My purpose in starting this blog is to record and share my journey of discovery, my mission to expose the real Anne Boleyn.
I have always been interested in history, particularly the Tudor period, since I did history A level at school, but this passion has been reawakened by watching the Tudors on TV, reading the books of Philippa Gregory and then reading non-fiction books on her.
Anne Boleyn grabbed my attention because she seems such a mystery. Depending on what you read, she could be any of the following:-
- A witch who used witchcraft and her feminine charms to seduce Henry VIII
- A young and innocent girl who was used as a tool by her family for their own agenda
- An adultress and wh*re who slept with anyone who glanced in her direction, even her brother
- An intelligent and cunning woman who plotted her way to the top
- A key figure in starting the Reformation in England
- A martyr and heroine, both for her faith and her true love of Henry
- The most influential Queen Consort that England has ever known
- A traitor to the Crown
- An ugly monster of a woman who also had six fingers on one hand
- A devout Christian woman
- A tease who forced Henry into annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon by rebuffing his sexual advances
- A fantastic politician and diplomat who had much to do with forming an English-French alliance
- The most unpopular and hated Queen Consort in history
- An extravagant spendthrift who spent fortunes on refurbishing palaces and buying jewellery and clothes.
As you can see, there are many different beliefs about who Anne was and what she was like as a person!
My intention is to study history more closely to see if I can get to know this fascinating woman better and to make an informed judgement of her. I think it will be a tricky mission, as I am sure that historical evidence will have been tampered with and skewed in Henry’s favour, after all, he let her be executed for treason, incest and adultery.
My journey begins and I hope that you will follow it…
Wishing you all the luck in this journey… and hope you share your finds with us…
This article is such a wonderful teaser into the life of this most inigmatic Queen. I have been interested in her since I saw “The Wives of Henry VIII, BBC Series” on PBS when I was about, and then when I was 13 when things were still on 8mm film at the public library. The as an educated adult who majored in European History with an emphasis in the Reformation, wrote papers and reasearched a lot of material on Anne.
Claire, though has listed so many points and bullets of intrigue that I never thought there were that many in my head!
Claire is such a scholar, researcher, inquisitor, that it will make one more and more amazed with everything that comes from this site. The one on the two younger Boleyn brothers, was Claire leaving not speck of dust unturned. She is a scholar, archeologist, writer, and this site is wonderful for anyone who has the slightest interest in this woman.
What out! Claire will get you when you least expect it! Thank you! WilesWales
Claire,I can’t even tell you what a joy it has been ,on your quest to find out all the things we didnot no about ,Anne Boleyn and all others in history back in those days.Wishing you all the best on your journey! Also to all the history buffs who follow this site,it has been a pleasure to read all every one has to say. Claire Best wishes
I LOVE THIS SITE.I VISTE IT EVERY DAY!!!
I have to say, I really do love Natalie Dormer’s portrayal of Anne Boleyn in “The Tudors.” Despite the innacuracies, I think she was a great and believable Anne, and really captured her emotions and personality. I especially love her last few episodes, when virtually everything she says are direct quotes from Anne Boleyn records – like her confession to Archbishop Cranmer, her “little neck” line, her lines to William Kingston, and her execution speech (which I thought was beautifully done and made me weep!). With that being said, I did NOT like Natalie Portman’s portrayal in “The Other Boleyn Girl.” I thought she played such a catty, b*tchy Anne that was completely done with the intent of making people hate her! What a disservice to Tudor fans, not to mention Anne herself! I love seeing Anne Boleyn portrayals and reading about her in fiction, but I’m excited to learn about who she REALLY was – not just who society and fictional authors want us to think she was. I’ve already learned so much here…thank you!
I agree Stephanie, Natalie Dormer really did capture Anne’s essence very well. I couldn’t even bring myself to watch The Other Boleyn Girl with Natalie Portman and Eric Banner, the adds for it just didn’t look right.
I love this site, our interests are almost identical! Thank you for creating such an amazing source of information for us historians in training can use to find further information.