Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves was married to Henry VIII for six months, agreed to the annulment without argument, and outlived every other wife and the king. The marriage was Thomas Cromwell's diplomacy: England was isolated after the break with Rome, and an alliance with the Duchy of Cleves offered a Protestant-leaning connection in the Rhineland at a moment when France and the Empire were briefly friendly. Holbein was sent to paint her and produced a portrait Henry approved of. He then met her at Rochester on New Year's Day 1540, arriving in disguise as a romantic surprise in the manner of chivalric convention, and she failed to recognise him and carried on watching a bull-baiting; the story is usually told for comedy and is probably part of the explanation. He married her anyway three weeks later and complained that he could not consummate it. The annulment in July was granted on the grounds of non-consummation and of a prior engagement of hers, and she accepted it at once, in writing, which is the decision that saved her. She received Richmond Palace, Hever Castle - Anne Boleyn's childhood home - a large income and the rank of the king's sister, and remained on good terms with him and with all three of his children. Cromwell was executed on 28 July, the day Henry married Catherine Howard, and the failed marriage was among the charges. Anne died in 1557 during Mary I's reign and is buried in Westminster Abbey, the only one of the six who is. Her brother William of Cleves was furious and the Rhineland alliance came to nothing. She learned English and played cards well enough to be a regular partner of the king. Holbein was not punished for the portrait, contrary to the usual story.

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