Anne Boleyn

"I loved you. I still love you." - Anne to Henry

Anne Boleyn, born either 1501 or 1501, sometime between those periods, was the second wife of Henry Tudor and Queen Consort of England for three years. She was also the mother of Queen Elizabeth I and used the King's affection for her to her advantage. The bright, beautiful but violent tempered Anne had a brave and outspoken, willful nature which initially attracted Henry to her, however this soon became an affront to him after they married. Anne's jealousy at Henry's mistresses and her two miscarriages helped in her downfall. Once Henry began rapidly tiring of Anne, he courted Jane Seymour and seeked a way out of the doomed marriage to his second wife, who would befall the same fate as Henry Tudor's fifth wife, Katherine Howard, her first cousin.

The dynamics of the Tudor court meant that since Anne was in the King's favour, she was a target for any number of enemies. Henry and his courtiers trumped up charges of adultery, incest and treason against Anne, who pleaded for one more chance to produce a male heir. Henry would not have any of it and in a way, killed his wife. The marriage came to an abrupt end when Anne was executed on May 19, 1536 at the place where she'd watched innocent men accused of being her lovers be beheaded - the Tower.

Season One
Anne Boleyn is introduced as the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, her manipulative father who is using Anne and her sister Mary as pawns. During the summit, the French King Francis I points out Anne and Mary to Henry, who seems to have a weird interest in Anne. Later, after the French King makes the mistake of trying to goad Henry into admitting France is better than England, the two Kings have a wrestling match. Anne is seen watching along with the rest of the crowd.

Henry loses the match and is humiliated, demanding a rematch. Francis agrees but the people around the King stop them from fighting again. Anne's sister Mary seems to have caught Henry's eye, and she is told to go to the King's chambers at night.

Excited by the news, Mary instantly goes to Anne and whispers in her sister's ear that Henry wants her to come to his chambers. After Anne's sister Mary has a sexual encounter with Henry, the Boleyns seem to be set for fortune, but Henry soon tires of her and Thomas Boleyn leaves it to Anne to catch the capricious King's interest. Anne says she can't do it, but little does she know that Henry may already be interested in her. Henry becomes obsessed with Anne after being introduced to her, and even dreams of her in a spectacular dream sequence where he chases her and she tells him to seduce her, a clear indicator that Anne is going to play hard to get and is immune to the King's charms.

Henry becomes obsessed with Anne, and at one point he even kisses her. However, the kiss doesn't even last a few seconds as Anne breaks away from Henry and says "Her Majesty expects me" as she runs away from Henry. When Henry's friends ask him who it was, jesting, Henry says, "Just a girl."

Henry sends Anne jewels and love letters, however she rebuffs his attempts to send her the jewels and instead sends them back to him. He is disappointed that she doesn't accept his gifts, and chases her obsessively. Henry visits Anne and asks her to be his true mistress, but Anne refuses, as she is being pushed by her father and uncle not to give in to Henry and to allow him to chase her. Henry storms off in a rage and Anne calls out to him as he is leaving, to no avail. Henry is very upset when he gets back to the palace, although later we see him and Anne kissing on her bed. She has agreed to be with Henry, but doesn't want to be his mistress until they are married. Henry agrees to honour her maidenhead until they marry, and Anne promises Henry a son.

A terrible disease, the sweating sickness, breaks out and Anne gets sick from it. When Henry is informed of this after reading one of Cardinal Wolsey's letters to him, he orders the physician to save Anne's life. Althoug the physician tries, he reveals that there is no hope in his opinion and that Anne will be dead by morning. However, the next morning Anne is still alive and she and Henry greet each other joyously, kissing happily as Henry thanks God for saving Anne's life. Meanwhile, Henry continues to try to get a divorce from his queen Catherine.

Appearances
Season 1 Season 2 Season 4
 * In Cold Blood
 * Simply Henry
 * Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey!
 * His Majesty, the King
 * Arise, My Lord
 * True Love
 * Message to the Emperor
 * Truth and Justice
 * Look to God First
 * The Death of Wolsey
 * Everything Is Beautiful
 * Tears of Blood
 * Checkmate
 * The Act of Succession
 * His Majesty's Pleasure
 * The Definition of Love
 * Matters of State
 * Lady in Waiting
 * The Act of Treason
 * Destiny and Fortune
 * The Death of a Monarchy