No woman had yet ruled in her own right, either in England or in any
prominent kingdom of Europe, and Henry was anxious to have a son to
succeed him. He could not bear the thought of being disappointed; in
fact he sent the Duke of Buckingham to the block for casually saying,
that if the King died without issue, he should consider himself
entitled to receive the crown.
It was while meditating this question of the succession, that Henry
became attached to Anne Boleyn, one of the Queen's maids of honor; she
was a sprightly brunette of nineteen, with long black hair and
strikingly beautiful eyes.
The light that shone in those eyes, though hardly that "Gospel light"
which the poet calls it,[1] was yet bright enough to effectually clear
up all difficulties in the royal mind. The King now declared that he
felt conscientiously moved to obtain a divorce from his old wife, and
to marry a new one. In that determination lay most momentous
consequences, since it finally separated England from the jurisdiction
of the Church of Rome.
[1] "When love could teach a monarch to be wise,
And Gospel light first dawned from Bullen's [Boleyn's] eyes."
--Gray.