by Lisa Doherty

Created on: July 16, 2008   Last Updated: January 15, 2012

Anne Boleyn, or "Nan Bullen" as the people called her, was without a doubt the most interesting and famous of Henry VIII's six wives. Labeled a witch by the people in the streets, they hated her as much as Henry loved her and love her he truly did, enough to rock the religious world to its very core and split with the most powerful force of the time - the Catholic Church - over her. However, history teaches us that nothing lasts forever, especially the affections and favor of Henry VIII, and Anne's thousand days would give us two things that changed history, the Church of England and Elizabeth I.

Henry was certain that Anne could give him exactly what England needed - and didn't have - a male heir to the throne. Married to his dead brother's widow, Katherine of Aragon, Henry only had one child, a daughter. The lack of male succession to the throne could cause civil war after his death and Henry was determined this would not happen.

He had to find a way out. Unfortunately, divorce was not an option for Katherine, a devout Catholic, and annulment was the only viable option. When all avenues for annulment failed, Henry split with the Catholic Church, declared himself head of the Church of England, and granted himself an annulment based on Biblical principles that he had sinned against his dead brother by marrying his wife. He was then free to marry Anne, who was already pregnant, and promptly did so.

It was good to be king.

Poor Anne. It was not bad enough that she was born with six fingers on one hand and a huge mole of some sort on the back of her neck, but she was not the luckiest girl, either. The people of England, when she would appear in public, would call out "We'll have no Nan Bullen!" in an effort to make her seem common and lowly, letting the king know that they were not happy with his decision. The people knew that the rightful queen was Katherine, but who would commit treason and go against the wishes of the King?

Those who did such a thing, like Sir Thomas More, met the same fate that awaited poor Anne. However, Henry stood firm in his belief that she would provide the long awaited heir and ignored the remarks and punished those who stood in his way.

Anne's pregnancy, which occurred before they were married, only fired Henry's surety that a son was on its way. When Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, Henry was less than pleased, to say the least. If she only knew what hung in the balance, she would have never bet her life on giving him a son

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