Engraving entitled: Condemnation of Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn (1501 - May 19, 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII. In 1526 Anne resisted Henry VIII's attempts to seduce her and refused to become his mistress as her sister Mary had. When it became clear that Pope Clement VII would not annul the marriage, the breaking of the power of the Catholic Church in England began. In 1533 she gave birth to the future Elizabeth I of England, whose sex disappointed Henry. Three miscarriages followed and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour. Henry had Anne investigated for high treason. The charges against her, which included adultery and incest. She was beheaded on May 19th, 1536. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation.
