Was Anne Boleyn really unfaithful, and did she actually love Henry VIII? The Mail’s Robert Hardman and historian Kate Williams explore the life and downfall of the Tudor monarch’s second wife in new podcast

As the second wife of King Henry VIII, she was the queen long pursued but then brutally rejected.

But was Anne Boleyn, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, really guilty of adultery with several men, including her own brother?

That’s the key question explored in the seventh episode of the new Daily Mail podcast Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things.

Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and co-host Professor Kate Williams investigate the charges that led to Anne’s execution in 1536.

They also investigate how exactly Anne became Henry’s second wife and why she changed her mind about marriage after years of rejecting the monarch’s advances.

Professor Williams says: ‘I think most people have some idea of ​​Anne Boleyn’s fate, but how did she reach her final destination, the executioner’s block?

‘What always fascinates me is how quickly it happened. Married, queen, 1533; 1536, executed. We shall ask the question, how guilty, if guilty, was Anne Boleyn?’

Listen to the full episode now:

Mr Hardman added that Anne was ‘one of the greatest names in history, the inspiration for not just a royal divorce but the divorce of an entire country from an entire religion.’

‘The mother of an important Queen of England and perhaps the most important and influential Queen Consort England has ever had.’

Despite the enormous interest in Anna over the centuries, there is still uncertainty about her precise date of birth.

She was born in 1501 or 1507. Professor Williams says: ‘If we choose 1501, she would be about 25 when Henry sees her. Or if we choose 1507, she would be 19.’

Anne came from an exceptionally well-connected family. Her father, Thomas, was a politician and diplomat, while her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, was a brilliant soldier.

The young Anna was a courtier from an early age and was sent to France to serve Queen Claude.

She returned to England to marry her cousin, but the marriage failed and instead she became lady-in-waiting to Henry’s then wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Meanwhile, Anna’s sister Mary had managed to win the king’s affections and had become the monarch’s mistress.

In the spring of 1526, Henry turned his attention to Anna, who, according to Professor Williams, was initially ‘ambivalent’ about his advances.

This was partly because the king had played a role in denying her the chance to marry her love interest Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland.

Professor Williams says of the king: ‘I think Henry was particularly attracted to her humour, her intelligence, her knowledge and her love of France.’

But she adds: ‘Most men wouldn’t want to go out with their lover’s sister. We might find that a bit gross, but for Henry it’s a recommendation.

‘Mary was a good mistress, so he thinks to himself, Well, Anne will be a good mistress too.’

However, Anne refused to allow Hendrik to make her his mistress.

Professor Williams says she is “not too keen” on the idea because she has seen her sister being “used and then cast aside” and is therefore “not too interested” in the king.

After she retreated to her family’s castle, Heaver Castle, Henry sent her dozens of letters in an attempt to seduce her.

Eventually Anne gave in to the king’s advances. Professor Williams says: ‘What these letters prove is that Henry was serious about her.

“He doesn’t just want to use her as a mistress, push her aside, and then throw her away.”

But Catherine, who had fallen into disfavor with Henry for not having borne a son, did not want the king to set her aside.

The Pope refused to annul Henry’s marriage, so the king caused a huge rift with the Catholic Church to get what he wanted.

He was appointed head of the Anglican Church and appointed a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, who carried out the annulment.

Anna and Hendrik eventually married – more or less secretly – in November 1532 and subsequently made their union public.

The king’s marriage to Catherine was annulled in May 1533 and only five days later Anne was crowned queen.

Anna, now visibly pregnant, was crowned with the crown of Saint Edward, which was normally reserved for the monarch, not the consort.

The crown was used to ‘legitimise’ her, says Professor Williams. But Anne was unpopular with a general population who still favoured Catherine.

Anna was also not happy with the way Hendrik treated his mistresses shortly after she married him and became pregnant.

But the prince told his wife that she had to endure his infidelity.

Although astrologers and royal physicians predicted that Anne would give birth to a son – a son Henry so longed for – she gave birth to a daughter instead in September 1533.

Henry was greatly disappointed, but he was convinced that he and Anne could have more children together and that she would provide him with his male heir.

Meanwhile, tensions were rising between Anne and Thomas Cromwell, mainly because of the two’s differing views on the future of the church in England.

Both vied for the king’s favor, trying to ensure that their positions would be favored.

But in January 1536, Anna suffered the last of two miscarriages, which left both her and Hendrik extremely sad.

Anna lost her unborn child on the same day that Catherine of Aragon, who had died a few days earlier, was buried.

Professor Williams explains that Catherine was a ‘protection’ for Anne, as he could not ‘put her aside’ while his first wife was still alive.

She adds: ‘When Catherine of Aragon dies, he begins to think: “Should I get rid of Anne too?”

Henry then turned his attention to Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, who would become his third wife.

But the king knew that he could not divorce Anne, because of the consequences the break with Catherine would have for his reputation.

Instead, Cromwell investigated how to end Henry’s marriage.

He set out to find out whether Anne, who had initially become popular with the king because of her flirtatious behaviour, had had affairs with men in her household.

Cromwell built a case against the queen, claiming that she had had sex with men including musician Mark Smeaton, courtier Henry Norris and George Boleyn, her own brother.

Both Smeaton and Norris were sent to the Tower of London.

Anne was also arrested – along with her brother – and accused of adultery, incest and treason.

A show trial followed before she was held captive in the same royal apartment in the Tower of London where she had awaited her coronation.

On 19 May 1536, two days after her brothers, Norris and Smeaton, were beheaded, Anne was put to death.

In her final statement, she praised her husband.

She said: ‘Dear Christians, I have come here to die, because according to the law and by the law I am condemned to die, and therefore I will not say anything against it.

‘I have come here to accuse no man, nor to say anything of that whereof I am accused and condemned to death, but I pray God that He save the king, and let him reign long over you, for there never was a more gentle or merciful prince. To me he was ever a good, gentle, and sovereign lord.

‘And if anyone wishes to interfere in my cause, I demand that he judge best.

‘And so I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I sincerely desire that you all pray for me. O Lord, be merciful to me, to God I commend my soul.’

But did Anna really commit adultery and incest, and how much did she love the King?

Find out the verdict from Professor Williams and Mr Hardman in episode seven – out today – of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things.

Robert Hardman is the author of books such as Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II and Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.

Professor Kate Williams is the author of the recently published book The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals, and many other works.