Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn, 1st Marchioness of Pembroke (c.1507 – May 19, 1536) was the second wife and queen consort of Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and marriage to Anne was part of the complex beginning of the considerable political and religious upheaval which was the English Reformation, with Anne herself actively promoting the cause of Church Reform. She is probably best known for her premature death when she was beheaded on false charges of adultery and treason. Her life has been the subject of numerous biographies, novels, motion pictures, plays and operas.

Later Reputation

A diplomatic silence was maintained at Court whilst Henry VIII lived since he never wanted to hear Anne?s name mentioned again. After his death, Catholics and Protestants were quick to pass judgement on her life for religious and political purposes.

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Nicholas Sander, an opponent of the English church and of Elizabeth, was born after Anne's execution and made a number of claims about Anne, which were reworked and published after his death in De origine et progressu schismatis Anglicani (The origin and progress of the English Schism), 1585.

Related Topics:
Nicholas Sander - Elizabeth - English Schism - 1585

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He was the first to claim in print that Anne was deformed, giving her the features of a witch. Allegations included that Anne was a nymphomaniac with in excess of a thousand lovers; that she had three breasts (the third "nipple" was a large mole on her neck); that she had a projecting tooth; and that she had six fingers (hexadactyly) on one hand. All these are features traditionally associated with witches, and there is no contemporary evidence to support such allegations despite their popularity and inclusion in many modern textbooks. Indeed it is unthinkable that Henry would have accepted such deformities at a time when they were considered bad omens.

Related Topics:
Witch - Nymphomania - Hexadactyly

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Meanwhile, the great Protestant writer John Foxe proclaimed that Anne had been a saint. He repeatedly stated that the Church of England owed its existence to Queen Anne, who was ???the most beautiful of all in character, learning and piety.???

Related Topics:
John Foxe - Church of England

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William Shakespeare began the tradition of presenting Anne as a romantic lady in his 1613 play Henry VIII. Donizetti's opera Anna Bolena was first performed in Milan in 1830. It was revived in the 20th century, when the legendary opera singer Maria Callas took the title role and achieved some of her greatest operatic success.

Related Topics:
William Shakespeare - 1613 - Henry VIII - Anna Bolena - Milan - 1830 - Maria Callas

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Anne was first portrayed on the silver screen in 1911 by Laura Cowie in a silent movie adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Henry VIII". Nine years later, in 1920, a German company produced "Anna Boleyn" with Henny Porten in the title role. The movie portrayed Anne as a frumpy, frightened creature pursued by a lecherous Henry VIII.

Related Topics:
1911 - William Shakespeare - 1920

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In 1933, the British cinematic classic "The Private Life of Henry VIII" had the day of Anne Boleyn's execution as its starting point. The beautiful Anglo-Indian beauty, Merle Oberon, played the doomed queen preparing for her death. The film was hugely successful.

Related Topics:
1933 - The Private Life of Henry VIII - Merle Oberon

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In 1952, American actress, Elaine Stewart, made a brief appearance in the film "Young Bess" - a highly-romanticized examination of Elizabeth I's teenage infatuation with Admiral Thomas Seymour. Anne Boleyn appeared briefly in two scenes before meeting her grisly end. Elizabeth was played by Jean Simmons and Seymour by Stewart Granger. As in the 1933 film, Henry was played by Charles Laughton.

Related Topics:
1952 - Elizabeth I - Thomas Seymour - Jean Simmons - Stewart Granger - Charles Laughton

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Actress and activist, Vanessa Redgrave, had a cameo role in "A Man for All Seasons" - a sympathetic look at the rise and fall of Sir Thomas More. Ms. Redgrave appeared briefly as a laughing, delighted Anne presiding over her wedding day festivities.

Related Topics:
Vanessa Redgrave - Thomas More

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Three years later, Hal B. Wallis produced "Anne of the Thousand Days" which explored the life of Anne Boleyn from her engagement to Harry Percy until her death in 1536. Quebecois actress, Genevieve Bujold, was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the fiery, argumentative and brilliant Anne Boleyn - as was her co-star, Richard Burton who played Henry VIII. Sir Anthony Quayle co-starred as Cardinal Wolsey, with Greek actress, Irene Papas, as Katherine of Aragon.

Related Topics:
Hal B. Wallis - Anne of the Thousand Days - Genevieve Bujold - Richard Burton

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In 1970, as part of the BBC six-part dramatic television series "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", the episode "Anne Boleyn" was aired with Dame Dorothy Tutin as the Queen and Australian actor Keith Michell as her husband. Patrick Troughton co-starred as the Duke of Norfolk. The drama focussed on the fall of Anne Boleyn. In 1972, Barbara Kellerman appeared as Anne Boleyn in a television adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry VIII."

Related Topics:
1970 - BBC - The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Dorothy Tutin - Keith Michell - Patrick Troughton - Duke of Norfolk - 1972

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A year later, Charlotte Rampling appeared as Anne Boleyn in the movie "Henry VIII and his Six Wives." This movie was the only one to incorporate the legends of Anne's "deformities." Keith Michell reprised his 1970 role as Henry VIII. Although all six queens appeared, most time was spent on the story of Anne's cousin, Catherine Howard played by young actress Lynne Frederick.

Related Topics:
Charlotte Rampling - Catherine Howard - Lynne Frederick

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Julia Marsen appeared as Anne Boleyn in Dr. David Starkey's documentary series "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" in 2001.

Related Topics:
David Starkey - 2001

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In January 2003, Jodhi May played Anne in a BBC drama "The Other Boleyn Girl." This was a wildly-inaccurate production which portrayed Anne as a manipulative, promiscuous shrew. Natascha McElhone starred as Mary Boleyn, Steven MacIntosh as George Boleyn and Jared Harris, son of Richard Harris, played Henry VIII.

Related Topics:
2003 - Jodhi May - The Other Boleyn Girl - Natascha McElhone - Mary Boleyn - George Boleyn - Jared Harris - Richard Harris - Henry VIII

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In October of that year, the 2-part ITV television drama "Henry VIII" aired in Britain. Helena Bonham Carter starred in Part 1 as Anne Boleyn, opposite Ray Winstone as Henry VIII and David Suchet as Cardinal Wolsey. Part 1 followed Henry's life from the birth of his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, until the execution of Anne Boleyn. Part 2 started on Jane Seymour's wedding day in 1536 and ended with Henry's funeral in 1547.

Related Topics:
October - Helena Bonham Carter - Ray Winstone - David Suchet - Henry Fitzroy - Jane Seymour

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Anne's story appears fictionally in many novels including: The Lady in the Tower and ?Murder Most Royal? by Jean Plaidy, ?The Dark Rose,? by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell, ?Brief, Gaudy Hour? by Margaret Campbell-Barnes, The Queen of Subtleties by Susannah Dunn and the controversial The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

Related Topics:
Jean Plaidy - The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

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Modern historians are similarly divided on Anne as her contemporaries were. Alison Weir and Carolly Erickson both offer negative appraisals of her character, focusing on her arrogance and temper.

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Dr. David Starkey (author of "Six Wives") and Lady Antonia Fraser (author of many royal biographies, including those of Marie Antoinette and Mary, Queen of Scots) both offer more positive interpretations of her. Starkey is adamant that Anne was the most politically important of Henry's queens, and calls her "the most interesting, if not the most attractive" of the bunch.

Related Topics:
David Starkey - Antonia Fraser - Marie Antoinette - Mary, Queen of Scots

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The most favorable accounts of Anne Boleyn comes from Professor Eric W. Ives, author of several political studies of the era, including a biography of Anne entitled "The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn", originally published in 1986 and revised and republished in 2004. Professor R.M. Warnicke, author of "The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn" and several studies on the era's sexual morals, also offers a favorable interpretation of Anne's "energy and vitality." Feminist historian, writer and activist, Karen Lindsey, in "Divorced, Beheaded, Survived" believes Anne's story is one of the great feminist parables of all time and says that the traditional image of Anne as a morally-loose ambitious homewrecker "makes for great melodrama, all it lacks is accuracy." Recently, English writer Joanna Denny, author of "Anne Boleyn: A Life of England's Tragic Queen," has positively interpreted the enormous role Anne played in England's religious development.

Related Topics:
1986 - 2004

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