I agree with you too, Claire. In fact, I read somewhere that many people thought Anna of Cleves was prettier than her successor, Kathryn Howard. Well, once you anger a King’s royal ego, there’s just no going back, is there?
Once again we are dealing with vanity and puffed up egos and so I too agree 100% with what Claire said. Wow, in those times it was a man’s world, as well as, centuries before and after King Henry VIII. My male point of view is, down deep, I mean really down deep within Henry, lurked the memory of Anne which after the way he dealt with her he could never disclose to his court. He was comparing I feel Anne to Anne and unfortunately Anne of Cleves fit in no where with that memory he kept secretly within himself of Queen Anne Boleyn. I agree, therefore, with Brenda, that the cup overflowed with male ego during the times, but the true inner man does not always reflect to the outer image of a man. Could it be that Anne of Cleves just did not hold a candle to a memory and so paid the royal price for that…..Talk about a case of trying to compete….whew, Anne of Cleves did not have a chance from the get go. I personally can not find much wrong with Anne of Cleves, so there is a 2010 male ego speaking!
I think Anne of Cleves’s reaction to Henry was really the first time he had to face an honest view of himself. Thus far everyone still made him feel like the most handsome prince in all of christendom, but instead of being recognized as the tallest most charming masked knight he was recognized as king by his smell and girth–Anne not understanding the tradition of Henry’s charades acted appropriately to the old smelly obese man trying to lay hands on her. I am sure in his heart of hearts Henry knew what he looked like but he was still treated by everyone else as having that magnetism of his youth. Sometimes we are most wounded when someone confirms our deepest fears about ourselves and I believe that is what Anne of Cleves’s reaction did. Do I think she should have been demeaned and insulted for the rest of the marriage–no. She should have been instructed on who Henry was and what to expect by the ladies of the court. I am sure someone could have dropped a scarf beside her or something discreet and leaned in to explain who the fat man lumbering towards her was. I think the painting of her is very lovely and clearly does not show a woman scarred from the “pox”. And I highly doubt Holbein would risk suck displeasure from the king by portraying Anne inaccurately. By this time the whole of England knew what happened when you displeased the king.
Claire, I totally agree with your response. The male ego is a scary thing!
I agree with you too, Claire. In fact, I read somewhere that many people thought Anna of Cleves was prettier than her successor, Kathryn Howard. Well, once you anger a King’s royal ego, there’s just no going back, is there?
Once again we are dealing with vanity and puffed up egos and so I too agree 100% with what Claire said. Wow, in those times it was a man’s world, as well as, centuries before and after King Henry VIII. My male point of view is, down deep, I mean really down deep within Henry, lurked the memory of Anne which after the way he dealt with her he could never disclose to his court. He was comparing I feel Anne to Anne and unfortunately Anne of Cleves fit in no where with that memory he kept secretly within himself of Queen Anne Boleyn. I agree, therefore, with Brenda, that the cup overflowed with male ego during the times, but the true inner man does not always reflect to the outer image of a man. Could it be that Anne of Cleves just did not hold a candle to a memory and so paid the royal price for that…..Talk about a case of trying to compete….whew, Anne of Cleves did not have a chance from the get go. I personally can not find much wrong with Anne of Cleves, so there is a 2010 male ego speaking!
I think Anne of Cleves’s reaction to Henry was really the first time he had to face an honest view of himself. Thus far everyone still made him feel like the most handsome prince in all of christendom, but instead of being recognized as the tallest most charming masked knight he was recognized as king by his smell and girth–Anne not understanding the tradition of Henry’s charades acted appropriately to the old smelly obese man trying to lay hands on her. I am sure in his heart of hearts Henry knew what he looked like but he was still treated by everyone else as having that magnetism of his youth. Sometimes we are most wounded when someone confirms our deepest fears about ourselves and I believe that is what Anne of Cleves’s reaction did. Do I think she should have been demeaned and insulted for the rest of the marriage–no. She should have been instructed on who Henry was and what to expect by the ladies of the court. I am sure someone could have dropped a scarf beside her or something discreet and leaned in to explain who the fat man lumbering towards her was. I think the painting of her is very lovely and clearly does not show a woman scarred from the “pox”. And I highly doubt Holbein would risk suck displeasure from the king by portraying Anne inaccurately. By this time the whole of England knew what happened when you displeased the king.