Anne Boleyn (c. 1501 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII.

 

Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard. After Henry VIII had his marriage to Catherine of Aragon declared invalid, he married Anne secretly on 14 November 1532.

 

On 23 May 1533, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine's marriage null and void; five days later, he declared Henry and Anne's marriage valid.

 

On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I and subsequently had three miscarriages.

 

By March 1536 Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In order to marry Seymour, Henry had to find reasons to end the marriage to Anne.

Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. She was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later.

 

Modern historians view the charges against her, which included incest, and plotting to kill the king, as unconvincing.