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Anne of Cleves (Image taken from Title: “Histoire d’Angleterre) – By The British Library – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of King Henry VIII and was the Queen of England for a few months. In German, her name translates to Anna Von Kleve.

Anne was born in 1515 in Dusseldorf, the Kingdom of Germany, Holy Roman Empire (now; Germany). She died on 16th July 1557.

Henry married Anne in an attempt to improve relations between his kingdom and the Roman Empire. However, their marriage was annulled after half a year. Anne received generous compensation from Henry.

Legend has it that Henry married her after he was smitten by her beauty in a flattering portrait. However, he took one look at her in real life and decided to divorce her. The following is a list of some interesting facts about Anne of Cleves.

1. Anne Was Betrothed to Another Man Before Henry VIII

Anne was the second daughter of John III, commonly referred to as the duke of Cleves. His wife was Maria, Duchess of J眉lich-Berg.

In 1527, at 11, Anne was betrothed to Francis, then the 9-year-old son of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine. However, their marriage was not to be and ended up getting canceled in 1535.

2. Henry Married Her After Seeing a Flattering Portrait of Her

AnneCleves – By Hans Holbein the Younger –

Thomas Cromwell, King Henry鈥檚 chief minister urged King Henry to take the hand of one of John III鈥檚 daughters. However, Henry had met neither Anne nor her younger sister, Amalia who he considered as well.

Consequently, King Henry sent Hans Holbein the Younger to D眉ren to paint portraits of Anne and Amalia. Henry asked Holbein to make the paintings as realistic as possible and should not at all flatter the sisters.

These portraits, two of them, exist to this day. One is in the Louvre Museum in Paris and the other is the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

On receiving these portraits, Henry was impressed by Anne鈥檚 beauty. He then accepted to proceed with the marriage preparations and negotiations without meeting her.

3. Her Match with King Henry VIII was Purely Political

In the 1530s, Europe was divided by religious politics. King Henry VIII divorced his first wife Catherine of Argon a few years before Anne came into the picture.

This divorce strained Henry鈥檚 relationship with Catholicism and the Pope both of whom he is said to have despised. Therefore, when Anne got marriable age, Henry under the advice of Thomas Cromwell decided to pursue an allegiance with the Cleves. The Cleves family were a protestant people and marrying Anne would solidify their allegiance.

4. The First Meet with King Henry VIII Was Awkward and Ugly

Anne of Cleeves – Barthel Bruyn the Younger – Wikimedia Commons

Henry and Anne had not met before their match. Therefore, only Henry had an idea of what Anne looked like while Anne had no clue besides what she may have heard about Henry.

In late 1539, Anne set out for London with a retinue of her women to meet the king. On the way, Henry decided to surprise his future bride in the best chivalric love tradition.

Henry unexpectedly entered Anne’s apartments with many of his men while wearing a mask and attempted to kiss her. As per these chivalric customs of love, Anne was expected to recognize her beloved despite his disguise.

However, Anne did not recognize him and Henry was not impressed with her reaction. It is said that Henry left the room declaring 鈥淚 like her not!鈥� He bemoaned her appearance almost immediately.

He accused Holbein of overflattering her in his portraits. King Henry also blamed his senior minister Thomas Cromwell for pressuring him to wed Anne and continually praising her beauty.

5. Henry VIII and Anne’s Marriage Was Unsuccessful

Judging by how the relationship began, this marriage was predictably unsuccessful. The pair wed on 6th January 1540 despite Henry鈥檚 vocal protesting. The ceremony was held by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer at the royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich London.

The marriage was plagued with problems from the first day. Henry confided in Cromwell that the marriage was not consummated on the wedding night. He claimed, “I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.”

Later in February 1540, Anne supported these claims while trying to praise King Henry to Countess of Rutland. She said; “When he comes to bed, he kisseth me, and he taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me ‘Good night, sweetheart’; and in the morning kisseth me and biddeth ‘Farewell, darling.'”

On 24th June 1540, Anne was commanded to leave the Court. On 6th July 1540, 6 months into their marriage she was informed of her husband鈥檚 decision to reconsider and annul the marriage.

6. Anne’s Marriage to King Henry VIII was Annulled on Grounds of Non-Consummation

Anne of Cleves – By Wenceslaus Hollar –

Henry held a trial for his annulment from Anne of Cleves. Witness statements from several courtiers and two doctors were obtained and used in the trial. They express the king’s dissatisfaction and discontent with her appearance and the lack of consummation of their marriage.

Henry needed to prove that the lack of consummation was not impotence. Therefore, he resorted to a rather crude and somewhat comical claim.

His Majesty claimed that he experienced two 鈥渘octurnal pollutions鈥� (i.e., wet dreams) on their wedding night despite not consummating. This, therefore, was taken as proof that the King was not impotent but rather the marriage was bad.

This absurd claim worked and their marriage was annulled after Anne gave her consent. The marriage lasted for a mere six months and with its end, Anne was stripped of the Queen鈥檚 title.

7. She Was Rewarded for Not Contesting the Annulment

After the annulment, the queen received a generous settlement from a grateful Henry VIII. Some of the gifts she received were the Richmond palace and the Hever Castle.

Anne also received several properties such as the Anne of Cleves House in Lewes, East Sussex. Other than properties, Anne also became an honorary member of the King鈥檚 family. She was then on referred to as “the King’s Beloved Sister”.

She was often a guest at the Court, and Henry gave her precedence over all women in England except his wife and daughters.

8. Her Family Tried to Get King Henry to Remarry Her

Henry VIII and wives at Warwick Castle – Lobster1 –

 After the Annulment, King Henry married Catherine Howard. This was merely a few weeks after the annulment. Catherine was stripped of her title as queen in November 1541 despite being still married to King Henry VIII. However, she was beheaded in 1542 on grounds of treason and adultery.

After Catherine鈥檚 death, Anne鈥檚 brother, William, Duke of J眉lich-Cleves-Berg presses Henry to remarry Anne. However, Henry had no interest in doing this and went on to marry Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife.

9. Anne of Cleves Had a Love-Hate Relationship with Queen Mary I

In August 1553, Anne wrote to Mary to congratulate her on her marriage to Philip of Spain. Anne was part of her coronation process and this marked her brief return to prominence in England.

However, she lost favor with Mary I in 1554 after the queen was convinced that Anne was part of a plot against her kingdom. There was no concrete proof of the rumors but Anne was compelled to lead a quiet life on her estates.

10. She Died Peacefully in 1557

Tomb of Queen Anne of Cleves VCR Giulio19 –

Following her arrival in England in 1539, Anne never left the country. She spent her final years in Chelsea Old Manor until her death there in July 1557.

Anne was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey with a great ceremony by Mary I. This was proof that Mary still had affection for Anne despite their differences.