Good Girl - Anne Boleyn

1501?–36

She was the woman behind the English Reformation, praised and vilified, whether or not she deserved it. Anne Boleyn was a person of faith and flaws who got in the middle of issues far bigger than she could control.

Growing up, she dazzled everyone. As she traveled throughout Europe with her diplomat father, people were impressed with Anne’s manners and maturity. Queens invited her to attend them. She served in the French court in her youth and later, fatefully, as an attendant to Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

In those days, fathers married off their daughters to broker deals or pay debts. Anne had one such engagement that was broken off, and there were a few other high-level courtships, but then the king himself took an interest in her.

King Henry wanted to divorce Catherine, and had some legal reasons to do so, but the reigning pope refused to annul the marriage. While this wrangling was going on, Henry was seriously courting Anne Boleyn, who appeared with him in public but reportedly deflected his sexual advances. Detractors claim that Anne was manipulating the king, but there are good reasons to believe that she was sincerely devout, trying to live a chaste life.

Everything changed in 1533. King Henry secretly married Anne, claimed control of the Church of England, got his handpicked archbishop to approve the divorce, and crowned Anne queen. That September, Anne bore him a daughter, Elizabeth. (The timing suggests that Anne was pregnant when they got married.)

In Anne’s three years as queen, she proved herself intelligent and politically astute. She also used her influence to support Protestant causes, especially Bible translation. But she failed to provide a male heir, and so the king was soon looking for a new queen. Sentenced to death on trumped-up charges, Anne was beheaded in May 1536. From the scaffold, her final speech ended, “I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord, have mercy on me! To God I commend my soul.”

The world can be an exciting and cruel place for any of us. It’s hard to stay true to God amid temptations of power and wealth. Like Anne, we all need the Lord’s mercy throughout our lives.

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God.

Titus 2:12