Why Anne of Cleves was the Cleverest of Henry VIII's Wives?

by Eleanor Barber

Hans Holbein's portrait of
Anne of Cleeves

Although Anne of Cleves is often described as the ugly one of Henry's wives, she was undoubtedly the cleverest of them all, outliving Henry and surviving his son Edward’s reign and much of his daughter Mary’s reign. 

Before Anne’s marriage to Henry there is no mention of her lack of beauty and Thomas Cromwell had assured Henry that “Every man praiseth the beauty of the same lady as well for the face as for the whole body”. Before Henry became consumed with dislike for her looks, Anne was seen as a pretty young woman able to to be married to a high standing noble or a king.

Henry was not interested in his marriage to Anne from the start and was simply marrying her for the political alliance with the dukedom of Cleves, due to England dwindling allies at that point in Henry’s reign. This was also why Henry could not divorce her straight away, so as not to break the tentative alliance England had with Cleves.

Henry being so disgusted by her he did not consummate the marriage, later telling his doctor that he did not believe that she was a virgin. While Henry complained about his new wife, Anne was acting the part of a dutiful wife doting on her new husband. However, in contrast to Henry’s claims, Anne had little idea of a consummation was about as she told an attendant that she thought that she may be pregnant saying  “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?”. This statement showed to the court and Henry himself, that Anne was a virgin due to knowing so little.

By spring 1540, Henry had set his eyes on a next wife, Catherine Howard, one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting. In June 1540, Anne was ordered to leave the court by the council. Upon hearing that her marriage was being questioned, Anne fainted, fearing the fate of Catherine of Aragon or, worse Anne Boleyn (i.e execution). After their marriage was deemed illegal, Anne wrote a letter to Henry offering herself as his “most humble servant”. By the end of their marriage Anne had only been queen for 6 months.

Elizabeth I

At the end of their marriage, due to Anne’s compliance during the divorce , Anne was awarded Richmond Palace among other homes, and was declared the kings “sister”. She was above all subjects, apart from Henry himself, his children and any future wives he would have. He allowed her to live almost as a queen but without the ageing Henry, who was many years her senior and becoming increasingly unwell. She was given many new jewels and furnishings for her many new homes and benefited from the income that her homes and land provided.

After Henry died and his son, Edward, was crowned, Anne was stripped of the title of the king's “sister” but still kept most of her properties, including Anne Boleyn’s old house, Hever Castle. She later turned this house into a mini court, having many nobles at this, most notably Princess Elizabeth.

After Edward's short reign, Mary took over. Anne was on good terms with Mary, which was shown when Elizabeth and Anne were awarded the place of honour at Mary’s coronation. However due to Mary’s religious beliefs, neither Elizabeth or Anne stayed in her favour for long - Anne was a Protestant, whereas Mary was a Catholic. Anne shortly left the court after rumours about herself and Elizabeth conspiring against Mary began circling. However, when Anne died, at 41, Mary still held Anne in such high standing that she arranged for her to have a full royal burial at Westminster.

Despite Anne not being alive during her reign, Elizabeth was close to Anne as Anne had invited Elizabeth back to the court during her short reign as queen and later on inviting Elizabeth as a frequent visitor to her many homes. When Elizabeth came to power, she followed the lessons that Anne had taught her to thrive in the Tudor court: you must have the ability to fight sensibly.