Anne Boleyn and Freemasonry

Anne Boleyn was Queen consort of England from 1533-1536, and the second of Henry VIII's six wives. Her time in the King's court was tumultuous and, as most know, did not end well… unless you were King Henry who probably thought the ending was just peachy. The events of her reign and demise are filled with swirling speculation and likely no one will ever know the full story. But there is one thing about it that may be easier to conclude: she may have had a significant and lasting effect on our gentle craft.

Anne was born in about 1504, to well-to-do parents in Kent, a seacoast county southeast of London. When she was about 18 she parlayed her family's status into securing a position as a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife.

King Henry, a man with a roving eye and a stable of mistresses to prove it, chased after her but the crafty gal put a stop to his advances telling him, "I will be nothing less than queen." This caused a problem for Henry because… he already had a queen… and you're only allowed one, especially under the strict rules of the Catholic Church, with its pesky rule against divorce.

Henry became increasingly infatuated with the forbidden fruit that was young Anne and was upset by the fact that, in 24 years of marriage, Catherine had not given him a male heir. How to solve what many were calling "the king's problem?" Well, he decided his marriage to Catherine, who happened to be his brother's former wife, was "blighted by God," and he petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment.

Long story short, the pope said no. So Henry formed the Church of England and, not surprisingly, appointed himself to be its Supreme Head. The pope excommunicated Henry but – no problem – he had his own church. This paved the way for dumping Catherine and in 1533 the 42-year-old king finally married Anne who by now was in her mid-to-late twenties. Anne quickly had a child. Unfortunately for her, a girl… Elizabeth… who eventually became queen.

Anne, like Catherine, was male-child-challenged, which dampened King Henry's infatuation with her. On top of that, a guy named Henry Norris became smitten with the queen, who was overheard telling him, "Look to dead men's shoes for if ought came to the king but good you would look to have me."

Speaking of the king's death was considered treason. Henry accused Anne of being a traitor and used other innuendo and rumors to pile on charges of incest and adultery. After three years of marriage, he had Anne executed and moved on to Jane Seymour in his unsuccessful quest for a male heir.

So what does all this have to do with the Freemasons? Well, when Henry formed the Church of England, the Catholic church obviously stopped expanding there. Henry stopped building or expanding cathedrals, convents and monasteries. The market for stone masons dried up. Under those circumstances, what's a skilled stone mason to do? You're either out of work or you, "travel in foreign countries, receive Master's wages, and be thereby the better enabled to support yourself and family, and contribute to the relief of distressed worthy Brother Master Masons, their widows and orphans."

This put operative lodges in an uncomfortable position. Some think this situation may have contributed to the lodges, for survival, to begin opening their doors to speculative Freemasonry.

It is possible then, had Anne Boleyn never come along, and the Reformation never happened or been delayed, the movement to speculative Freemasonry would also have been delayed.

Now, this is just food for thought. Don't overthink it. And for God's sake, don't lose your head over it… like Anne did.