Claire | July 9, 2018
On this day in history, 9th July 1540, the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves was declared null and void. They had been married just six months. The marriage of forty-nine-year-old Henry VIII and twenty-four-year-old Anne of Cleves was found null “by reason of a precontract between lady Anne and the marquis of […]
Claire | January 1, 2018
Anne of Cleves, or Anna von Jülich-Kleve-Berg, had arrived in England on 27th December 1539, landing at Deal in Kent, in preparation for her forthcoming marriage to King Henry VIII. On New Year’s Eve, she travelled on to Rochester, where she was to rest before travelling to Greenwich Palace, where she’d be formally received. She […]
Claire | June 20, 2016
On this day in history, 20th June 1540, five months after her marriage to King Henry VIII, Queen Anne of Cleves complained to her ambassador, Carl Harst, about the King’s interest in one of her maids of honour, a young woman by the name of Catherine Howard. Read more… Anne of Cleves is one of […]
Claire | January 6, 2016
On the feast of the Epiphany, 6th January 1540, Henry VIII married Anna von Jülich-Kleve-Berg, commonly known as Anne of Cleves, in the Queen’s Closet of the Chapel Royal at Greenwich Palace. Henry VIII had been trying to get out of the marriage since their disastrous meeting on New Year’s Day but had realised that […]
Claire | December 27, 2015
On 27th December 1539, at 5pm, Anne of Cleves (or Anna von Jülich-Kleve-Berg as she was actually known in her home country) landed at Deal in Kent in preparation for her forthcoming marriage to King Henry VIII. She was met by Sir Thomas Cheyne and taken to Deal Castle to rest after her long journey. […]
Claire | September 4, 2015
On this day in history, 4th September 1539, William, Duke of Cleves, promised his sister Anne of Cleves in marriage to Henry VIII by signing a marriage treaty. The treaty was then sent to England, where it was ratified and concluded by early October. Click here to read more about this and to read the […]
Claire | July 9, 2015
On 9th July 1540, convocation ruled that Henry VIII’s marriage to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves was null and void and that “the King is at liberty to marry another woman, and likewise the lady Anne free to marry.” The marriage was annulled “by reason of a precontract between lady Anne and the marquis […]
Claire | June 20, 2015
According to Carl Harst, the Cleves ambassador and advisor to Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, it was on 20th June 1540 that Anne complained to him about her husband’s interest in Catherine Howard, one of her maids of honour. Harst tried to reassure the Queen that it was just a “light romance” and […]
