Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII. She bore him a daughter, Elizabeth I, but Henry wanted a son. He had her beheaded, and remarried.

Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and his wife Elizabeth. Because even well-to-do people were sketchily accounted for in parish and public records, the year of Anne's birth is not certain, but probably in 1501. She was the oldest of three children, including a sister Mary (the "Other Boleyn Girl") and a brother George.

Sir Thomas was a diplomat, and Anne grew up to be a sophisticated girl with the polish of the French royal court. Some time around the mid 1520s she caught Henry VIII's eye. Henry pursuit of Anne and eventual marriage to Anne led to an upheaval in European politics and English daily life. In 1533, Anne gave birth to a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry, however, wanted a son, and grew disenchanted with Anne. In 1536 he had Anne convicted on trumped-up charges of adultery and treason, and she was beheaded at the Tower of London in 1536.