Anne was originally sentenced to be "beheaded or burned at the king's pleasure," but was thought to have been allowed the easier death in exchange for signing away the legitimacy of her marriage and child. While her brother George was executed by an axe, Anne was given the favor of beheading by an expert swordsman brought in from France. Future queens sentenced to death would not be so lucky.
The love letter that Mary reads to herself says, "My heart and I surrender themselves into your hands." This is an actual quote from the real letter, but the letter was to Anne, not Mary.
One month before filming began, Natalie Portman began daily classes to master the English accent under dialect coach Jill McCullough.
Anne was 25 years old when she and Henry first met. She was 35 years old when she was executed. In between that time, she and Henry spent seven years flirting, bonding, and writing love letters to one another. Afterwards, they spent three years married until her execution.
Out of Henry VIII's six wives, his first three wives each bore him children. Catherine of Aragon, during her more than twenty-years as queen, was pregnant a total of seven times. Most of her pregnancies resulted in either miscarriages or stillbirths. Her second pregnancy resulted in the sought after male heir, Henry, Duke of Cornwall, who was born on January 1, 1511. Unfortunately, the infant died just under two months later. Her fifth pregnancy resulted in the only healthy child she had, Mary I, who was born on February 18, 1516. Anne Boleyn's first child, Elizabeth I, who was born on September 7, 1533, was the only healthy child she had. Afterwards, her few subsequent pregnancies resulted in miscarriages and a stillborn child. Jane Seymour gave birth to the king's long awaited son, Edward VI, on October 12, 1537. She had gone through an extremely difficult labor which lasted for three days and left her gravely ill. Twelve days after giving birth, she died due to postnatal complications. After that, any luck in producing a healthy, legitimate male heir was fruitless due to health issues on the part of Henry. The king was believed to have had several illegitimate children, only one of whom was acknowledged. He was named Henry Fitzroy (indicating that he was the natural son of the King), but died young, around age seventeen.