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30 Unforeseen Facts About Anne Boleyn

Trista February 11, 2019 14 min

21. Anne Boleyn’s Job Was to Have a Son

Elizabeth I, King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s daughter, prior to her accession, attributed to William Scrots. It was painted for her father, King Henry VIII, in circa 1546. Anne died when Elizabeth was only three years old. Wartburg/ Wikimedia Commons/ Public Domain.

When a king chose a queen, she wasn’t meant to rule with him. Instead, her job was merely to produce a male heir. Queen Anne’s child was a daughter. She became pregnant two more times but miscarried both. Her inability to provide him with a male heir was probably the leading factor in the king pursuing her distant cousin, Jane Seymour.