 In the winter of 1532 , Henry met with Francis I at Calais and enlisted the support of the French king for his new marriage . Immediately upon returning to Dover in England , Henry , now 41 , and Anne , now 32 , went through a secret wedding service . She soon became pregnant , and there was a second wedding service in London on 25 January 1533 . On 23 May 1533 , Cranmer , sitting in judgment at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of the king 's marriage to Catherine of Aragon , declared the marriage of Henry and Catherine null and void . Five days later , on 28 May 1533 , Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry and Anne to be valid . Catherine was formally stripped of her title as queen , becoming instead " princess dowager " as the widow of Arthur . In her place , Anne was crowned queen consort on 1 June 1533 . The queen gave birth to a daughter slightly prematurely on 7 September 1533 . The child was christened Elizabeth , in honour of Henry 's mother , Elizabeth of York . 
