I saw this interesting question over the weekend and had a good think about it…….

I get a feeling we have been/are protesting Anne Boleyn’s innocence for approx. 500 years. Why are we not as fascinated about KoA or any other of henry’s wives? How about Catherine Howard – no one seems to be protesting her innocence 500 years later…..I think that’s why we’re so intrigued with Anne Boleyn – from all the posts I’ve read and how I feel about Anne Boleyn as each day goes on and new discoveries are made, it’s a passion of a protest that we are here on this site, every day, checking things out, wanting answers. And we all seem to agree king henry was a sicko, narcissist, megalomaniac; we are all on the same page.

Anne Boleyn seems to be a strong character, was extremely well blessed and educated, she chose to challenge henry on many things, stood up to him, maybe even looked down on him towards the end, but still, that is no excuse for terminating an amazing life ‘just because you are a king and can do whatever pleases.’

Claire Ridgeway herself would not have made this website and be where she is today if it wasn’t for her dream being with the crowd on Anne Boleyn’s execution day – why didn’t Claire have this dream but with Catherine Howard?

I believe we are fascinated with Anne Boleyn because she was innocent.

Actually Kaz does have a point. It does seem as if no one does champion K.H, the way we all champion Anne.
Anne we all believe was whole innocent a victim of one man’s spite (Lard Arse) and another man’s greed (Cromwell).
I think it’s because K.H was in part guilty of the crimes that she had been accused of.
She did have a sexual relationship with Dereham, she had a flirtatious relationship, with Mannox, this took the form of furtive gropings, and in my opinion possibly anal sex.
Culpepper’s relationship (loosely worded) I believe was nothing more than just a game of courtly love which went a little beyond the excepted norm of things (I don’t believe they had sex, but we do know that the intentions were there)
K.H showed a lack of prudence when dealing with people, and as a result laid herself open to all those who sought to use her to get what they wanted (I.e Power and Money)
She was a young teen with a child’s mind, running into danger and not caring what the conquences of her actions would do. Lard Arse was enchanted by her because she was to him life loving free spirit, perhaps she reminded him of what Anne was when he was courting her.
K.H doesn’t seem to instill the outrage and sheer disgust that I feel about the false accuations levelled at Anne and being railroaded to death, by a man who had moved heaven and earth for her only to turn around and murder her because.. basically he was a fat smelly useless GIT.
K.H instills my pity and in some respects my anger, but really to do with the way she had been brought up, I rather think that although the Duchess did what was required of her ie feed and clothe her she didn’t do what she should have done to fit K.H into the staid and very hostile dog eat dog world of what was court life.
I feel that poor K.H was a defenceless little child who was thrown to a pack of hungry wolves who devoured her with neither grace or gravy If she had, had the proper education to deal with court life I think she would have been successful, she made some very bad decisions and they cost her dear. Lady Jane Rochford tried her best to warn K.H about her erratic and thoughless behaviour, and I rather think that at times K.H could be rather petulant and annoyed by Jane trying to tell what she should and shouldn’t do. Typical teenager, the more you tell them not to do something the more determined they are to do it just to spite you.
When K.H’s make believe world came crashing down around her ears, she hadn’t got a clue on how to save herself and hoped that 1. if she blamed Jane for her mistakes that Jane would be the one who would suffer for them. and 2 that she would still be Queen and that Henry would forgive her because she was young and pretty. She soon discovered however that all that glittered was not gold and those who she thought were her freinds were in fact her bitterest enemies, who would be happy to sacrifice her to save their own worthless lives.. Poor Katherine, the silly little empty head hadn’t got a chance. She was a kind hearted (too kind hearted) soul who thought that nothing or nobody could ever harm her, and put her trust in one man’s hands. Lard Arse and he betrayed her in the cruelist possible way..

RE SteveJ’s post – KoA’s story is sad, yes, her first husband died and then she had to marry henry, and just because henry went mental-obsessed with Anne, decided to throw KoA out of court. That’s pretty bad, yes. But henry spared her life.

But it’s so strange how henry’s brain worked – why didn’t he let Anne Boleyn live just like he did with KoA?? Both ladies were highly religious and both had daughters to him. Was it maybe because KoA was henry’s brother’s wife and somehow henry didn’t want to kill his brother’s wife? Strange sick man that one.

Re Boleyn’s post – that’s the beauty of innocence isn’t it, a happy world where the people closest to you are your friends. So true about the dog-eat-dog court life. I read in ‘The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn’ book that Ives describes court life as innocent people with good morals and values initially walking into court life only to be ruined, pretty much. For what? So you have the ‘privilege’ of wiping the king’s bum after he does a poo??? LOL!!!!!!! Seriously, I had no idea that was such a privileged job to have – did those people hear themselves back then??? “I am awesome because I get to wipe the king’s bum”…….yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, I’m getting off subject again. Yes, agree that KoA’s life was just as sad (but at least she died a natural death although without a crown), and KH I agree was an innocent child in an ugly court scenario yes, well said to both.

Kind regards.

I’m sure that even lard Arse could manage to wipe his own bottom, if he was given a set of instructions and compass.
I agree Steve K.O.A couldn’t be executed even if Lard Arse had wanted to. Henry would have had an almighty Holy war come down on him like a tonne of bricks if he had, not to mention serious trouble at home too.
Lard Arse in my opinion was a complete coward. He could bully, boss and chop up his own subjects but when it came to the forgien powers he shook in boots and hid away in a dark corner, blaming everyone else for his screw ups.
What makes me laugh with old Lard Arse, that he made such a big thing out of his French campaigns and yet acheived very little to nothing over there anyway. Ok he took a couple of French towns, but when he discovered that they were ultimately more trouble than they worth he sold them back to France. Yeah he got some money for them but the money he got was a lot less then he had shelled out to get them in the first place, so he was running at a loss anyway.
The Battle of the spurs was another of Henry’s failures, it was so called because Lard Arse had said that the French army who had come to take them on took one look at the English army turned tail and ran away. Rubbish if the French army were ordered to fight for King and Country they would have done, you may get one or 2 cowards who ran away from the field of battle, but not a whole army no way?
K.O.A on the other hand outshone Lard Arse’s French farces by a long margin. Flodden. need I say more.
Lard Arse was all bluster and ballast. I love to see Dr Dave take him on, I’m sure he would soon have Lard Arse crying for his mummy and wetting his hose, when Dr Dave blew Lard arse’s perfect vision of himself apart.
As long as I can give Lard Arse a swift kick somewhere with a steel capped boot I’ll be happy.

Very true Steve. if it wasn’t for Henry’s disasterious Marital history Henry would just have been the 8th of the name of kings called Henry.
In short he sat on throne stinking the whole place out and sulked or threw a paddy when things didn’t go right for him.
I rather think that Febreeze would have a hard job combatting Henry’s stink.

Oops sorry, I totally forgot KoA was super duper well connected (I just see people at the top as ‘the people at the top’ and that’s it) but yes, KoA did have huge connections – it was a whole country! Maybe that’s also why henry decided to marry Anne Boleyn – and it would fit very nicely if he was a cowardly figure – “I’ll take this innocent young lady as my wife, and she is a commoner, so she’ll be no harm to me!”….couldn’t even marry his own ‘size’….it’s all starting to make sense……

That’s disgusting about having ‘private time’ with the king in the toilet of all places…..thank God they invented offices now, LOL!!!!!! Ewwwww stinky stinky!!! I think I’d suffocate.