Was Anne of Cleves Henry VIII’s “Luckiest Queen”? That’s what people often say of her
When Anne of Cleves arrived in England to marry King Henry VIII, few could have predicted the twists in her story. From the ill-fated first encounter with her future husband to her unexpected survival in a court full of dangers, Anne’s tale is one of resilience, diplomacy, and surprising fortune…or was it?
Join me as I explore whether Anne’s life was charmed or challenged, and decide for yourself if she was Henry’s “lucky queen”…
Excellent article Claire and I’m in agreement with you and Elizabeth Norton about Anna’s dilemma regarding her unenviable situation, I don’t believe she was ever really happy following the annulment of her marriage, but accepted the position common sense decreed and with good grace, she had been humiliated she was aware of the gossiping at court, even though she had no grasp of the English language, but she had heard rumours about how taken the king was with her lady in waiting, and knew something was going on, she must have been terrified remembering all she had heard about her predecessors, and now she was being offered a way out, so she signed the annulment and accepted the position of the kings good sister some lovely homes and a comfortable pension, but compared to the crown it must have been hugely disappointing, she knew the king was not attracted to her though he had always treated her with courtesy, but it was that which stuck in her mind and she knew others knew it to, so it was humiliating, and yes I agree she now was in a kind of limbo, she was not a kings queen but a kings sister, and she had not travelled all that way to be such, but this way Henry and Cromwell were able to appease Cleves and still keep the Anglo/ Franck alliance, so Anna had some lovely residences to live in and we can safely say she lived in comfort and was invited to court from time to time, the ambassador who noted she seemed well enough as she dined with her one time husband and his new queen may not have wondered if it was all an act, indeed her fury when Henry married Catherine Parr shows how upset she had really been over her demotion from queen to his sister, I believe after his fifth queen fell she had given herself false hope and it was said how much she wanted to be taken back by him, but sadly it was not to be Henry V111 risked wars by putting his own personal feelings before the safety of his realm, it was a very peculiar un king like trait of his, and one wonders what his father Henry V11 would have made of his many marriages, he risked war with Spain and civil war to by making Anne Boleyn his queen, he risked toppling the German alliance which Cromwell had negotiated skilfully by trying to get out of his marriage with Anna from Cleves, it would have made England vulnerable to attack from Spain and France but that did not matter to him, as he found the lady from Cleves not to his liking, the disastrous match left Cromwell in a very insecure position and his enemies led by the Duke of Norfolk were waiting to bring him down, Anna is interesting because she yes did make the best of a difficult situation, but it was down to really a lack of choice, how could she defy the king, she was a foreigner in his land and was deemed his subject, he had sent his second queens head flying, although for diplomatic reasons we know he would not have murdered her it must have been uppermost in her mind, although disappointed with her lot she must have compared herself to Catherine Howard when that queen also lost her head, and must have thanked god she was still alive, she lived comfortably and it was said no one ever had a bad word to say about her, yes she did have worry when her step son was king, it appeared he found his fathers ex wife a bit of a liability, but she was close to her step daughters and it goes to show how likeable Anna was, for she could inspire warmth in Mary Tudors heart who was a Catholic, whilst being a Lutheran, when Mary became queen she rode beside her at her coronation and gave her a queens funeral in Westminster when she passed, in all Anna Von Kleves and yes I do like calling her by her correct title, was a most warm hearted lady who was popular with many, and yes pragmatic to and wise, years after her death, she was remembered with great affection by her household staff, we do not know what she died of but she was in her fortieth year, Holbeins famous portrait of her, which so beguiled Henry V111 shows a pale skinned serene faced lady with wide brown eyes, the other painting of her which shows her looking towards the right is not so attractive, profiles or faces at an angle never look as attractive as those full faced, and I think Holbein decided to show her at her best by painting her thus, Henry was aghast on meeting her in the flesh and we can see the artist maybe prompted by Cromwell made her look better than she actually was, but Anna’s real beauty came from within, maybe Henry himself came to realise that to one day.