Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 2

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For a few months of his life, King Henry VIII of England was married to two women! The first was his original wife of twenty- four years: Catherine of Aragon; the second was a lady- in- waiting of Catherine: Anne Boleyn. 

Henry was desperate for a male heir to keep the Tudor dynasty going, and when Catherine of Aragon grew to old to provide her impatient husband a new baby (she had been through six pregnancies, sadly only one child survived- Mary). Meanwhile one of the queen's ladies had caught the eye of Henry. This lady was the charismatic, intelligent and genteel Anne Boleyn. With this woman, the king was willing to go to great lengths to ensure he married her because, unlike poor Catherine, she was young and, Henry thought, would be able to have lots of lovely sons for him! 

We do not know exactly what the new woman in Henry's life looked like, and there is a lot of debate about it bouncing between historians. However, we can take an educated guess about what Anne Boleyn's appearance was. She probably had long dark hair, enchanting dark eyesclick here. 
and olive skin (judging by some accounts and surviving portraits). For more information on the subject

For many years, Anne avoided and denied the king the 'privilege' of being his mistress, because her experience from her elder sister Mary, one of the king's former mistresses, had told her that once he had had enough with one woman, the unlucky girl would be discarded. This possibly made the king more determined to wed Anne. When the Catholic church denied his wish for a divorce from Catherine, he started his own church. This change was called the Reformation, and the new church is still around today, it is called the Church of England. 

Anne and Henry were married in a secret ceremony in Whitechapel palace on 25th January 1533. This was because she was pregnant and in Tudor times, it was an awful offence to the church and to the future mother's family to be with child and unmarried. Finally, on 23rd May, Catherine and Henry's marriage was annulled by Archbishop Thomas Crammer, and Mary was declared illegitimate and discarded from her father's affections. 

On 7th September 1533, Anne gave birth to a healthy baby. Unfortunately for Henry, it was a girl. In his eyes, girls were unsuitable to rule a country; but this baby girl would grow up to become one of the world's most remembered monarchs: Queen Elizabeth I, aka the Virgin Queen. After the birth of Elizabeth, Anne was pregnant with several more children. They were all stillborns or miscarriages.  

The last straw was drawn in 1536, Anne gave birth to a still born and it became clear to Henry that she wouldn't provide him with any more children. Anyway, he had found another new woman- Jane Seymour. The king had his wife arrested on the charges of witchcraft and adultery (the accused men involved included: Mark Smeeton, a court musician, and George Boleyn- her brother!).   

Anne Boleyn's Grave at the Tower of London
The marriage was annulled on 17th May 1536 and two days later the queen died. According to witnesses, Anne died with dignity. She was beheaded in front of the White Tower, the Tower of London. The site where she died is still visible today. The queen was buried in an unmarked grave in the Tower chapel but there was a plan and her body was found in the 1800s. Now, her gravesite is marked with a plaque.


Queen Anne Boleyn is now incredibly popular and will forever be remembered for her courage and the mysteries surrounding her.


  1. Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 1
  2. Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 2
  3. Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 3
  4. Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 4
  5. Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 5
  6. Henry VIII's Marriages: Wife No 6

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