Henry VIII only had to take one look at Anne of Cleves for her fate to be decided. The King had been so eager to meet his new bride that he had left behind the New Year festivities at Whitehall and hurried to Rochester, but when he got there he didn't like what he found. Anne, plain and Germanic, was not at all like the attractive and interesting women that Henry was used to. Although he was perfectly courteous to Anne, he complained after the meeting that: "I like her not!"
In an age of high infant mortality Henry needed to remarry so that he could have more sons. Although he had been in love with Jane Seymour, he realised that it was important that he marry again as soon as possible, and began looking for a new Queen shortly after Jane's death.
Even though Henry, although he used to be handsome, was now 47, growing fatter, balding, had a bad leg and was bad-tempered, he insisted on having a good-looking wife whom he could love.
Possible wives included French princesses and ladies of high rank, Christina of Milan and Marie de Guise. When told that Henry demanded that potential French brides be brought to Calais for inspection King Francis laughed, and said: "It would seem they meant to do with women there as with their geldings: collect a number and trot them out to take which goes best." 1 He had no high opinion of the English, and refused to do Henry's bidding.
Christina of Milan, the daughter of King Christian of Denmark, and recently widowed wife of the Duke of Milan, was beautiful but too slim to please Henry who liked buxom women. She, in turn, was not impressed with the King's previous treatment of his wives and didn't want to be the next to have her head chopped off or die in childbirth. When told of his suit, she said wittily that if she had two heads she would risk it, but she had only one! She was pleased to refuse on the grounds that she was the great-niece of Katherine of Aragon.
Mary of Guise was also very attractive but she preferred to marry James V of Scotland.
Cromwell, who wanted to further the Protestant cause, advised Henry to ally himself with a Protestant wife. An alliance with a Lutheran country would help if powerful Spain decided to wage war against England with the possible help of France. Henry now considered the Duke of Cleve's sisters, Anne and Amelia, and commissioned Holbein to paint their portraits.
