Lesson 5: My Sister, My Wife. Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves.
Bad body smell, long nose, flabby breasts - Henry’s soon divorced Flander’s mare. But did Henry and Anne just simply get off on the wrong foot? (Or is that hoof?)
Henry the Widower
This segment aims to provide students with an understanding of Henry VIII’s time as a widower, and why he needed to remarry.
After the tragic death of Queen Jane from puerperal fever, late in 1537, England experienced a strange interlude lasting two years and a bit: Henry VIII without a wife. From almost the first days of his reign, Henry had had a Queen and consort. Now fate had given Henry VIII his much desired son at the cost of his ‘Entirely Beloved,’ making the throne alongside him empty. How deeply Henry the man grieved for Jane we can only guess, but within only a short time of losing her, Henry the King began to put out feelers to the courts of Europe for a new ‘Royal’ wife.
As Antonia Fraser explains in her ‘Six wives of Henry VIII,’ this search for a Queen can be understood on three levels. Firstly, a vacuum had been created by the dismantling of the Queen’s household, which offered a livelihood for many, from low to high. Then we have the fact that the King’s ministers were lipping their chops at the prospect of marrying off their King to a royal bride (it is doubtful that any of the suggested princesses shared similar sentiments at the prospect of Henry VIII as a bridegroom) and adding to the betterment of the kingdom. Then we have the King’s personal need for a ‘helpmeet’, and the hope of the Kingdom for a further prince or two to backup Edward’s fragile life. (1)
But getting a wife for Henry was never going to be a simple affair. He had this strange idea that daughters of royal houses would be willing to line up for him in hope that they would be the chosen one. He even suggested a ‘royal’ talent show of suitable princesses in Calais, where he could see and hear (he wanted a bride possessing musical talents) for himself the goods on barter. The French ambassador thought this suggestion rather off – and put Henry in his place by saying that, while the King was at it, perhaps he might like to mount the fillies, and pick out the best ride. (2)
After that, the King mostly stayed quiet about his preferred ways to pick a new wife, and generally kept to the accepted protocol of arranging paintings to be done of all his likely brides.
Henry in his forties was no longer the royal pin up boy of his twenties and thirties, when an active life kept him trim and attractive. But his lack of physical appeal didn’t make him too hard a job for his ministers to marry off. His marital history did leave royal families a trifle concerned for their daughters.(3) We have a lot of folklore where princesses supposedly joke about the smallness of their necks or loving the idea of being Henry’s bride if only they possessed two necks – said to be uttered by Henry’s very preferred bride, the sixteen-year-old Christina of Milan (4)– but – despite this – the King was still considered a good enough match for the powers across the English channel. Whether the women concerned considered him a good enough match had no bearing on this situation – they were trained to do what their menfolk commanded.
(1)Antonia Fraser, The six wives of Henry VIII, page 287-8
(2)Antonia Fraser, work cited, page 289
(3)Antonia Fraser; Work cited; page 288
(4)ditto
Henry VIII and his Wives, by Antonia Fraser. Although more than just one book will be referred to during this course, Henry VIII and his Wives is the main reference 'text.' Written in a very readable manner, this book is a very sensitive account of the six women who became the consorts of Bluff King Hal. Antonia Fraser's research is always excellent.
Test how well you can pick a wife for Henry with this fun game from www.pbs.org!!!
