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Anne of Cleves
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Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves (28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England as the fourth wife of Henry VIII from 6 January to 12 July 1540.
Born in Düsseldorf to John III, Duke of Cleves and Maria of Jülich-Berg, little is known about Anne before 1527. She was betrothed to Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, but the marriage did not take place.
In March 1539, Henry started negotiations with the German Protestants to form an alliance against the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. He sought to marry Anne, the sister of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and ordered Hans Holbein the Younger to paint him a portrait of her. Once Henry found it flattering, he agreed to the marriage. Anne arrived in England in December 1539, and met Henry in January, where he surprised her by wearing a disguise.
The difference in Henry and Anne's personalities made them incompatible with each other, and the marriage was annulled on 12 July 1540 following six months with no consummation. Anne received a generous settlement from Henry after the annulment and came to be known as "The King's Beloved Sister". She lived out the rest of her life in England and witnessed the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, who were both Henry's children. She attended the coronation of Mary I on 1 October 1553, outliving all of her husband's other wives. Anne was interred as a queen at Westminster Abbey following her death in 1557.
Anne was born in 1515, on either 22 September or 28 June. She was born in Düsseldorf, Duchy of Berg, the second daughter of John III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich jure uxoris, Cleves, Berg jure uxoris, Count of Mark, also known as de la Marck and Ravensberg jure uxoris (often referred to as Duke of Cleves) who died in 1538, and his wife Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. She grew up in Schloss Burg on the edge of Solingen.
Anne's father was influenced by Erasmus and followed a moderate path within the Reformation. He decided to side with the Schmalkaldic League and opposed Emperor Charles V. After John's death, Anne's brother William became Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, bearing the promising epithet "The Rich". In 1526, her elder sister Sibylle was married to John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany and considered the "Champion of the Reformation".
In 1527, at the age of 11, Anne was betrothed to Francis, the 9-year-old son and heir of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine but because Francis was under the age of consent (10 years old) at the time of the arrangement, the betrothal was considered unofficial and was cancelled in 1535. Her brother William was a Lutheran but the family was unaligned religiously, with her mother, the Duchess Maria, described as a "strict Catholic". Her father's ongoing dispute over the Duchy of Guelders with Charles V made the family suitable allies for England's King Henry VIII in the wake of the Truce of Nice. The match with Anne was urged on the King by his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell.
The artist Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched to Düren to paint portraits of Anne and her younger sister, Amalia, each of whom Henry VIII was considering as his fourth wife. Henry required the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter the sisters. The portraits are now located in the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Another 1539 portrait, by the school of Barthel Bruyn the Elder, is in the collection of Trinity College, Cambridge.
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Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves (28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England as the fourth wife of Henry VIII from 6 January to 12 July 1540.
Born in Düsseldorf to John III, Duke of Cleves and Maria of Jülich-Berg, little is known about Anne before 1527. She was betrothed to Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, but the marriage did not take place.
In March 1539, Henry started negotiations with the German Protestants to form an alliance against the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. He sought to marry Anne, the sister of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and ordered Hans Holbein the Younger to paint him a portrait of her. Once Henry found it flattering, he agreed to the marriage. Anne arrived in England in December 1539, and met Henry in January, where he surprised her by wearing a disguise.
The difference in Henry and Anne's personalities made them incompatible with each other, and the marriage was annulled on 12 July 1540 following six months with no consummation. Anne received a generous settlement from Henry after the annulment and came to be known as "The King's Beloved Sister". She lived out the rest of her life in England and witnessed the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, who were both Henry's children. She attended the coronation of Mary I on 1 October 1553, outliving all of her husband's other wives. Anne was interred as a queen at Westminster Abbey following her death in 1557.
Anne was born in 1515, on either 22 September or 28 June. She was born in Düsseldorf, Duchy of Berg, the second daughter of John III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich jure uxoris, Cleves, Berg jure uxoris, Count of Mark, also known as de la Marck and Ravensberg jure uxoris (often referred to as Duke of Cleves) who died in 1538, and his wife Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. She grew up in Schloss Burg on the edge of Solingen.
Anne's father was influenced by Erasmus and followed a moderate path within the Reformation. He decided to side with the Schmalkaldic League and opposed Emperor Charles V. After John's death, Anne's brother William became Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, bearing the promising epithet "The Rich". In 1526, her elder sister Sibylle was married to John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany and considered the "Champion of the Reformation".
In 1527, at the age of 11, Anne was betrothed to Francis, the 9-year-old son and heir of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine but because Francis was under the age of consent (10 years old) at the time of the arrangement, the betrothal was considered unofficial and was cancelled in 1535. Her brother William was a Lutheran but the family was unaligned religiously, with her mother, the Duchess Maria, described as a "strict Catholic". Her father's ongoing dispute over the Duchy of Guelders with Charles V made the family suitable allies for England's King Henry VIII in the wake of the Truce of Nice. The match with Anne was urged on the King by his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell.
The artist Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched to Düren to paint portraits of Anne and her younger sister, Amalia, each of whom Henry VIII was considering as his fourth wife. Henry required the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter the sisters. The portraits are now located in the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Another 1539 portrait, by the school of Barthel Bruyn the Elder, is in the collection of Trinity College, Cambridge.
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