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Anne Boleyn Facts & Worksheets

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Anne Boleyn is famous for being the Queen of England and the second wife of King Henry VIII. The issues surrounding Henry’s annulment with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marriage to Anne led to England’s break away from the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, Anne was one of the king’s wives who was beheaded.  See the fact file below for more information about Anne Boleyn or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Early years

  • Anne Boleyn was born at the start of the 1500s and was a daughter of Thomas Boleyn, later 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde, and Elizabeth Howard. She was educated in France and the Netherlands. 
  • Before returning to England in her early 20s at Henry’s court, Anne was a maid of honor to the French Queens Mary and Claude.  
  • Anne learned literature, music, poetry, and religious philosophy at the French court. She became acquainted with reformer and humanist Marguerite de Navarre, sister of Francis I. 
  • Anne Boleyn is famous for being a strong, intelligent, and politically-minded woman, and these traits were seen as unattractive for a woman of her time.

Return to England and Henry’s annulment

  • In 1522, Anne’s planned marriage to James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, was called off. The marriage was arranged to settle an estate dispute. Instead, she became Catherine of Aragon’s maid of honor. 
  • In 1523, Boleyn had planned to marry Lord Henry Percy, son of the 5th Earl of Northumberland. Still, the plans were broken up by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the King’s chief Roman Catholic advisor, following the failure to solicit the support of Percy’s father. Percy later married Lady Mary Talbot. 
  • In 1526, Henry VIII’s pursuit of Anne began. King Henry VIII originally asked Anne to be his mistress, but she refused.
  • Experienced with the French game of courtly love, Anne seemed to have manipulated Henry VIII’s ego. Felt challenged by Anne’s rejection, Henry started a secret proceeding to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1527. 
  • The king’s faction argued that Catherine’s marriage to Henry’s late brother Prince Arthur was sacred, thus voiding their marriage. Using Leviticus 20:21, Henry VIII believed that he was “living in sin with Catherine.” Under the pressure of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Catherine’s nephew, Pope Clement VII rejected the petition for annulment for six years. Henry VIII had a daughter with Catherine of Aragon, who later became Mary I. 
  • Henry VIII’s annulment with Catherine of Aragon was called the “Great Matter” he entrusted to Cardinal Wolseley to solve. IN 1529, after he failed to negotiate with Rome, Wolsey fell out of the king’s favor and was replaced by Sir Thomas More. 
  • In 1531, Henry VIII lived separately with Catherine of Aragon. A year later, she made Anne Marquees of Pembroke. 

Marriage to Henry VIII

  • Impatient of the process, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn married secretly in 1533. On May 23, 1533, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, the union was made public. Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was annulled on the same day, and five days later, his marriage to Anne Boleyn was declared legal.
  • Catherine of Aragon was stripped of her title as queen following the marriage, while Mary was declared illegitimate. 
  • Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen consort of England on June 1, 1533, until her execution in 1536. She was crowned with the St Edward’s Crown at Westminster Abbey in London. Boleyn’s motto was ‘the most happy,’ and she had her coat of arms.
  • Shortly following the marriage, Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer were excommunicated by the Catholic Church. As a result of the breakaway, the Church of England was formed. Instead of a pope, the king of England became the head of the church. Under the 1534 Act of Supremacy, Henry VIII declared himself the Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England. 
  • To solidify Anne’s new position, Henry VIII ordered the First Succession Act, which required all his subjects to swear an oath of loyalty to the crown. This move legally rejected papal authority over England and recognized Anne as queen.
  • It is believed that Anne Boleyn had larger servants than the previous queen. She initiated renovations and lavish gatherings. 
  • Anne Boleyn only had one child with Henry VIII – a daughter who would become Queen Elizabeth I. She also had three miscarriages.
  • When Elizabeth was born, it was a surprise that she was a girl, and everyone had expected the child to be a boy. The birth announcement had even been printed reading ‘prince’ and had to be quickly edited to read ‘princess.’
  • On January 8, 1536, Catherine of Aragon died. With no more thorns questioning the legality of their marriage, Anne and Henry VIII rejoiced. They wore yellow the following day while Spain was in mourning. 
  • Aware of Henry VIII’s obsession with having a male heir, Anne believed that the king would easily find a new woman to marry if she failed. 

Downfall and Death

  • Frustrated to have a son and heir, Henry VIII began an affair with Jane Seymour, who would be his third wife.
  • In 1536, Anne Boleyn was accused of high treason (disloyalty against the King), adultery, and incest. Eric Ives, Anne’s biographer, suggests that her former ally, Thomas Cromwell, instigated the accusations.
  • In April 1563, a Flemish musician was accused and arrested for being Anne’s lover. Sir Henry Norris was also arrested on May Day but insisted that the queen was innocent. Similar adultery charges were connected to Sir Francis Weston, Sir William Brereton, Sir Thomas Wyatt, and Sir Richard Page. 
  • The final suspect arrested on high treason and incest charges was George Boleyn, the queen’s brother, and George was explicitly accused of two incest incidents at Whitehall and Eltham. 
  • On May 2, 1536, Boleyn was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. Despite the absence of concrete evidence, Anne was tried before a jury of 27 peers and unanimously convicted of the crimes. Anne was sentenced to die by beheading as commuted by Henry VIII. 
  • Under the Treason Act of Edward III, adultery on the part of the queen was equivalent to high treason, which was punishable with death by burning alive. 
  • On May 17, 1536, Cranmer announced Anne’s marriage to the king as null and void. On the same day, George and other accused men were executed. 
  • On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed at the Tower of London by a French swordsman with a single stroke. Before the end of the same month, Henry married Jane Seymour, who later provided him with a son, the future Edward VI. 
  • Boleyn’s body was buried in an unmarked grave at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula in London.
  • When her daughter, Elizabeth I became Queen of England, she was venerated as a heroine of the English Reformation. 
  • In 1876, her skeletons were identified. Today, Anne’s grave is identified on a marble floor. 

Anne Boleyn Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Anne Boleyn Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Anne Boleyn who is famous for being the Queen of England and the second wife of King Henry VIII. She was one of the wives of King Henry VIII who was beheaded because she did not give birth to a son, and so did not give the King a male heir to the throne.

Download includes the following worksheets

  • Anne Boleyn Facts
  • Anne’s Places
  • Character Traits
  • Relations with Anne
  • Royal Motto
  • Henry’s Wives
  • Elizabeth I
  • A Death Sentence
  • Tower of London
  • Crime and Punishment
  • Just Anne

Frequently Ask Questions

Is Queen Elizabeth related to Anne Boleyn?

Queen Elizabeth I is the daughter of Anne Boleyn with Henry VIII of England.

Did Henry regret executing Anne?

According to historian Sandra Vasoli, Henry VIII regretted his treatment of Anne Boleyn. Manuscripts by Bishop White Kennett mention, “The King acknowledges with great grief at his death the injuries he had done to the lady Anne Boleyn and her daughter.”

Was Anne Boleyn British?

Yes, Anne Boleyn was born in Norfolk, England. 

What was Anne Boleyn’s relationship with Henry VIII?

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII of England. 

How many miscarriages did Anne Boleyn have?

Historians suggest two miscarriages in 1534 and 1536.

 

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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