Anne Boleyn (1501/1507-19 May 1536) was the second wife of Henry VIII of England and the mother of Elizabeth I of England. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, were part of the complex beginning of the considerable political and religious upheaval which was the English Reformation, with Anne herself actively promoting the cause of Church reform. She has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had."

Anne Boleyn is popularly known for having been beheaded on charges of adultery, incest, and treason. She is widely assumed to have been innocent of the charges and was later celebrated as a martyr in English Protestant culture, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Her life has been adapted for numerous novels, plays, songs, operas, television dramas, and motion pictures, including Anne of the Thousand Days, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Tudors, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and Doomed Queen Anne.

In recent years, academic-historical opinion of her has generally been favourable—thanks largely to two lengthy biographies written by Professor Eric Ives (1986 and 2004). The works of David Starkey, David Loades, John Guy, Retha Warnicke, and Diarmaid Macculloch have also been sympathetic or admiring. Popular biographies by Joanna Denny and feminist Karen Lindsey have taken similar approaches. Notable exceptions come from the work of British writers Alison Weir, and Philippa Gregory, whose books have often been considerably more critical of Anne.