It’s common sense that they DID sleep together: who else could she have trusted to give her a son, if Henry wasn’t up to it, and to keep his mouth shut if his son became king. I don’t believe she slept with the others
There is absolutely NO evidence of them ever sleeping together, I don’t know where that piece of ‘common sense’ came from. I don’t believe that she slept with ANY of them, and that includes George.
Anne was deeply religious. I think the “common sense” would have placed George as not even on the list of men to sleep with in order to get a son. I would be very surprised if the thought to truly commit adultry even crossed her mind. If she used any special tricks to try and consieve a son I think it would be mostly in prayer….possibly though improbably in a tonic or something known to stimulate and help with conception. And then all that bogus eat more asparegus to get a son stuff. And my constant bafflement is why anyone would think the brother as the first choice. I myself have two older brothers and if I was in a position stressing about an heir,even if the risk was the ax, I would turn to them for support and comfort not anything sexual. Its distateful to even think it. and I am not even that religious compared to how staunch Anne and George were in theirs.
I think it’s important to remember that by the time Anne was having difficulty getting pregnant–or so it appeared–she had already lost many of her friends in court, and her powerful family no longer backed her. As a result, her brother may in fact have been the only person she could have turned to, even if she did not want to. Regardless of whether or not it is distasteful to think of, Anne and George were extremely close and Cromwell used that closeness to bring both of them down. Henry could not get rid of Anne in the same way he got rid of Catherine, for obvious reasons of pride and practicality, so Cromwell gave the king a key to rid himself of all the Boleyns as well as those close to them. On another note, Anne was fascinated by theology, but she was also a notorious flirt, so her ‘religiousness’ was not consistent, and the same could be said of her brother. We must remember that Catherine was religious, and I doubt that Henry would ever have dreamed of accusing her of adultery similar to that of Anne’s, implying of course, that there might have been some behavior that warranted that particular accusation. Food for thought.
I don’t believe it is “food for thought”, Anne’s behaviour was all part of the courtly love tradition, a tradition that Catherine of Aragon embraced early in her reign, we have got to look at the behaviour in context and to see it as something wrong is to completely misunderstand the courtly love tradition that was so important at court. If we are to take gossip/rumour as “food for thought” or believe the whole “no smoke without a fire” phrase then we’d have to believe that Catherine of Aragon was inappropriate with Fray Diego too because there was gossip about how close they were.
Yes Jane Perry & Brooke, I completely agree with you. The fact that the whole court was talking about their extreme closeness must mean something. People have better things to talk about apart from the Queens Brother coming into her rooms at “all hours of the night,” unless it meant something. Same thing goes with Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia’s relationship, they too were “extremely close” and the incest tag came on to them.
Oh the price some must pay from the evil of others who shove and push and lie to gain the favor of the King hoping for rewards.! I too feel extremely sorry for George Boleyn especially when you compare him with lets say, Jane Seymour’s brothers who were not wonderful people in their struggle to the top. George looks like this innocent little kid compared to them and yet all met the same fate. Where is the justice?
Hi Carolyn,
I wrote that answer about 18 months ago so I’ve updated it to reflect my current opinions based on my research. Although some historians believe that Jane confessed on the scaffold, there is no real primary source evidence of that or her being the one who provided the prosecution with evidence of incest.
No Anne Boleyn did not commit incest. Henry V111 had fallen in love with Jane Seymour. Also, Anne was not producing a male heir. He needed a reason that he could divorce her but it had to be a valid reason because he had changed the religion of the country in order to marry her. Therefore, he said that she commited incest.
I think it’s ridiculous to give any credence to the accusation that Anne and George slept together. It’s disgusting people even consider it to be true; moreover, why be on a site dedicated to find the truth and debunking evil rumors against Anne?
Cromwell and Henry VIII wanted and needed a way to get rid of Anne and she, like Katherine, was not the type to go down without a fight. Anne also was not popular at all with the English people in that time, they all basically hated her and wanted Henry to reunite with Katherine. To be able to permanently remove Anne from power without anyone doubting it, Cromwell had to bring his best weapons: Lies and the public hate for Anne.
So what if Anne and George were close and he visited her often? She needed someone around who she could trust and vent to, who better than her own blood? Just like she was accused of witchcraft. That was such a scandalous subject then so it was almost bullet proof to put that against her as well as incest and adultery. No one would want a incestuous cheating witch to live ergo she died. She confessed her innocence and died because that’s what Henry wanted, she obliged. She was also worried about her daughter, who knows what Henry or Cromwell would of done. Elizabeth could’ve been shut away half her life like Mary was. Anne knew that.
The only question is, is whether Henry knew of the grossness Cromwell did to get his wife out of the way.
Jane had everything to gain, but Anne was no saint after what she did to the reining queen, What goes around comes all the way back again… hahahahahaha
you know, thinking about it, It could possible. Anne knew that if she did not have a baby, she and likely her whole family would be gotten rid of by Henry. If she slept with George, the baby would look like them, so nobody would know that Henry was not the father. Self preservation makes people do strange things. Plus George would never tell that this happened. His life and his whole family may have also been at stake. I think the other men were likely innocent, unless they looked like Henry. That way she could pass off the baby as Henry’s baby. There was on dna tests in those days.
Yes, I always knew that they hadn’t slept together!!! I am ‘the most happy’ now! xxx
It’s common sense that they DID sleep together: who else could she have trusted to give her a son, if Henry wasn’t up to it, and to keep his mouth shut if his son became king. I don’t believe she slept with the others
There is absolutely NO evidence of them ever sleeping together, I don’t know where that piece of ‘common sense’ came from. I don’t believe that she slept with ANY of them, and that includes George.
Anne was deeply religious. I think the “common sense” would have placed George as not even on the list of men to sleep with in order to get a son. I would be very surprised if the thought to truly commit adultry even crossed her mind. If she used any special tricks to try and consieve a son I think it would be mostly in prayer….possibly though improbably in a tonic or something known to stimulate and help with conception. And then all that bogus eat more asparegus to get a son stuff. And my constant bafflement is why anyone would think the brother as the first choice. I myself have two older brothers and if I was in a position stressing about an heir,even if the risk was the ax, I would turn to them for support and comfort not anything sexual. Its distateful to even think it. and I am not even that religious compared to how staunch Anne and George were in theirs.
I think it’s important to remember that by the time Anne was having difficulty getting pregnant–or so it appeared–she had already lost many of her friends in court, and her powerful family no longer backed her. As a result, her brother may in fact have been the only person she could have turned to, even if she did not want to. Regardless of whether or not it is distasteful to think of, Anne and George were extremely close and Cromwell used that closeness to bring both of them down. Henry could not get rid of Anne in the same way he got rid of Catherine, for obvious reasons of pride and practicality, so Cromwell gave the king a key to rid himself of all the Boleyns as well as those close to them. On another note, Anne was fascinated by theology, but she was also a notorious flirt, so her ‘religiousness’ was not consistent, and the same could be said of her brother. We must remember that Catherine was religious, and I doubt that Henry would ever have dreamed of accusing her of adultery similar to that of Anne’s, implying of course, that there might have been some behavior that warranted that particular accusation. Food for thought.
I don’t believe it is “food for thought”, Anne’s behaviour was all part of the courtly love tradition, a tradition that Catherine of Aragon embraced early in her reign, we have got to look at the behaviour in context and to see it as something wrong is to completely misunderstand the courtly love tradition that was so important at court. If we are to take gossip/rumour as “food for thought” or believe the whole “no smoke without a fire” phrase then we’d have to believe that Catherine of Aragon was inappropriate with Fray Diego too because there was gossip about how close they were.
Yes Jane Perry & Brooke, I completely agree with you. The fact that the whole court was talking about their extreme closeness must mean something. People have better things to talk about apart from the Queens Brother coming into her rooms at “all hours of the night,” unless it meant something. Same thing goes with Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia’s relationship, they too were “extremely close” and the incest tag came on to them.
she never did get ‘repregnant’
i feel so sorry for george and anne!!!!!!
Oh the price some must pay from the evil of others who shove and push and lie to gain the favor of the King hoping for rewards.! I too feel extremely sorry for George Boleyn especially when you compare him with lets say, Jane Seymour’s brothers who were not wonderful people in their struggle to the top. George looks like this innocent little kid compared to them and yet all met the same fate. Where is the justice?
David, Never said it better!!!! THX Baroness
“Before her execution, in the whole Catherine Howard affair, Jane Parker recanted her testimony and confessed to having lied about George and Anne.”
This isn’t true; it was just a rumor that became very widespread.
Hi Carolyn,
I wrote that answer about 18 months ago so I’ve updated it to reflect my current opinions based on my research. Although some historians believe that Jane confessed on the scaffold, there is no real primary source evidence of that or her being the one who provided the prosecution with evidence of incest.
No Anne Boleyn did not commit incest. Henry V111 had fallen in love with Jane Seymour. Also, Anne was not producing a male heir. He needed a reason that he could divorce her but it had to be a valid reason because he had changed the religion of the country in order to marry her. Therefore, he said that she commited incest.
Thats rubbish,mean and a cruel acusation agains,Queen Anne and George!!!!!!
I think it’s ridiculous to give any credence to the accusation that Anne and George slept together. It’s disgusting people even consider it to be true; moreover, why be on a site dedicated to find the truth and debunking evil rumors against Anne?
Cromwell and Henry VIII wanted and needed a way to get rid of Anne and she, like Katherine, was not the type to go down without a fight. Anne also was not popular at all with the English people in that time, they all basically hated her and wanted Henry to reunite with Katherine. To be able to permanently remove Anne from power without anyone doubting it, Cromwell had to bring his best weapons: Lies and the public hate for Anne.
So what if Anne and George were close and he visited her often? She needed someone around who she could trust and vent to, who better than her own blood? Just like she was accused of witchcraft. That was such a scandalous subject then so it was almost bullet proof to put that against her as well as incest and adultery. No one would want a incestuous cheating witch to live ergo she died. She confessed her innocence and died because that’s what Henry wanted, she obliged. She was also worried about her daughter, who knows what Henry or Cromwell would of done. Elizabeth could’ve been shut away half her life like Mary was. Anne knew that.
The only question is, is whether Henry knew of the grossness Cromwell did to get his wife out of the way.
Jane had everything to gain, but Anne was no saint after what she did to the reining queen, What goes around comes all the way back again… hahahahahaha
you know, thinking about it, It could possible. Anne knew that if she did not have a baby, she and likely her whole family would be gotten rid of by Henry. If she slept with George, the baby would look like them, so nobody would know that Henry was not the father. Self preservation makes people do strange things. Plus George would never tell that this happened. His life and his whole family may have also been at stake. I think the other men were likely innocent, unless they looked like Henry. That way she could pass off the baby as Henry’s baby. There was on dna tests in those days.