Anne Boleyn

The most well-known of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne was born around 1500 and spent much of her childhood in the service of the French Queen where she developed a taste for the clothing and art of that region. She returned to England in 1521 and went to court to attend Queen Catherine. It was here that she first caught the eye of King Henry VIII, who soon after began to seek annulment from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

Although this arrangement was not popular with the nobles, Anne was finally wed to the king in 1533 and gave birth to Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) six months later.. After a couple of failed pregnancies by the queen and desperate to produce a male heir, Henry VIII began to turn his attention to Jane Seymour, one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting. Soon afterwards Anne, along with her brother and two other gentlemen, were arrested on false charges of adultery, incest, and treason. Her accused lovers were executed after being found guilty in a speedy trial. Anne was beheaded by an expert swordsman from France a few days later on May 19, 1536.