Anne Boleyn

* Current West End
* Current Broadway
* Historical

**Anne Boleyn** was the second wife of Henry VIII. She was beheaded, widely believed to be because Henry wanted to court Jane Seymour and made up reasons to kill her. Her solo is *Don't Lose Ur Head*, the name a reference to how she died and detailing her life and marriage.

## Appearance

### Main

Anne Boleyn wears her hair down with two buns secured with spiky cuffs, a green dress with black plaid, tights, black boots, black-and-green arm bands, and a black choker that has a "B" for "Boleyn" charm.

### Swings

She wears the outfit of her respective swing or alternate actress, plus the space buns and spiky crown.

### Historical

* *"not one of the handsomest women in the world; she is of middling stature, swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised... eyes, which are black and beautiful"*
* *"young, good-looking, of a rather dark complexion"*
* *"beautiful with an elegant figure"*
* *"...rather tall of stature, with black hair, and an oval face of a sallow complexion, as if troubled with jaundice. It is said she had a projecting tooth under the upper lip, and on her right hand six fingers **[This is false.]**. There was a large wen under her chin, and therefore to hide its ugliness she wore a high dress covering her throat... She was handsome to look at, with a pretty mouth."*

## In History

Anne was born sometime between 1501 and 1507. Her father was a diplomat in Europe, and he gained many admirers, one of which was a woman named Margaret, who offered young Anne a position in her household. Anne stayed with Margaret for a year, before she served Queen Mary and King Claude in France. Under the queens, Anne received her academic and social education.

Anne was going to marry her cousin, James Butler, for political reasons, before he married someone else. Anne was recognized at a social function as a very elegant and charming young woman, and soon she was pursued by many men. One man, Henry Percy, courted Anne, and the two were engaged, before Percy's father forced them to call it off. Anne began serving Catherine of Aragon. It was in 1526 when Henry VIII fell in love with Anne and began pursuing her. They courted for a while, and it's widely believed that Anne refused to have any sexual relations with him before marriage. She accepted his marriage proposal when offered.

Henry began looking for a reason to divorce Catherine of Aragon, his current wife, and tried to reason that her inability to have a son meant that she had been cursed by God. Anne decided to act as his queen politically, but not as his wife sexually. Henry became very absorbed in trying to find a way to divorce Catherine, and eventually, after speaking to many influential people, he was able to banish Catherine from the palace. The two finally married on November 14, 1532, and Anne became pregnant. Anne was crowned Queen June 1 of the next year. September of 1533, she gave birth to a baby girl, which shocked everyone, as all of the royal physicians and Anne's family had expected a boy. Anne worried that Catherine's daughter Mary would be a threat to her baby princess Elizabeth, so Henry sent Elizabeth to live with her personal servants.

Word reached Henry and Anne of Catherine of Aragon's death, and they celebrated with festivities, wearing a color that to their country meant joy, but in Catherine's home country meant mourning, ironically enough. Christmas 1534, she became pregnant again, but when she miscarried, Henry considered a divorce. Nothing came of this consideration, and Anne became pregnant again. She also miscarried this child, but there are a few reports as to why. Some say she became angered at seeing Jane Seymour with her husband, and some say she became stressed about Henry's getting an injury. There are reports of a few more miscarried or stillborn children as well. Jane Seymour officially became Henry's mistress and was moved into royal chambers.

There arose a plot to remove Anne from her position as queen, as Henry wanted to marry Seymour now. Anne was eventually accused of treason - adultery and incest, and according to some sources, witchcraft. Anne was eventually arrested and taken to the Tower of London, where she was confused about what she had done wrong. During her trial she was accused of adultery with few men, including her brother - George Boleyn. Although she couldn't commit most of the crimes, because she was with her sister, no one believed her. She was found guilty and was scheduled for execution. She took a religious oath and swore she had never been unfaithful even though she had been accused of such, and on May 19th she was beheaded. According to different sources, Anne seemed scared while giving her final speech, but seemed carefree and even spiteful during the execution. She was killed with a sword.

## In SIX

Anne is portrayed in SIX as being immature, childish, and fun-loving, but her intelligent side is also shown, demonstrating that she isn't all that meets the eye. Her solo, *Don't Lose Ur Head*, details her early life, the details of her marriage to Henry VIII, and her eventual death. The musical says that she was killed due to adultery, although historically, it's unknown if this is true. Her ideal happy ending in *Six* is becoming a singer and songwriter for Shakespeare. She reprises *Don't Lose Ur Head* in *Megasix*.

### Portrayal History

**Original Edinburgh and Cambridge productions**

* Ashleigh Weir

**Original Off-West End production**

* Christina Modestou

**West End productions**

* Millie O’Connell (First West End production)
* Courtney Bowman (Second West End production)
* Amanda Lindgren (Third West End production)
* Baylie Carson (Fourth West End production)

**UK tours**

* Millie O’Connell (First UK tour)
* Maddison Bulleyment (Second and third UK tours)
* Jennifer Caldwell (Fourth UK tour)

**Broadway productions**

* Andrea Macasaet (First Broadway production)
* Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Second Broadway production)

**North American tours**

* Andrea Macasaet (First North American tour)
* Storm Lever (North American Aragon tour)
* Zan Berube (North American Boleyn tour)

**Bliss Cruise productions**

* Hazel Karooma-Brooker (First Bliss Cruise production)
* Lucy Aiston (Second Bliss Cruise production)
* L’Oréal Roache (Third Bliss Cruise production)
* Casey Esbin (Fourth Bliss Cruise production)
* Gianna Grosso (Fifth Bliss Cruise production)

**Breakaway Cruise productions**

* Kelly Sweeney (First Breakaway Cruise production)
* Liv Alexander (Second Breakaway Cruise production)
* Danielle Mendoza (Third Breakaway Cruise production)
* Jessie Bodner (Fourth Breakaway Cruise production)

**Australia/New Zealand tours**

* Kala Gare (First and second AUSNZ tours)

**South Korean productions**

* Kim Ji-woo (First South Korean production)
* Sophiya Pae (First South Korean production)
* Jennifer Caldwell (First South Korean production)

## Trivia

* She was Katherine Howard's cousin.
* She and Katherine Howard wear chokers as a reference to their beheadings.
* In the musical, Anne's 'queenspirations' were Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen.
* In an Instagram story, Toby Marlow stated that if Six were to be made into a movie, he would like either Billie Eilish or Jessie J to play Anne.
* It is said that she had a sixth finger, and while this isn't true, it's referenced in the show.
* It is also said that the song *Greensleeves* was written for her, but this was proven false, although she references it in the show.
	+ This might be why her theme color is green.
* She references the Spice Girls' song *Wannabe* in the show when she says "I'll tell you what you want, what you really really want...to know."
* Henry showed her act of "mercy" before her execution and instead of burning her alive on the stake he got an executioner from France to kill her without much pain.