Delving into the past with Chris Hallam.

By 1539, King Henry VIII made it clear he wanted to marry again. But did anyone want to marry him? He had already been married three times and was starting to get a bit of a reputation. He had treated his first wife, Catherine of Aragon very badly while the second, Anne Boleyn had been executed. The beautiful Christina of Milan ruled herself out of contention for the position of Wife No. 4 although joked that things might be different if she had two heads!

Henry had basically chosen his last two wives, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour because he had seen them hanging around his court and taken a fancy to them. This time, however, his chief advisor, Thomas Cromwell was keen for him to pick a foreign bride as he wanted to strengthen England’s ties to a Protestant power within Europe. The need for a male heir was less pressing now as Henry now already had a young son (the future Edward VI) as a result of his marriage to his beloved Jane Seymour. Henry was nevertheless keen to only marry someone he fancied, however, and the possibility of another son wouldn’t do any harm, either.

After plenty of deliberations and negotiation, Henry decided to marry Anne of Cleves, the daughter of a German duke. Henry is said to have been swayed by an attractive portrait of Anne produced by the artist, Hans Holbein the Younger. The reality of Henry’s meeting with Anne fell far short of his romantic hopes, however. Towards the end of Anne’s journey to England to marry the King, she was approached by a group of hooded figures, one of whom – in fact, the King in disguise – attempted to kiss her. This is less creepy than it sounds. It was actually a traditional courting ritual: the idea was that Anne would suddenly recognise her betrothed (despite never having met him) and fall into his arms.

This didn’t happen. Anne was deeply unimpressed. Henry was insulted by her indifference, which continued even after it became obvious he was the King who she had been sent to England to marry. ‘My Lord, if it were not to satisfy the world, and My Realm, I would not do that I must do this day for none earthly thing,” Henry confided to his chief adviser, Thomas Cromwell shortly before his wedding night. He was right to be concerned. The marriage remained unconsummated after four nights, Henry blamed the physical unattractiveness of the woman, history has judged “the Flanders mare.” The 1540 marriage was annulled after just six months, the shortest of Henry’s six marriages. This failure proved personally disastrous for Cromwell who was blamed for the whole thing and executed soon afterwards.

Anne of Cleves is often remembered as “the ugly one” of Henry’s wives but this is probably unfair. It is unlikely Holbein would have painted her to look dramatically more attractive than she was or that the King’s negotiators would have duped Henry in this way. It would not have been in their long-term interests to do so as the King was always destined to see her In the flesh at some point. It is worth remembering that Anne was also almost certainly entirely innocent in sexual matters and couldn’t speak any English. Henry was twice Anne’s age and well past his best physically. If the marriage could not be consummated, it wasn’t solely down to her.

Despite all this awkwardness, events for Anne of Cleves had a happy outcome. She remained in England where Henry, grateful for her willingness to go along with things rewarded her with a substantial property in Kent and a considerable income. Uniquely amongst Henry’s wives she remained not only alive but on friendly terms with the King himself. They even took to referring to each other affectionately as “brother” and “sister.”

Anne of Cleves died at her home at Chelsea Manor in 1557 at the age of 41 or 42. She was the last surviving wife of King Henry VIII.