Alternate History: What If Anne Boleyn Had a Son?

Henry VIII wanted a son and heir. In fact, he needed it. This wasn’t just Henry VIII’s opinion; it was the opinion of the country. At the time, no female had proven that she could rule the country well. There were too many uncertainties should Henry VIII die without a son.

He needed a way out of the marriage to Anne Boleyn, and an execution was better than a divorce at the time. There were still too many people who viewed Catherine of Aragon as the rightful queen, and it would have been dangerous for the protestant supporters to have Anne Boleyn still alive.

However, had she given birth of the heir that Henry VIII needed, he would have likely stuck with her. After all, look at how he treated Jane Seymour after her death. Jane was continuously in paintings and buried in Henry VIII’s own tomb.

The Seymour faction was growing in strength as the Boleyn faction started falling out of power. Anne’s inability to give birth to a son had a lot to do with this. If she gave birth to a son, it would have been likely that the Boleyn faction would have risen in power again. The Seymour faction and all those who were against the Boleyns would have struggled to gain favor with the king.

Henry VIII rewarded those who did well, in his eyes; and the birth to a son was the ultimate gift to him. Anne would have been rewarded for this, along with the rest of her family.

Jane would not have married the king when she did, if at all. It would have taken something drastic for the king to divorce or execute his wife now. That would mean his heir would become illegitimate and he’d be back to square one. However, he may have taken Jane on as a mistress. After all, he was rumored to have enough of them (whether these rumors were true, we will never know. There are only two confirmed mistresses).

It is likely that Anne would have had more children, or there would have at least been more pregnancies. Had she had miscarriages afterwards, Henry VIII would have probably not treated her the way he did with Catherine of Aragon. After all, she had successfully produced the heir that he needed. Anne would have had a little more leeway.

However, Henry would have wanted the “spare.” There would have certainly been many more attempts over the years, until her death. Some cynics could even suggest that she would face a similar fate as Elizabeth of York: finally succumbing to childbed fever or dying in childbirth in some other way.

Had she died before Henry, she would have likely gained Jane Seymour’s fate; buried in the tomb that Henry was planning for himself. This would certainly be likely had she had another boy at a later stage, especially if she died giving birth to that spare.

First of all, Elizabeth would have certainly remained a princess. She would have gotten to know her mother and may not have had the jaded view of love and life that Henry VIII gave her. It could have been a much happier childhood, and she would not have ended up in the Tower of London at the hands of an insecure half-sister, Mary.

Whether she would have become queen would depend on a few factors. The first would be whether Anne’s son lived long enough to marry and have children of his own. Then it would depend on whether there were “spares.” There are a lot of ifs and buts when it comes to Elizabeth’s future position as queen.

Even if she did become queen, she would not likely have been the Virgin Queen. It is likely that she would have married someone, especially if Anne had any say in it. She wouldn’t have developed the negative view of marriage seeing that her mother was still alive and the marriage was somewhat happy. That would have meant the Tudor line would have continued in some way, and England and Scotland would not have joined together in the way that they did.

Had Elizabeth not become queen, it is still likely the Tudor line would continue. Elizabeth not becoming queen would mean that her brother or a brother lived and had children of his own.

Well, Lady Jane Grey may not have been used as the political pawn that she was in real life. Maybe she would have been betrothed to Anne Boleyn’s son to keep the Tudor line untainted. There is a chance that George Boleyn would have favored something like this considering Jane’s protestant upbringing; and he most certainly would have become the Lord Protector for his nephew.

However, she may have been completely forgotten about. Jane’s mother, Frances, would have been raised with a dislike for Anne Boleyn considering her parents’ views. Anne would have likely preferred that her son marry someone else, maybe a princess from overseas, like Germany or the Netherlands; a protestant country at least.

One thing is for certain, Jane would not have likely faced the execution she did when Mary became queen.

Finally, there is one other who could easily be forgotten when wondering what if Anne Boleyn had a son. Mary, Queen of Scots, became a victim of Elizabeth I. While nothing would have changed Mary’s upbringing in France and her forced abdication in Scotland, she may have been treated better in England.

Having a male cousin around may have helped to prevent Catholics from trying to overthrow the king. This would have certainly been the case if this heir had children of his own, or there was spare that wasn’t Elizabeth.

Going back to the marriage idea, Anne Boleyn’s son may have even been betrothed to Mary, Queen of Scots. This could have prevented her upbringing in France and she could have been raised as a protestant. It may have even joined England and Scotland earlier! Anne may not have preferred this marriage, but it could have been the best option for the countries at the time.

I find it fascinating to look at points in history and wonder “what if.” The idea of Anne Boleyn having a boy has always fascinated me, and I often wonder what would have happened. I have a book that is set in this world and I can’t wait to start reading it. It’s part of a trilogy called The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen.

What do you think would have happened had Anne Boleyn had a boy?