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Anne Boleyn was not considered particularly beautiful, but she had masses of lustrous dark hair, mischievous black eyes, a long, slender neck and a regal bearing. Most of all, she had a "way" about her that attracted the attention of several courtiers. She was clever, inventive, coquettish, sly, maddeningly elusive and strong-willed. She could be stubborn and self-centered, and was clearly manipulative enough to get her way, though Fate might have other ideas.
But the fact is, no matter how extraordinary she may have been, Anne would have been little more than a footnote in history if Catherine of Aragon had given birth to a son who lived.
Nearly all of Henry's conquests were transitory. He seemed to tire fairly quickly of his mistresses, though he generally treated them well. Such was the fate of Anne's sister, Mary Boleyn. Anne was different. She refused to go to bed with the king.
There are several possible reasons for her resistance. When Anne first came to the English court she had fallen in love with Henry Percy, whose engagement to another woman Cardinal Wolsey refused to allow him to break. (Anne never forgot this interference in her romance, and despised Wolsey from then on.) She may not have been attracted to Henry, and unwilling to compromise her virtue for him just because he wore a crown. She may also have held a real value on her purity, and have been unwilling to let it go without the sanctity of marriage.
The most common interpretation, and the most likely, is that Anne saw an opportunity and took it.
If Catherine had given Henry a healthy, surviving son, there is virtually no way he would have tried to set her aside. He may have cheated on her, but she would have been the mother of the future king, and as such deserving of his respect and support. As it was, Catherine was a very popular queen, and what was about to happen to her would not be easily accepted by the people of England.
Anne knew that Henry wanted a son and that Catherine was approaching the age where she could no longer bear children. If she held out for marriage, Anne could become queen and the mother of the prince Henry so fervently desired.
And so Anne said "No," which only made the king want her all the more.
Next: Henry in his Prime
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