Claire | July 9, 2022
On this day in history, 9th July 1540, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, went from being queen consort to being the king’s “right dear and right entirely beloved sister” following the annulment of their six-month marriage.. But why was their marriage annulled? How did Anne of Cleves react to the news? What happened […]
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 | July 9, 2017
On this day in history, 9th July 1540, convocation declared that Anne of Cleves’ marriage to King Henry VIII was null and void and that both parties were free to marry again. While the twenty-four-year-old Anne never did remarry, her forty-nine-year-old former husband wasted no time taking another wife, wife number five. On 28th July […]
Claire | July 9, 2016
On this day in history, 9th July 1540, just over six months after he had married Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne was declared null and void. It was also declared that both parties were free to marry again. Anne did not ever remarry, but Henry already had wife number 5 waiting in […]
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 | 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 | July 9, 2014
On 9th July 1540, Convocation declared that the marriage between Henry VIII and his fourth wife Anne of Cleves was null and void: “After mature deliberation, they have found the marriage null by reason of a precontract between lady Anne and the marquis of Lorraine, that it was unwillingly entered into and never consummated, and […]
