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Born at the Palace of Placentia on June 28, 1491, Henry Tudor was the second son of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York. He was second in line to the English throne behind his older brother Arthur.
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There is uncertainty about Anne Boleyn's birth, but her parents were Thomas Boleyn, son of a Norfolk landowner, and Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the second duke of Norfolk. Historical sources point toward her being born around 1501, likely in Norfolk. Source:
Bernard, G.W. 2010. "Who was Anne Boleyn?" Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions. Yale University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npjv0.7 -
King Henry VII died on April 21, 1509, and was succeeded by Henry VIII. Henry VIII's brother Arthur, the initial heir to the English throne, died seven years earlier, making Henry VIII the first in line to succeed his father.
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Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, his brother Arthur's widow, on June 11, 1509. She would be the first of Henry VIII's six wives.
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On January 1, 1511, Catherine of Aragon gave birth to Henry VIII's first son and heir apparent, whom they also named Henry. Catherine previously gave birth to a daughter, but the child was stillborn.
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Prince Henry died only weeks after his birth on February 22, 1511. Catherine of Aragon failed to provide Henry VIII with another male heir during their marriage much to his dismay, though their daughter Mary would eventually be Queen of England. Source:
Shore, Miles F. “Henry and the Crisis of Generativity.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History Vol. 2, No. 4. Psychoanalysis and History (Spring, 1972). The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/202310 -
Anne Boleyn joined Henry VIII's court in 1522, possibly participating in pageants and serving in Catherine of Aragon's household. Source:
Bernard, G.W. 2010. "Who was Anne Boleyn?" Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions. Yale University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npjv0.7 -
In 1527, Henry VIII, wishing to marry Anne Boleyn, decided to divorce Catherine of Aragon. He justified this decision by claiming that it was against divine law to be married to the widow of his brother and that the pope had exceeded his authority in approving their marriage. Source:
Rex, Richard. 2007. "Henry VIII and the Break with Rome." State Papers Online 1509-1714. Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd. -
Henry VIII dismissed Cardinal Thomas Wolsey for failing to obtain his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, potentially at the urging of several people close to Anne Boleyn. Source:
Gairdner, James. 1899. "The Fall of Cardinal Wolsey." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society New Series, Vol. 13: 75. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/3678127 -
Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII married secretly in London on November 14, 1532. Boleyn would soon become pregnant with their daughter Elizabeth.
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Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII married publicly on January 25, 1533.
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On May 23, 1533, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declared him legally married to Anne Boleyn five days later. This marked the separation of England from the Roman Catholic Church.
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Anne Boleyn gave birth to her and Henry VIII's daughter Elizabeth on September 7, 1533, leaving Henry VIII still without a male heir. Elizabeth would eventually become the Queen of England.
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Anne Boleyn gave birth to a stillborn son sometime in 1534, adding to Henry VIII's distress over his inability to gain a male heir.
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Anne Boleyn miscarried a pregnancy in January 1536, days after Catherine of Aragon's death. This would cause strife between Boleyn and Henry VIII, as Henry VIII was made certain he would not have a male heir through Boleyn. Source:
Bernard, G.W. 2010. "Anne's miscarriage." Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions. Yale University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npjv0.13 -
On May 2, 1536, Anne Boleyn was arrested on charges including adultery and treason. It is likely that Henry VIII grew tired of waiting for Boleyn to provide him with a male heir and levied charges against her that may have been false. Source:
Bernard, G.W. 2010. "'A much higher fault': the countess of Worcester's charge against Anne." Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions. Yale University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npjv0.15 -
Anne Bolyn was found guilty of the charges against her on May 15, 1536.
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Anne Boleyn's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled by Thomas Cranmer on May 17, 1536.
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Anne Boleyn was executed at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536. The execution was performed privately, with an expert French swordsman carrying out her Boleyn's beheading.
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Henry VIII was betrothed to Jane Seymour on May 20, 1536, the day after Anne Boleyn's execution. The pair would marry ten days later. Seymour would eventually provide Henry VIII with a male heir - the future King Edward VI.