Claim: Elizabeth I of England reigned in England.

Anne Boleyn -LRB- -LSB- ˈbʊlɪn -RSB- , -LSB- bəˈlɪn -RSB- or -LSB- bʊˈlɪn -RSB- -RRB-  -LRB- 1501 -- 19 May 1536 -RRB- was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII , and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right . Henry 's marriage to her , and her subsequent execution by beheading , made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation . Her daughter Elizabeth would later succeed Henry VIII as Elizabeth I , Queen of England and Ireland .   Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn , 1st Earl of Wiltshire , and his wife , Lady Elizabeth Howard , and was educated in the Netherlands and France , largely as a maid of honour to Claude of France .   Anne returned to England in early 1522 , to marry her Irish cousin James Butler , 9th Earl of Ormond ; the marriage plans were broken up by Cardinal Wolsey , and instead she secured a post at court as maid of honour to Henry VIII 's wife , Catherine of Aragon .   Early in 1523 Anne was secretly betrothed to Henry Percy , son of the 5th Earl of Northumberland , but the betrothal was broken by Cardinal Wolsey in January 1524 and Anne was sent back home to Hever Castle . In February/March 1526 , Henry VIII began his pursuit of Anne . She resisted his attempts to seduce her , refusing to become his mistress -- which her sister Mary had been . It soon became the one absorbing object of Henry 's desires to annul his marriage to Queen Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne . 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 1532 , Henry granted Anne the Marquessate of Pembroke .   Henry and Anne married on 25 January 1533 , after a secret marriage on 14 November 1532 . On 23 May 1533 , newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine 's marriage null and void ; five days later , he declared Henry and Anne 's marriage valid . Shortly afterwards , the Pope decreed sentences of excommunication against Henry and Cranmer . As a result of this marriage and these excommunications , the first break between the Church of England and Rome took place and the Church of England was brought under the King 's control . Anne was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533 . On 7 September , she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter rather than a son but hoped a son would follow and professed to love Elizabeth . Anne subsequently had three miscarriages , and by March 1536 , Henry was courting Jane Seymour . In order to marry Jane Seymour , Henry had to find reasons for his marriage with Anne to end .   Henry had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536 . On 2 May she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London , where she was tried before a jury of peers -- which included Henry Percy , her former betrothed , and her own uncle , Thomas Howard -- and found guilty on 15 May . She was beheaded four days later . Modern historians view the charges against her , which included adultery , incest , and plotting to kill the king , as unconvincing . Some say that Anne was accused of witchcraft but the indictments make no mention of this charge .   After the coronation of her daughter , Elizabeth , as queen , Anne was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation , particularly through the works of John Foxe . Over the centuries , she has inspired , or been mentioned , in many artistic and cultural works and thereby retained her hold on the popular imagination . She has been called `` the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had '' , for she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare his independence from the Holy See .