Thinking about Henry and his supposed reaction to Anne of Cleves I have often wondered if it was actually a bit the other way. We are told that Henry took an immediate dislike to Anne but quite possibly, remembering that he was no longer the lithe and athletic Prince of yore, Anne was repulsed by him and did not hide it quickly enough. The vain Henry would notice that he had not made a ‘hit’ with the young woman. His pride well dented he got his dig in first in a sort of self-preservation attack.
It is easy to fall for someone who obviously thinks well of one but the opposite is equally as true. For someone like Henry it would be a blow to find he was not the handsome chap in her eyes that he himself saw in his mirror each day.
He found it easier to put her down than face the fact he was flushed, bloated, balding and probably had rotten teeth/breath too.
Perhaps if Anne had been better prepared for the actuality rather than the concept of the most handsome Prince in Christendom she would have attracted Henry as he wanted to stun her with his grandeur and have her respond to him as though he were the be all and end all, the perfect specimen. He wanted to get the vibe from her that she couldn’t believe her luck but instead he felt her horror as she looked at him. I really do think the initial revulsion may well have been hers and he had to save face.

It’s strange all that went on about Henry knowing what she looked like, and yet Anne had no idea what he looked like. When Anne first met Henry she didn’t know he was the king. She thought he was a servant who had acted much too forward. He had kissed her on the mouth if I remember it right. I wonder if she was insulted by the man’s forward behaviour. Between the two of them, I’ll bet she was the first to be put off. Henry would have expected Anne to welcome him with open arms. In Henry’s mind why would any woman be shocked that he would come into her rooms and give her a big fat kiss? What was wrong with this woman that she didn’t know she had just been kissed by the king? I think Henry saw revulsion in Anne’s eyes and turned it around so that he could claim to have been repulsed by her.
She may have been okay with it if someone had told her in German that the king has arrived, he likes to play games, and the custom here is to kiss on the mouth in greeting. “I like her not!” I’d love to know what Anne said when he left the room. “Good Lord, what has my brother done to me?”