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Anne had arrived indeed. She had been back in England for only a few weeks. But she had taken, as of right, a position at the centre of Henry VIII’s court. She would never leave it. • David Starkey

Queen Anne’s Women • The Female Family of Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was, in the words of her biographer Eric Ives, “a woman taken on her own terms in a man’s world,” and popular culture often defines her by her relationships to men. There we see her as the daughter, sister, and niece of ambitious and cunning courtiers–the seductress/mistress/eventual wife of the king–the mother of a stillborn son.

Yet Anne was quite close to many of her female relatives as well. These women, and their significance to Anne, are frequently twisted, minimized, or even erased in popular depictions of her life–but they were as much a part of her inner circle as their male counterparts, serving as friends, confidantes, and supporters of her cause. Many of them lost not only a dear loved one but also an advocate at court when Anne was killed in 1536.

While it’s true that Anne spent her life among powerful men, she was also surrounded by women she loved and trusted, women who loved and admired her in return. One of them, the little daughter in whom she took such great pride, would go on to become one of the greatest monarchs in English history.