"there's just no one who comes closer to actually being daenerys than you" - anonymous
"Bigoted reverse racist Dany stan" - Emily
→ 19th May 1536: Anne Boleyn is beheaded at king Henry VIII’s command under false accusations
And in the writing of this she sent for me, and at my coming she said, ‘Mr. Kingston, I hear I shall not die afore noon, and I am very sorry therefore, for I thought to be dead by this time and past my pain.’ I told her it should be no pain, it was so little. And then she said, ‘I heard say the executioner was very good, and I have a little neck,’ and then put her hands about it, laughing heartily. I have seen many men and also women executed, and that they have been in great sorrow, and to my knowledge this lady has much joy in death. Sir, her almoner is continually with her, and had been since two o’clock after midnight - Sir William Kingston
- 1 wife/1 scene/1 episode → Anne Boleyn (episode 6, season 2)
- 1 wife/1 scene/1 episode → Anne Boleyn (episode 5, season 1)
Anne really influenced the world, behind closed doors, but she’s given no explicit credit because she wasn’t protected. Let’s not forget, too, that history was written by men. And even now, in our post-feminist era we still have women struggle in public positions of power. When you read a history book, both the commentary and the first hand primary evidence, all the natural gender prejudices during the period will certainly be there. Anne was that rare phenomenon, a self-made woman. But then, this became her demise. The machinations of court were an absolute minefield for women. And she was a challenging personality, who wouldn’t be quiet and shut up when she had something to say […] I wanted to show that she was a human being, a young woman placed in a really difficult and awful situation, manipulated by her father, the king, and circumstances, but that she was also feisty and interesting and had a point of view and tried to use her powers to advance what she believed in. And I wanted people to live with her, to live through her. To see her. Natalie Dormer [x]
Men still have trouble recognizing that a woman can be complex, can have ambition, good looks, sexuality, erudition, and common sense. A woman can have all those facets, and yet men, in literature and in drama, seem to need to simplify women, to polarize us as either the whore or the angel. That sensibility is prevalent, even to this day.
I had to reconcile the real person and the character of Anne Boleyn as created in the text. For the actor, the text is your bible. You can try to put a spin on the nuances, but in the end our job is to be the vehicle of the text. But I got tired of flying the flag of Showtime in interviews, [justifying the show’s sexuality and inaccuracies] when in the pit of my stomach, I agreed wholly with what the interviewer was saying to me. I lost many hours of sleep, and actually shed tears during my portrayal of her, trying to inject historical truth into the script, trying to do right by this woman that I had read so much about. It was a constant struggle, because the original script had that tendency to polarize women into saint and whore. It wasn’t deliberate, but it was there.
I begged Michael Hirst to do it right in the second [season]. He listened to me because he knew I knew my history. And I remember saying to him: `Throw everything you’ve got at me. Promise me you’ll do that. I can do it. The politics, the religion, the personal stuff, throw everything you’ve got at me. I can take it.’ I wanted to show that she was a human being, a young woman placed in a really difficult and awful situation, manipulated by her father, the king, and circumstances, but that she was also feisty and interesting and had a point of view and tried to use her powers to advance what she believed in. And I wanted people to live with her, to live through her. To see her.
"Tudor Women of History → Anne Boleyn
Anne is most commonly known as the beheaded wife of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. Anne is generally a person Hollywood tries to make an unlikable figure. In truth, Anne was a kind woman with morals. For quite the while, it was thought Henry near stalked Anne and there was possible sexual harassment involved. Anne came to marry Henry in secret, raising huge controversy. Sooner than later, Anne birthed her first child, Elizabeth. She continued trying to conceive with the King only to keep failing. Henry grew tired of Anne and her inability to conceive a son. He also found a new woman. Henry placed false charges of treason against Anne in adultery, incest and witchcraft. Anne was sentenced and soon after, beheaded at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536.
Fun Fact: There are many supposed portraits of Anne, but they all look like different women. It is most likely that Anne’s true portrait is the Hever Castle portrait based off physical descriptions of Anne.
Natalie Dormer in 100 flawless pictures (13/100)
