On this day – January 25th

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn

Born into the family of a trusted confidant and diplomatist of Henry VII , Anne spent her early life as a lady in waiting to Archduchess Margaret and Queen Claude of France, before making her first appearance at court in 1522. Her expected marriage to the Earl of Ormonde fell through, and her next suitor, Henry Percy, was prevented from marrying her by his father and by the intervention of Cardinal Wolsey – possibly as she had come to Henry VIII's attention by this time, though she moved seamlessly to a probably platonic affair with the poet Thomas Wyatt when Percy faded from her world.

Mary Boleyn, Anne's older sister, had become another in a long line of mistresses to Henry VIII , and some are inclined to believe he fathered her two children – they were certainly well cared for when her husband died. When Henry began overtly courting her, probably in 1526, though it may have been earlier than this, Anne had learned from her sister's treatment, and she refused to be bedded by Henry.

In 1527 Henry, partly spurred on by lust, partly by the failure of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to produce a son, began to investigate the annulment of that marriage. Pope Clement VII dragged his feet, a stance made stronger by Charles V, Catherine's nephew, having the Pope in his grasp. Wolsey's failure to obtain the annulment led to his dismissal.

On September 1532 Anne was made Marquess of Pembroke, the first female commoner to be accorded such an honour in her own right. That winter talks in Calais with Francois I ended with an agreement to support Henry against the Pope's authority as regards the annulment. At roughly the same time Anne and Henry finally became lovers, and by December it was clear she was with child.

On January 25th 1533 Henry married Anne in London, though he had not yet officially ended his union with Catherine. A rather grander ceremony was held on June 1, when Anne was crowned as Queen of England. After years of waiting Anne was Henry's lover and wife; Anne was already conveniently pregnant, surely with the long awaited son and heir. What could go wrong?

Today's question is – where did the marriage of Henry and Anne take place?

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