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15 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">Anne of Cleves fourth wife of King Henry VIII</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="Content">Anne of Cleves fourth wife of King Henry VIII</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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18 | <Metadata name="Title">Anne of Cleves: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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19 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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20 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/cleves.html</Metadata>
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22 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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34 | <Content>
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35 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="634">
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36 | <tbody>
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37 | <tr>
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38 | <td width="25%" height="1"><br>
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39 | </td>
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40 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="1"></td>
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41 | <td width="25%" height="1"><br>
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42 | </td>
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43 | </tr>
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44 | <tr>
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45 | <td width="25%" height="3"><br>
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46 | </td>
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47 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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48 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'My Lord, if it were not to
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49 | satisfy the world, and My Realm, I would not do that I must do this day
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50 | for none earthly thing.' </font> <br>
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51 | <i><font size="-1">Henry VIII to Cromwell on his wedding day to
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52 | Anne of Cleves</font></i> <br>
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53 | &nbsp; </p>
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54 | </td>
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55 | <td width="25%" height="3"><br>
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56 | </td>
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57 | </tr>
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58 | <tr>
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59 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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60 | </td>
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61 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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62 | <p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
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63 | <p align="center">
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64 | <img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/clevescardinal.gif" width="352" height="95"></p>
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65 | <p align="center">
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66 | <img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/clevesholbein2.jpg" alt="miniature portrait of Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein the Younger" width="331" height="325"></p>
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67 | <p align="center"><i><font size="2">miniature portrait of Anne of Cleves
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68 | by Hans Holbein the Younger</font></i></p>
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69 | <p align="left"> <b><br>Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of King
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70 | Henry VIII; it was a very brief marriage, to the astonishment of all
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71 | observers but the relief of both spouses.&nbsp; Henry infamously
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72 | referred to his bride as a 'Flanders mare' and told courtiers and
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73 | ambassadors that he could not perform his husbandly duties because of
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74 | Anne's appearance.&nbsp; Anne's reaction to Henry's physical charms was
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75 | not recorded, but she agreed to an annulment very quickly and remained
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76 | in England for the rest of her life.&nbsp; Henry was grateful for her
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77 | cooperation and granted her a generous income and several homes,
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78 | including Hever Castle.&nbsp; Anne enjoyed an independent lifestyle
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79 | denied most women, often visiting Henry's court as an honored
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80 | guest.&nbsp; Her fondness for English ale and gambling were her only
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81 | vices.&nbsp; Along with her successor as Henry's wife, Catherine
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82 | Howard, Anne remains a mysterious figure about whom too little is
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83 | known.&nbsp; Had she and Henry remained married and had children, the
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84 | course of English history might have changed dramatically.&nbsp; But
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85 | the mysteries of physical attraction denied Anne her place on the
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86 | throne, ended the brilliant career of Thomas Cromwell, and thrust the
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87 | king into the arms of his ill-fated fifth queen, Catherine Howard.</b> </p>
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88 | <p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
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89 | <blockquote>
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90 | <p><a
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91 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fcleves.html#Biography">
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92 | <font size="4">Read the biography of Anne of Cleves.</font></a></p>
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93 | <p><b><br>
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94 | Primary Sources</b> <br>
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95 | Read <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html">letters
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96 | written by Anne</a>. <br>
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97 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fpricleve.html">Anne of
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98 | Cleves meets Henry VIII for the first time</a>, 1540</p>
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99 | </blockquote>
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100 | <blockquote>
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101 | <p>Visit <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2fimages.html">Tudor
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102 | England: Images</a> to view portraits of Anne. </p>
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103 | <p>Test your knowledge of Anne's life at <a
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104 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor Quizzes</a>.</p>
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105 | <p><br>
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106 | </p>
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107 | <p><font size="2"><b>Interact<br>
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108 | </b>Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at <a
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109 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fladiesallfanlist.cjb.net">Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
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110 | the Six Wives of Henry VIII</a>.<br>
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111 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2ftudorhistory.org%2flists%2flist.html"> Tudor Talk </a>&nbsp;This
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112 | email discussion list is sponsored by Tudorhistory.org.<br>
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113 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fgroups.yahoo.com%2fgroup%2fReign%5fof%5fthe%5fTudors%5frpg">Reign
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114 | of the Tudors</a>&nbsp; This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
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115 | England.&nbsp; If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
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116 | other Tudors, click the link to join.</font></p>
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117 | </blockquote>
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118 | </td>
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119 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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120 | </td>
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121 | </tr>
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122 | </tbody>
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123 | </table>
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124 | <blockquote>
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125 | <blockquote>
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126 | <blockquote>
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127 | <p><font size="4"><br>
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128 | &nbsp;</font></p>
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129 | <p><a name="Biography"></a><font size="4">'So she came to
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130 | Greenwich that night, and was received as queen.&nbsp; And the next
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131 | day, being Sunday, the king's grace kept a great court at Greenwich,
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132 | where his grace with the queen offered at mass, richly dressed.&nbsp;
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133 | And on Twelfth Night, which was Tuesday, the king's majesty was married
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134 | to the said queen Anne solemnly, in her closet at Greenwich, and his
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135 | grace and she went publicly in procession that day, she having a rich
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136 | coronet of stone and pearls set with rosemary on her hair, and a gown
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137 | of rich cloth of silver, richly hung with stones and pearls, with all
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138 | her ladies and gentlewomen following her, which was a goodly sight to
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139 | behold.' </font>&nbsp;<i><font size="2"> Anne of Cleves marries King
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140 | Henry VIII, 1540</font></i><br>
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141 | &nbsp;</p>
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142 | </blockquote>
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143 | </blockquote>
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144 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
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145 | <p><b>Biography</b> <br>
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146 | Anne of Cleves was Henry VIII's fourth wife, though not his first
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147 | choice for the role by far.&nbsp; His ambassadors searched out all the
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148 | eligible heiresses of Europe and discovered their king had a very nasty
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149 | marital reputation.&nbsp; The beautiful Christina of Milan was told of
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150 | the king's interest and wittily replied that if she had two heads she
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151 | would risk it, but she had only one; Marie de Guise, who would later
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152 | wed his nephew the King of Scots, replied much the same.&nbsp; The
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153 | tragic tale of his second queen, Anne Boleyn, had kept European gossips
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154 | busy for three years now.&nbsp; </p>
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155 | <p>The king's poor and disrespectful treatment of his first wife (he
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156 | was rumored to have bullied Katharine of Aragon to an unhappy death)
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157 | and the quick end of his third (in his desperation for a healthy male
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158 | heir, the king was rumored to have ordered Jane Seymour cut open,
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159 | mangled and killed) only contributed to his low reputation. </p>
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160 | <p>One wouldn't think a king would have too difficult a time finding
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161 | a wife, but Henry VIII - who defied his contemporaries in so many other
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162 | ways - did so in this respect as well. </p>
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163 | <p>In the end, it was religion which brought Anne of Cleves to
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164 | England.&nbsp; </p>
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165 | <p>Henry had sought out Catholic princesses like Marie de Guise and
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166 | his fifth wife would be a Catholic as well.&nbsp; Despite the Henrician
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167 | 'reformation', England and its monarch remained a Catholic nation,
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168 | albeit one in which supreme authority resided within the king rather
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169 | than the pope.&nbsp; But Henry's influential advisor, Thomas Cromwell,
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170 | wanted England to ally herself with a Protestant nation that also
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171 | rejected papal authority.&nbsp; Cromwell recognized the inexorable
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172 | Catholic decline which was only just beginning to occur; the king's
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173 | assumption of supreme authority had merely been the first and most
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174 | spectacular opening shot in a new religious war.&nbsp; Raised to be a
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175 | churchman until his brother's untimely death and deeply interested in
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176 | theological debate, Henry VIII didn't appreciate the Pandora's Box of
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177 | change he had opened.&nbsp; Cromwell, younger and more philosophically
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178 | attuned to the attitudes of the rising middle class, did appreciate
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179 | it.&nbsp; And he approved of it.&nbsp; The marriage to Anne of Cleves
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180 | would openly ally England with a Protestant duchy, thus making the
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181 | 'reformation' even more settled. </p>
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182 | <p>Henry VIII's previous two marriages had been love matches; he had
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183 | been quite independent in choosing women of his own court to
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184 | marry.&nbsp; But this fourth marriage was necessarily a more diplomatic
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185 | endeavor.&nbsp; In this, the king returned to the traditional role of
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186 | kings searching for brides; he also understood that, since the Act of
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187 | Supremacy in 1534, England stood dangerously isolated amongst the
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188 | Catholic powers of Spain and France. </p>
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189 | <p>There was a gap of over two years between Jane Seymour's death in
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190 | October 1537 and Anne of Cleves's arrival in England in late December
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191 | 1539.&nbsp; Romantics believe the king waited such a long while to
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192 | marry again because he loved Jane so much.&nbsp; Whether he loved her
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193 | or not is beside the point, though there is ample evidence that he
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194 | did.&nbsp; Henry actually waited so long (and he did so quite
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195 | impatiently) because marriage negotiations took an unexpectedly long
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196 | time.&nbsp; He actually sent out instructions regarding the search for
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197 | a new wife barely a month after Jane's death. </p>
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198 | <p>But the French princesses would not assemble for his perusal; they
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199 | also made it clear they preferred other suitors.&nbsp;&nbsp; Likewise,
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200 | other heiresses of Europe, some of which (like Christina of Milan) were
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201 | related through tangled Hapsburg bloodlines to the king's first wife,
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202 | Katharine of Aragon, avoided the English ambassadors.&nbsp; And always,
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203 | busy with his paperwork and contacts throughout Europe, Cromwell sought
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204 | to arrange a Protestant alliance. </p>
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205 | <p>During all of these negotiations, one must not forget the king's
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206 | own views regarding his future wife.&nbsp; Henry was used to making his
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207 | own decisions about the women in his life; he had high standards for
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208 | female beauty and insisted his next wife be physically
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209 | attractive.&nbsp; To that end, he told his ambassadors that no official
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210 | overtures be made to certain ladies until he had approved of their
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211 | looks.&nbsp; 'The thing touches me too near,' said the king, which was
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212 | true enough but not the sort of thing kings were supposed to say.&nbsp;
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213 | After all, he was not merely a man but a monarch; he was not supposed
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214 | to marry for himself alone. </p>
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215 | <p>The ambassadors were often placed in embarrassing positions,
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216 | commissioning portraits and sending back detailed descriptions of pock
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217 | marks and hairstyles.&nbsp; Finally, the choices were narrowed down to
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218 | four serious contenders - Marie de Guise, the widow of the duc de
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219 | Longueville, was tall, beautiful and already proven in
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220 | childbirth.&nbsp; As mentioned earlier, she chose the Scottish king
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221 | James V.&nbsp; Henry then looked to her younger sister, but she also
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222 | became otherwise engaged.&nbsp; Then there was the beautiful and
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223 | intelligent Christina of Milan, just sixteen and one of the most
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224 | sought-after heiresses of her generation.&nbsp; But the king of England
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225 | was three times her age, fat and with a cruel reputation; she allowed
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226 | herself to be painted by Holbein but did nothing to solve the problem
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227 | of her being a great-niece of Katharine of Aragon.&nbsp; This
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228 | impediment of affinity was a nice way to avoid the king of England. </p>
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229 | <p>The year of 1538 passed with no alliance.&nbsp; Henry had intended
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230 | to use his fourth marriage as a balance between France and the Hapsburg
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231 | empire.&nbsp; But it now seemed as if those two enemies might join
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232 | forces against him in defense of the papal supremacy. </p>
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233 | <p>Suddenly Cromwell's moment had arrived.&nbsp; The fourth serious
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234 | contender was the sister of the duke of Cleves.&nbsp; The duke was not
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235 | a Protestant himself but was allied through marriage with Saxony and
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236 | the league of Lutheran princes; he was also at odds with the Hapsburg
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237 | emperor Charles V over the duchy of Gelderland.&nbsp; The duchy of
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238 | Cleves might one day rival the Netherlands in terms of trade and
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239 | strategic advantage.&nbsp; The king was persuaded to send his favorite
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240 | court painter, Hans Holbein the Younger, to the German duchy.&nbsp;
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241 | There he painted both Anne and her sister Amelia.&nbsp; Henry, who by
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242 | this time was wearying of the endless rounds of negotiations (and whom
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243 | Cromwell feared would soon turn to another English noblewoman), was
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244 | interested in Anne.&nbsp; Negotiations began in earnest. </p>
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245 | <p>Anne was 24 years old, and had spent most of her life at the ducal
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246 | court of Dusseldorf.&nbsp; She was well-educated in domestic skills but
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247 | she was neither intellectual or flirtatious, both qualities the king
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248 | admired.&nbsp; She had no musical skills, and music was one of Henry's
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249 | passions, and no interest in books.&nbsp; On the trip to England, her
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250 | escort (perhaps sensing disaster ahead) tried to teach her the king's
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251 | favorite card games but Anne found them hopeless.&nbsp; It was not her
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252 | fault, nor that of Henry VIII, but she was raised in a different
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253 | country and, as things turned out, was not given time to acclimatize
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254 | herself before the king rejected her.&nbsp; </p>
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255 | <p>
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256 | <img height="280" alt="Holbein's betrothal portrait of Anne of Cleves"
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257 | src="_httpdocimg_/cleves-bio1.jpg"
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258 | width="190" align="left" border="2">The issue of the betrothal portrait is the most fascinating part
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259 | of this story.&nbsp; Holbein was a man of vast talent; his best
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260 | portraits are simply astounding, beautifully composed and possessing
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261 | great psychological insight.&nbsp; Look at the infamous portrait of
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262 | Anne of Cleves to the left; it is clear that Holbein was more
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263 | fascinated with the embroidery of her gown than with Anne's
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264 | personality.&nbsp; Her eyes are downcast and her features lost beneath the ornate
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265 | trappings of her dress and hood. </p>
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266 | <p>There has long been a rumor that Henry was so enraged with the
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267 | work, believing that Holbein had deliberately duped him with a false
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268 | portrait, that he fired the painter.&nbsp; But that is not true.&nbsp;
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269 | At the time, there were a few remarks that she did not look as well as
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270 | the portrait asserted, but this was not unlikely - she had arrived in
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271 | England after a long journey, perhaps the sea air did not agree with
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272 | her skin?&nbsp; Or perhaps nervousness over the impending marriage
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273 | caused a change in her complexion.&nbsp; We cannot know.&nbsp; But we
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274 | do know that Henry's ambassadors, only too aware of their master's
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275 | wishes, allowed the portrait to be sent as a fair likeness of
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276 | Anne.&nbsp; Would they have dared to mislead their monarch in such a
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277 | way?&nbsp; It's not likely.&nbsp; Even Henry himself did not make much
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278 | of the supposed difference between the painted and real Anne, aside
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279 | from a comment to Cromwell that she was 'nothing so fair as she had
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280 | been reported.'&nbsp; Often expectations can be idealistic, and that
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281 | was possibly the case with Henry.&nbsp; Holbein continued to receive
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282 | commissions from the English aristocracy before dying of plague in
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283 | London in 1543. </p>
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284 | <p>What actually happened to drive Anne and Henry apart was a simple
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285 | matter of attraction.&nbsp; Almost five hundred years later, we still
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286 | don't understand why certain people are physically attracted to each
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287 | other; it simply happens.&nbsp; And it didn't happen with Anne and
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288 | Henry; in fact, quite the opposite occurred and the king was repulsed
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289 | by her.&nbsp; Anne's feelings on the matter are not known but Henry was
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290 | no longer the strong, athletic king of years past; various injuries had
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291 | reduced his exercise but not his appetite.&nbsp; He was increasingly
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292 | obese and subject to its attendant problems. </p>
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293 | <p>There were other reasons for the king to look askance at this new
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294 | bride.&nbsp; The foreign crisis which had caused Cromwell to seek an
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295 | alliance with the Protestant duchy had passed; France and Spain had
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296 | returned to their old enmity.&nbsp; England was no longer threatened by
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297 | the Catholic powers.&nbsp; Also, the dispute over Gelderland had become
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298 | more serious and Henry was not eager to fight the suddenly genial
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299 | Spanish in defense of Anne's brother.&nbsp; These issues were clear in
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300 | mid-autumn 1539 but the marriage negotiations continued.&nbsp; By that
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301 | point, they had a momentum of their own.&nbsp; A proxy marriage
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302 | occurred and Anne left her home in late November.&nbsp; She reached
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303 | Calais on 11 December; during the journey, she was addressed as Queen
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304 | of England and treated accordingly.&nbsp; For a fortnight she waited at
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305 | Calais until the weather settled.&nbsp; On 27 December she set out for
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306 | Deal; it was a stormy crossing.&nbsp; It was on the first day of 1540
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307 | that the king, so impatient to see his new bride, entered her rooms in
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308 | disguise.&nbsp; The scene was recorded by the Imperial ambassador,
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309 | Eustace Chapuys: </p>
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310 | <blockquote>
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311 | <p>And on New Years Day in the afternoon the king's grace with five
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312 | of his privy chamber, being disguised with mottled cloaks with hoods so
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313 | that they should not be recognized, came secretly to Rochester, and so
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314 | went up into the chamber where the said Lady Anne was looking out of a
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315 | window to see the bull-baiting which was going on in the courtyard, and
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316 | suddenly he embraced and kissed her, and showed here a token which the
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317 | king had sent her for New Year's gift, and she being abashed and not
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318 | knowing who it was thanked him, and so he spoke with her.&nbsp; But she
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319 | regarded him little, but always looked out the window.... and when the
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320 | king saw that she took so little notice of his coming he went into
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321 | another chamber and took off his cloak and came in again in a coat of
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322 | purple velvet.&nbsp; And when the lords and knights saw his grace they
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323 | did him reverence.... and then her grace humbled herself lowly to the
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324 | king's majesty, and his grace saluted her again, and they talked
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325 | together lovingly, and afterwards he took her by the hand and led her
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326 | to another chamber where their graces amused themselves that night and
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327 | on Friday until the afternoon.</p>
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328 | </blockquote>
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329 | <p><font size="-1">You can read the entire account at <a
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330 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fpricleve.html">Primary Sources</a>.</font>
|
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331 | <br>
|
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332 | <br>
|
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333 | Henry had so far managed to conceal his dislike of Anne.&nbsp; There is
|
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334 | reason to believe it was not an immediate revulsion; it was only after
|
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335 | their wedding night, which the king declared he could not consummate,
|
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336 | that word spread of his physical distaste.&nbsp; When Cromwell asked
|
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337 | him the next morning, 'How liked you the Queen?', Henry replied, 'I
|
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338 | liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.' </p>
|
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339 | <p>On Twelfth Night (6 January), they were married in the 'Queen's
|
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340 | Closet' at Greenwich Palace, where Henry had also married his last
|
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341 | bride.&nbsp; But the king was already looking for ways out.&nbsp; The
|
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342 | very day of the ceremony, he told Cromwell, 'My Lord, if it were not to
|
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343 | satisfy the world, and my Realm, I would not do that I must do this day
|
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344 | for none earthly thing.'&nbsp; These were ominous words. </p>
|
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345 | <p>It is also possible that around this time, the king met <a
|
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346 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fhoward.html">Catherine
|
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347 | Howard</a>, cousin of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, and now destined to
|
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348 | be lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves when her Flemish attendants were
|
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349 | dismissed.&nbsp; There is no doubt he felt an instant attraction to the
|
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350 | lively, curvaceous Catherine.&nbsp; </p>
|
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351 | <p>Henry's nobility, which had long chafed against the power and
|
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352 | influence of <a
|
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353 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fcromwell.html">Cromwell</a>
|
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354 | (much as they had against Wolsey), welcomed this opportunity to
|
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355 | discredit him.&nbsp; The minister had pushed the king into the Cleves
|
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356 | marriage, they reminded Henry gleefully.&nbsp; The king's wrath turned
|
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357 | against his former friend and Cromwell was executed on 28 July 1540, a
|
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358 | decision Henry almost instantly regretted.&nbsp; </p>
|
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359 | <p>And so four things pushed Henry towards an annulment - his dislike
|
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360 | of Anne, foreign policy changes, his attraction to Catherine Howard,
|
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361 | and his courtiers' hatred of Cromwell. </p>
|
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362 | <p>In the few days between the first meeting and the wedding,
|
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363 | Cromwell and the king had found a potential way out, though the
|
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364 | ceremony continued as planned.&nbsp; In the mid-1530s, Anne had briefly
|
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365 | been engaged to Francis, duke of Lorraine.&nbsp; The English had not
|
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366 | explored the issue too much, merely asking the government of Cleves if
|
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367 | negotiations had ended.&nbsp; Now they looked more closely, with the
|
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368 | king waiting impatiently for the right response.&nbsp; They suddenly
|
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369 | discovered there was no dispensation from the precontract; Anne was
|
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370 | still officially betrothed to Francis.&nbsp; </p>
|
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371 | <p>The ambassadors from Cleves were not unaware of Henry's
|
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372 | intent.&nbsp; They struggled to find the right documents but, on 26
|
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373 | February 1540, all they could produce was a report in their archives
|
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374 | which stated that negotiations with Lorraine 'were not going to take
|
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375 | their natural course.'&nbsp; No actual papers of dispensation could be
|
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376 | produced since they did not exist.&nbsp; Thus Henry's marriage to Anne
|
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377 | of Cleves was legally invalid from the start.&nbsp; </p>
|
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378 | <p>This is one of the more ironic moments in Henry's checkered
|
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379 | marital career.&nbsp; For once, his decision to end a marriage was
|
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380 | legally valid and acceptable to all. </p>
|
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381 | <p>Meanwhile, the king made certain comments regarding Anne's body
|
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382 | and virtue which reveal him in a less than gentlemanly light.&nbsp; He
|
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383 | told Anthony Denny, a member of the Privy Chamber, that she had
|
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384 | 'breasts so slack and other parts of body in such sort that [he]
|
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385 | somewhat suspected her virginity.'&nbsp; He further told his court
|
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386 | physicians of the 'hanging of her breasts and looseness of her
|
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387 | flesh.'&nbsp; Clearly, consummation of the marriage would not
|
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388 | occur.&nbsp; The king bravely slept in the same bed at least every
|
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389 | other night, yet he reported a month later that Anne 'was still as good
|
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390 | a Maid.... as ever her Mother bare her.'&nbsp; This contradiction - she
|
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391 | was not a virgin, yet was - was never mentioned. </p>
|
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392 | <p>What did Anne think of all this controversy?&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
393 | <p>Luckily for her, she had only a small knowledge of English and
|
---|
394 | even less knowledge of the physical relationship between a man and
|
---|
395 | wife.&nbsp; Her English ladies were astounded by her innocence.&nbsp;
|
---|
396 | 'When he [Henry] comes to bed, he kisses me and taketh me by the hand,
|
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397 | and biddeth me 'Goodnight, sweetheart,' and in the morning, kisses me,
|
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398 | and biddeth me, 'Farewell, darling.'&nbsp; Is this not enough?' asked
|
---|
399 | Anne.&nbsp; No, she was told emphatically, it most certainly was not. </p>
|
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400 | <p>Anne's ignorance casts a bad light on her mother, Duchess Maria,
|
---|
401 | but it served to protect her feelings in England.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
402 | <p>In the end, she ruled as queen for just four months; her last
|
---|
403 | official appearance as the royal consort was during the May Day
|
---|
404 | celebrations.&nbsp; She was never crowned, though even if the king had
|
---|
405 | wished it, he could not have afforded such a ceremony.&nbsp; During
|
---|
406 | those months, the Catholic nobility pushed their advantage against the
|
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407 | Protestant Cromwell.&nbsp; The minister was too Lutheran for the king's
|
---|
408 | taste.&nbsp; Likewise, the Catholics encouraged the flirtations of
|
---|
409 | young Catherine Howard, also a Catholic and the duke of Norfolk's
|
---|
410 | niece.&nbsp; Too young and ill-educated to be aware of how others used
|
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411 | her as a pawn, she happily danced before the king and accepted his
|
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412 | gifts.&nbsp; She was granted lands in April and the next month received
|
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413 | rich gifts of fabric and jewelry.&nbsp; There is every possibility
|
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414 | Catherine consummated her relationship with the king in May.&nbsp; How
|
---|
415 | else can we explain the sudden race to rid himself of Anne? </p>
|
---|
416 | <p>The investigation into her precontract with Lorraine had been
|
---|
417 | hastily done in January and February but for two months afterwards, the
|
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418 | king merely lamented his fate.&nbsp; Parliament even confirmed Anne's
|
---|
419 | dowry in April.&nbsp; But suddenly in May there was a fierce new
|
---|
420 | determination to annul the marriage; the king was no longer content to
|
---|
421 | complain.&nbsp; </p>
|
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422 | <p>It is possible, and was rumored, that Henry had slept with
|
---|
423 | Catherine and consequently there was a chance she was pregnant.&nbsp;
|
---|
424 | Another male heir was never far from Henry's mind.&nbsp; He was also
|
---|
425 | deeply in love with his 'Rose without a Thorn', a somewhat pathetic
|
---|
426 | attraction between an elderly (the king was almost 49 years old) man
|
---|
427 | and a very young woman.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
428 | <p>And so Anne had to go.&nbsp; She succumbed to the inevitable with
|
---|
429 | surprising grace.&nbsp; Perhaps she was leery of the royal temper, or<img
|
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430 | height="218" alt="engraving of Anne of Cleves, after Holbein"
|
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431 | src="_httpdocimg_/cleves-bio2.jpg"
|
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432 | width="154" border="2" align="right"> remembered the king's marital
|
---|
433 | history, or she simply didn't care.&nbsp; Henry was very
|
---|
434 | grateful.&nbsp; If she had not cooperated....&nbsp; He knew, from the
|
---|
435 | example of Katharine of Aragon, what could happen if a queen fought an
|
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436 | annulment.&nbsp; He had no desire to alienate Cleves or engage in
|
---|
437 | another lengthy legal and theological dispute.&nbsp; The king declared
|
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438 | the marriage had not been consummated and, in any case, it was invalid
|
---|
439 | from the start.&nbsp; Would Anne agree? </p>
|
---|
440 | <p>She did agree, most readily.&nbsp; She was shocked at first by the
|
---|
441 | news; the king's representatives visited her at Richmond Palace, where
|
---|
442 | she had gone to escape the threat of plague.&nbsp; They brought an
|
---|
443 | interpreter so there would be no misunderstanding.&nbsp; For her part,
|
---|
444 | Anne quickly grasped the situation.&nbsp; She had no advisers and the
|
---|
445 | king had already executed one wife and harassed another to death.&nbsp;
|
---|
446 | Certainly she enjoyed the role of queen, was more fluent in English and
|
---|
447 | had taken a liking to her new country; even the people cheered her on
|
---|
448 | the occasional public ride between palaces.&nbsp; But did she dare
|
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449 | fight Henry?&nbsp; Of course not. </p>
|
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450 | <p>The king's servants wrote that she was 'content always with your
|
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451 | Majesty', thus accepting Henry's judgment, and in her <a
|
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452 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletter12.html">letter of</a><a
|
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453 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletter12.html"> submission</a>
|
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454 | she signed herself 'daughter of Cleves', not 'queen of England'.&nbsp;
|
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455 | She agreed the marriage had never been consummated and signed all
|
---|
456 | necessary documents.&nbsp; For his part, Henry was now prepared to be
|
---|
457 | generous.&nbsp; Anne was to enjoy precedence over all the ladies in
|
---|
458 | England, except the Queen and the king's daughters.&nbsp; She was to be
|
---|
459 | known as the king's 'good sister' and received a very nice settlement
|
---|
460 | of manors and estates, some of which belonged to Cromwell.&nbsp; This
|
---|
461 | guaranteed her an income of 3000 pds a year, making her one of the
|
---|
462 | wealthiest women in England.&nbsp; All this depended upon her remaining
|
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463 | in England, and this Anne was more than willing to do.&nbsp; 'The
|
---|
464 | King's highness whom I cannot have as a husband is nevertheless a most
|
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465 | kind, loving and friendly father and brother,' she wrote to her
|
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466 | brother.&nbsp; Why should she return home in ignominy, dependent upon
|
---|
467 | her brother's generosity, when she could remain in England and live a
|
---|
468 | comfortable, independent life? </p>
|
---|
469 | <p>Anne was perhaps as content with the arrangement as Henry.&nbsp;
|
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470 | She grew to enjoy English ale and gambling; she spent large sums on
|
---|
471 | gowns; she visited with the king's children and occasionally the king
|
---|
472 | himself.&nbsp; She was heard to remark that she was more attractive
|
---|
473 | than Katharine Parr, to whom the king's attention turned in 1543.&nbsp;
|
---|
474 | In fact, upon Catherine Howard's execution in 1542, rumors circulated
|
---|
475 | that perhaps the king would take back his former bride.&nbsp; The
|
---|
476 | French ambassador was suitably impressed with Anne's handling of a
|
---|
477 | delicate situation, observing that 'all her affairs could never make
|
---|
478 | her utter a word by which one might suppose that she was
|
---|
479 | discontented.'&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
480 | <p>These rumors were understandable enough; Anne occupied a nebulous
|
---|
481 | place in English society, unmarried but wealthy and independent.&nbsp;
|
---|
482 | She was not an heiress but still honored as a royal.&nbsp; She answered
|
---|
483 | to no male authority but that of the king, and he did not choose to
|
---|
484 | trouble her.&nbsp; For the rest of her life, rumors spread about her
|
---|
485 | lifestyle.&nbsp; For Anne's part, she was content and happy and had
|
---|
486 | little reason to be otherwise. </p>
|
---|
487 | <p>She made her last public appearance at Mary Tudor's coronation in
|
---|
488 | 1553, riding alongside the Princess Elizabeth.&nbsp; She died in 1557
|
---|
489 | of a 'declining illness' and was buried with appropriate honor at
|
---|
490 | Westminster Abbey.&nbsp; Her will is perhaps most representative of her
|
---|
491 | kindly character.&nbsp; In it, she remembered gifts to everyone who had
|
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492 | ever served her, no matter how humble or long ago. </p>
|
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493 | <p>Anne had chosen as her motto 'God send me well to keep' and it
|
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494 | proved apt, though in a way few could have predicted.</p>
|
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495 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
|
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496 | <center>
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497 | <p><font size="-1"><a
|
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498 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fwives.html">to the Six
|
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499 | Wives main page</a></font> <br>
|
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500 | <font size="-1"><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html">to
|
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501 | Tudor England</a></font></p>
|
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502 | <p><font size="-1"> <a
|
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503 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">to Primary Sources</a></font></p>
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504 | </center>
|
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505 | </blockquote>
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506 |
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509 | </Content>
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510 | </Section>
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511 | </Archive>
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