Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533-1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII. Their marriage, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.

Anne refused to become Henry’s mistress so, in order to marry her, he soon focused his efforts on annulling his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Yet, Pope Clement VII of Rome would not annul the marriage. So, Henry broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England. The newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine’s marriage null and void. Five days later he validated Henry and Anne’s marriage. Four days later, Anne was crowned Queen of England.

Anne gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I but, after three miscarriages, she failed to bear the son that Henry desired. Henry began courting Jane Seymore but, in order to marry her, he had to find reasons to end his marriage to Anne.

Anne was arrested, held in the Tower of London, tried before a jury on charges of treason and adultery, and beheaded. However, after her daughter, Elizabeth I, became Queen of England in 1558, Anne was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, and some contemporaries consider Anne to be the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had.

This short book tells the intensely human story of a woman who has changed the world in a way that no one else could.

Religião e Espiritualidade