1-152-206 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Anne Boleyn (c1504-1536), second wife of Henry VIII of England, c1880. The divorce of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon and his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn caused a political and religious crisis in England. The Catholic Church refused to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine, resulting in Henry ordering the English Church to break from Rome. Anne provided Henry with a daughter, the future Elizabeth I, but she failed to provide the king with his cherished male heir. As a result Henry had Anne charged with high treason on grounds of adultery. Although the charges were almost certainly fabricated, she was found guilty and beheaded at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536.