Henry VIII was notorious for a lot of things, and at least six of them were his wives: Catherine Parr, Catherine Howard, Anne of Cleves, Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, and Catherine of Aragon. Henry infamously had Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard executed, Jane Seymour died after childbirth, Catherine Parr outlived him, and he divorced Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves.
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife, and she was the one married to Henry for the shortest amount of time — the pair were married for only six months. Anne has also gone down in history as Henry VIII's "ugly wife," but many believe the description is both unkind and untrue.
Anne married Henry when she was only 24 years old and the monarch was 48. She was brought up as a potential wife for Henry after the death of Jane Seymour. Anne was previously engaged to the Duke of Lorraine, but the marriage didn't happen, which left her without many prospects.
Henry wasn't especially interested when Anne of Cleves was first mentioned as a potential bride. In fact, he didn't show any interest at all until two years later, when he also happened to need to form a few new political alliances. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and French King Francis I, Henry's rivals, formed a treaty. The Duke of Juliers-Cleves, Anne's father, would prove to be an important ally since he, like Henry, did not welcome papal authority.
Once Henry opened up to the possibility, he quickly decided he needed to know what Anne looked like. He asked his minister, Thomas Cromwell, about Anne's looks. Thomas told him, "Every man praiseth the beauty of the same lady as well for the face as for the whole body… she excelleth as far the duchess [of Milan] as the golden sun excelleth the silver moon."
Henry's next step was to hire an artist to travel to Anne's home in Cleves so he could paint Anne and bring the portrait back for the king's approval. Henry was pleased and went ahead with the signing of a marriage treaty in October of 1539. Anne arrived in Kent on New Year's Eve.
The story goes that Henry was immediately less than happy with Anne's appearance. He was also furious with Thomas and was said to have screamed, "I like her not! I like her not!"
While some accounts have described Anne as "tall, big-boned and strong-featured," there were no prior complaints about her appearance before her marriage to Henry. In fact, Henry ended up describing her as "well and semelye [seemly]," so it's tough to know if he really didn't like how she looked.
It also needs to be mentioned that at 48 years old, the notoriously unhealthy Henry VIII wasn't exactly in his prime. While Henry was said to be quite the catch when he was young, his 40s definitely brought about a different appearance. He also suffered from rages and violent tempers that were likely the result of brain trauma from an injury when he was 44.
Updated accounts describe Henry in highly unflattering terms by the time he met Anne. According to BBC History Magazine:
"A contemporary depiction reveals the king as a grotesque figure. His beady eyes and tiny, pursed mouth are almost lost in the layers of flesh which surround them. He appears to have no neck, and his enormous frame extends beyond the reaches of the canvas."
Henry and Anne ended up getting married on January 6, 1540. When it was time to consummate the marriage, Henry reportedly couldn't do it. He noted, "She is nothing fair, and have very evil smells about her." Henry also said Anne was "indisposed to excite and provoke any lust" in him, and he "could never be stirred to know her carnally." He concluded by noting that he "left her as good a maid as I found her."
However, Anne's accounts definitely describe a different experience. While Henry asserted that Anne might not be a virgin, she was recorded as asking her attendants if she could be pregnant after only a few days because "When he [Henry] comes to bed he kisses me, and taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me, Goodnight, sweetheart: and in the morning kisses me, and biddeth me, Farewell, darling. Is this not enough?"
Most accounts have chalked up Henry's inability to consummate the marriage to how he felt about Anne, but more recent historians believe that Henry may have been covering up his own impotency. There were no records of mistresses in the two years preceding his marriage to Anne, and Henry had also lost a good deal of mobility due to an injury.
Whatever was or was not going on behind the scenes, Anne and Henry gave the appearance of a happy couple when in public. Anne also regularly wrote home to her family and described her happiness in detail.
Unfortunately for Anne, Henry met and fell in love with Catherine Howard only a few months after their marriage. In June, Anne was told to leave the castle, the excuse being that Henry was questioning their marriage owing to "her prior betrothal to the Duke of Lorraine, and had therefore refrained from consummating the union."
Anne initially refused to accept the request but also wanted to avoid the fate of Henry's previous wives, especially Anne Boleyn. She ultimately accepted the end of her marriage, which was declared illegal in July. Henry rewarded Anne with Richmond Palace and Bletchingley Manor for life, along with her own income. She also gained the status of the king's "sister" and outranked everyone except Henry's children and future wives.
