“But Elizabeth is yours. Watch her as she grows; she’s yours. She’s a Tudor! Get yourself a son off of that sweet, pale girl if you can - and hope that he will live! But Elizabeth shall reign after you! Yes, Elizabeth - child of Anne the Whore and Henry the Blood-Stained Lecher - shall be Queen! And remember this: Elizabeth shall be a greater queen than any king of yours! She shall rule a greater England than you could ever have built! Yes - MY Elizabeth SHALL BE QUEEN! And my blood will have been well spent!”
— Anne Boleyn: Anne of the Thousand Days
For any of you that haven’t seen the movie, it is highly recomonded, it is more historcially accurate than most other films on Anne Boleyn (for instance. The Other Boleyn Girl).Genevieve Bujold does an excellent job as Anne Boleyn, and this quote is one of my personally favorite scenes in the movie.
A drawing including the portraits of Henry VIII and his 6 wives.
On Top: Henry Tudor
Top Row (from left to right) Catherine of Aragon - Anne Boleyn - Jane Seymour
Bottom Row (from left to right) Anne of Cleves - Kathryn Howard - Katherine Parr
“Folklore has always given Anne six fingers. There isn’t much evidence to support this legend. All her biographies concluded that she probably did not have one but there is no solid proof either way. George Wyatt, grandson of Thomas Wyatt and one of Anne’s very few friendly biographers, stated she had a “double nail” on one of her fingers.”
Source: http://www.nellgavin.com/boleyn_facts/
After Anne’s death rumors spread that she spotted a 6th finger on her left hand, but most of the time this was not taken seriously. The rumor was a way for her enemies to make sure that she remained a negative figure. Historians and others who have written of her life most often compromise with the idea and minimize it to seem as if she had an extra fingernail. A 6th finger was a sign of Witchcraft (which Anne was accused of), a 6th finger was a sign of the devil. It is very unlikely that someone with such a deformity would be able to catch (and keep for 10 years) the eye of a King.
Portrait of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII
“Ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne”
— “Anne had ordered new liveries for her household with the motto ‘Ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne’. This is a deliberate play on the motto of the Regent Margaret of Austria, her [Anne’s] patron as a child, ‘Groigne qui groigne, Vive Bourgogne!’ (Grudge who Grudges, Long Live Burgundy)” - Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen … by Joanna Denny
This was a motto that taken Anne before she was made Queen. The English translation becomes something of “Grumble all you like, this is how it’s going to be.” It was short lived and soon she would rid of it but at the time it was representing Anne’s dark and twisted sense of humor for she knew that at the time she was not popular with the people of England.
“The Most Happy” — Anne Boleyn’s motto when she became Queen
Historical Tweets, Anne Boleyn style
This is the most commonly seen version of Anne Boleyn’s B necklace. It was said to have been worn by her often, with other versions consisting of AB or just an A. In various films and television shows there are variations of this necklace; in ABC’s television show Ugly Betty, the protagonist wears a B necklace.
This is a late Elizabethan version of Anne Boleyn’s portrait. This was most likely derived from the a lost original. The original version of this portrait hangs in Hever Castle today