She had long dark hair and beautiful, expressive dark, almost black eyes. It seems highly likely that although Anne was not beautiful in a conventional 16th century way, she was most certainly charming, sexy, sophisticated, witty, elegant, stylish and intelligent.
But what did Anne Boleyn actually look like? What we know for sure comes from the contemporary depictions we have of her. We know, for instance, that she was rather tall by sixteenth-century standards, that she had black hair and brown eyes, and an oval face and olive skin.
Anne's eyes were sparkling and expressive and, according to her contemporary biographer Lancelot De Carles, she knew how to "use [them] with effect." Anne was of medium height, not full-breasted nor full-figured but she did have a long elegant neck that was praised by her admirers.
All the surviving portraits of Anne were created after her death, usually as part of portrait sets of English monarchs. They probably derive from a lost contemporary portrait and conform to descriptions of Anne's long neck and dark eyes, and depict her wearing a distinctive necklace with a pendant letter 'B'.
Sister's rise to power
Anne achieved considerable popularity at court, although the sisters already moved in different circles and were not thought to have been particularly close. Although Mary was said to have been more attractive than her sister, Anne seems to have been more ambitious and intelligent.
Katherine, six years Henry's senior, was considered beautiful, and shared a love of display and finery with her husband. She and Henry rode and hunted together, and he trusted her completely. For many years they were a happy and devoted couple and a powerful political team.
Hollywood has continually given Anne fair, pale skin and dark hair. However, from the scant evidence we have, it seems more likely that Anne had auburn hair, and her contemporaries described her as having a "swarthy" or "dark" complexion, which may have meant she had an olive skin tone.
Therefore, we can gather from the evidence that Anne was slim, of dark complexion, with a long oval face and high cheekbones. She had long dark hair and beautiful, expressive dark, almost black eyes.
And the closest match to the medal is a portrait that has been long-dismissed as being a true likeness: the Nidd Hall portrait. Research on the subject is not complete, but the association is very interesting. The Nidd Hall portrait isn't flattering.
She had only been queen for approximately 1,000 days
Anne suffered several miscarriages, the last of which was believed to be a boy. Rumours of witchcraft began to swirl after gossip claimed that the fetus was hideously deformed.
… Henry VIII wrote Greensleeves for noblewoman Anne Boleyn, who wore green sleeves to show she was a gardener, to hide her scarred arms, and to show she was doing a bit of prostitution on the side; … the TV series The Tudors was a faithful historical documentary; …
Henry and Catherine Carey were the children of Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister who was Henry's mistress in the early 1520s. Henry never acknowledged them as his own, and Mary's husband, William Carey, was recognised as their father at the time.
Eustace Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador, described Jane "of middle stature and no great beauty." Apparently, her beautiful, pale complexion was not enough to offset her large nose, small eyes and compressed lips.
Anne was known to have been dark. Simon Grynee, professor of Greek at Basle, stated that her complexion was 'rather dark', while Thomas Wyatt's 'Brunet' in his poetry could perhaps refer to Anne. Cardinal Wolsey disparagingly called her 'the night crow'.
It is a fictionalised account of the lives of 16th-century aristocrats Mary Boleyn, one-time mistress of King Henry VIII, and her sister, Anne, who became the monarch's ill-fated second wife, though the film does not represent history accurately.
Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister, is the 12 great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. Although it was Anne, not Mary that became the Queen Consort of Henry VIII and bore him an heir who became Queen Elizabeth I, there is no direct descent between Anne and Elizabeth II because Elizabeth I had no children.
Execution and Burial
On 19 May 1536, Anne was beheaded on Tower Green. She protested her innocence until the last, but her final reported words were uncontroversial, “I am come hither to die, for according to the law and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it …
Kings Henry II, Henry III, and Edward I of England are in her ancestry tree! Anne's French heritage includes such famous rulers as Philippe II of France Augustus and Charles V of France! Moreover, the great Charlemagne was Anne's ancestor on both maternal and paternal sides!
King Henry VIII of Great Britain, as well as his daughter Elizabeth I, had red hair. Traditionally, the Biblical King David and Mary Magdalene are depicted as having red hair. People with red hair have a higher pain threshold.
Actress Jane Seymour has one brown eye and one green one.
What a Lovely War." Seymour is 67 and is still acting in movies and TV. She currently appears on the sitcom "Let's Get Physical."
Appearance: Frustratingly we do not even know what Mary Boleyn looked like. She was believed to have been the prettier of the two Boleyn sisters, probably taking after her mother whom was known to have been a beauty. Unfortunately, there are no surviving authenticated portraits of Mary.
Anne of Cleves was Henry VIII's wife for just six months, making her the shortest reigning of all his queens. She is often dismissed as the 'ugly wife', little more than a blip in the history of England's most-married monarch.
The last of Henry VIII wives was Katherine Parr, who he married in July 1543. She proved to be a kind wife who looked after Henry in his sickness, and a good stepmother to the king's three children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. Katherine had many ties to the royal family from a young age.
Anne's innocence and Henry's impatience, combined with his apparently intermittent impotence, meant the marriage was not consummated. Henry persisted for four nights before blaming Anne's unattractive physical appearance for his failure to 'do his duty'. The marriage was annulled after six months.
He was tall, robust, handsome and athletic. Yet when the infamous King died on 28th January 1547 he weighed about 178kg and had a waist measurement of 52 inches and a chest measurement of about 53 inches. So how did this decline in Henry VIII's physical appearance happen?