The execution of Anne Boleyn has been interpreted by historians in different ways. Some say that King Henry VIII sent Queen Anne to the scaffold because she - at that time - fully deserved it: she was an intriguing, hysterical, arrogant and arrogant "plebeian", as Henry himself called her after the end of passion. And yet, right under the king's nose, she tried to conduct her own policy, and this was more than palace intrigues. Others portray her as a victim of the morally flawed Henry VIII, a usurper and tyrant. But, probably, the truth is somewhere in between. And most likely, Anna and Heinrich were worth each other …
Anne Boleyn and her brother George were brought to trial on May 15, 1536. In the Royal Hall of the Tower, special stands were built for 2,000 invited spectators and a separate high-backed bench for the judges - 26 peers led by the Duke of Norfolk, the Queen's uncle.
Anna, raising her right hand, declared her innocence. No, she did not betray the king and did not promise to marry Henry Norris in the event of the death of the king, no, she did not poison Catherine of Aragon and did not try to poison her daughter Maria. Not to mention the fact that she could not have had so many lovers (according to the prosecution's articulators) during her three years on the throne.
But the verdict, which traditionally passed on to each other by peers, consisted of one single word - guilty, guilty, guilty …
Earl Norfork announced the verdict. He cried, sending his niece (and then his nephew) to death - but weren't these tears of relief that the point of the ax was not directed at him? In her last word, Anna said that she was ready for death, but she regretted the loyal servants and friends of the king who were to die because of her, and asked not to execute the innocent.
An unexpectedly small incident caught everyone's attention. Henry Percy, Duke of Northumberland, former lover of Anne, after he passed his verdict, lost consciousness …
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French in spirit
Thomas Boleyn, Anna's father, was a noble courtier, while her mother Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, belonged to one of the earliest English families.
By her origin, Anna, born at the end of 1501 (or 1507 - the exact date is unknown), stood on a higher step than the three subsequent English wives of the king. But this fact will not prevent Henry VIII from later calling her a plebeian unworthy to take the royal throne.
Thomas Boleyn knew French and Latin better than all the courtiers and corresponded with Erasmus of Rotterdam, from whom he even bought several excerpts from his works. Heinrich once mentioned that he had not met a more dexterous and cunning negotiator. His son George, an Oxford graduate, inherited his father's diplomatic talents and was a good poet, starting his court career as a page.
Young Anna Boleyn
In 1513, Anna was sent abroad - and she lived in Europe for nine years. First, at the Habsburg court in Brabant, as one of the 18 maids of honor to Margaret of Austria (she was regent under her nephew Charles of Burgundy).
This court was considered the center of education of future princes and princesses. The European elite sent their offspring to a kind of trainings to Margarita, famous for her education. It was difficult to think of a better start for the beginning of his court career.
Anna knew her father's requirements - to learn not only manners, but also the ability in the future, when she becomes the maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, daughter-in-law of the most powerful king in the world, Charles V, to put in a word at court for members of the Boleyn family.
She easily mastered the French language, the secrets of court secular and political life and the art of intrigue, without which, as well as without knowing the language of courtly love, the courtyard would look like a dried-up garden. At the same time, her mentor Margarita was known not only as an adherent of court love games, but also strictly observed the morality of her young ladies-in-waiting.
Chastity and inaccessibility are great ways for a woman to achieve her goal, much more effective than promiscuity. Anna also learned other lessons of her mentor - kings do not marry for love, and women should not let love for men too deeply into their hearts. It was then that Anna decided that her motto would be "all or nothing" …
Flanders at the beginning of the 16th century was considered the heart of the cultural life of Europe. The lady-in-waiting has learned to understand painting and art of book design, music. She learned a lot about expensive fabrics and jewelry; in total, Anna spent seven years in France and returned to England only at the end of 1521.
Mutual passion
Beautiful black hair and bright eyes are the most attractive in Anne Boleyn's appearance. Her figure was not too impressive - short, with small breasts. High cheekbones, prominent nose, narrow mouth, determined chin.
They often mention a large wen on a slender long neck and a very unpleasant defect - something like the sixth finger on the right hand, although in fact it was a small process, similar to an ingrown nail. But for many in those days, and even now, such a detail is very eloquent: they say, this is all from the devil, normal people cannot have superfluous, ugly and accrete fingers, an eyesore, etc.
Anna behaved, rather, like a Frenchwoman: she knew how to be a witty interlocutor, her movements were distinguished by grace and liveliness, outfits - elegance, which certainly distinguished her in the company of other ladies. The first admirer of Anna at the English court was Henry Percy, heir to the Earl of Northumberland, who served with the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, the chief and all-powerful minister of Henry VIII.
Henry Percy
Anna reciprocated the passion that Percy had shown her outside of courtly worship. Secretly, they decided to get married. But then Wolsey intervened, who did not like Thomas Boleyn. He considered his daughter an unworthy bride for one of the most noble aristocrats in England and convinced the king of this. Henry did not give permission for the marriage.
The Earl of Northumberland, in turn, threatened to deprive his son of his title and inheritance. Percy stood firm and even drew up a prenuptial agreement, according to which he pledged to marry Anna. But the lawyers found a way to annul the document.
Anna vowed to take revenge on the cardinal - he dared not only to hinder her passions, belittling her origin and dignity, but also dared to resist independence, which she placed at the forefront of her life position. After all, it will be up to herself to decide who she marries.
The next admirer of Anna was Thomas Wyatt, the first great poet of the Tudor era. At first, conversations with her simply delighted the poetic ear, but soon Thomas was captivated by the very sensuality that nature endowed Anna in abundance. Although Anna was flattered by Wyatt's passion, it was more an episode than a separate chapter in her love book.
He was married, and she was not ready to lose her head over a man who could offer her only the role of "mistress" of his heart, so common at court. Moreover, the king himself drew attention to her in 1527 (immediately after he lost interest in her older sister Mary).
26-year-old Anne Boleyn disappeared from the brides fair, having set herself a seemingly impossible goal - to become Queen of England. And the king, hoping only to spend the night with the woman who arouses such interest in his courtiers, encountered unexpected resistance.
Heinrich's love letter to Anna
The chronicle of the relationship between Anna and the king is best traced in 17 love letters of Henry VIII - it is known that the king did not like the epistolary genre. One of the first is full of reproaches that Anna not only did not respond to his love appeal, but also did not deign to write a letter. (How cunning and far-sighted Anna was to resist the temptation to answer the king!)
The message was accompanied by a gift - a duck killed the day before. In the third letter a year later, Heinrich insists on the answer: does she love him as much as he loves her. But he still does not offer her a hand and a heart. And this is exactly what Anna is now waiting for, more than confident in her female power.
Without waiting for proposals more serious than the status of "the only lover to whom he will give himself entirely to the service," she disappears for a while, forcing him to experience a hitherto unfamiliar feeling of guilt and loss.
For the first time, Henry was forced to personally build a relationship with a woman. At this time, he was already trying to find a way to divorce Katerina, who, having lost her charm and tender disposition by the age of 40, did not manage to give birth to an heir to him, and Heinrich had long ceased to visit her bedroom.
Then he came up with an undeniable, from his point of view, argument in favor of divorce - the Pope made an unacceptable mistake by allowing him to marry his brother Arthur's widow (he died almost immediately after the wedding with Catherine). It is said in the Bible that a man who married his brother's wife will have no heirs.
Catherine of Aragon. Portrait by Michel Zittow, c. 1503 - 1504
Katerina gave birth to his daughter and she had 6 miscarriages. This means that now he must marry like the first time, for real. In response to the marriage proposal, Anna confessed her love in return and sent a gift to the king. A toy boat with a woman and a diamond carved on the nose.
The ship is a symbol of protection, the diamond is a heart filled with the same firm intentions as a gem. Together with the gift, she promised to give him her innocence - but only when she becomes his wife. From then on, Anna would check and calculate her closeness to the king with the precision of a calculator.
Heinrich wrote to the bride: "My heart will forever belong to you alone, seized by this desire so strongly that it will be able to subordinate it to the desires of my body."
Is it worth commenting on this "romance" and can it be called love? Probably possible, but with one caveat: each participant in this story had their own plans. The king has an heir and, of course, the satisfaction of what is called the common word "lust." And Anna - the fulfillment of her cherished desire: to become a queen. And on this path - all means are good.
Seven Years Battle of Love Marriage
The divorce proceedings began, which lasted about seven years. While awaiting the decision of the Pope, Henry was exhausted with passion, and Catherine of Aragon hoped that Clement VII would not allow the marriage to be annulled, because Rome was under the influence of her nephew, Emperor Charles V.
For the time being, Katerina showed wisdom: while the wife is tolerant of the lady of the heart, the threat does not seem to exist, and even helped Anna fight off the king's love attacks.
Anna, on the other hand, allowed herself to arrange scenes for Heinrich: her youth passes aimlessly, the wait has been too long, she is facing the fate of an old maid. Yes, and the existence under the same roof with the queen also infuriated her. In response, Henry broke loose from the chain - no one dares to argue with him, let alone reproach him for anything. He can return her to the place where he took her, he already did too much for her, others would be happy.
Henry and Anna hunt deer in Windsor Forest. William Frith. 1872 year
But the anger subsided as quickly as it flared up. The king, like anyone else in his place, was excited by the inaccessibility of Boleyn, and also by the fact that she was not afraid to throw him, known for her indomitable and cruel disposition, a challenge - a magnificent maneuver of a far-looking woman. Well, the courtiers expected from the king a "reasonable step" - a marriage with a French princess.
France has always been an ally of England against Spain and Charles V, and therefore this marriage would strengthen the country's international position. But Henry, and without this, seemed to himself omnipotent. Although, being a despot, he needed that from time to time the decisions he made were suggested by someone or approved.
Until now, it was Cardinal Wolsey, a man who had magical (according to courtiers) influence over the king, who knew how to solve both domestic and international problems for the benefit of England and the king. Anna, on the other hand, was too cunning and resourceful to confine herself to scenes and female tantrums.
A skilful politician, she was able to create a faction (the most effective undercover method of court warfare at that time) from a circle of people close to the king, but supporting her plans, betting on her future. Now access to the king's mind was completely blocked by his bride.
She even opened the hunt, like the goddess Diana, not one step behind Henry, and during important backstage meetings, her figure could be seen in the shadow of the window opening. Therefore, neither Wolsey nor Thomas More was able to convince the king to abandon the decision to dissolve the marriage with Catherine.
Thomas More was defeated - Anna used not only her female power over Henry, she in every possible way exploited his idea that the king, as the supreme sovereign over people, has power not only over their bodies, but also over souls.
He, Henry VIII, is able to prove to Rome and the whole world that he can rise above the Pope and lead the Anglican Church. This meant the realization that he is the only monarch in the world who dared to endow himself with such a status.
Catherine of Aragonskaya before the court
Warming up Henry's mood, Boleyn delivered him anti-clerical literature. She even organized a kind of propaganda, ordering to bring heretical manuscripts from abroad and distribute in England.
At the end of 1528, Henry finally ordered Katherine to leave the court, although he left her 200 servants and 30 maids of honor. But she continued, which especially angered Anna, out of a long-term habit of keeping an eye on Heinrich's linen and clothes, giving orders to wash, clean, or throw away his nightgowns or camisoles.
“… I don't care either about her or about her family members. Let all the Spaniards fall to the bottom of the sea! - Boleyn was furious at Katherine.
At the same time, she was implementing her plan of revenge against Wolsey, which in fact, not wanting to quarrel with Henry, had long tried to turn the divorce case entrusted to him in favor of the king and his lady of the heart. But Anna tried to convince the king that Wolsey was sabotaging the divorce case and negotiations with the Pope.
When the king, who was dining with Anna in her apartment, was traditionally informed of the cardinal's arrival, Anna contemptuously said:
“Is it worth reporting this so solemnly? To whom else, if not the king, should he come? And Heinrich nodded his head in agreement.
The cardinal pleaded with the king not to send the pope a radical petition provoked by the Anne’s faction, where Rome was, in effect, accused of refusing to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine’s hope for the future of the English people. But she was sent.
The king, under the influence of Boleyn, decided to secretly complete the affair in England, entrusting the relevant work with Parliament to Wolsey and the papal legate Campeggio. But the hearing failed. And in 1530, Henry received a decree from the Pope to "remove Anne Boleyn from the court."
Here's evidence of Wolsey's double play - Anna's rage mingled with triumph. Now the cardinal will not be able to use his famous "magic". He was removed from business and deprived of all property in favor of the king, and soon the latter signed a decree on his arrest. Wolsey died on the way to his first interrogation. His overthrow is Boleyn's first major victory.
Portrait of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey at Oxford University (1526)
Henry for the first time publicly declared himself "the sole protector and head of the Church of England and the clergy." And Boleyn received the title of Marquise of Pembroke, a patent for belonging to the highest English nobility, along with the lands.
For the first time in history, this title was given to a woman, and Anna not only convinced the king that at the very least she wanted her children to be the legal heirs, but also had a hand in writing this ambiguous decree.
Way to Westminster
… A storm in the Strait of Dover turned ships to pieces. The wind did not allow passers-by to stick their noses out into the narrow streets of Calais. Recently, a meeting between Henry VIII and the French king ended here.
In London, in St. Paul's Cathedral, they prayed for the safe return of the monarch to his homeland, but he was in no hurry: while the weather was raging, Boleyn finally "gave herself up" to Henry. The moment is right.
In November 1532, she realized that the king was ready to disobey the Pope. And then one day in the company of courtiers, she said:
"Something I love apples." "Honey, this is a sure sign of pregnancy."
On January 25, 1533, the lovers were secretly married. Heinrich dared to fool the priest who performed the sacrament of marriage. Does he really think, the king said in response to a request to show the necessary papers with the Pope's permission for marriage, that he, Henry VIII, is a liar?
The king acted swiftly. Lawyer Thomas Cromwell and Archbishop Cranmer, armed with the necessary bills, were able to obtain permission from both houses of parliament to invalidate the previous royal marriage.
But Henry's victory could not be considered complete without the coronation procedure of the now official "most precious and beloved wife." Boleyn was 6 months pregnant, and the king was in a hurry - in just two and a half weeks, an unprecedented celebration was prepared.
The coronation took place on May 29, 1533. 50 barges, accompanied by countless boats, set off from Billingate to the Tower. Flags, bells, gold foil and golden banners shimmered in the bright summer sun. And the number of cannons, perhaps, exceeded the safety on such a dammed waterway.
The procession was led by a ship with an iron dragon on the bow spewing flames - and with Boleyn on board. It turned out symbolically …
Three short years
On September 23, 1534, Anna gave birth to a healthy girl - Elizabeth. The knightly tournament in honor of the birth of the heir had to be canceled, but Henry took the news of the girl surprisingly calmly. Well, sons will certainly follow the daughter.
The christenings were organized by Cromwell with the same deliberate pomp as the coronation. The young mother, having recovered from childbirth, participated in political affairs, aspired to what would later be called humanitarian Christianity, encouraged education and learned men, was the patroness of many students and educational institutions, primarily Oxford and Cambridge.
Anna understood that the correct creation of the image was little that could help her win the people's trust. After all, she was still considered a woman of easy virtue, a "thief" who stole the king from his wife.
Katerina would never have dared to disdain all laws and split the country into two parts - conformists and true believers, sow confusion among aristocrats and clergy. In vain, Cromwell tried to control the situation, suppressing all conspiracies and attempts to denigrate the queen.
Ann Bolein. Portrait by an unknown artist, c. 1533 - 1536
A special decree was even issued commanding all men, regardless of their origin, to take an oath of allegiance to Anna. And those who did not want to obey were poisoned to the chopping block.
The situation became especially aggravated after the execution of Thomas More - it was she who allowed innocent blood to be shed only because Mor refused to appear at her coronation. Moreover, he dared to declare that on that day all the English nobility and all adherents of the true church were "publicly deflowered."
Boleyn tried to make friends with Mary - Henry's daughter by Catherine. But the princess refused to recognize the new queen. Boleyn, in contrast to Henry, enraged by his daughter's disobedience and known for his attacks of cruelty towards her, wanted to see Mary at court. Of course, provided that she renounces all claims to the throne and becomes only the stepdaughter of the new queen, obedient as a lamb.
… The Queen's new pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Anna accused her husband of this, who dared not only sleep with one of her court ladies, but also show that courteous signs of respect.
She soon became pregnant again. And at the beginning of 1536, Catherine of Aragon died. There was even a ball at court for the occasion. Well, Henry continued to wait for the heir, disappointed and amorous, he had already turned his attention to Jane Seymour, the former maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, only recently, thanks to her influential brothers, had the opportunity to return to the court.
Boleyn saw with her own eyes how once this unremarkable person was sitting on her husband's lap and he played with a necklace around her neck. Then the queen tore off Jane's necklace. Then Heinrich made peace with his wife, and she became pregnant again, instilling in him another hope for the appearance of an heir.
Jane Seymour
… Heinrich usually stayed with Anna if she could not accompany him on the hunt. But this time he did not give up his favorite entertainment. During the trip, the king stayed at Jane's parents' house.
And on January 24, 1536, Henry Norris burst into Anna's apartment (he occupied one of the most prestigious and important positions of "groom at the king's stool" and was his close friend) with the terrible news - Henry fell from his horse and has been unconscious for several hours. Boleyn screamed, certain that Henry was dead.
The king recovered with difficulty, but his wife again prematurely released her burden - this time as a dead boy. Henry's anger was all the more terrible because what happened again returned his thoughts to humiliating suspicions of his own male failure.
Women who had an affair with the Tudors often had problems with childbirth - miscarriages, difficulty getting pregnant, and the rare birth of boys. These problems were clearly genetic in origin, but how could the omnipotent Henry VIII know about this?
Therefore, he chose to return to the already tested model - since God does not want to reward him with crown princes in this marriage, it means that it is necessary to invalidate it and replace the woman who has not fulfilled her destiny. This is the will of the king.
Henry VIII
Death in French
In the spring of 1536, Anna had a serious quarrel with her patron Thomas Cromwell. This quarrel became a defining moment in her life. Cromwell, already realizing that the current queen has no future, having enlisted the support of the Seymour family, supporters of Princess Mary, promised to overthrow her from the throne and help the king marry Jane.
To convince the king of this, Boleyn should be accused of treason - in the literal sense of the word, because treason of the queen to her husband is equivalent by law to treason to the crown. It is no coincidence that soon after the loss of the child there were rumors - was the unfortunate 6-month-old "male fetus" the result of the Queen's adultery with one of her courtiers? Hadn't her brother's wife boasted that Anna had complained to her about Henry's inability to make love?
And on April 29, Anna quarreled loudly and furiously with Heinrich Norris. On the same day, the entire court and the king were aware of the suspicious scandal. And Anna's inadvertently thrown phrase "Do not expect that you can take the place of the king in the event of his death" became key in her accusatory process.
On the same sad day for Anna (and so successful for Cromwell), Mark Smeaton, a young musician of "low" origin, expansive by nature, allowed himself to behave too freely in her chambers. Anna loved music and called Mark to calm down a little after a quarrel with Norris.
Cromwell immediately ordered the musician to be taken into custody, he was brought to the house of the royal secretary, and at the 24th hour of torture he confessed to adultery with the queen, after which he was escorted to the Tower.
The next day, May 1, right during the knightly tournament, the king showed himself as never before: he personally ordered Heinrich Norris and George Boleyn to confess in connection with his wife. Despite assurances of innocence, they were sent to the Tower after Smeaton. Boleyn was charged with incest - his wife has long claimed that he spends too much time with his sister.
Heinrich, known for his ability to feel pity for himself - one of the most repulsive features of his personality - declared that Anna had cheated on him with more than a hundred men, and even tried to immediately compose a tragedy dedicated to his grief. Then he went to the Seymour's house for consolation.
Henry VIII accuses Anna of treason. Engraving from the painting by K. Piloti. 1880 year
There, sobbing, he complained about the queen, assenting to the owners, who had long been trying, at the suggestion of Cromwell, to feed him the version that she had poisoned Catherine of Aragon and only an accident prevented her from sending him and Princess Mary to the next world.
Jane, meanwhile, charmed Henry with her inaccessibility (a technique that Anna herself successfully used) and the fact that she was the complete opposite of his current wife.
At dawn on May 2, Boleyn, accompanied by hostile guards, arrived at the Tower, on the same waterway as three years earlier on the occasion of his coronation. Having passed through the gate, she lost her courage and, falling to her knees, begged to be taken to the king.
"Will you send me to prison?" - Without getting up from her knees, she asked in a trembling voice of Kingston, Constable of the Tower. "No, madam, you will go to the royal apartments."
A feeling of relief provoked a nervous discharge - Anna began to have many hours of hysteria. Kingston, at the request of Cromwell, with the pedantry of an experienced jailer, conveyed all the words, phrases and even interjections that, together with screams, tears or laughter, escaped from her lips.
The nervous breakdown of a woman who had lost control of herself turned Cromwell's impromptu into a brilliant accusation that deprived Boleyn of his last hope of salvation. And at the same time he brought to the Tower two more hostages of the conspiracy from the Boleyn faction - the courtiers of the king and her friends Francis Weston and William Brereton …
Henry compensated for the feeling of guilt and pity with a touching permission not to send his wife to the fire. He ordered the release of a French executioner from Calais, masterfully wielding a sword. Upon learning of this, Boleyn burst out laughing and, clasping her throat with her hands, said:
"I heard he is a good master, and I have such a small neck."
Shortly before the queen was allowed to die, the king declared her marriage null and void. Elizabeth became illegitimate.
Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, future Queen Elizabeth I
Formally, the announcement was made by Archbishop Cranmer on June 17, on the eve of the Queen's execution. It was based on the old story with the Earl of Northumberland, as well as the king's relationship with Anne's sister Mary (this also contradicted the marriage of both parties by law) and, finally, the argument drawn from the latest "evidence" - the king's doubt that Elizabeth - his daughter, not the already executed Norris.
Royal lawyers tried to ensure that the king got what he wanted - now neither Anna, nor her daughter, nor Maria, nor the first wife stood on the way to a new marriage and the appearance of heirs. Henry, in the event that the new wife does not give birth to the desired prince, had the right to name his successor in a special decree before his death.
The scaffold was covered with black cloth, and the sword was hidden between the boards. Spectators - about a thousand, only Londoners (no foreigners) - under the leadership of the mayor of the city, came to witness the first execution of the Queen in the history of England.
She, in a dress of gray Damascus trimmed with fur, ascending to the first step of the scaffold, addressed the crowd:
“I will die according to the law. I'm not here to accuse anyone or to talk about what I'm accused of. But I pray to God that he will save the king and his reign, for there was no kinder prince, and for me he was always the most gentle and worthy lord and sovereign. I say goodbye to the world and with all my heart I ask you to pray for me."
… Boleyn fell to her knees and repeated: “Jesus, accept my soul. Oh almighty God, sorrow for my soul. Her lips were still moving when it was over.
The ladies covered the body of the queen with a simple rough sheet and carried it to the chapel of St. Peter, bypassing the fresh graves of her "lovers" who had been executed a few days earlier. Then she was stripped and placed in a small, carelessly put together coffin, barely placing the severed head there.
Henry, who received the news of the execution, immediately ordered Jane Seymour to be brought to him. 11 days later, on May 30, 1536, they got married. Jane Seymour died, giving birth to the king's son, for the sake of which he entered into a deal with the devil so many times.
And in 1558 the unexpected happened, as is often the case in history - fate smiled at Elizabeth, Boleyn's daughter, who looked like her father and fully inherited from her mother her character and ability to influence people by manipulating their thoughts and feelings.
The people summoned the princess to the throne, and amid the cheers of Londoners and the roar of the Tower's artillery, Elizabeth occupied the fortress as an English queen and remained it for many years …