On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn, Queen of England and second wife of King Henry VIII, was executed by beheading, after being held prisoner in the Tower of London for four days and declared guilty of high treason. The formal charges against her were adultery, incest and plotting to kill the king. (Most historians agree these were bogus accusations.) However, Anne’s actual crime was miscarrying two babies and not being able to provide a male heir to succeed King Henry.
As we know, Anne had given birth to a daughter named Elizabeth who later became queen, one of the strongest monarchs ever to rule Great Britain. King Henry, of course, would never live to see this. Henry, in his quest to bear legitimate male heirs, notoriously married six times, broke with the Catholic Church and changed the trajectory of Great Britain’s future. He divorced two of his wives (Catherine of Argon and Anne of Cleves) and sent another two to the block — Anne Boleyn and her cousin Katherine Howard. All of these woman had committed the crime of not bearing a son.
Why all the fuss over a male heir?
Apparently, the laws had strictly adhered to a thing called ‘male preference primogeniture’ which meant, in essence, boys came first. Girls became rulers only if there were no available boys to take over.
Females had a slim right to the throne, but it was complicated: “Male-preference primogeniture accords succession to the throne to a female member of a dynasty if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. A dynast’s sons and their lines of descent all come before that dynast’s daughters and their lines. Older sons and their lines come before younger sons and their lines. Older daughters and their lines come before younger daughters and their lines.” — Wikipedia
This archaic practice was in effect for over 900 years. It began with the Norman Conquest and stayed strong all the way up to 2011 (yes, 2011!) when sixteen Commonwealth leaders finally agreed to change the succession laws. In 2013 a formal a act of parliament changed the established ‘male preference primogeniture’ to ‘absolute primogeniture’, thus allowing female babies an equal part in the royal heritage .
Great Britain, what took you so long?
If only they had been so enlightened 500 years earlier! They would have put an end to Henry’s worries, saved Anne’s head and certainly given Elizabeth a much easier reign…
As it turned out, Anne’s daughter ruled England for over forty years. She defeated the Spanish Armada, stabilized religion, avoided a lot of unnecessary wars and brought peace and prosperity to the land.
She was known as ‘Gloriana’ and ‘Good Queen Bess’.
Here is an interesting documentary about Anne’s execution. (Running time about 30 minutes.) Hope you get a chance to watch!
Very interesting post! I haven’t read anything about it but watched the hollywood adaptation.
Isn’t it funny, or ironic I would say, how Henry basically didn’t give a fuck about women and at the end it was a woman who reigned his domains, far better than he would have ever done??
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Haha yes that certainly was an ironic twist! It is a fact that Elizabeth repaired much of the damage, financial and otherwise that Henry did to the kingdom. Thanks so much for reading!
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Great piece! Super easy and fun to read, yet full of info!
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Thanks so much! Glad you liked it. I love historical pieces, but I also like to be fun. Thanks for reading 🙂
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The anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s death which occurred as she bore a daughter not a son. Up untill 2015 in UK younger males had rights to royal throne over older sisters: This was changed in 2015 before Prince William had his first child. However as Prince William’s oldest child (George) is a boy, for while this change is unlikely to make a difference. But a change in law before Anne Boleyn’s time, could have made a big change. If King Henry had respected women could rule then he could have changed that law rather than breaking with Rome.
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Very true! Interesting that Henry did not seem to even consider changing the law — and instead took on the near impossible task of breaking with Rome!
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Reblogged this on Wonderwall and commented:
The anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s death which occurred as she bore a daughter not a son. Up untill 2015 in UK younger males had rights to royal throne over older sisters: This was changed in 2015 before Prince William had his first child. However as Prince William’s oldest child (George) is a boy, for while this change is unlikely to make a difference. But a change in law before Anne Boleyn’s time, could have made a big change. If King Henry had respected women could rule then he could have changed that law rather than breaking with Rome.
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Thanks for reblogging 🙂
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Well at least in England, women COULD inherit the throne. In France, they had the Salic Law, which forbade any women from ruling directly.
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Yes very true! I think this drove a lot of French queens to operate ‘behind the scenes’.
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2011! Ack! Isn’t that awful? The world would be so much better if women ruled.
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I remember first hearing of the decision when Kate Middleton was pregnant with George. Because of this new law, second baby Charlotte will have an uncontested place on the throne after George 🙂 I do believe that women are the peacemakers, more so than men. 🙂
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It’s amazing that women are still second class citizens in so many ways. The US is no exception.
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[…] Anne Boleyn, Women’s Martyr […]
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Thanks for linking! 🙂
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She is an intriguing historical figure…
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Yes, very much so! Thanks for reading 🙂
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[…] witchlike Anne Boleyn, Women’s Martyr […]
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Thanks for linking! 🙂
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I love the easy way you write about history! I was actually stunned when Britain changed the succession law to allow females equal rights. Stunned but very happy 🙂
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Thanks! As you know, the Tudors are close to my heart. I first heard the news when Kate Middleton was pregnant with baby George (ironically turned out to be a boy). I remember thinking FINALLY! It’s about time lol 🙂 As others have mentioned, it is insane that Henry took on the gargantuan task of breaking with Rome, rather than just changing this silly little law.
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Another fascinating blog, as always, Christine! I still puzzle over the prejudice against the matrilinear line. I mean, we almost always know who the mother is but the father can be ANYONE! Sigh…
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Yes, that is another one of the great ironies! These kings’ sons could actually have been sired by anyone back then, no DNA test, lol!
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LOL, all those “good” kings were sired by the butler 😀
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And the stable boy of course 😉
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Oh, yeah, let’s not forget that babe! 😀
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Reblogged this on Coven Life®.
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I loved the video and post. I had no idea about the laws of England changing. If it were not for women leading and/o fighting along side men there would have been no England to name much less rule over. Look back to Bruhdica (sorry for the misspelled name) one of the strongest and most powerful leaders of all times! I often wonder if Queen Elizabeth 1 was her reincarnated? I reblogged this to Coven Life, thank you for the opportunity to share some factual information!
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Thanks Lady Beltane! So glad you liked it and thanks for the reblog! Elizabeth was a great ruler, she just may have reincarnated as others. The changing of the law was a much needed surprise! 🙂
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[…] 164. Exploring the World around us – Notorious 165. The Notorious – Written by Beth 166. witchlike – Anne Boleyn, Women’s Martyr 167. Notorious cheetoes ⋆ Obsolete Childhood 168. Zachary W Gilbert, Author – Bones of […]
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Thanks for linking 🙂
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Your welcome.
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Reblogged this on hocuspocus13 and commented:
jinxx♣xoxo
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I Thoroughly enjoyed reading your super post. And what a stunning picture of the complex and beguiling Anne, my favourite of Henry’s Queens, may I ask where it is from? Regards, Eily:)
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! The picture was pulled from Public Domain — as are almost all my images. I have no idea who painted it, but agree it is stunning! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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Thanks Christine, appreciate your reply 🙂
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Isn’t it something to think that HIS sperm was what decided the sex of each baby… Maybe he should have cut his own head off, would have been faster. ; )
Meno<3
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LOL!! True! Of course, back then they did not have the knowledge of sperm determining the sex. Still it is amazing that he could kill his own wives… especially Anne whom he had loved so dearly! A very nasty business,
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It would be fun to write a story where someone travels back in time to tell him that…. so many possibilities!
The times back then were so brutal, and a lot of marriages were loveless. We’re truly lucky now days.
Meno<3
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I think you have something with that premise! It is a great idea, traveling back in time to set Henry straight… 🙂
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