Anne of Cleves is said to have been the luckiest wife of King Henry VIII, for she would not lose
her head inside the confines of the Tower of London. But she was a woman who was ridiculed
for her looks by the grotesque and large Tudor king who was significantly older than her. Henry
VIII is of course remembered for his 6 wives, and his marriage to Anne was nothing short of a sham,
as the marriage would be quickly annulled. But it cost the English King a significant amount
of money, as Anne was a German Princess and she could not be dealt with quietly, and she was given
a huge amount or property and land including the childhood home of Henry’s executed second wife.
She wouuld outlive the rest of Henry’s wives,
including Catherine Parr the King’s sixth and final wife,
but she died at the age of 41 inside of Chelsea Manor. But what is the story of her death?
The life of Anne of Cleves was rather un-notable until she would be approached to marry the English
King. She was raised in an affluent German royal family, and the family hoped that she would marry
a wealthy European prince, but no one would have guessed that she would marry the English King.
Henry VIII following the death of his third wife Jane Seymour sent Hans Holbein his royal painter
across to Germany and Europe to paint many women who would become his next wife. Holbein was told
to make the images as accurate as he could, and he came to Duren to paint portraits of
Anne and her sister Amalia. These were both considered possible matches for Henry VIII,
and the King chose Anne’s painting and by March 1539 marriage negotiations
were being played out between the Cleves family and the English royal household.
Thomas Cromwell was placed in charge of overseeing the marriage negotiations and
the King’s Chief Advisor would sign a marriage treaty on Henry’s behalf. The King paid a dowry
of 100,000 florins to Anne’s brother, but she was not the King’s normal type.
Henry wanted a woman who valued education and culture, but Anne was not this. She
was very important, but she was not the best educated and she preferred practical skills
such as needlework and she was skilled at playing cards. She could only read and write in German,
but she was calm and gentle, and the French Ambassador said of her that she was tall and slim,
but of ‘middling beauty and of very assured and resolute countenance.’
It is considered that Anne of Cleves was rather attractive, and that she had fair hair and a nice
face. A chronicler at the time said that, ‘her hair hanging down which was fair yellow and long,
she was apparelled after the English fashion with a French hood which so set fourth her beauty and
good visage, that every creature rejoined to behold her.’ But others claimed that she looked
a lot older than she was, and on New Years Day 1530, Henry VIII met with her in private.
He followed the fashionable courtly love tradition and he entered a room where she was staying in
disguised. Eustace Chapuys the Imperial Ambassador then explained what happened next saying, ‘‘Henry
so went up into the chamber where the said Lady Anne was looking out of a window to see the
bull-baiting which was going on in the courtyard, and suddenly he embraced and kissed her,
and showed her a token which the king had sent her for New Year’s gift, and she being abashed
and not knowing who it was thanked him, and so he spoke with her. But she regarded him little,
but always looked out the window .... and when the king saw that she took so little notice of
his coming he went into another chamber and took off his cloak and came in again in a
coat of purple velvet. And when the lords and knights saw his grace they did him reverence.’
This was not good, and the first encounter and meeting was a disaster as Anne of Cleves
did not recognise her future husband and she certainly did not know that Henry was the King.
She was hoping to be married to a younger and more attractive King, but Henry was at this point
not that. Henry was hugely disappointed and also very embarrassed and it was by the standards of
the 16th century a catfishing. But Henry and Anne would meet officially near to Greenwich Park where
a huge reception took place, but the King had been put off marriage. But it was too
late to blackout of this and he had to go through with it despite him tasking Cromwell to try and
find him a loophole. He felt that he had not been bowled over by Anne of Cleves’ appearance and
beauty, and this would be the reason that he would not allegedly consummate his marriage with her.
Cromwell struggled to find a loophole and a way out for Henry, and he would ultimately
pay the price and would lose his head for this. But the King had to marry Anne of Cleves on the
6th January 1540 and this took place inside the Palace of Placentia. The couples wedding
night did not go well and they did not sleep together either, and the following month Anne
would state of her husband that, ‘ ‘when he comes to bed he kisseth me and he taketh me by the hand
and bidet me goodnight sweetheart, and in the morning kisseth me and bidet farewell darling.’
But Anne would be quickly forced out of the royal court after around 6 months of
marriage. She was told Henry was reconsidering his position and consent was given to annul the
marriage as it was a complete disaster. The annulment went through on the 12th July 1540,
but this would cost the English King very heavily.
Following the annulment, in the settlement Anne of Cleves was given a huge amount of property,
land and manors including Hever Castle where Anne Boleyn grew up.
Throughout his final years, Henry VIII and Anne did grow close and they became good friends and
she was said to have been ‘The kings’ beloved sister,’ and she often came to court and Henry did
value her company. But following the execution of his fifth wife Catherine Howard, there were many
people who said that Henry VIII should remarry Anne of Cleves, but this never happened and he
instead turned his attention to Catheirne Parr, a woman Anne did not like. In the years following
Anne remained very comfortable, and then following Henry’s death and his son’s death, during Mary I’s
reign she would sent her congratulations to Mary with regards to her marriage to Philip of Spain.
She also took part in Mary’s coronation, and this was one of the last public appearances she made.
She did fall from favour slightly during Mary’s reign as many believed she was linked to Wyatt’s
rebellion due to the closeness she had with Elizabeth I, or Princess Elizabeth as she was at
the time. She was then forced to live a quiet life in her households, but she never left England.
This is where Anne of Cleves’ story becomes rather tragic. She would long to return home
to her homelands and family, but she never managed to do this and she was
very homesick. She missed her sister and her other family members, however by July 1557,
it was clear that Anne of Cleves was very ill. She had been ill for months
and she could not get out of bed, and with this it was then time to draft her will.
She said in this that all of the money she had should go to the members of her household
and her servants including her ladies, grooms and gentlemen of the house. She wanted them to receive
her wealth, and to benefit from her death and she named every single member of the household by
name and she asked for the Queen to make sure that these people were comfortable following her death.
Her jewellery was given to her family, but she left rings and other jewels to
her stepdaughters Queen Mary I, and Princess Elizabeth.
Inside of Chelsea Old Manor, alone and missing home on the 16th July 1557 Anne
of Cleves died. It’s believed that for months she had been fighting cancer,
but despite dying in obscurity she was given a large funeral as she was after all briefly
a Queen consort of England. It was said of her funeral that, ‘‘The 3rd day of August my
lady Anne of Cleves sometime wife to Henry VIII came from Chelsea to be buried in Westminster,
with all the children of Westminster and many priests and clarks, and the monks of Westminster
and my lord bishop of London and my lord abbot of Westminster rode together. Many of the prominent
politicians of the time attended, and there were 100 torches burning being carried by her servants.
The procession was huge and large, and she was then taken into Westminster Abbey. Her coffin
was then taken to her tomb, and was interred with cloth of gold laid over her. Following
this the officers of her household broke their staves of office and threw them in the tomb.
The most horrific part of Anne of Cleves Death was the fact she was a young woman who was thousands
of miles from home. She had been brought over to a foreign country to marry a man she had never met,
and a many who was brutal, grotesque and evil. The match between Henry and Anne was poor,
but Anne was forced to remain in England due to the properties she held and the settlement
that she received following their failed marriage. But she is considered lucky as
by the standards of Henry VIII’s wives, she managed to keep her head and she did
accumulate a significant amount of wealth. But I’m sure Anne of Cleves
would have traded this to go back home and to marry someone who she genuinely loved.
Thanks for watching
To support please subscribe