
The scaffold was covered with black cloth, and the sword was hidden between the boards. Spectators - about a thousand, only Londoners (no foreigners) - under the leadership of the mayor of the city came to witness the first execution of the queen in the history of England. She, in a dress of gray damask trimmed with fur, climbed to the first step of the scaffold and addressed the crowd: “I will die according to the law. I am not here to accuse anyone or talk about what I am accused of. But I pray to God that he will save the king and his reign, for there never was a kinder prince, and to me he has always been a most tender and worthy lord and sovereign. I say goodbye to the world and from the bottom of my heart I ask you to pray for me."
Anne Boleyn before her execution (J.S. Stewart. Historical figures).
Having received the news of the execution, the king, who was impatiently awaiting it, shouted cheerfully: “The job is done! Let the dogs go, let's have fun!” and immediately ordered Jane Seymour to be brought to him. 11 days later, on May 30, 1536, they got married. Jane Seymour died, giving birth to the king's son, for whom he entered into a deal with the devil so many times.
Anne Boleyn rests in the Chapel St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.
Well, what else is left to say? In subsequent centuries, artists repeatedly turned to the image of the ill-fated queen:
Portrait painted already in the 17th century by Franz Paurbus
Unknown artist of the 16th century. Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England. French school
Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, fig. O'Neil, 19th century.
Experts in the history of music believe that the famous “Greensleevs” is a dedication of a loving king to his future wife Anna, set to an ancient melody. It is not known whether these lines were actually written by Henry VIII, but the beautiful legend is cherished - and it is generally accepted that the beautiful stranger in a green dress is Lady Anne Boleyn
Alas, my love, you do me wrong...
Greensleeves, now farewell! adieu! - Goodbye, Greensleeves!
"My Lady Greensleeves" as depicted in an 1864 painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.
Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
Your vows you"ve broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.
If you intend to disdain in this way,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.
My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt feel safe to love me.
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still your lover true,
Come once again and love me.
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