The London History Show: Anne Boleyn

CORRECTION: In the video, I say that Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon married as teenagers. In fact, only Henry was a teenager at the time- Catherine was in her twenties.
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In this video, we're looking at the second of Henry VIII's wives, Queen Anne Boleyn, and doing some feminist history!

Sources:
Ackroyd, P. 2012. The History of England Vol. 2: The Tudors.
Lindsey, K. 1995. Divorced Beheaded Survived.
MacDonald, A. 1999. Henry VIII and his Chopping Block.

[kellydean]

"The accusations don't have to make sense, they just have to sound scary." Boy, does this ring true... for so many things, even today!

[jenniferschillig]

I LOVE that book. I think it's where I first encountered the theory that Anne of Cleves was not unattractive (contemporary sources described her as reasonably attractive, and Henry never punished Holbein for misleading him), but that she dealt Henry's ego a serious blow when she didn't swoon over the "handsome stranger" who came to her in disguise. Instead, she treated him like the middle-aged man he was (remember, this was a nearly fifty-year-old man, making a political marriage, who honestly expected Anne to "know him for her true love") and he never got over it, projecting that rejection back onto her because he couldn't handle an honest opinion. (Remember how he described her? Fat, unattractive, and smelly? Who else could that apply to?)

[jonsnowver]

It's crazy to think that most people will readily call Henry VIII a violent, untrustworthy, mean spirited and abusive man, but then take everything he says about his ex at face value. Thank you for making this video.

[hannah]

I've always hated the whole 'Oh Anne didn't reply to his letters because she was a devious little minx who knew it would inflame Henry's desire further and blahblahblahblah' and I've just always found that to be so stupid. I think Anne was very much making the best of a complicated and crazy situation. I'm sure she was very much convinced that once Henry heard her 'No I won't be your mistress. If you want THIS you'll have to be single and free to marry' he would back down and leave her be. How was she to know he was going to tell the pope to fuck off, divorce his wife, make his currently only surviving daughter illegitimate and then be all 'TADA! Single as a pringle! Now can we get married?'?

[ladymeghenderson]

Catherine of Aragon was not a teenager when she married Henry, she was in her twenties, Henry was still in his teens

[BallyBoy]

I'm gutted by that ending. You, are extremely smart, talented, well-read and have a very nice way of speaking. Never stop what you're doing.
- A random fan.

[DominikKalinowski]

You stole my attention, then left speechless. 
Great job
PS. The cards were hilarious 😂

[macfilms]

Great telling of Anne's story. Given the sad litney of miscarriages stillbirths, and infants born who don't survive, I'm interested in the theory Henry had the genetic disorder Kell blood group antigenicity. It really is a good fit for the whole male heir issue he had. Then his jousting accident and the issues surrounding it explain a lot of his erratic behavior after. It must have been a weird sensation for these women to be the object of Henry's desire - on the one hand, as a noblewoman of Henry's court, you're probably from a very politically savy family, so the idea of being queen is like winning the lottery - on the other, after Katherine is put aside, it's very obvious being Henry's queen is an extremely dangerous position to obtain. I'm sure there must have been some real cognitive dissonance going on when he starts making his affection known (and probably intense pressure from social climbing parents).

[ADEpoch]

Seems her fate was sealed the moment the King knew about her. Poor girl. It's really unfair how she was shouved into a situation she had very little control over.

[theharbinger]

Henry could have used Spock's advice to Ston. “After a time, you may find that ‘having’ is not so pleasing a thing after all as ‘wanting.’ It is not logical, but it is often true.”

[juanitarichards]

What many people dont't know is that Henry Vlll was planning on having his marriage to Katherine of Aragon annulled before he ever became interested in Anne (Mark Holinshed has the whole story on this on his YT Henry wanted a son and Katherine was in menopause by now. So he sent Wolsey on a mission to France to cast about for a French princess or noble woman for him to marry and King Francis was aggreeble and assisting with this when Wolsey returned he was amazed to find the king chasing Anne Boleyn....but he was hoping it would be just a fling like all th kings other affairs, and he had reasons for not wanting the king to marry Anne and he prevaricated and did all he could to prevent the marriage, but he underestimated the kings determination to marry her. By the time he woke up to it it was too late, Wolsey had failed the king and was on the way king had also embarrassed him before the French king who had helped Wolsey in the mission to find a French bride.

[flibbertygibbette]

Your longer form videos are terrific, I hope you will consider making these again!

[MehWhatever]

I don’t know when I started to think of Anne as very wronged. I learned Tudor history like most, but I also did read a lot on my own back in school. But I have had the opinion, for a very long time, that Anne wanted nothing to do with Henry originally. She did not set out to be Queen. He wore her down, and left her with no other choice. It would have been him, or a nunnery. And Henry would probably not even allow the nunnery.

[Quickfire]

this book sounds REALLY good. Anne Boleyn has always been my favorite of Henry VIII's wives, i think that's because i was so interested in Queen Elizabeth I and I wanted to know more about her mother. Anne's story breaks my heart. "the accusations don't have to make sense, they just have to sound scary." that's too true and even more heartbreaking.

[bingdinggold]

I love the Henry the 8th wives as Pokemon cards edit lol that's a good way to teach kids

[Allieg]

So interesting! I'm wondering if Anne insisted on marriage to Henry thinking it would stop the harassment since there was no way the pope would let him divorce Catherine never thinking it would cause that whole mess.

[Mathemagical]

I think it's a bit simplistic for Karen Lindsey to assert that the only reason for Anne to ignore Henry's letters was that she wasn't interested. She may have been personally conflicted, or have disagreed with her politically-minded father, or have been considering what other suitors were available. The Boleyns were a minor aristocratic family but Anne was now one of the most marriageable women in England. Becoming the King's mistress for a couple of years would not prevent her from subsequently marrying but it would definitely damage her marriage 'value' and rule out a match with a top-tier nobleman.

[PhoebeFayRuthLouise]

Your storytelling is excellent! This video blew my mind! And made me want to get that book! Thank you for this! (Subscribed!)

[tamedshrew]

In 1970 i was a freshman in high school when i saw the movie Anne of the Thousand Days. I didnt know anything of English history so cannot attest to the movie's accuracy, but WOW I was blown away by Genevieve Bujold's performance as Anne. As you tell tha story I am reminded of the lasting impression Bujold created of Anne as a young and fearless woman who took on the most powerful men in the world.

[considerthelilies]

You are the most entertaining history guide I've had the pleasure to hear! Thank-you very much.