On Friday May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn, former queen of England, was executed for high treason and adultery, her head severed from her body by an expert swordsman, the only concession granted to her by her ex-husband King Henry VIII. How, in such a short time, the woman for whom Henry had defied England's religious tradition, divorcing his wife and changing the history of religion in his country, which he pursued relentlessly for years, had Did she fall so far, so quickly? To understand, one must examine Henry's desperate need for a male heir, understand the politics of the time and the personality of Anne Boleyn herself. When Henry VIII was seriously attracted to Anne Boleyn in 1525 (Weir The Six Wives of Henry VIII p. 159), he was in the prime of his life. His wife, Catherine of Aragon, was aging rapidly and was no longer of childbearing age. Henry's desire for a male child was common in his time, but particularly imperative for him. If he had a male heir, he believed it would be a sign from God that his reign was approved by God. Catherine of Aragon had only given him one daughter, Mary; therefore, his marriage to her must anger God. Henry had had many mistresses in the past and felt that Anne Boleyn, who was young and intelligent, although not beautiful by the standards of the time (Weir The Six Wives of Henry VIII p. 152) would be an excellent choice for his next mistress. . Anne, who grew up at the French court, learned much from his flirtatious ways in France, which would come back to haunt her later, and had what could only be called sex appeal. Anne, who was ambitious and arrogant and looking for a good marriage, would have no affair with King and told him so (Weir, Henry VIII The King and His Court p. 257). This intrigued...... middle of paper ...... and when she failed to keep her promises, she quickly lost interest in her and looked elsewhere. She was arrogant, ambitious and haughty, believing that if Catherine of Aragon left, all her troubles would be over, which was not the case. She ultimately became the victim of Henry's megalomania due to her own ambition and desire to be Queen of England. Works Cited Erickson, Carrolly. Great Harry. New York, New York; Summit Books, 1980Lindsay, Karen. Divorced, beheaded, survived; A feminist reinterpretation of the wives of Henry VIII. Boston; Wesley-Addison, 1995Weir, Alison. The six wives of Henry VIII. New York; Ballantine Books, 1991 Weir, Alison. Henry VIII; The king and his court. New York; Ballantine Books, 2001 Wernicke, Rita. The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn. Cambridge, England; Cambridge Press 1991