Bill1978 said:

I guess Henry was too blinded by Anne's 'guarantee' of a son, to notice her personality. LOL

 

Um, no. Yeah Anne probably did say she could give him a son, and why would she think else? She was still young and her sister had a healthy son so she probably thought why couldn't she be able to produce a son?     Anyways, with all the fighting and making up so often Henry certainly did notice her personality and like Sharon said, Henry knew Anne better than anyone…the man spent years and years courting her and being with her so no, Henry wasn't 'blinded' by the son thing to notice the real Anne.

It seems Anne's personality only became an issue with Henry was when he tired of her, not before. He wanted Anne to be his wife, and was willing to look beyond her faults when they were courting. Ives notes that Anne was noted for her kindess toward the poor and members of her familiy. However, when Anne fell through on her promise of a son, Anne became an obstacle, not before. 

Did Henry and Anne have volatile relationship? Absolutely. Could Anne be a difficult person? Of course, but so can I when I am peeved off. Was Anne perfect? No, but neither was Henry nor his syncophants. But, none of that mattered. In the end, Anne could have been the meek, mild, subjugated wife Henry wanted, but without a son, she would have been put aside. It's not Anne's personality that should be under consideration. Rather, how the divisive politics of Henrician court lead to a woman's downfall, cloaked in a disguise of lies and innuendo. Regardless, I lay the blame for Anne's downfall at Henry's feet. Not Cromwell, the Seymours, or Anne herself. Henry moved heaven and earth to marry Anne, but equally, he would stop at nothing to destroy her in the end.

I agree with Sharon. The sheer desire to blacken Anne's name is overkill. If one takes these sources as fact, Anne was the biggest bitch to ever walk the earth. If true, no matter how sexy, witty, or intelligent she was, no man (or woman) would put up with her. Oh, of course, she was a witch, so she bewitched Henry, who was oblivious to her rotten personality (read as sarcasm)!

Not sure what you meant about Anne being a ruling Queen.  She did not rule.  If you mean she and Henry discussed everything, that's more than likely true.  Her enemies didn't like that at all.  Henry wants a new wife.  He wants a son, and he decides Anne isn't going to give him one.  The rest of the crew want the king's ear.  They all come to the conclusion that Anne must go.  As well as killing her, they destroyed the woman she was and left her reputation in tatters.

That's exactly what I meant. I should have been clearer and probably pur ruling in inverted commas to signify that I was viewing that term from the men who didn't like Anne having the king's ear.

I guess Henry was too blinded by Anne's 'guarantee' of a son, to notice her personality. LOL

 

Um, no. Yeah Anne probably did say she could give him a son, and why would she think else? She was still young and her sister had a healthy son so she probably thought why couldn't she be able to produce a son?     Anyways, with all the fighting and making up so often Henry certainly did notice her personality and like Sharon said, Henry knew Anne better than anyone…the man spent years and years courting her and being with her so no, Henry wasn't 'blinded' by the son thing to notice the real Anne.

It was meant to be a light hearted joke aimed at Henry's ego hence the inverted commas and the LOL. It wasn't a serious comment on Anne ever saying she would give Henry a son, or an attack on Anne's personality. Clearly I need to work on my humour or not even joke ever about Anne.

It's amazing how many misinformed people there are. In truth however, hardly anything annoying has been said to me about Anne because hardly anyone around me has heard of her. The only thing I recall is that one girl in my history class who was arguing with me because she was 'certain' the Princess Mary was the daughter of Anne Boleyn….

However, with Henry VIII it is a different story. Many think of him as an old 'pedophile' who changed his wives as often as he ate and then killed them. My own dad even admitted that he had no idea why a “disgusting old man” is such an interesting historical figure to me. When I said to him that Henry was not always so and that “when he came to the throne at the age of eighteen he was a young, handsome, athletic, king” he rolled his eyes and said that it was all a romantic notion, my 'teenage fantasy'. I was more amused than annoyed, my dad was never that into history anyway. Now, I do not sympathize with Henry for the most part but thinking more about my dad's comments makes me wish people were more open minded, not only about Henry VIII but famous historical figures in general.

Please don't, Louise, We'd all miss you!

Louise said:

When I tell people I’m interested in Anne and George Boleyn and then go on to explain that he was the brother accused of incest with her, invariably I’m asked if they were guilty. I could lose the will to live!

Louise, we all need you around. You are George's advocate, and if he were alive, he's appreciate your constant support and dedication to his cause.If you change one person's view of George, you've done your job.

Thanks, Duchess and Anyanka.

I think peoples views of George are gradually changing due to sites like this and the work of people like Claire, because with the best will in the world, I would find it difficult to get my views across without her and her wonderful site.

One of the most annoying things someone has said about Anne was Weir when, in her Mary Boleyn biography, she denergrated Anne Boleyn based sites to mere 'fan clubs'. I wonder if she's ever taken the time to read Claire's site in detail, because if so then she would realise how inaccurate and patronising that comment was.    

The fact that people who have been dead for nearly 500 years inspire us is a good thing. I'd rather my 2 daughters were fans of Anne than some vaccous pop-singer whose only talent is for attracting the wrong kind of fame.

And I'll wear “FanGrrll” badge with pride.

I think the ABFiles is the place to be if you want to learn the truth about all aspects of Tudor England.  She is very good at pulling assumptions out of thin air.  If Weir wants to call it a fan club, that's fine with me; but I think she should bring her own self over here. Think of all she could learn. Proper referencing, for example.  She might even pick up a few tidbits about fairness to all of the Tudor characters.