Anne of Cleves
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| Anne of Cleves | |
|---|---|
| Queen Consort of England | |
| Image:AnneCleves.jpg | |
| Anne of Cleves, painted by Hans Holbein the Younger | |
| Born | 22 September 1515 |
| Düsseldorf, Cleves | |
| Died | 16 July 1557 (aged 41) |
| London, England | |
| Consort | January 6, 1540 - July 9, 1540 |
| Consort to | Henry VIII of England |
| Father | John "the Peaceful," duke of Cleves |
| Mother | Maria von Jülich-und-Berg |
Anne of Cleves (22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Anne was born at Düsseldorf, Germany, the daughter of John III, ruler of the Duchy of Cleves, who died in 1538. After John's death, her brother William became Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, bearing the promising epithet "The Rich." In 1526, her elder sister Sybille was married to John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany and considered the "Champion of the Reformation." At the age of 12(1527), she was betrothed to Francis, son and heir of the Duke of Lorraine while he was still 10, so the betrothal was considered 'unofficial.' While her brother William was a Lutheran, the family's politics made them suitable allies for England's King Henry VIII in the aftermath of the Reformation, and a match with Anne was urged on the king by his chancellor, Thomas Cromwell.
[edit] Wedding preparations
The artist Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched to paint portraits of Anne and her sister, Amelia who Henry was considering for the role of his fourth wife. While it was usual for court painters to be flattering in their portrayal of important people, the only truly important person here was the king: Henry hired the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter these sitters. Holbein was a superb portraiture artist and there's every reason to believe his attractive portrayal of Anne was true, since Holbein remained at court and continued to win royal commissions. The portrait is currently displayed in The Louvre in Paris.
Negotiations with the Cleves court were in full swing by March 1539. Cromwell oversaw the talks and a marriage treaty was signed on 4 October of the same year. While Henry valued education and cultural sophistication in women, Anne lacked these in her upbringing; she received no formal education as a child, and instead of being taught to sing or play an instrument, she was skilled in needlework. She had learned to read and write, but in German only. Nevertheless, Anne was considered gentle, virtuous, and docile, qualities that made her a realistic candidate for Henry.
Henry, impatient to see his future bride, journeyed to Rochester on New Year’s Day 1540 and walked in on Anne unannounced. Without the benefit of an advance portrait to prepare her for Henry's appearance, she did not realise that 'this man' was to be her future husband, so she did not curtsey - or even rise from her chair - when Henry entered the room. The king took an immediate dislike to her because of it and announced: "I like her not." Henry urged Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, evading the marriage was impossible without offending the Germans.
[edit] A doomed marriage
The two were married on 6 January 1540 at the royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, despite Henry's very vocal misgivings. If his bride had objections, she kept them to herself. The phrase “God send me well to keep” was engraved around Anne’s wedding ring.
Anne was commanded to leave the court on June 24 and on July 6 she was informed of her husband's decision to reconsider the marriage. In a short time, Anne was asked for her consent to an annulment, to which she agreed. The marriage was annulled on July 9 1540, on the grounds both of non-consummation and of her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. She received a generous settlement, including Hever Castle, home of Henry's former in-laws, the Boleyns. Anne of Cleves House, in Lewes, Sussex, is just one of many properties she owned; she never lived there. Made a Princess of England and called "the King's Beloved Sister" by her former husband, Anne remained in England for the rest of her life.
[edit] In film
Elsa Lanchester appeared as Queen Anne in the 1933 film The Private Life of Henry VIII opposite Charles Laughton as Henry VIII. In this fanciful comedy of manners, Anne deliberately portrays herself as unattractive and naïve in order to persuade Henry to divorce her, thus enabling her to find love elsewhere.
In 1970, as part of the series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, actress Elvi Hale played the title role in the 90-minute BBC television drama "Anne of Cleves" opposite Keith Michell's Henry VIII. Mollie Sugden played Anne's German lady-in-waiting. In this relatively accurate portrayal, Anne comes to England full of youthful naïveté and joyous hope, only to be horrified upon meeting her future husband (who was, by this time, morbidly obese). She quickly befriends her young stepdaughter, the Princess Elizabeth. Jenny Bos played Anne in the 1972 film Henry VIII and his Six Wives. Catherine Siggins portrayed Anne in David Starkey's documentary on the wives in 2001. In 2003, Pia Girard played Anne of Cleves in the mini-series Henry VIII but appears only once in bed awaiting Henry, and once at the king's funeral seven years later.
[edit] In fiction
Philippa Gregory's novel, The Boleyn Inheritance, is told from the viewpoint of three prominent women at the Tudor court of Henry VIII: Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Jane Boleyn.
Margaret Campbell Barnes's My Lady of Cleves describes what Anne's life might have been like between the time her portrait was painted by Hans Holbein and when King Henry VIII died.
[edit] Historiography
Sir Horace Walpole, writing in the 18th century resurrected the myth which described Anne as "The Flanders Mare" — a monument to ugliness. This view persisted, and it is still a popular stereotype. Most modern historians, however, disagree with it, and the Holbein portrait certainly contradicts Walpole. Another point of view is that Anne found Henry repulsive because of his obesity, and set out to make him dislike her.
Another theory suggests that they agreed that they simply did not get along well with each other — Anne had been raised in the small provincial court at Düsseldorf and shared none of the musical and humanistic literary tastes of Henry's court. Another theory suggests that shifts in a threatened Catholic French-Spanish alliance removed any diplomatic motivations for their union. Henry and Anne split on amicable terms. This theory is supported by the fact that she received a good settlement.
Finally, there is the theory that the marriage was politically inconvenient because of the growing hostility between Henry and the Duke of Cleves [1].
[edit] Lineage
| 16. Adolf I, Duke of Cleves (1373-1448)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 8. John I, Duke of Cleves (1419-1481)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 17. Marie de Bourgogne (c. 1393-1473)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 4. John II, Duke of Cleves (1458-1521)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 18. Jean de Bourgogne, Comte de Nevers et de Rethel (1415-1491)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 9. Elizabeth de Nevers (1439-1483) | ||||||||||||||||
| 19. Jacqueline d'Ailly (?-1470)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 2. John III, Duke of Cleves (1490-1538/9) | ||||||||||||||||
| 20. Ludwig I, Landgraf von Hessen-Marburg (1402-1458)[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| 10. Heinrich III Landgraf von Hessen-Marburg (1440-1483)[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| 21. Anne von Sachsen[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| 5. Matilde von Hessen-Marburg (1473-1524)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| 22. Philip Graf von Katzenelnbogen (c. 1402-1479)[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| 11. Anna von Katzenelnbogen (1443-1494)[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| 23. Anne von Wurttemberg (c. 1408-1471)[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. Anne of Cleves (1515-1557) | ||||||||||||||||
| 24. Wilhelm von Jülich (c. 1382-c. 1428)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 12. Gerhard VII Herzog von Jülich (?-1475)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 25. Adelheid von Tecklenburg (before 1400-?)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 6. Wilhelm III Herzog von Jülich (1455-1524)[4] | ||||||||||||||||
| 26. Bernhard I Herzog von Sachsen-Lauenburg (?-1463)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 13. Sophie von Sachsen-Lauenburg (before 1428-1473)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 27. Adelheid von Pommern[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 3. Maria of Jülich-Berg (1491-1543) | ||||||||||||||||
| 28. Friedrich I Kurfürst von Brandenburg (1371-1440)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 14. Albrecht III Achilles Kurfürst von Brandenburg (1414-1486)[7] | ||||||||||||||||
| 29. Elisabeth Prinzessin von Bayern-Landshut (c. 1383-1442)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 7. Sybil von Brandenburg (1467-1524)[4] | ||||||||||||||||
| 30. Friedrich I Kurfürst von Sachsen (1411-1464)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| 15. Anne Prinzessin von Sachsen (1436-1512)[7] | ||||||||||||||||
| 31. Margarete von Habsburg (1416-1486)[6] | ||||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ Biography Channel
- ^ a b c d e f Lundy, Darryl, thePeerage, <http://www.thepeerage.com/p341.htm#i3409>. Retrieved on October 27, 2007
- ^ Lundy, Darryl, thePeerage, <http://www.thepeerage.com/p10150.htm#i101499>. Retrieved on October 27, 2007
- ^ a b Lundy, Darryl, thePeerage, <http://www.thepeerage.com/p10150.htm#i101500>. Retrieved on October 27, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f Lundy, Darryl, thePeerage, <http://www.thepeerage.com/p341.htm#i3410>. Retrieved on October 27, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lundy, Darryl, thePeerage, <http://www.thepeerage.com/p10309.htm#i103089>. Retrieved on October 27, 2007
- ^ a b Lundy, Darryl, thePeerage, <http://www.thepeerage.com/p343.htm#i3428>. Retrieved on October 27, 2007
[edit] External links
- A quick overview of Anne's life, including a very good portrait gallery
- A more in-depth examination of Anne's political career
- More information on Anne's life after her annulment
- A Google Earth biography tour of the Six Wives of Henry VIII on the Google Earth Community
- A biography on her life
| English royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jane Seymour | Queen Consort of England 6 January–9 July 1540 | Succeeded by Catherine Howard |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anne of Cleves |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Queen Consort of Henry VIII |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 22, 1515 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Düsseldorf, Duchy of Cleves (now Germany) |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 1557 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | London, England |
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