ANNE OF CLEVES: The King's Sister

Today we have Anne of Cleves.

After the death of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, he had no appetite for a new wife.  The reason for this is because he finally had the son and heir he really wanted.  However, Henry was reminded by his advisors that even his own older brother had died before he could take the throne.  The position of the Tudor dynasty was only secure once he had the proverbial "Heir and Spare."  Thus, the search began for Henry's fourth wife.

A little side note that should be noted here is that Henry's wives were alternatively religious from Catholic to Protestant. Catherine of Aragon was a Catholic, Anne Boleyn was a Protestant, and Jane Seymour was, again, a Catholic.  This was because of a power struggle against the church ever since the Protestant Reformation began.  The Catholic's had largely expanded in power and place ever since the heir to the throne was born from a piously Catholic woman.  Thus, Anne of Cleves was the Protestant replacement for his fourth wife.

Anne was a german-born noblewoman who Henry believed to be attractive.  He was convinced to marry her by Protestant advisors.  Upon her arrival in England, Henry played out a fantasy where he dressed as a commoner and delivered a present to Anne.  Anne accepted the gift with gratitude, but she did not recognize her king in his costume (granted she had never seen him).  From that moment, Henry grew to despise her.  He claimed that she was unattractive with her swollen belly and large breasts.  Anne, who was very naive, believed that her marriage was consummated and kissing was enough to satisfy the sexual desires of her husband.

Henry was furious and sought a way out of the marriage.  In the end, Henry had the marriage annulled on the grounds of "non-consummation."  She was never actually crowned Queen Consort.  Anne lived the longest (in terms of the year she died, Catherine of Aragon had the longest life) of Henry's wives.  She got a good pension and was known as the "King's sister" for the rest of her days.

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page

Henry moved on to his next wife quickly...