On this day, May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife, was executed after being convicted of treason, adultery and incest.
Historians have since concluded the charges were baseless and the product of Henry VIII’s desire to find a wife who would give birth to a son.
The king’s marriage to Boleyn marked the end of England’s relationship with the Catholic Church and the beginning of the English Reformation. The pope refused to give Henry VIII a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. When Henry VIII moved forward with the divorce and married Boleyn, he was excommunicated.
Henry VIII and Boleyn were married for three years, during which time she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I, but when three miscarriages followed, Henry VIII removed his queen’s head.
– Freeman Klopott
