For all of Henry's matrimonial trauma, he only succeeded to have one son, Edward, born of Jane Seymour in 1537. In fact, it is because of his complicated marital maneuvers that the next 25 years were fraught with difficulty. Rather than securing the peace of the kingdom, it actually did more harm than good. Jane died soon after because of complications of childbirth and was duly rewarded with the honour of being Henry's favourite wife. For two years, he remained a bachelor, but then married a foreign princess, Anne of Cleves. Sadly, Anne was not attractive to Henry and he annulled the marriage only a few months later. For this reason, she is considered the luckiest of Henry's wives and she did in fact survive Henry and all of his other wives as well. He then married Kathryn Howard, Anne Boleyn's cousin, yet it was discovered that the young and simple girl had indeed had affairs both before and after the marriage, and Henry had her executed. She lies beside Anne Boleyn in the Tower chapel to this day. Lastly, Henry married a woman who herself was twice married, Catherine Parr. Catherine was a motherly figure to Henry's three children, and did much to try to bring the fractured family together. She, too, narrowly escaped death, but Henry forgave her and died soon after, in 1547.

Henry's son Edward was only 9 or 10 when he became king, and his brief reign only lasted 6 years. However, because he was brought up in the Protestant faith, his reign saw the true beginnings of a separate Anglican Church. Catherine Parr married Jane Seymour's brother Thomas, and died giving birth to a daughter who didn't survive past infancy. Edward died in 1553, barring his sisters from the throne and preferring instead the Protestant Jane Grey. Lady Jane was an unwitting victim, and shortly after her "nine days" reign, was disposed and Mary was proclaimed the true queen. Lady Jane and her husband were beheaded a few years later.

Mary's reign was troubled, for she desperately wanted to restore the Catholic religion and have the Pope once again be the head of the church. Unfortunately for Mary, the country was too far gone in the Protestant faith, and while there were still many who agreed with her beliefs, there were also many that opposed her. Early in her reign, a revolt was staged with the design of making Elizabeth, a Protestant, queen. Mary never trusted Elizabeth and imprisoned her in the Tower, never able, however, to sign the death warrant. For Elizabeth, this must have brought back painful memories of the mother she barely knew, for she was only 3 years old when Anne Boleyn was executed. Mary also married the king of Spain, Phillip II, and this was not met with any support by her people. After over two hundred burnings of Protestant believers, Mary truly earned the reputation of "Bloody Mary."

Few mourned the death of Mary, and the people enthusiastically welcomed the Princess Elizabeth as their rightful queen. Elizabeth had the daunting task of trying to bring the two faiths together and establishing peace. She refused to marry, although she had many offers, and remained the "Virgin Queen" of legend. She defeated the Spanish Armada after the Spanish attacked England in retaliation for the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots; an act that Elizabeth very begrudgingly allowed. England triumphed under Elizabeth and she reigned for a very long 45 years. That she did so against all odds proves that she was indeed Anne Boleyn's daughter.

The Queen of Spades

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