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Anne Boleyn

Painting of Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn (c1501–36) was the second wife of the Tudor king Henry VIII and the mother of the future Queen Elizabeth I. Anne was famously executed in 1536 after being arrested for adultery and incest. Believed to have been born in around 1501, Anne became a lady-in-waiting to Henry's first queen, Catherine of Aragon, in 1522. Anne attracted many admirers at court with her wit and striking looks, and soon the king himself set his sights on her. Henry's desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn caused the king to break with the Catholic Church and helped bring about the English Reformation. Anne Boleyn married Henry in January 1533 and later that year gave birth to Elizabeth. Anne was executed by a swordsman at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536

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