Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536

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Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation. Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard; she was maid of honour to Henry VIII's wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Henry needed to annul his marriage to Catherine to marry Anne. When Pope Clement VII would not annul the marriage, Henry and his advisers began the breaking of the Catholic Church's power in England. Henry and Anne formally married on 25 January 1533. Anne was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533. On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In order to marry Seymour, Henry had to find reasons to end the marriage to Anne.

Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. She was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later. After her daughter, Elizabeth, was crowned as Queen in 1558, Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Banks, John, d. 1706. Anna Bullen : a tragedy in five acts : stats, undated. Houghton Library
creatorOf Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536. Signature, 3 May 1534, probably forged by W.H. Ireland, c. 1800. University of Birmingham, Birmingham University
referencedIn Draft typescripts of The Six wives of Henry VIII, 1991-1992 British Library
referencedIn Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848. [Draft of Va' infelici from Anna Bolena] [manuscript]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Kean, Charles John, 1811?-1868,. Autograph letter signed from Charles John Kean to an unidentified recipient [manuscript], 1857 October 28. Folger Shakespeare Library
creatorOf Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536. Letter signed : Westminster, [1536] Mar. 26. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Ms. 1070 [microform]. Libraries Australia
referencedIn Ireland, W. H. (William Henry), 1777-1835,. Forgery of signature of Anne Boleyn by W.H. Ireland [manuscript] ca. 1800. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848. [Draft of Va' infelice, from Anna Bolena] [manuscript]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Miscellaneous theatrical set designs, 1661-1975 and undated. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Callaghan, Daniel Thomas, 1845-1915. Anne Boleyn, a historical drama in five acts, 1893, London. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Collier, John Payne, 1789-1883. Collection of copies of books and manuscripts from the 15th-19th centuries of John Payne Collier [manuscript], ca. 1850. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn A smaller Volume in folio: also containing Collections relative to Coronations; but mixed with other Heraldic Matters, Processions, &c. The following are the Titles of the several Articles. 1. Index of Sir Edward Walker's Book of the Coronation. fol.... British Library
referencedIn Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848. Anna Bolena [music] / di G. Donizetti. Libraries Australia
referencedIn James Benedict Fitzpatrick papers, 1901-1963, 1920-1943, 1956-1963 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. (James Orchard), 1820-1889,. Autograph letter signed from J.O. Halliwell-Phillipps, Islip, Oxfordshire, to Henry Colburn [manuscript], 1845 March 29. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848. Ouverture d'Anna Bolena / G. Donizetti. Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Central Library
referencedIn TRUMBULL PAPERS. Vol. CLXXIII (ff. 113). Miscellaneous tracts and papers relating to the crown and to Scottish and Irish affairs, etc.; circa 1562-1634, n.d. Partly French. Partly copies, imperfect. Paper: ff. 113. From Add. 5, 7, 8, 11, 37 42. As fo..., 1509-1634 British Library
referencedIn A folio Volume of Letters and Tracts, chiefly Historical. Containing, 1. A Report made by Sir Thomas Rowe to the Commons House of Parliament of a Declaration made by the Earle of Bristoll to both Houses of Parliament. December 1640. fol. 1. 2. Sir Th... British Library
referencedIn Cavendish, George, 1500-1561?. George Cavendish-- Life of Wolsey, 1600.
referencedIn Fitzpatrick, James Benedict, 1881-1964. James Benedict Fitzpatrick papers, 1901-1963, bulk (1920-1943, 1956-1963) New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Portraits and pictures collection, circa 1750-1900. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Noble, Mark, 1754-1827. The history of the family of Boleyn : particularly that of Queen Ann Boleyn, together with the life of her daughter, and only child, the princess Elizabeth who afterwards ascended the English throne, in which is given a critical examination of Holingshed's account of her imprisonment, 1799 / by the Rev. Mark Noble, F.A.S. of L. & E., Rector of Barming in Kent, & domestic chaplain to George, Earl of Leicester. With an appendix added by the author in the year 1803. Yale University, Lewis Walpole Library
creatorOf Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507-1536. Copy of a letter : to Thomas Josselyn, Esq., 1533 Sept. 7. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Edmunds, John, 1913-1986. O death, rock me asleep ; The keeper / John Edmunds. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Place Name Admin Code Country
London ENG GB
England ENG GB
Blickling ENG GB
Subject
Occupation
Queens
Activity

Person

Birth 1507

Death 1536-05-19

Britons

English

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