The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading for treason, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation. Anne returned to England in early , to marry her cousin James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond ; the marriage plans were broken off, and instead, she secured a post at court as maid of honour to Henry VIII's wife, Catherine of Aragon.
Early in , Anne was secretly betrothed to Henry Percy , son of Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland , but the betrothal was broken off when the Earl refused to support it. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey refused the match in January She resisted his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, as her sister Mary had previously been.
Henry focused on annulling his marriage to Catherine, so he would be free to marry Anne. As a result, Henry and his advisers, such as Thomas Cromwell , began breaking the Church's power in England and closing the monasteries. Henry and Anne formally married on 25 January , after a secret wedding on 14 November Five days later, he declared Henry and Anne's marriage valid. Clement excommunicated Henry and Cranmer. As a result of the marriage and excommunications, the first break between the Church of England and the Catholic Church took place, and the King took control of the Church of England.
Anne was crowned queen on 1 June On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter, but hoped a son would follow and professed to love Elizabeth. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and by March , Henry was courting Jane Seymour. Henry had Anne investigated for high treason in April On 2 May, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London , where she was tried before a jury, including Henry Percy, her former betrothed, and her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
She was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later. Historians view the charges, which included adultery, incest with her brother George , and plotting to kill the King, as unconvincing. After her daughter, Elizabeth, became queen in , Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation , particularly through the works of George Wyatt.
