BOLEYN, Anne, Queen of England, one of the wives of Henry VIII: b. 1507; d. 19 May 1536. The name is also spelled Bullen and Bouleyne. Her father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, had been several times sent by Henry as Am bassador to France, and her mother was a daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. At the age of 11 years Anne accompanied to France as maid of honor the Princess Mary of England, betrothed to Louis XII; but when that princess three years later returned to England a widow, Anne did not follow her, but remained at the French court, the freedom and gaiety of which suited her natural disposition, and where she was admired for her beauty and wit. She was attached to the household of Claudia, wife of Francis I, after whose death she was for a time in the service of the Duchess of Alencon, sister of Francis I. Young, gay and witty, she was an object of great attraction in the gallant court of Francis I. She returned to England about 1522, and became lady of honor to Queen Catharine, whom she soon supplanted in the King's affections. The King found an un expected opposition to his wishes, for Anne firmly declared that she could be had on no terms but those of marriage. She knew that the King already meditated a divorce from his wife, Catharine of Aragon; but she also knew the difficulties that would require to be overcome for the execution of this design, through the opposition of the Church. Cranmer offered his services to bring about the accomplishment of the King's wishes, and thus was given the first occasion for the separation of England from the Roman Church. But the impetuous Henry did not wait for the ministers of his new re ligion to confirm his divorce; on the contrary, he married Anne in January 1533, having pre viously created her Marchioness of Pembroke. When her pregnancy revealed the secret, Cran mer declared the first marriage void, and the second valid, and Anne was crowned Queen at Westminster with unparalleled splendor. In 1533 she became the mother of the famous Elizabeth. She could not, however, retain the
affections of the King, as inconstant as he was tyrannical; and as she had supplanted her Queen while lady of honor to Catharine, she was now supplanted herself by Jane Seymour, her own lady of honor. Suspicions of infidelity were alleged, which appear to have had no founda tion in truth, but were doubtless eagerly laid hold of by Henry as a pretext for his violent proceedings. In 1536 she was accused and brought before a jury of peers. Smeaton, a musician, who was arrested with others, asserted that he had enjoyed the Queen's favors, and on 17 May 1536 she was condemned to death by 26 judges. Anne in vain affirmed that she had long before been contracted to the Duke of Northumberland, and therefore had never been the lawful wife of Henry. Cranmer in vain declared the marriage void. The sentence of death was executed by the command of the inflexible Henry, who esteemed it a great exer cise of clemency to substitute the scaffold for the stake. The last day of the life of this un happy woman, 19 May 1536, presents many interesting moments. She sent for the wife of the lieutenant of the Tower, threw herself upon her knees before her and said, °Go to the Prin cess Mary (daughter of Catharine) in my name, and in this position beg her forgiveness for all the sufferings I have drawn upon her and her mother? °She sent her last message to the king," says Hume, °and acknowledged the obligations which she owed him in uniformly continuing his endeavors for her advancement' °From a private gentlewoman you have made me first a marchioness, then a queen, and as you can raise me no higher in this world, you are now sending me to be a saint in heaven? Consult Strickland, of England' (Vol. II, 1875-80) ; Dixon, Two Queens' (1873-74) ; Friedmann, (Anne Boleyn' (1285).