Anne of Cleves left her homeland in 1539 to marry the king of England.
She was never brought up to be a queen yet out of many possible choices, she was the bride Henry VIII chose as his fourth wife. Yet from their first meeting the king decided he liked her not and sought an immediate divorce. After just six months their marriage was annulled, leaving Anne one of the wealthiest women in England. This is the story of Anne’s marriage to Henry, how the daughter of Cleves survived him and her life afterwards.
I have the good fortune to live in rural Norfolk, just down the road from Salle and Blickling Hall, where the Boleyn family once lived. As a result, I have a keen interest in Anne Boleyn and I have, at times been guilty of passing over the lives and achievements of his other wives. However Sarah-Beth Watkins’ work about the life of Anne of Cleves or Anna von Julich-Kleve-Berg was a pleasurable re-discovery of the life and times of a strong, forbearing woman. Not only was she the wife who ‘survived’ but she outlived the king and his other wives and went on to witness the reign of Edward VI and part of the reign of Mary I.
At only 161 pages the book is not a daunting prospect and I found the style of writing incredibly accessible, taking me from Anne’s early days in Cleves from 1515 right through to her final days and her funeral in 1557.
Sarah-Beth Watkins gives a thoroughly detailed account of Anne’s epic journey to England which included 263 attendants and covered around 5 miles per day and taking over a month to complete. She recounts the king’s first, unfortunate meeting with Anne in Rochester where she failed to recognise him, told via accounts from Eustace Chapuys, Thomas Wriothesely and Sir Anthony Browne. She explores the potential reasons behind Henry’s displeasure with Anne and his frantic attempts during the following days to find a remedy to the situation. There was none and the wedding went ahead and famously remained unconsummated whilst Henry continued to look for a way out of his marriage. The work examines in detail when Anne likely became aware of Henry’s displeasure with her and how humiliated she must have felt, especially when one of her own maids, Katherine Howard, became the king’s mistress. Humiliation turned to fear when a request was made by the Privy Council for Anne to retire to Richmond Palace whilst the validity of her marriage to Henry was considered.
Ultimately Anne’s marriage to Henry was annulled after only 6 months. Anne received a generous annual allowance and estates and lands throughout the country which included Hever Castle and Richmond Palace, making her one of the wealthiest women in England at the time.
Henry then turned his frustrations on his Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell who he blamed for the marriage. Cromwell paid the ultimate price and was executed for treason on 28 July 1540, the same day on which Henry married Katherine Howard.
The book recounts how Anne lived following the annulment, her visits to the Court over the next few years, the fall of Katherine Howard and considers the rumours that Anne had given birth to a son following her marriage to the king.
On Henry’s marriage to Katherine Parr, Anne was regularly included in Court life up until Henry’s death in 1547 and enjoyed relationships with both his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Anne’s life became more unpredictable when Edward became king and she was regularly required to give up properties and lands. Her dissatisfaction at which is included in a letter she wrote to Princess Mary in January 1553. When Mary became queen in 1553, Anne was included in the celebrations and whilst being a protestant, never gave Mary a reason to doubt her loyalty. Anne died of an undiagnosed illness on 16 July 1557 aged 41. Her body was interred in Westminster Abbey – the only one of Henry’s wives to be buried at Westminster.
Sarah-Beth Watson includes 3 appendices in her book; the Marriage Treaty between Anne and Henry, the last will and testament of Anne of Cleves and Thomas Becon’s Pomander of Prayer which is dedicated to Anne. All 3 appendices are fascinating additions to a work which will reinvigorate the reader’s appreciation for a woman who history has remembered as an unwanted wife of the king but who we can now appreciate was a survivor who made a good life for herself in a foreign land during a deadly time of change and religious upheaval.
Reviewed by Kate Hope
Sounds an interesting read!