Claire Ridgway chats about Anne Boleyn with James Boulton

Thank you for all things Anne Boleyn! What do you think about the psychological impact Henry VIII had on his daughters? First, neither had much value because they weren’t male. But being deprived (Elizabeth) or alienated (Mary) from their mother must have devastated them both. Certainly, the fact that Elizabeth never married is understandable since she didn’t have a strong and healthy paternal influence during her life. Mary’s false pregnancy can be understood because of the enormous pressure to have a male heir. If her mother had given her father a male heir he would not have divorced Catherine. The same with Anne Boleyn–if she had given Henry a male heir her body would not have been separated from her head! I think of how history would have been so different if only…Catherine or Anne had a male child! But Mary and Elizabeth must have suffered much psychological harm because of their father’s ill treatment. I like to believe that Anne figured out her mother was innocent, too. How horrible to know not only your father killed your mother–but had her falsely accused of treason to marry someone new.