Anne of Cleves (22 September 1515 –- 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII.
She was born on September 22, 1515, in Düsseldorf, in the Duchy of Cleves, which is now part of Germany. Anne was the daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves, and his wife Maria of Jülich-Berg. Her father (though influenced by Erasmus) did support the reformation of the Church, however, Anne and her sisters had a Catholic upbringing as her mother was a strict Catholic. Despite this, Anne’s older sister, Sibylle, her younger brother, William and her younger sister Amelia became Lutherans as adults. Anne also became a Lutheran upon being betrothed to the Protestant King Henry VIII.
Anne did not receive a brilliant education like her fiancé’s first two wives. She could read and write a little, but only in German. Instead of learning languages like other foreign princesses, Anne’s mother made sure her daughters focused on studying strictly feminine skills, such as sewing. When Anne was eleven years old, she had been betrothed to the nine-year-old Francis, the son and heir to Antoine, Duke of Lorraine. However, as Francis was under the age of consent in Tudor times (the age of consent for boys was fourteen and for girls twelve), the engagement was considered unofficial and was cancelled in 1535, when Anne was nineteen and Francis seventeen.
In 1539, Henry VIII was seeking a new wife after his marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour, had ended with her death. He had spent a couple of years mourning Jane’s death, however he only had one son, Edward VI and child mortality was high at the time. Henry himself had been the second son of his father and was never expected to rule England, but his elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, died unexpectedly of the sweating sickness. As such, Henry knew the importance of a spare. But unsurprisingly, foreign princesses were not competing to marry the King. He had annulled his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon for failing to deliver a son, and beheaded his second wife, Anne Boleyn for the same reason (as well as accusing her of adultery, incest and treason). One candidate, Christina of Denmark (who ended up marrying Anne’s childhood fiancé), said, “If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal.”
Thomas Cromwell, the King's chief minister, arranged for a marriage alliance between England and Cleves (a mostly Lutheran state in Germany which supported the reformation), and suggested Anne as a potential bride for Henry. The marriage would provide an alliance with the Protestant German states, as well as a way for Henry to gain another male heir. Anne, like all of Henry's six wives, was a descendant of Edward the First (he through his son Edward II, she through his daughter Margaret), but she was the most distantly related to him of all his wives, being his seventh cousin, twice removed. Henry sent Hans Holbein, a famous artist, to paint portraits of Anne and her younger sister Amelia. Hans Holbein was instructed to be as accurate as possible and that he could not change anything to flatter the sisters (ironic seeing as by this point Henry’s portraits were very much not faithful to his real appearance).
Henry agreed to the marriage without ever having met Anne in person as he was besotted with her portrait, and she arrived in England in December 1539. Anne’s mother was unhappy at the idea of her daughter leaving for another country, but had no choice in the matter because Henry had paid Anne’s brother (the new Duke of Cleves) a hundred thousand gold coins. The first meeting between the couple was a disaster: Henry tried to surprise Anne by disguising himself as a peasant, believing that she’d fall in love with him instantly as per the traditions of Courtly Love. But he was instead humiliated when the sheltered Anne was shocked, rather than lovestruck with the old, obese, badly dressed stranger who burst in and attempted to kiss her. Though she reacted politely and warmly when he returned in his kingly regalia, the damage to his dignity had been done. Henry claimed that it was Anne who was ugly and that he considered her too ugly to marry, saying “I like her not” and allegedly calling her the "Flanders Mare." Despite this, it does seem Henry was the only person to think that (if he ever did). According to advisors, however, Anne was said to actually look very similar to her portrait: tall, slim and blonde. It’s also important to remember that Anne was a sheltered twenty-five-year-old woman while Henry was a three-times married forty-eight-year-old. The couple could not communicate either, as Anne only spoke German. Despite this, the marriage went ahead, and the couple were married on January 6, 1540. Thomas Cromwell was beheaded over the embarrassing marriage using trumped up charges of treason.
The marriage was not consummated, and Henry soon sought to have it annulled. Anne was lucky she could only speak German, as she didn’t have to hear the cruel gossip going on about her. Anne did learn English and was soon able to communicate with the King (who by then had begun sleeping with sixteen-year-old Catherine Howard). Anne was willing to agree to the annulment, as it would leave her a very wealthy woman with land and an estate in England, rather than having to return to Germany as a failure. The annulment was granted in July 1540, and Anne was given the title of "the King's Sister" and a generous settlement of lands and money.
Anne lived the rest of her life in England, and was regarded as a kind and generous woman. She was especially beloved by her servants, who found her easy-going and sweet-tempered; even more when she wrote her will and asked Elizabeth and Mary to employ them or at least find them jobs. She became close to Henry's children, especially his daughter Elizabeth (who would later become Elizabeth I), and was a Lutheran (though her mother was a Catholic). When her stepdaughter, Mary Tudor became Queen, Anne (a good friend of Mary’s) wisely converted to Catholicism and was involved in her coronation. She never remarried and died on July 16, 1557, at the age of forty-one, at her home in Chelsea. She was given a grand funeral by Mary and buried in Westminster Abbey, the only one of Henry's six queens to be entombed there.
Tropes associated with Anne of Cleeves as portrayed in fiction:
- Historical Beauty Update: Zig-zagged between this and Historical Ugliness Update. Some depictions portrayed her as ugly similar to how Henry described her, while others portray her as fairly pretty, often due to contemporaries from her time having different views of her appearance. One of the most well-known descriptions of her appearance comes from the Venetian ambassador, who wrote: "She is not very young, but of middle age, and of very good presence; her face is said to be rather long and melancholy, and her complexion sallow; but many say she has a very good look in her eyes, and that if she were dressed in the French fashion she would be thought very handsome; she enjoys good health, and is of middling stature."
- The Pawn: Anne of Cleves is often depicted as a pawn in the political machinations of her time, used by her family and other powerful figures to secure alliances and advance their own interests.
- Stronger Than They Look: Despite her status as a foreigner in a hostile court, Anne of Cleves is often depicted as surprisingly resilient and resourceful, able to navigate the complex political landscape of Tudor England and maintain her dignity in the face of adversity.
Portrayals of Anne of Cleves in fiction:
- Anne is one of the main protagonists and narrators of The Boleyn Inheritance. Although a bit naïve about the wider world due to her sheltered and isolated upbringing, Anne is depicted as an intelligent and resilient young woman who wants to marry Henry VIII to escape her abusive family, despite being aware of the king's own unsavoury reputation. The novel portrays Henry's rejection of her as being rooted in his wounded pride by her public rejection of him during their first meeting, and her difficulty hiding her lack of attraction to him (she was raised to be chaste and modest, and privately questions how anyone could feel wanton during Henry's failed attempt to consummate their marriage). Anne is ultimately relieved at longer being married to Henry and enjoys the freedom this grants her; she also bears no ill will towards her replacement, Catherine Howard, instead feeling sorry for the girl.
- Anne's marriage to Henry is depicted in the British version of Drunk History where Anne's played by a man.
- Briefly mentioned in Handmaid: Because Henry revived the handmaid system to have sons with Anne Boleyn while still legally married to Katherine of Aragon, Anne of Cleves never becomes Henry's fourth wife, marries the Duke of Lorraine, and actually becomes good friends with Mary Tudor after she marries the Duke of Bavaria.
- Pia Girard plays Anne in the 2003 ITV series Henry VIII.
- Anne appears in an episode of Horrible Histories where she appears in a segment parodying blind dating shows. She is portrayed as only capable of speaking German, which Henry appears not to understand.
- Elsa Lanchester portrayed Anne in the 1933 film The Private Life of Henry VIII.
- In Six: The Musical, Genesis Lynea of the premiere West End cast portrays her as a Sassy Black Woman and spells her name as 'Anna' from her native German.
- Rebecca Dyson-Smith portrays Anne in the BBC documentary mini-series Six Wives with Lucy Worsley.
- Elvi Hale plays Anne in the episode "Anne of Cleves" in the television series The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
- Joss Stone plays Anne in the Showtime cable television series The Tudors.
- Actress and model Dana Herfurth plays Anne in Wolf Hall. The series comes down hard on the side that Henry's complaints about her appearance are purely the result of his wounded pride.
