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 and might have made different decisions prior to playing hard to get so that Henry would marry her.
When she became pregnant again, Henry was certain the next child would be a son, but the child was either miscarried or stillborn. Anne knew her fate depended on being able to produce a son. Unfortunately, Anne miscarried another child, which was a boy. This did not bode well for her and she knew it.
Henry had, by this time, turned his affections to Anne's lady in waiting, Jane Seymour. While we do not know for certain that she had anything to do with Henry's decision to do away with Anne, history leans in that direction. Thomas Cromwell also played an important role in the downfall and death of Anne. Henry was ready for a change. Cromwell provided the ways and the means to dispose of Anne so that Henry could marry Jane and try again to produce a male heir.
Under the false charges of treason, adultery, and incest, Anne, her brother George and four others were put on trial. All were condemned to die, either by burning or beheading. All fell victim to the sword, a much more merciful way to die. Anne was beside herself and Henry simply walked away to start a new life with the woman who would eventually produce the only legitimate male heir he would ever have.
Anne's death is a very tragic one. She was innocent of the crimes of which she was accused, to be sure. Her only crime was being unable to produce the next male heir to the throne. On the day of her death, she grieved heavily, but her husband, on hearing of her death, wore yellow as his mourning color.
Anne Boleyn's downfall should have sent a warning to all future wives of Henry VIII that this man was not to be taken lightly. Any man who could separate from the most powerful church in the world is a force to be reckoned with. Anne learned this lesson a little too late and history still tells the story of how she fell from grace and lost her head in the process.