The Most Fabulous Anne Boleyns

Anne, Anne, Anne....the King's greatest matter!

Let's see her most famous faces:

Genevieve Bujold played Anne Boleyn
in "Anne of a Thousand Days" in 1969

The film begins in 1527 when Henry VIII reveals his dissatisfaction with his wife, Catherine of Aragon . He is currently enjoying a discreet affair with Mary, a daughter of one of his courtiers; but the King is bored with her too. At a court ball, he notices Mary's 18-year-old sister Anne, who has just returned from her education in France. She is engaged to HenryPercy and they have achieved their parents' permission to marry. The King, however, is enraptured with Anne's beauty and orders Cardinal Wolsey, to break up the engagement. When news of this decision is carried to Anne, she reacts furiously. She blames the Cardinal and the King for ruining her happiness. When Henry makes a rather clumsy attempt to seduce her, Anne bluntly informs him that she finds him "spoiled, vengeful and bloody. You make love as you eat — with a great deal of noise and no subtlety."

Henry brings her back to Court with him, whilst she continues to resist his advances out of a mixture of repugnance for Henry and her lingering anger over her broken engagement. However, she becomes intoxicated with the power that the King's love gives her. "Power is as exciting as love," she tells her brother, "and who has more of it than the king?" Using this power, she continually undermines Wolsey, who at first sees Anne as just a passing love interest for the King. When Henry again presses Anne to become his mistress, she repeats that she will never give birth to a child who is illegitimate. Desperate to have a son, Henry suddenly comes up with the idea of marrying Anne in Catherine's place. Anne is stunned, but she agrees. Wolsey begs the King to abandon the idea because of the political consequences of divorcing Catherine. Henry refuses to listen. When Wolsey fails to persuade the Pope to give Henry his divorce, Anne points out this failing to an enraged Henry. Wolsey is dismissed from office and his magnificent palace in London is given as a present to Anne. In this splendour, Anne realises that she has finally fallen in love with Henry. They sleep together and, after discovering that she is pregnant, they are secretly married. Anne is given a splendid coronation, but the people jeer at her in disgust as "the king's *****."

Months later, Anne gives birth to a daughter — Princess Elizabeth. Henry is disgusted at this and their marriage begins to cool. His attention soon travels to Lady Jane Seymour, one of Anne's maids. Once she discovers this liaison, Anne banishes Jane from court. "She has the face of a simpering sheep," she informs Henry, "and the manners, but not the morals. I don't want her near me." During a row over Sir Thomas More's opposition to Anne's queenship, Anne refuses to sleep with her husband unless More is put to death. "It's his blood, or else it's my blood and Elizabeth's!" she cries hysterically. More is put to death, but Anne's subsequent pregnancy ends as a result of a stillborn boy. Henry demands that his new minister, Thomas Cromwell, find a way to get rid of Anne. Cromwell tortures a servant in her household into confessing to adultery with the Queen; he then arrests four other courtiers who are also accused of being Anne's lovers. Anne is taken to the tower and placed under arrest. When she is told that she has been accused of adultery, she laughs. "I thought you were serious!" she says, before being informed that it is deadly serious.

When she sees her brother being brought into the Tower, Anne asks why he has been arrested. "He too is accused of being your lover," mutters her embarrassed uncle. Anne's face shudders with horror before she whispers, "Incest?... Oh God help me, the King is mad. I am doomed." At Anne's trial, she manages to cross-question Mark Smeaton, the tortured servant who finally admits that the charges against Anne are lies. Henry makes an appearance, before visiting Anne in her chambers that night. He offers her freedom if she will agree to annul their marriage and make their daughter illegitimate. Anne refuses, saying that she would rather die than betray their daughter. Henry slaps her before telling her that her disobedience will mean her death. A few days later, Anne is taken to the scaffold and beheaded by a French swordsman. Henry rides off to marry Jane and the film's final shot is of their young daughter, Elizabeth, toddling alone in the garden as she hears the cannon firing to announce her mother's death.

In 2007 Natalie Dormer made a great impression
by playing Anne Boleyn in "The Tudors"

Season One of The Tudors chronicles the period of Henry VIII's reign in which his effectiveness as King is tested by international conflicts as well as political intrigue in his own court, while the pressure of fathering a male heir compels him to reject his wife Katharine of Aragon for Anne Boleyn. He also has a string of affairs, and fathers a son, Hnery, by Bessie Blount. Season Two finds Henry as the head of the Church of England, the result of his break with the Catholic Church, which refused to grant him a divorce from Katherine. During his battle with Rome, he secretly marries Anne, who is pregnant. Anne's own failure to produce a son dooms her as Henry's attention shifts toward Jane Seymour.

A second Natalie(Portman) comes in 2008
to portray Anne Boleyn in "The Other Boleyn Girl"
(the most fictional account)

When Catharine of Aragon fails to give England a male heir, the Duke of Norfolk and his brother in law, Thomas Boleyn, scheme to install the latter's elder daughter Anne in the court of Henry VIII as the king's mistress and potential mother of his son, thereby furthering their own political ambitions much to the disgust of Thomas' wife and the duke's sister, Elizabeth Boleyn. Although Anne initially refuses because she knows being a mistress can damage her reputation, she finally agrees to please her father and uncle. However, while visiting the Boleyn estate, Henry is injured in a hunting accident, indirectly caused by Anne and is nursed by her recently married sister, Mary. While in her care, Henry becomes smitten by her and invites her to court.

With great reluctance, Mary and her husband William Carey agree, knowing full well what will be expected of her. William is then sent away on an assignment by the king. Separated from her spouse, Mary finds herself falling in love with henry. Rebellious Anne secretly marries betrothed nobleman Henry Percy to impress her family and confides in her brother George. Thrilled, George tells Mary about the secret marriage. Fearing that Anne will ruin her reputation by marrying without the king's consent, Mary alerts her father and uncle about the secret elopement. The men confront Anne, who argues that what has been done before God can't be undone and that the marriage has been consummated. Despite this, the marriage is annulled and she is exiled to France in disgrace. Feeling that Mary betrayed her to increase her own fortune, Anne vows revenge. Despite the scandal, the family's fortunes seem secured when Mary becomes pregnant. However, Elizabeth Boleyn warns Thomas and Norfolk that the king's favor can be taken away as easily as it is given, but the men ignore her. When Mary nearly suffers a miscarriage, she is confined to bed for the remainder of her pregnancy. Norfolk recalls Anne to England to keep Henry's attention from wandering to another rival, particularly Jane Seymour. Still deeply hurt by Mary's betrayal, Anne embarks on a successful campaign to win Henry over, showing she has grown more mature prior to her exile. By withholding her sexual favors, she forbids him to bed his wife or speak to Mary for the hope of possessing her.

Anne exacts this promise just after Mary gives birth to the much-anticipated son, Henry, making her victory hollow. Shortly afterwards, Henry banishes Mary from court. She returns home just as her husband, William, dies of the sweating sickness. The ambitious Anne encourages Henry to break from the Roman Catholic Church when Pope Clement refuses to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Henry succumbs to Anne's demands, declares himself the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and divorces his wife. The scandal of Anne's brief, secret marriage to Henry Percy threatens her coming marriage to Henry until Mary, out of loyalty to her family, returns to court and lies on Anne's behalf, assuring him her union with Percy was not consummated. Despite her plan's success, Anne's schemes drive Henry to his breaking point mentally and he rapes her. Hurt and confused by the attack, a now pregnant Anne goes through with the marriage to please her family and becomes the new queen of England. Anne and Mary reach a reconciliation and Mary stays with her sister at court. She eventually meets William Stafford, a young soldier, and the two eventually fall in love and get married.

Despite the birth of a healthy daughter, Elizabeth, Henry is angry with Anne's failure to deliver a son and legitimate male heir to the throne. After she miscarries their second child, a boy, a now hysterical Anne begs George to impregnate her. Though he refuses and calms Anne back into reason, his neglected wife jane witnesses enough of their encounter to become suspicious. Her testimony leads to the arrest, trial, and eventual execution of both George and Anne. Upon hearing the news, Elizabeth Boleyn denounces both her husband and brother, vowing never to forgive them for what their greed had done to her children. Leaving her children in William's care, Mary returns to court to plead for her siblings' lives, but arrives too late to save George, who is executed in front of his horrified father. Mary begs Henry to spare her sister, referring to Anne as part of herself. The king softens and tells her he would never harm part of her. Believing that Henry has spared her sister, she leaves to see Anne right before the scheduled execution. The two sisters embrace and truly reconcile. Before she leaves, Anne makes Mary promise to take care of Elizabeth if anything should happen to her. Mary watches from the crowd as Anne makes her final speech. A letter from Henry is given to Mary, which reveals he has decided not to intercede the execution and save Anne. It also tells Mary that she was only spared because of his respect for her and warns her never to come to court again, because her family's disgrace could result in danger to her. Horrified, she watches as her sister is bheaded. Mary then fulfills her last promise to Anne and leaves court with the toddler Elizabeth.

The First Love

Henry VIII's seduction

The Boleyns' rise

Queen of England

Failure

Danger

Downfall and tragedy

Trial

Imprisonment

Last Walk

Final Speech

'Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.'

The End

The heirs

The Most Fabulous Anne Boleyns - The Tudors Wiki

The Most Fabulous Anne Boleyns

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