Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Lady Elizabeth Howard. She eventually became maid of honor to Queen Catherine of Aragon. In 1524, she was pursued by Henry VIII but she had no plans of being a mistress to the King as her sister Mary had already been his mistress. Henry VIII then decided to annul his marriage to Catherine so that he could wed Anne Boleyn. Pope Clement VII refused and the Catholic Church steadily began losing power in England as Henry sought to do whatever it took to marry Anne.
In 1533, the pair married publicly and a newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry’s married to Catherine invalid while his marriage to Anne was valid. In response, the Pope had both Henry and Cranmer excommunicated. This separated the Church of England from Rome and placed it under the control of Henry. Anne gave birth to a daughter in 1533 which disappointed Henry. After three subsequent miscarriages, Henry began courting Jane Seymour and sought to find a way to marry her.
In 1536 he had Anne investigated for high treason. She was arrested on May 2, 1536 and send to the Tower of London. She was put on trial before a jury of her peers (including her former betrothed and her uncle) and she was found guilty. Her time in the Tower of London was quite brief as the trial was short and she was found guilty on May 15th. Four days after her guilty verdict she was beheaded.
Today it is largely believed that the charges against her were not convincing. She was accused of adultery, incest and plots against the King but there is little evidence to suggest she was guilty of any of these. However, her daughter Elizabeth would eventually take the throne as Queen and Anne would be venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation.