Today in 1539 England and Cleves signed the marriage treaty between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour, had died in childbirth two years earlier, and it took Henry quite a long time finding another wife, negotiating with several European nations for their Princesses. This is the time period when the famous response of Christina of Denmark when she was approached, saying that if she had two heads, one would gladly be at the King of England’s disposal.
The marriage with Cleves was largely the work of Thomas Cromwell, but there weren’t a lot of choices for Henry in general. The Catholic countries were still against him because of his rejecting papal authority and starting up his own church. He needed a Protestant country, and Cleves, which was in present-day Germany, seemed like a good match. Of course, sadly for Henry and Anne, the marriage didn’t work out. And within a year Cromwell would be beheaded for his role in pushing it on Henry.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Spring 2019 Tudor Summit: Heather Darsie on Anna of Cleves
Episode 121: Alison Weir on Anne of Cleves
Episode 061: Anne of Cleves
Shop Link:
Anne of Cleves Collection
Featuring: Anne of Cleves “Best Life” T-shirt
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.