Anne of Cleves
Encyclopedia
Anne of Cleves (22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife
of Henry VIII of England
and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort
. Following the annulment
of their marriage, Anne was given a generous settlement by the King, and thereafter referred to as the King's Beloved Sister. She lived to see the coronation of Mary I of England
, outlasting the rest of Henry's wives.
Anne was the subject of two portraits by Hans Holbein
who painted her in 1539.
, the second daughter of John III
of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich
jure uxoris, Cleves
, Berg
jure uxoris, Count of Mark aka de la Marck
and Ravensberg jure uxoris (often referred to as Duke of Cleves) who died in 1538, and his wife Maria, Duchess of Julich-Berg (1491–1543). She grew up living in Schloss Burg
on the edge of Solingen
. Anne's father was influenced by Erasmus and followed a moderate path within the Reformation
. He sided with the Schmalkaldic League
and opposed Emperor Charles V
. After John's death, Anne's brother William
became Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, bearing the promising epithet "The Rich." In 1526, her elder sister Sybille
was married to John Frederick
, Elector of Saxony, head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany
and considered the "Champion of the Reformation."
At the age of 12 (1527), Anne was betrothed to Francis
, son and heir of the Duke of Lorraine
while he was only 10. Thus the betrothal was considered 'unofficial' and was cancelled in 1535. Her brother William was a Lutheran but the family was unaligned religiously, with her mother, the Duchess Maria described as a "strict Catholic." The Duke's ongoing dispute over Gelderland
with Emperor Charles V
made them suitable allies for England's King Henry VIII in the wake of the Truce of Nice. The match with Anne was urged on the King by his chancellor
, Thomas Cromwell.
was dispatched to paint portraits of Anne and her younger sister, Amalia
, both of whom Henry was considering as his fourth wife. Henry required the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter the sisters. The two versions of Holbein's portrait are in the Louvre
in Paris
and the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London
. Negotiations with Cleves were in full swing by March of 1539. Cromwell oversaw the talks, and a marriage treaty was signed on 4 October of that year.
Henry valued education and cultural sophistication in women, but Anne lacked these: she had received no formal education but was skilled in needlework and liked playing card games. She could read and write, but only in German
. Nevertheless, Anne was considered gentle, virtuous, and docile, qualities that made her a suitable candidate for Henry.
Anne was described by the French ambassador, Charles de Marillac
, as tall and slim, "of middling beauty, and of very assured and resolute countenance". She was dark haired, with a rather swarthy complexion, appeared solemn by English standards, and looked old for her age. Holbein painted her with high forehead, heavy-lidded eyes and a pointed chin.
Anne first travelled to Calais
where a large number of English noblemen and women had been ordered to attend her in a magnificent pageant. Henry planned to meet her at Greenwich Palace, However, the King was impatient to see his future bride and went to meet her at Rochester on her journey from Dover
. According to the sworn testimony of his companions, he was promptly disappointed with her appearance, although there are many documents from the time which describe how Henry and some of his courtiers sneaked into the room where Anne was watching bull-fighting, wearing masks and cloaks, when Henry boldly kissed her. Henry, being of tall stature and well-built in his youth, had been instantly recognised by his past wives when acting out this courtly-love tradition, although Anne had never met her husband-to-be before, and pushed him away startled, cursing in German. Henry did then reveal his true identity to Anne, although he is said to have been put-off the marriage from then on. Most historians believe that he later used her 'bad' appearance and incapability in bed as excuses, saying how he felt he had been misled, for everyone had praised Anne's attractions: "She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported," he complained. Henry urged Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, doing so was impossible without endangering the vital alliance with the Germans.
in Greenwich
, London by Archbishop
Thomas Cranmer
. The phrase "God send me well to keep" was engraved around Anne’s wedding ring. Immediately after arriving in England, Anne conformed to the Anglican
form of worship, which Henry expected. The couple's first night as husband and wife was not a happy one. Henry confided to Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, saying, "I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse".
Anne was commanded to leave the Court on 24 June, and on 6 July she was informed of her husband's decision to reconsider the marriage. Witness statements were taken from a number of courtiers and two physicians which register the king's disappointment at her appearance. Henry had also commented to Thomas Heneage and Anthony Denny
that he could not believe she was a virgin. Shortly afterwards, Anne was asked for her consent to an annulment, to which she agreed. The marriage was annulled on 9 July 1540, on the grounds of non-consummation and her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. Henry VIII's doctor, Dr Butts stated that after the wedding night Henry said he was not impotent since he experienced "duas pollutiones nocturnas in somno".
, and Hever Castle
, home of Henry's former in-laws, the Boleyns. Anne of Cleves House
, in Lewes
, Sussex
, is just one of many properties she owned; she never lived there. Henry and Anne became good friends—she was an honorary member of the King's family and was referred to as "the King's Beloved Sister". She was invited to court often and, out of gratitude for her not contesting the annulment, Henry decreed that she would be given precedence over all women in England save his own wife and daughters.
After Catherine Howard
was beheaded, Anne and her brother, the Duke of Cleves, pressed the king to remarry her. Henry quickly refused to do so. In March 1547, Edward VI's
Privy Council
asked her to move out of Bletchingley
Palace, her usual residence, to Penshurst Place
to make way for Thomas Cawarden
, Master of Revels. They pointed out that Penshurst was nearer to Hever and the move had been Henry VIII's will.
In 1553, when Henry's daughters Mary
and Elizabeth
rode into London with Mary as the new monarch, Anne was there to greet them. She was also present at Mary I's coronation at Westminster. That was her last public appearance. As the new Queen was a strict Catholic, Anne yet again converted her religion, now becoming a Roman Catholic.
A few months later, Anne wrote to Mary I to congratulate her on her marriage to Philip of Spain
. Nevertheless, Anne rarely visited the Court during Mary's reign and enjoyed managing her own estates. Since her arrival as the King's bride, Anne had never left England: both of her parents had died by the time her marriage was annulled and her brother, a strict Lutheran, did not approve of her adherence to Anglicanism.
, where Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr
, had lived after her remarriage. Here, in the middle of July 1557, Anne dictated her last will. In it, she mentions her brother, sister and sister-in-law, as well as the future Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Norfolk and the Countess of Arundel. She left some money to her servants and asked Mary and Elizabeth to employ them in their households.
Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on 16 July 1557, eight weeks before her forty-second birthday. The cause of her death was most likely to have been cancer
. She was buried in Westminster Abbey
, on 3 August, in what has been described as a "somewhat hard to find tomb" - on the opposite side of Edward the Confessor
's shrine and slightly above eye level for a person of average height. She is the only wife of Henry VIII to be buried in the Abbey.
She also has the distinction of being the last of Henry VIII's wives to die (she outlived Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr
, by 9 years). She was not the longest-lived, however, since Catherine of Aragon
was 50 at the time of her death and Anne was only 41.
It is widely believed that Henry VIII often spoke to Anne as a friend, and that she advised him on many matters during their friendship and his reign, especially where matters of trust were raised amongst his council. This coincides with the extensive wealth Anne was given upon the ending of their short lived marriage and her title as beloved sister, someone he loved but not for a wife.
Anne of Cleves appears as a character in many historical novels about Henry's reign. For example, about a third of The Boleyn Inheritance
by Philippa Gregory
is recounted from Anne's point of view, covering the period of Henry VIII's marriages to her and to her successor Catherine Howard
. The book concludes with Anne living away from Court, and avoiding the execution ceremonies of Howard and of Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law to one of Henry's queens and lady-in-waiting to all the others, including Anne. Gregory includes Anne in a non-fictional review of the period at the end of the book.
Anne of Cleves is the main character of My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes.
|-
Wives of Henry VIII
The wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort married to Henry VIII of England between 1509 and 1547. The six women to hold the title 'queens consort' of King Henry VIII were, in order:* Catherine of Aragon ,* Anne Boleyn ,...
of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
. Following the annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
of their marriage, Anne was given a generous settlement by the King, and thereafter referred to as the King's Beloved Sister. She lived to see the coronation of Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, outlasting the rest of Henry's wives.
Anne was the subject of two portraits by Hans Holbein
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
who painted her in 1539.
Early life
Anne was born in 1515 in DüsseldorfDüsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, the second daughter of John III
John III, Duke of Cleves
John III the Peaceful, Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark was a son of John II, Duke of Cleves and Matilda of Hesse, daughter of Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse.John III became Regent of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in 1521, and Lord of Ravensberg in 1528.John represented...
of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich
Duchy of Jülich
The Duchy of Jülich comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay left of the Rhine river between the Electorate of Cologne in the east and the Duchy of Limburg in the west. It had territories on both sides of the river Rur, around its capital...
jure uxoris, Cleves
Duchy of Cleves
The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
, Berg
Berg (state)
Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
jure uxoris, Count of Mark aka de la Marck
De la Marck
The House of La Marck, , original German name von der Mark, was an important family in the history of Europe, which from about 1200 appeared as the Counts of Mark.-History:...
and Ravensberg jure uxoris (often referred to as Duke of Cleves) who died in 1538, and his wife Maria, Duchess of Julich-Berg (1491–1543). She grew up living in Schloss Burg
Schloss Burg
Burg Castle , located in Burg an der Wupper , is the largest reconstructed castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a popular tourist attraction...
on the edge of Solingen
Solingen
Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2009 population of 161,366 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land...
. Anne's father was influenced by Erasmus and followed a moderate path within the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. He sided with the Schmalkaldic League
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League was a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although originally started for religious motives soon after the start of the Protestant Reformation, its members eventually intended for the League to replace the Holy...
and opposed Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. After John's death, Anne's brother William
Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg .William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was the only son of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. William took over rule of his father's estates upon his death in 1539...
became Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, bearing the promising epithet "The Rich." In 1526, her elder sister Sybille
Sybille of Cleves
Sybille of Cleves was Electress consort of Saxony.She was the eldest daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves, and a sister of Anne of Cleves and Amalia of Cleves. Sybille's mother was Maria of Jülich-Berg .In September, 1526 Sybille married John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony...
was married to John Frederick
John Frederick, Elector of Saxony
John Frederick I of Saxony , called John the Magnanimous, was Elector of Saxony and Head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany , "Champion of the Reformation".-Early years:...
, Elector of Saxony, head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League was a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although originally started for religious motives soon after the start of the Protestant Reformation, its members eventually intended for the League to replace the Holy...
and considered the "Champion of the Reformation."
At the age of 12 (1527), Anne was betrothed to Francis
Francis I, Duke of Lorraine
Francis I was a member of the French nobility. He was briefly Duke of Lorraine from 1544–1545.-History:...
, son and heir of the Duke of Lorraine
Antoine, Duke of Lorraine
Antoine , known as the Good, was Duke of Lorraine from 1508 until his death in 1544.-Biography:Antoine was born at Bar-le-Duc, the son of René II, Duke of Lorraine and Philippa of Guelders...
while he was only 10. Thus the betrothal was considered 'unofficial' and was cancelled in 1535. Her brother William was a Lutheran but the family was unaligned religiously, with her mother, the Duchess Maria described as a "strict Catholic." The Duke's ongoing dispute over Gelderland
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
with Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
made them suitable allies for England's King Henry VIII in the wake of the Truce of Nice. The match with Anne was urged on the King by his chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
, Thomas Cromwell.
Wedding preparations
The artist Hans Holbein the YoungerHans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
was dispatched to paint portraits of Anne and her younger sister, Amalia
Amalia of Cleves
Amalia of Cleves was a princess from the house of Von der Mark...
, both of whom Henry was considering as his fourth wife. Henry required the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter the sisters. The two versions of Holbein's portrait are in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Negotiations with Cleves were in full swing by March of 1539. Cromwell oversaw the talks, and a marriage treaty was signed on 4 October of that year.
Henry valued education and cultural sophistication in women, but Anne lacked these: she had received no formal education but was skilled in needlework and liked playing card games. She could read and write, but only in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Nevertheless, Anne was considered gentle, virtuous, and docile, qualities that made her a suitable candidate for Henry.
Anne was described by the French ambassador, Charles de Marillac
Charles de Marillac
Charles de Marillac was a French prelate and diplomat.-Career:De Marillac was, by the age of twenty-two, an advocate in parliament in Paris...
, as tall and slim, "of middling beauty, and of very assured and resolute countenance". She was dark haired, with a rather swarthy complexion, appeared solemn by English standards, and looked old for her age. Holbein painted her with high forehead, heavy-lidded eyes and a pointed chin.
Anne first travelled to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
where a large number of English noblemen and women had been ordered to attend her in a magnificent pageant. Henry planned to meet her at Greenwich Palace, However, the King was impatient to see his future bride and went to meet her at Rochester on her journey from Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
. According to the sworn testimony of his companions, he was promptly disappointed with her appearance, although there are many documents from the time which describe how Henry and some of his courtiers sneaked into the room where Anne was watching bull-fighting, wearing masks and cloaks, when Henry boldly kissed her. Henry, being of tall stature and well-built in his youth, had been instantly recognised by his past wives when acting out this courtly-love tradition, although Anne had never met her husband-to-be before, and pushed him away startled, cursing in German. Henry did then reveal his true identity to Anne, although he is said to have been put-off the marriage from then on. Most historians believe that he later used her 'bad' appearance and incapability in bed as excuses, saying how he felt he had been misled, for everyone had praised Anne's attractions: "She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported," he complained. Henry urged Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, doing so was impossible without endangering the vital alliance with the Germans.
A doomed marriage
Despite Henry's very vocal misgivings, the two were married on 6 January 1540 at the royal Palace of PlacentiaPalace of Placentia
The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London...
in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, London by Archbishop
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
. The phrase "God send me well to keep" was engraved around Anne’s wedding ring. Immediately after arriving in England, Anne conformed to the Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
form of worship, which Henry expected. The couple's first night as husband and wife was not a happy one. Henry confided to Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, saying, "I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse".
Anne was commanded to leave the Court on 24 June, and on 6 July she was informed of her husband's decision to reconsider the marriage. Witness statements were taken from a number of courtiers and two physicians which register the king's disappointment at her appearance. Henry had also commented to Thomas Heneage and Anthony Denny
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of a monarch's courtiers, whose physical intimacy naturally led to him becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master, and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course...
that he could not believe she was a virgin. Shortly afterwards, Anne was asked for her consent to an annulment, to which she agreed. The marriage was annulled on 9 July 1540, on the grounds of non-consummation and her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. Henry VIII's doctor, Dr Butts stated that after the wedding night Henry said he was not impotent since he experienced "duas pollutiones nocturnas in somno".
After the annulment
The former queen received a generous settlement, including Richmond PalaceRichmond Palace
Richmond Palace was a Thameside royal residence on the right bank of the river, upstream of the Palace of Westminster, to which it lay 9 miles SW of as the crow flies. It it was erected c. 1501 within the royal manor of Sheen, by Henry VII of England, formerly known by his title Earl of Richmond,...
, and Hever Castle
Hever Castle
Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever near Edenbridge, Kent, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century...
, home of Henry's former in-laws, the Boleyns. Anne of Cleves House
Anne of Cleves House
Anne of Cleves House is a 15th century timber-framed Wealden hall house on Southover High Street in Lewes, East Sussex, England. It formed part of Queen Anne's annulment settlement from King Henry VIII in 1541, although she never visited the property...
, in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, is just one of many properties she owned; she never lived there. Henry and Anne became good friends—she was an honorary member of the King's family and was referred to as "the King's Beloved Sister". She was invited to court often and, out of gratitude for her not contesting the annulment, Henry decreed that she would be given precedence over all women in England save his own wife and daughters.
After Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
was beheaded, Anne and her brother, the Duke of Cleves, pressed the king to remarry her. Henry quickly refused to do so. In March 1547, Edward VI's
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
asked her to move out of Bletchingley
Bletchingley
Bletchingley is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone.-History:The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
Palace, her usual residence, to Penshurst Place
Penshurst Place
Penshurst Place is a historic building near Tonbridge, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The original medieval house is one of the most complete examples...
to make way for Thomas Cawarden
Thomas Cawarden
Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingley was Master of Revels to Henry VIII of England, Edward VI, and Mary.Thomas was the son of William Carden, a cloth-fuller and citizen of London...
, Master of Revels. They pointed out that Penshurst was nearer to Hever and the move had been Henry VIII's will.
In 1553, when Henry's daughters Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
rode into London with Mary as the new monarch, Anne was there to greet them. She was also present at Mary I's coronation at Westminster. That was her last public appearance. As the new Queen was a strict Catholic, Anne yet again converted her religion, now becoming a Roman Catholic.
A few months later, Anne wrote to Mary I to congratulate her on her marriage to Philip of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. Nevertheless, Anne rarely visited the Court during Mary's reign and enjoyed managing her own estates. Since her arrival as the King's bride, Anne had never left England: both of her parents had died by the time her marriage was annulled and her brother, a strict Lutheran, did not approve of her adherence to Anglicanism.
Death
When Anne's health began to fail, Mary I allowed her to live at Chelsea Old ManorChelsea Manor
Chelsea Manor, is a former royal residence acquired by Henry VIII of England in 1536. It was home to Elizabeth I of England, as Princess, between 1536 and 1548, and then to Anne of Cleves, who died there in 1557. Other famous owners included James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Charles Cheyne,...
, where Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
, had lived after her remarriage. Here, in the middle of July 1557, Anne dictated her last will. In it, she mentions her brother, sister and sister-in-law, as well as the future Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Norfolk and the Countess of Arundel. She left some money to her servants and asked Mary and Elizabeth to employ them in their households.
Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on 16 July 1557, eight weeks before her forty-second birthday. The cause of her death was most likely to have been cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. She was buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, on 3 August, in what has been described as a "somewhat hard to find tomb" - on the opposite side of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
's shrine and slightly above eye level for a person of average height. She is the only wife of Henry VIII to be buried in the Abbey.
She also has the distinction of being the last of Henry VIII's wives to die (she outlived Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
, by 9 years). She was not the longest-lived, however, since Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
was 50 at the time of her death and Anne was only 41.
It is widely believed that Henry VIII often spoke to Anne as a friend, and that she advised him on many matters during their friendship and his reign, especially where matters of trust were raised amongst his council. This coincides with the extensive wealth Anne was given upon the ending of their short lived marriage and her title as beloved sister, someone he loved but not for a wife.
Non-fiction and fiction
Anne is the subject of two biographies: Elizabeth Norton's Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride and Mary Saaler's Anne of Cleves. Retha Warnicke has written a study on Anne's marriage called The Marrying of Anne of Cleves.Anne of Cleves appears as a character in many historical novels about Henry's reign. For example, about a third of The Boleyn Inheritance
The Boleyn Inheritance
The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory which was first published in 2006. It is a direct sequel to her previous novel The Other Boleyn Girl, and one of the additions to her six-part series on the Tudor royals...
by Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory is an English novelist.-Early life and academic career:Philippa Gregory was born in Kenya. When she was two years old, her family moved to England. She was a "rebel" at school, but managed to attend the University of Sussex...
is recounted from Anne's point of view, covering the period of Henry VIII's marriages to her and to her successor Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
. The book concludes with Anne living away from Court, and avoiding the execution ceremonies of Howard and of Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law to one of Henry's queens and lady-in-waiting to all the others, including Anne. Gregory includes Anne in a non-fictional review of the period at the end of the book.
Anne of Cleves is the main character of My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes.
In popular media
- Rick WakemanRick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
recorded the piece "Anne of Cleves" for his 1973 album, The Six Wives of Henry VIIIThe Six Wives of Henry VIII (album)The Six Wives of Henry VIII is the debut studio album from the English keyboardist and composer Rick Wakeman, released in January 1973 on A&M Records. It is an instrumental progressive rock album with its concept based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the six wives of Henry... - The role of Anne of Cleves was played by actress and singer Joss StoneJoss StoneJocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
in the Showtime cable television series The TudorsThe TudorsThe Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
. - In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Father Knows Worst", when Homer falls asleep while building a balsa wood model of Westminster Abbey, he has a vision of the ghost of Anne of Cleves.
Titles and styles
- 22 September 1515 – 6 January 1540: Her Highness Duchess Anne of Cleves (Jülich and Berg, Countess of Mark and Ravensberg, Lady of Ravenstein)
- 6 January 1540 – 9 July 1540: Her Majesty The Queen of England
- 9 July 1540 – 16 July 1557: Her Highness Duchess Anne of Cleves, the King's Beloved Sister
External links
- Find A Grave
- A quick overview of Anne's life, including a very good portrait gallery
- A more in-depth examination of Anne's political career
- More information on Anne's life after her annulment
- A Google Earth biography tour of the Six Wives of Henry VIII on the Google Earth Community
- A biography on her life (Archived 2009-10-25)
- Flickr.com, Anne Of Cleves
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