Head’s up on Anne...
TALE OF A TRAGIC QUEEN
SHE was Henry VIII’S famous second wife who was beheaded by the king after being accused of treason, adultery and witchcraft.
And tomorrow night, a new three- part documentary begins on Channel 5 which will tell the remarkable story of Anne Boleyn.
But what do you know about the Tudor queen, born in 1501? NATASHA WYNARCZYK presents 10 regal facts...
The daughter of English diplomat Thomas Boleyn, Anne studied in Vienna and Paris. Highly educated, she spoke Latin and her French was so fluent one of her contemporaries said you’d think she was a native Frenchwoman when you met her. Very musical, she was able to play the lute and a song book bearing her inscription is stored at London’s Royal College of Music. She was also known for being a good dancer.
Anne almost married her cousin James Butler to settle a dispute between een her father and d James’s father Piers. But Anne was not keen and the proposal was dropped.
Anne’s sister swas Mary was Henry VIII’S mistress before he started courting his future wife in 1528. But it was rumoured Anne’s mother Elizabeth Howard had also slept with him. It was even claimed by Tudor historian Nicholas Sander that Anne was Henry’s daughter – but today’s experts say that is false. Historians have called Anne “the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had”, as she caused Henry to split from the Catholic Church in order to divorce his first wife,
Catherine of Aragon, and create the Church of England during the Reformation in 1533.
There were cat fights between Anne and Jane Seymour, who would go on to be Henry’s third wife. Jane was Anne’s second cousin and one of her ladies- in- waiting. As Jane grew closer to Henry, Anne became jealous and one of her maids wrote how there was often “scratching and blows” between the pair.
After two miscarriages in 1534 and 1536 and failing to bear Henry H a much- wanted ma male heir, factions began to conspire against A Anne. She was arrested fo for high treason and ad adultery, and also accused cu of incest with her bro brother George, who was also jailed. ja
Anne was said to have a “devilish spirit” and she faced accusations of witchcraft. It is also widely believed she had an extra finger on her right hand, but it is thought this was invented by Nicholas Sander to discredit her and her daughter Elizabeth I. Anne’s ghost has been seen at several historic buildings in the UK, including Hever Castle, Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London, where she was beheaded – by sword rather than axe as a small “act of mercy” – for her “crimes” by Henry in 1536. She has been portrayed many times on screen including by Natalie Dormer in The Tudors, Claire Foy in BBC series Wolf Hall and by Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl – with Scarlett Johansson as her sister Mary.