The discord between Anna and Henry. Ann Bolein. Biography, history of life and death. Voyage to France

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She died exactly 475 years ago, after the entire English nobility watched with interest her ascension to the throne.
For her sake, he decided to hint at a divorce from the current Queen of England.
Their union was not accepted by the public, but their life together was bright, allowing them to experience the whole range of feelings from love to hate...

She…

Thanks to the favor of Henry VIII to Anne's father, a successful politician and ambitious man, the girl found a place among the ladies-in-waiting of Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands.

She spent her childhood in Belgium, where people spoke warmly about her. Later, Anna and her sister will go to France to become ladies-in-waiting in the retinue of the pious Queen Claudia of Valois.

Unlike his sister Mary, Anna did not succumb to the temptations of the French court– becoming just one of François I’s mistresses did not appeal to her. The girl had far-reaching plans.

When relations between France and England became, to put it mildly, cool, the Boleyn sisters also appeared among the ladies-in-waiting of the English Queen Catherine of Aragon.

Anna had a fragile build, with long black hair and dark eyes, plus education, knowledge of languages and talent as a poet. She also supported the translation of the Bible into English and was a patron of the arts. In addition, it was she who introduced the fashion for the French hood headdress.

She was witty, charming and full of character. At the French court she was called the “mirror of fashion.” But in England at that time, the generally accepted canons of beauty had completely different parameters.

However, as soon as her engagement to the Earl of Northumberlain, Henry Percy, was a done deal, the King of England intervened...

He…

Along with the crown after his sickly brother Arthur Henry also received his wife– Catherine of Aragon – in 1505, an agreement was reached between the English and Spanish courts that Catherine would marry her younger brother when he turned 15 years old. Pope Julius II issued a dispensation - a special permission for Catherine's second marriage, despite the commandment of the Bible: "If anyone takes his brother's wife, it is abominable; he has revealed his brother's nakedness, they will be childless..."

England rejoiced - athletic, fit, charming, a first-class archer inspired hope for a bright future in his loyal subjects.

He was adored by scientists and reformers for his enlightened mind. He was a polyglot (Latin, Spanish, French, Italian!) and played the lute well.

However, there is evidence from contemporaries that the king’s education “miraculously” coexisted with despotism and numerous vices.

Alas, despite the “family castling,” the marriage of Henry and Katerina did not bear the long-awaited fruits - Katerina could not conceive, and, consequently, the throne remained without an heir. Until She appeared on the horizon...

They…

First Henry VIII saw Anne March 1, 1522 at the court masquerade "The Virtues"": the King had a costume of “Sincerity”, Anna had a costume of “Perseverance”.

Henry believed that he would quickly win Anna's favor. But I was wrong - the girl was adamant.

The king upset her engagement to the count Percy and Anna, who did not understand the real reason, were simply furious. But... realizing what was what, for a long time she rejected the king’s gifts and refused to become his mistress (the example of the sister abandoned by the king became a clear example).

Anna went on the “offensive” immediately after Henry, in conversations with her, began to regret his childless marriage with Katerina. But for a long time the king did not dare to offer Anna anything higher than the status of “only mistress.” This, of course, did not suit her.

For Henry, such relationships were new - for the first time in his life, he was independently looking for an approach to a woman. Anna disappeared from the king's sight for some time. And he decided to divorce Katerina - she had long ago lost her ability to give birth. In addition, Henry found an excellent reason/explanation for his unsuccessful marriage: Pope Julius II should not have given the go-ahead for their wedding.

Anna is back. And she agreed to belong to Henry body and soul. In addition, Anna’s pregnancy became an additional reason for the decisive actions of the English King. The divorce from Katerina dragged on for seven years.

January 25, 1533– before receiving official papers from the Pope – The secret wedding of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII took place. Anna's coronation took place on May 29 of the same year. It is noteworthy that the bow of the ship on which Boleyn went to the coronation was a dragon spitting fire.

Alas, the birth of his wife brought disappointment to Henry - a girl appeared, the future Elizabeth I. In addition, he was extremely surprised and annoyed that Anna decided to breastfeed the baby on her own.

Perhaps this was the beginning of a split within the family - Anna was willful and jealous, and she flatly refused to obey her husband(unlike the flexible Katerina). An old wound that opened after falling from a horse during a tournament in 1536 added fuel to the fire. Henry's character was rapidly deteriorating - he was bothered by his wife's claims and jealousy. In addition, a young woman appeared on the horizon Jane Seymour- fully met the canons of English beauty (besides, the people did not like their new queen).

IN Heinrich's head began to stir again with thoughts of divorce. And thanks to Prime Minister Thomas Cromwell, Anna was accused of treason. The process has begun.

The trial of Anne Boleyn took place in the main hall of the Tower. The king was not present. Anna calmly listened to the accusation of treason, and witchcraft, and the verdict. As a “privilege”, instead of a bonfire for the execution of the Queen of England, they specially sent an executioner from France, who executed her May 19, 1536 by cutting off the head with a sword…

Thinking out loud . Truly: the higher you rise, the more painful it is to fall. But bright personalities always remain in history, becoming a source of inspiration.

What do you think motivates the ladies who decide to “tame” kings? Or is this a question from the area of “kings are people too”?

For the sake of marriage with Anne Boleyn to the English king Henry VIII Tudor I had to leave my first wife. Henry VIII asked the Pope for permission to divorce, but the Vatican condemned these intentions. Then the king broke off relations with Rome, proclaimed himself the head of the English church, which would later be called Anglican, divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn.
They were together for three years. The king quickly got tired of his wayward wife, acquired a mistress (Jane Seymour, who became his third wife) and soon decided to get rid of his annoying wife. Anne Boleyn was accused of treason - state and marital, which, by the way, she did not commit. 19 May 1536 she was beheaded.

This plot seemed very advantageous for the German artist Carla Theodora von Piloty (1826 - 1886) - he enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a historical painter, attentive to the accuracy of the rendering of details.

"Henry VIII Accuses Anne Boleyn of Treason" (1880)

I propose to consider this picture in detail.
I believe this will be of interest to both history and fine art lovers.

The action depicted in Piloty's painting takes place, apparently, in Whitehall Palace , the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 to 1698, when it finally burned down (the first fire occurred in 1691), more precisely in its White Hall, after which the entire palace was named.
After the fire of 1698, the palace was not restored, and in 1769 most of its structures were simply demolished. Currently, nothing remains of the buildings from the time of Henry VIII.
It was in this palace that Henry VIII celebrated his wedding to Anne Boleyn in 1533 and to Jane Seymour in 1536. Therefore, it is not surprising that the artist chose the ceremonial White Hall of Whitehall Palace for the background.

Now about the characters depicted in the picture .

He sits at the table in a proud pose King of England (1509 - 1547) Henry VIII Tudor .
Perhaps this was the most amorous monarch not only of England, but of all of Europe. Only his contemporary, the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, who, like Henry VIII, can compete with him in terms of the number of marriages. was married 6 times.

Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein
(between 1538 - 1547):

With his two spouses (with his first wife - Catherine of Aragon and fourth wife - Anna of Klevskaya ) Heinrich divorced; he sent two to the chopping block for adultery (the second wife - Anne Boleyn and the fifth - Catherine Howard ; and the latter was not really distinguished by marital fidelity); two were “lucky” to die of natural causes from childbed fever (the third wife, whom the king himself called his beloved wife, Jane Seymour and the last, sixth - Catherine Parr , who barely escaped execution, but still survived, albeit not for long, her crowned husband).
It seems that the king was a great admirer not only of the female sex, but also numerology . Judge for yourself: 1 - 4 (divorce); 2 - 5 (execution); 3 - 6 (death from natural causes).

Henry VIII, the second king of the Tudor dynasty, ascended the throne at the age of 17, he was well-built, educated and very pious, which, however, did not prevent him from quarreling with the Pope and establishing his own church, which was declared heretical by the Vatican.

King Henry in the year of his accession to the throne (1509):

However, it is obvious that Carl Theodor von Piloty for his painting was inspired not by the portrait of the young king, but by the work of Hans Holbein (pay attention to the headdress and the location of the order insignia in one and the other painting, as well as the king’s ermine mantle). After all, Henry very quickly began to gain weight and by the 30s of the 16th century. turned into a fat man, and by the age of 50 he became so obese that he could not even move independently (his waist size grew to 137 cm), and he died at the age of 55 from gluttony (in the style of the Renaissance: a sort of Rabelaisian Gargantua on the throne).

Henry VIII in a painting by an unknown artist from the early 17th century:

Piloty, of course, had to make the king somewhat younger in his painting, since its action dates back to 1536, when he had not yet completely turned into an absurd pig-like creature, but the rest of the details, including Henry’s costume, are quite consistent with the era.

It is possible that Piloti took advantage of another portrait of Henry VIII by the same Hans Holbein related to 1537 , that is, at a time very close to the events described:

Let's move on, perhaps, to the second most important character in the picture by Carl Theodor von Piloty, to Queen Consort Anne Boleyn(born around 1507, executed 1536; Queen Consort of England 1533 - 1536).

Anne Boleyn could hardly be called the first beauty at court.

Lifetime portrait of Anne Boleyn from the time of her marriage to Henry VIII:

But she compensated for the lack of outstanding external features with education and grace, which was greatly facilitated by the fact that her childhood and youth were spent in France at the “gallant” court of King Francis I (from 1514 to 1520). Her fateful meeting with the English king took place when the girl was not twenty years old. Anna accepted the king’s advances, but did not let him get too close, since she was disgusted by the fate of the favorite, one of many with whom the loving Henry surrounded himself. And only after Henry invited her to become not a favorite, but a queen instead of the monarch’s legal wife, Catherine of Aragon, did she agree to his claims.

However, after becoming queen, Anna quickly made herself numerous and, most importantly, powerful enemies. But discord in the family emerged primarily because of the offspring: Anna gave birth to a daughter, the future great Queen of England Elizabeth I , but was never able to give her husband the male heir he so dreamed of.
In addition, Anna, as if not noticing her husband’s cooling towards her, behaved more and more defiantly. She often, and in the absence of the king, organized luxurious holidays and entertainment for her friends, spent money from the treasury on numerous most expensive decorations, etc.
Finally, the patience of Henry, who by that time was already deeply infatuated with Jane Seymour, ran out. Anna was accused of constant treason against the king. Among her lovers were her close friends Henry Norris and Mark Smeaton, as well as Anne's brother George, Lord Rochford.
The public trial of the king's second wife took place in the Tower. The trial was conducted by Anna's uncle, the Duke of Norfolk. These are the family ties! Otherwise, we hear more and more often about the Basmanov oprichniks...

Anne Boleyn as depicted in Piloty's painting , oddly enough, has nothing in common with her lifetime portraits that have survived to our time, which is not typical for the work of this artist.
But one detail is very noteworthy. Pay attention to the rose (in the lower left corner of the picture), is this Red rose symbol of the Tudor (Lancaster) dynasty? In this picture, the rose that fell (or was thrown by Anne) may well symbolize the fall of the queen herself. And here, for comparison, is another picture in which Anne Boleyn is still queen:

As we see, Red rose in her hands.
Do you think I correctly guessed the artist's intention?

Another recognizable character in Piloti’s painting is Lord Chancellor Thomas Audley (a man with a thick beard standing in the center of the canvas).
Thomas Audley became Lord Chancellor after his resignation Thomas More , who resigned from this position in 1532 due to the king’s conflict with the Vatican, and later - in 1535 - was executed (by the way, Anne Boleyn is directly related to the death of Thomas More, since he was a categorical opponent not only of Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon, but also his new marriage with Anna, which she, of course, did not forget and did not forgive him).
Audley was also the Lord Privy Seal of England, was involved in matters of justice and was actually the Minister of Justice.
At first, he supported the king’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, but later he found himself one of the participants in the trial of the queen and her alleged lovers and even advised the Duke of Norfolk, who presided over the trial.

Audley’s look in Piloty’s painting is eloquent: he seems to distance himself from what is happening, concluding for himself: “The less emotion is reflected on my face, the safer I will be in the future. Otherwise today you will support one side, and tomorrow this crazy king will turn in the opposite direction. No, it’s better to pretend that you don’t care and sway along with the party line whatever the king wishes!”

Unlike the Lord Chancellor, one of two guards with halberds who are depicted in the picture to the right of Thomas Audley, does not hide his interest in what is happening. This is, of course, in vain! His comrade, who pretended to be asleep, will be smarter: “Our business is small, and let the gentlemen sort out their problems themselves.” .
However, perhaps I’m wrong and he lowered his eyes out of shame at what was happening? And the curious halberdier, on the contrary, will soon make a career at court like D'Artagnan, who also loved to poke his nose wherever he got, and as a result rose to the rank of Marshal of France.)))

Now let's move to the upper left part of Piloty's painting.
At the table on which King Henry VIII rests his royal hand, the artist depicted the beloved royal jester William Sommers (the puppet hints at this Punch which he holds in his hands). I'm sure the artist knew that Punch is a traditional character of the English puppet theater appeared for the first time not earlier 1662 , that is, more than a century after the plot he depicted. But how else could he make us understand that the shadowed man in a disgustingly colored shapeless robe is the same William Sommer s, who played an important role in this whole story.

Henry VIII met William Sommers in 1525, and from the first meeting he was struck by his sense of humor. The influence of the royal jester at the English court was very great. Sommers was considered almost the right hand of the monarch.
The clown was allowed a lot. One day he even called the king's wife Anne Boleyn a commoner, and their common daughter Elizabeth a bastard , after which Henry VIII promised to strangle the jester with his own hands.
Sommers remained at court after Henry's death. He was dismissed by Elizabeth I, who remembered him as an unsuccessful joke that humiliated the queen’s dignity.

It is quite possible that Piloty depicted the royal jester in his historical genre painting and, importantly, with a doll in his hands, as a symbol of the fickleness of his ruler’s love: “You play with one doll, throw it away, you’ll get another one, and if you get tired of it, it’s easy to tear off its head, get yourself a third, a fourth, and... further down the list.”

We still have to consider three characters , depicted in Piloty's painting.

Lady picking up Anne Boleyn , stunned by the injustice of the accusations against her, this is probably one of her ladies-in-waiting; judging by her dress, she is clearly not a commoner, but a noble person. However, unfortunately, I was unable to establish who she was. If anyone who knows the history of England in the 16th century can tell me, I will be very grateful.

But much more interesting is the couple depicted by the artist in the right corner of the picture.

Who are these two ladies? And are they ladies? Why is one of them watching what is happening with obvious pleasure (the one on the left), and the other with undisguised condemnation of what is happening, but at the same time they are holding hands like close friends (or participants in a conspiracy against Queen Anne?).

In general, as always, there are more mysteries than answers.

Sergey Vorobiev.

When I was preparing material on Queen Bess, I came across an image of her mother made by the talented photographer Hiroshi Sujimoto. Of all the portraits of Anne Boleyn, this one seemed to me the most beautiful; in the queen’s black eyes I saw her fate.
Here she sits, thoughtfully plucking the strings of the mandolin, but her thoughts are not here, not with us - they are turned to Anna’s inner world. A dreamy smile, a slight turn of the head - what is the beautiful queen thinking about, what dreams does she see in reality?

Anne Boleyn was not a beauty. In 1532, a year before she became queen, the Venetian ambassador to England wrote: “...Not the most beautiful woman in the world. Medium build, dark skin, long neck, large mouth, low chest; in general, nothing special - except that she aroused the king's interest. And the eyes - black beautiful eyes...”
It’s strange, but ceremonial portraits, as expected, do not exist. There are a couple of sketches by Hans Holbein Jr., and for a long time there were disputes about who served as the model for the famous artist.
And now about Anna herself.
Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, was a noble courtier, while her mother Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, belonged to one of the oldest English families. Anna spent her childhood in the wonderful Hever Castle, Kent.

In 1513, Anna was sent abroad - and she lived in Europe for nine years. First at the Habsburg court in Brabant as a maid of honor to Margaret of Austria. This courtyard was considered the center for the education of future princes and princesses. It was difficult to think of a better start to begin a court career. Anna easily mastered the French language, the secrets of court social and political life, and the art of intrigue. At the same time, her mentor Margarita was known not only as an adept at court games of love, but also strictly guarded the morality of her young ladies-in-waiting. Chastity and inaccessibility are excellent ways for a woman to achieve her goal, much more effective than promiscuity. Anna also learned other lessons from her mentor - kings do not marry for love, and women should not let love for men into their hearts too deeply. It was then that Anna decided that her motto would be “all or nothing”...
Arriving from “gallant” France, Anna immediately became the most popular young lady at the English court. Although not possessing outstanding beauty, she was elegantly and expensively dressed, danced inimitably and was smart, unlike many of her peers.
The marriage with Lord Butler did not take place. Her affair with Lord Henry Percy, the son of the Duke of Northumberland, dates back to the same period, but the hopes of the young couple were not destined to come true, because the king himself noticed Anna.

The first meeting between Anna and the king was a reception in honor of the Spanish ambassadors in March 1522. By this time, Henry had accumulated many complaints, both against the queen, Catherine of Aragon, and against the favorites, Betsy Blount and Mary Carrie (by the way, Anne Boleyn’s sister).

Michiel Sittow. Infanta Catharina of Aragon. 1503.

The Courtship of Anne Boleyn, art. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze

Without waiting for offers more serious than the status of “the only mistress to whom he will completely devote himself to service,” she disappears for a while, forcing him to experience a hitherto unfamiliar feeling of guilt and loss. At this time, the king was already trying to find a way to divorce Katerina, who, having lost her charm and gentle disposition by the age of 40, was unable to bear him an heir, and Henry had long stopped visiting her bedroom. Then he came up with an undeniable, from his point of view, argument in favor of divorce - the Pope made an unacceptable mistake by allowing him to marry the widow of his brother Arthur (he died almost immediately after his wedding to Katerina). It is said in the Bible: a man who marries his brother’s wife will have no heirs. Katerina gave birth to his daughter, and she had 6 miscarriages. This means that now he must get married like the first time, for real.

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, art. Arthur Hopkins

Henry VIII presents Anne Boleyn to court. (W. Hogwarts).

At the end of 1532, Anna announced that she was pregnant, and on January 25, 1533, the king and Anna secretly got married. It was only in May that the archbishop officially announced that the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was considered invalid.

In vain Cromwell tried to control the situation, stopping all conspiracies and attempts to denigrate the queen. A special decree was even issued commanding all men, regardless of their origin, to take an oath of allegiance to Anna. And those who did not want to obey were poisoned on the chopping block. The situation became especially aggravated after the execution of Thomas More - she allowed innocent blood to be shed only because More refused to appear at her coronation.

Princess Mary at the age of 28, thin. Master John

...The queen's new pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Anna blamed her husband for this, who dared to sleep with one of her court ladies. Well, Henry continued to wait for the heir, disappointed and amorous, he had already turned his attention to Jane Seymour, the former maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon, who only recently, thanks to her influential brothers, had the opportunity to return to the court. Boleyn saw with her own eyes how one day this unremarkable person sat on her husband’s lap and he played with a necklace around her neck. Then the queen tore off Jane's necklace. Then Henry made peace with his wife and she became pregnant again, instilling in him yet another hope of an heir.

Shortly before the queen was allowed to die, the king declared the marriage to her null and void. Elizabeth became illegitimate. The formal announcement was made by Archbishop Cranmer on June 17, the eve of the queen's execution. The basis for it was the old story with the Earl of Northumberland, as well as the king’s relationship with Anne’s sister Mary (by law, this was also contrary to the marriage of both parties) and, finally, an argument drawn from the latest “evidence” - the king’s doubt that Elizabeth - his daughter, and not the already executed Norris. The royal lawyers tried to ensure that the king got what he wanted - now neither Anna, nor her daughter, nor Maria, nor the first wife stood in the way of a new marriage and the appearance of heirs. Henry, in the event that his new wife did not give birth to the desired prince, had the right to name his successor in a special decree before his death.

The scaffold was covered with black cloth, and the sword was hidden between the boards. Spectators - about a thousand, only Londoners (no foreigners) - under the leadership of the mayor of the city came to witness the first execution of the queen in the history of England. She, in a dress of gray damask trimmed with fur, climbed to the first step of the scaffold and addressed the crowd: “I will die according to the law. I am not here to accuse anyone or talk about what I am accused of. But I pray to God that he will save the king and his reign, for there never was a kinder prince, and to me he has always been a most gentle and worthy lord and sovereign. I say goodbye to the world and from the bottom of my heart I ask you to pray for me."

Anne Boleyn before her execution (J.S. Stewart. Historical figures).

Having received the news of the execution, the king, who was impatiently awaiting it, shouted cheerfully: “The job is done! Let the dogs go, let's have fun!” and immediately ordered Jane Seymour to be brought to him. 11 days later, on May 30, 1536, they got married. Jane Seymour died giving birth to the king's son, for whom he had made deals with the devil so many times.

Anne Boleyn rests in the Chapel St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.

Well, what else is left to say? In subsequent centuries, artists repeatedly turned to the image of the ill-fated queen:
Portrait painted already in the 17th century by Franz Paurbus

Unknown artist of the 16th century. Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England. French school

Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, fig. O'Neil, 19th century.

Experts in the history of music believe that the famous “Greensleevs” are a dedication of a loving king to his future wife Anna, set to an ancient melody. It is not known whether these lines were actually written by Henry VIII, but the beautiful legend is cherished - and it is generally accepted that the beautiful stranger in a green dress is Lady Anne Boleyn

Alas, my love, you do me wrong...
Greensleeves, now farewell! adieu! - Goodbye, Greensleeves!

"My Lady Greensleeves" as depicted in an 1864 painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.

Your vows you"ve broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.

I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.

If you intend to disdain in this way,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.

My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,

Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.

Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still your lover true,
Come once again and love me.

Well, I watched everything four seasons historical series "Tudors", my goal was to see Natalie Dormer in the role Anne Boleyn- second of the six wives of the despot king Henry VIII, but after watching this long series I achieved more, I learned about thirty years of bloody history of England, and it was very interesting and informative, despite the fact that some historical information was distorted, the basic facts remain true. The series takes place in Medieval England beginning with 1518 and ending with events 1547(date of death of the English king Henry VIII).

Compared to the reign of the cruel Henry VIII, the events of the series "Game of Thrones" will seem like just a children's fairy tale.

By the time we met Anne Boleyn the king was already married to Catherine of Aragon (played by Maria Doyle Kennedy), the widow of her older brother. Catherine widowed at age 16 years and did not have time to lose by that moment virginity because I'm married to 15 year old Arthur I only managed to visit for a few months. At 24, Catherine married 18-year-old Henry VIII. The cherished dream of the young king was the birth of a son-heir, but unfortunately Catherine children were stillborn, and some, apparently healthy, did not live long, and only one of her many births gave the spouses a daughter - the future queen Maria I- went down in history as Maria Bloody(her father played an important role in the cruelty Henry). For 16 years marriage, the king showed a love interest in his wife Ekaterina, while having many mistresses.

Catherine of Aragon She turned a blind eye to all her husband’s adventures; she was patient and flexible. One of the lovers Heinrich – Bessie Blount gave birth to a son for the king, after which she was still forgotten for the sake of a new favorite - Mary Boleyn– sisters Anne Boleyn. Maria was dissolute and short-sighted, she quickly became boring to the king, and then Henry had his eye on her sister - graceful, educated and flirtatious Anna (Natalie Dormer). U Anna Boleyn had an excellent upbringing, according to the description of contemporaries of that time, this woman did not have undeniable beauty, but she drove many men crazy and the reason for this was her sharp mind, refined manners, grace and beauty of fashionable and expensive outfits.

Ann Bolein (Natalie Dormer) was known as a real fashionista and charmer. Henry VIII offered to become Anna his favorite and only mistress, but Anna She said that she was only capable of loving her future husband and would marry a virgin. Most likely, the seductress was disingenuous, because she spent a long time at the court of the French king, and the morals there were frivolous, but in order to achieve her goal Anne Boleyn It wasn’t difficult to pretend to be a chaste coquette. King I was so incensed by the actions of this person that I decided to divorce my legal wife. It should be noted that it was almost impossible to do this and the divorce process dragged on for more than a year, and all this time Ann Bolein she either pushed away or brought the ardent king closer to her.

In the end, without receiving consent for divorce from the Pope, the king Anna declared himself the supreme head of the church England, that is, broke up with Rome and changed his faith from Catholic to Protestant. All this led to the division of the country into two camps, all people disliked by the king were executed, among them was his friend Thomas More. Where am I leading with all this? Yes, besides, the image Anne Boleyn very often earlier they romanticized and presented her as simply a victim of the king, but in fact she was a very calculating and cruel woman, she clearly walked towards her goal over the corpses of her enemies, she interfered in matters of national importance, contradicted the oppressive king, reproached him, then Having become the queen and wife of Henry 8, she revealed her true face and was no longer as careful as before. Everything could have turned out differently for her if she had given birth to a son for the king, but a daughter was born - the future great queen - Elizabeth I.

Further at Anne Boleyn 2 miscarriages followed, after which the king finally became furious and decided to get rid of his wife who was boring him in a cruel way - he accused her of treason. The case was completely fabricated - the queen Anna She was accused not only of having affairs with court men, but also of having an incestuous relationship with her brother.

AND 19 May 1526 Henry 8's wife Anne Boleyn(Natalie Dormer) was beheaded and remained queen for just under three years. For her execution from Calais an experienced swordsman was assigned, who painlessly took the life of his victim. By the way, the rest were less fortunate, and were executed over the course of four seasons of the series "Tudors" a lot of people. Could you Anna avoid this death? Yes, she could, but most likely she did not realize that everything was already lost, that the king was already longing for affection and a long-awaited son from the new queen she had become Anna's maid of honor - Jane Seymour (played by Annabelle Wallis).

Henry VIII, his third wife Jane Seymour, daughter Mary and one of his mistresses in the background.

Jane was the complete opposite of her predecessor Anna- she was shy, kind and did not delve into the affairs of the state, but she did not manage to be the king’s wife for long, since after giving birth to the king Henry VIII long-awaited son Edward- she died from puerperal fever.

The fourth wife of the loving king was Anna of Cleves (played by Joss Stone), because the Henry Because of the sad fate of his previous wives, it was very difficult to find a new wife; he married a willing chosen one at the persuasion of his associates, who showed the king a portrait of his future bride. But as it turned out, the portrait did not reflect reality, and it is possible that Anna Klevskaya it simply didn’t suit the 49-year-old king’s taste, who by that time had already had enough wives and mistresses for his sexual functions to begin to fade.

Catherine Howard stands behind and watches the execution of her lady-in-waiting, the queen in line for the scaffold.

Having divorced his fourth wife, Henry began the search for the fifth. It should be noted that Anna Klevskaya she got off very easily and, moreover, remained on friendly terms with the king, and all thanks to her kind and flexible character. That is, we conclude that if you did not weave intrigues at the medieval court, it was quite possible to save your head and die from prickly heat (a disease that was rampant in the Middle Ages and killed tens of thousands of people), plague, typhoid, or puerperal fever. Fifth wife became the king Catherine Howard(played Tamzin Merchant) is a dissolute and short-sighted young woman. She cheated on the king after the wedding with his page, to which there were numerous witnesses, and if in the case with Anne Boleyn the facts were far-fetched, because if Anna and had some sins, then skillfully hid them, then the young Katherine Howard acted very recklessly. IN In 1542, Catherine Howard was executed.

Tamzin Merchant could have become Daenerys Targaryen - she even starred in the pilot episode, but by the will of the directors and fate - now the Stormborn is played by Emilia Clarke.

And the last one The king's sixth wife was Catherine Parr (played by Joely Richardson). It’s interesting, but out of the king’s six wives, three were Catherine, and two Annami. So, Catherine Parr was at the time of marriage with Henry already twice a widow and became the king's wife in 31 year, but she was still beautiful and very pretty. Catherine Parr She was several times on the verge of death, since she had many enemies. Meanwhile, the king’s insanity progressed towards old age, Henry became very suspicious and suspicious, many executions were carried out throughout the country and the last queen could also be accused of heresy. After all, the king decided to return again to the Catholic faith, and his wife was a Protestant. But in 1547 the king died. He was at that moment 55 years- It seems like a little, but the monarch’s health was undermined. In his mature years, the king injured his leg while hunting, the wound festered and did not heal, perhaps the bone was crushed and periodically the leg festered, as bone fragments came out. Due to problems with his leg, the king could no longer pay sufficient attention to physical exercise, began to eat a lot and move little, as a result he became obese and died.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers– did an amazing job with the role. And although hardly a king Henry VIII was similar in appearance to him, but this is not so important. The main thing is that the actor managed to convey the character of a medieval king - despotic, unbalanced, passionate and most importantly dangerous! In the final episode Jonathan They put on make-up, and a truly tired, sick king, disillusioned with life, appeared before us. In all four seasons Jonathan Rhys Meyers was different, because events developed throughout 30 years both the character and views of the king changed and the actor showed all this perfectly.

Natalie Dormer– she also coped amazingly with the role. She got used to the role, and now Anne Boleyn many will be able to imagine just like this - an insidious, calculating and undoubtedly very seductive and attractive queen, laying her pretty head within the walls of the Tower. naked Natalie Dormer for GQ magazine photos

ANN BOLEIN . LOVE LIKE DEATH.