On This Day in Tudor History

On this day in Tudor history 1540 Henry VIII married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves at the royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich in a ceremony conducted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. The union was not to be a happy one; Henry had been trying for several weeks to seek out a way to end his betrothal to Anne. His dislike of his intended bride was due perhaps in large part to her cold treatment of Henry the week before when he tried to surprise his fiancé in disguise and she reacted badly (some historians believe she may have thought she was being abducted) Unfortunately for Henry, jilting Anne would have compromised the fragile alliance between England and the Protestant German states. England needed this alliance to ensure that she was not the victim of a joint attack by the recently allied France and Spain. Also, Cromwell had done his utmost to ensure that the marriage followed all laws and regulations to avoid another Katherine of Aragon/Anne Boleyn fiasco. The marriage negotiations, it seemed, were rock solid with no graceful exit for Henry. The wedding night, far from the joyous occasion it should have been. It was awkward as Anne was not only a virgin but had been sheltered from the realities of sexual relationships for the entirety of her life. Her innocence may have frustrated Henry even further. He complained to Cromwell that he could not consummate the relationship saying, "I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse..." Henry had been very vocal about his disappointment in her looks, refuting the words of French ambassador who said Anne was of "...middling beauty, and of very assured and resolute countenance." The marriage would be Henry's shortest, lasting little more than six months.

Anne of Cleves
Hans Holbein the Younger c 1539

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