Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution by beheading for treason, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.
Near contemporary portrait of Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle, c. 1550
Portrait of Anne's elder sister Mary Boleyn, by Remigius van Leemput, c. 1630–1670
Interior Court of Savoy, Mechelen
King Henry and Anne Boleyn Deer shooting in Windsor Forest by William Powell Frith, 1903
In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms, Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. He was never granted an annulment by the Pope, as he desired, however, for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.
The six wives of Henry VIII, portraits made for Parliament (between 1854 and 1860).
Catherine of Aragon m. 1509–1533
Anne Boleyn m. 1533–1536
Jane Seymour m. 1536–1537
