Birth: 1515Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife to Henry VIII and the daughter of John III, the ruler of Duchy of Cleves. The Duchy of Cleves was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, now known as Germany. John III died in 1538, leaving the state to his son, and Anne’s brother, Wilhelm IV.
Henry’s split from Rome left England isolated and unpopular, so him and his ministers, including Thomas Cromwell, sought out brides in countries that supported the Reformation in order to secure an alliance. Anne’s family was one that would be a good match; Anne’s older sister, Sybille, was married to John Frederick, the Elector of Saxony, who was known as the “Champion of the Reformation.”
Hans Holbein the Younger, a Tudor court painter, was sent in 1539 to paint the court of the Duke of Cleves. The Duke had two sisters: Anne and Amelia. Holbein painted them both, and upon seeing the portraits, Henry decided to marry Anne. It was normal for painters to draw more flattering pictures of the people they painted, and it was likely that Holbein covered up any sign that Anne had smallpox scars.
By March 1539, negotiations were made, and on October 4 th of the same year, the marriage treaty was signed. Henry was impatient to see his new bride, so he went to Rochester on New Year’s Day in 1540 to get a glimpse of her. Henry immediately found her unattractive, telling Cromwell that she looked nothing like her portraits or the beautiful reports of her. Henry wanted out of the treaty; but at this point, there was no way to leave the marriage contract without angering the Cleves.
Henry and Anne were married on January 6, 1540 at the Royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. The marriage only lasted a few months; it was annulled on July 9, 1540 on the grounds that the marriage was never consummated. However, there are many speculations on why the marriage didn’t work:
• Henry found his wife so unattractive (calling her “A Flander’s Mare”) that he would not sleep with her.
• Anne and Henry did not get along, at least, in terms of lifestyles. Anne was not use to the life of an English court. She was raised in Cleves focusing more on domestic skills such as needlework, and therefore, was not knowledgeable about the kind of music and literature that were poplar at the English court.
• Tensions were rising between Duke of Cleves and the church, and Henry did not want to be involved in a war.
• Henry had become attracted to Kathryn Howard.
Anne and Henry split on amicable terms, with Anne receiving a good settlement, including Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, Hever Castle. She was also given the title of, “The King’s Sister.”
Anne lived in the countryside until 1557. She was the last of Henry’s six wives to die on July 16, 1557. By then she converted to Roman Catholicism and attended the coronation of Mary I. She was buried at Westminster Abbey.