Anne of Cleves: Too Ugly for Henry VIII? Facial Re-Creations & History Revealed.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Royalty Now, where we recreate famous figures from the past and talk about their history. Today we're talking about Anna of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. She's known to history as being the wife who was too ugly for King Henry, but was she really that ugly or is this just a case of some historical slander? First we'll talk about her history and try to get closer to the truth of what she looked like, and then of course at the end I'll reveal my recreations. So let's go ahead and get started. Anna of Cleves was born in Düsseldorf on September 22nd, 1515, to John III and Maria of Uelichburg. She was born into a time of great change. Within just a few years of her birth, the Protestant Reformation would spread rapidly, and rulers throughout Europe were left to decide whether they would rebel against the powerful Catholic Church or stay in line. Anne's father, John III, was the ruler of most of what is now North Rhine-Westphalia. John decided that he would side with a Protestant military alliance called the Schmalkaldic League. He would further this alliance when his eldest daughter Sybil married Frederick I, a man who would go on to become the League's leader and a Protestant champion. The family's close ties with the League would make them very attractive to suitors all over Europe who were looking to forge a Protestant alliance. At 12 years old, Anne was betrothed to a 10-year-old boy named Francis, who was the heir to the Duchy of Lorraine in France. But until they were older, nothing could be done officially. Anne wasn't formally educated and grew up fairly sheltered, and she only knew how to read and write in German. It was said that she was raised by her strict mother to be a pleasing and obedient wife. Sadly, this is pretty much the extent of what we know about Anne's childhood. Essentially, nobody thought that she would be all that important. For years, it seems as though she would go to France to be a duke's wife, and that would be the end of it. The irony is that Anne ends up becoming this super interesting side character in recorded history, one whose story intertwines with some of the most important people in English history. And in 1539, her entire life would change. After the loss of his third wife, Jane Seymour, during the birth of his only heir, Edward, King Henry VIII of England was on the hunt for a new wife. Henry's departure from the Catholic Church in 1529 had made him enemies all over Europe, including the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The threat of invasion from the Catholic Spanish king began to eat away at Henry. He needed like-minded allies. His advisors began to scour Europe, trying to find someone who would be both Protestant and make a pleasing bride for the king. Many candidates were being vetted at the same time, but before Henry would even consider a bride, he had to send a man named Hans Holbein the Younger to meet the women in person. Hans was an incredibly talented artist who brought up the standard of English royal portraits an astounding amount in his lifetime. His unmatched ability to capture his subjects is what caught King Henry's eye, and he had now been in his service for the better part of the last decade. But not every bride was happy to be considered. Sixteen-year-old Christina of Denmark supposedly remarked, if I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal. Henry's horrific treatment of But as a testament to Holbein's skill, his portrait of her was done in only three hours. The first we hear of Anne from the English perspective is when one of King Henry's advisors mentioned in passing that the Duke of Cleves, a strong Protestant ally, had a daughter, but there was no great praise of her personage or beauty. Henry's advisor, Thomas Cromwell, was the main force behind considering Anne of Cleves and her sister Amalia. Cromwell desperately wanted the Protestant alliance that marrying one of the sisters would bring. It was rumored that descriptions of Anne given to the King by Cromwell, who had never seen her in person, were being inflated for Cromwell's own agenda. But Henry must have been persuaded enough, and when 24-year-old Anne and her sister were being considered more seriously, it was imperative to send back images of them for Henry to view. In the spring of 1539, portraits of Anne and Amalia were shown to King Henry's envoys, but they argued that they would need to see the women in person. When the envoys finally arrived to see the sisters in the flesh, German fashion presented some difficulties. Their dresses and headwear were large and heavy, often including veils that would obscure their features. When ambassadors asked to get closer to see them more fully, the conservative Germans scoffed, asking sarcastically if the envoys would just like to see the girls naked. Henry's envoy, Richard Beard, was sent back to England in late July of 1539, and supposedly showed Henry this portrait of Anne, attributed to German artist Bartle Bräun. An article by Peter Hacker and Candy Cool shed some light on this little-known portrait, which may be the first image of Anne ever shown to Henry. This image wasn't identified as a portrait of Anne of Cleves until 1855, but it is considered to be contemporary. Interestingly, x-ray imagery showed a slightly larger nose originally, which was then revised. There is also almost an exact copy of this image, curiously sold at Christie's London in 1930 and lost for many years before resurfacing at the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia. Although origins are murky, some historians think that this is a Holbein portrait of Anne. The skill level is certainly there. So it's also possible that this was the first image of Anne that Henry saw. Either way, Henry must not have been fully satisfied, because he requested that Holbein paint this now-famous image of Anne of Cleves. We know for sure that this image was taken from life. Holbein painted it on parchment, indicating that he captured it at the court in Durham, and not from a sketch that he brought back to London. After Holbein finished his work, it was remarked by a member of Anne's court that it was a good likeness. Henry was overjoyed at this painting of Anne. He found it very beautiful, and he became even more enthusiastic about the Negotiations to arrange the marriage began shortly after, and soon enough, Anne was on her journey to England. By New Year's Day 1540, Anne had finally made it across the English Channel, and was now less than 100 miles away from Hampton Court. But Henry decided that he couldn't wait. The ever-romantic king decided that he would test the love of his new wife with one of his favorite tricks. He would disguise himself as a lowly knight, or Robin Hood, and see if she knew it was him. Because surely, if she were his true love, she would recognize him immediately. Or so said the tradition's courtly love at the time. The ambassador uses Chapuys' rites of this awkward encounter. The king so went up into the chamber where said Lady Anne was looking out of a window. And suddenly he embraced and kissed her, and showed her a token which the king had sent her for a New Year's gift. And she, being abashed and not knowing who it was, thanked him. And so he spoke with her. But she regarded him little, always looking out the window. And when the king saw that she took so little notice of his coming, he went into another chamber, took off his cloak, and came in again in a coat of purple velvet. No one had warned Anne that Henry might do this. And this was not a tradition she would have been familiar with. Her slight was entirely accidental, and possibly fatal to their relationship. By 1540, Henry was no longer the handsome, athletic man that he once was. A leg wound from a few years back had left him unable to be physically active, and he'd begun to gain weight. Of course, none of the portraits of Henry circulated through Europe during this time really show his physical decline. So when a large, unathletic man randomly came into her room and kissed her, you can't really blame her for feeling so awkward. But of course, as the king, Henry could in fact blame her. He would leave immediately, taking the gifts that he had brought for her, and essentially begin a smear campaign to soothe his bruised ego. Henry would complain on the way back home, saying she is nothing so fair as hath been reported. He also said that he was shocked by her plain appearance. Now, descriptions of Anne from that time do differ, so let's talk about those. We know that Anne was taller than average, and very slim. One description said that she had a brown complexion, darker than the late Queen Jane Seymour's. Now of course, English descriptions of skin tone need to be taken with a grain of salt. Anne Boleyn, while still a fair-skinned woman by our standards, was described as swarthy. The English idea of beauty was basically pure white. We don't actually know what color hair Anne had, although it was likely a light brown or blonde based on the color of her eyebrows in several portraits. We know her sister Sybil is shown with red or gold red hair, which is possible for Anne as well. The next information we have about Anne comes from English accounts of people who met her on her way to marry the king. Lady Lyle was very positive, writing that Anne was, William Fitzwilliam, who received her at Calais, wrote letters praising her to the king, saying she had as good a grace and countenance as ever in all my life I saw any noblewoman. Others reported that she was kind and eager to please. She thanked her hosts often and was curious about the English culture and traditions. She was happily chatting with everyone despite still learning English. But it does seem that English sources were prone to being kind, if not overly kind, with their descriptions of Anne. Foreign descriptions with less of an agenda seem more willing to be honest. Here's one from the French ambassador Marriac. According to several who have seen her close, she does not seem so young as expected, nor so beautiful as everyone affirmed. She's tall and has an assurance in her carriage and countenance, giving the impression that vivacity of spirit will supply as much beauty as one could desire. This is not exactly the same glowing recommendations that were being given to Henry. Even William Fitzwilliam, upon questioning after things had gone sour, eventually admitted he had written such kind things about her to the king Henry complained about things that weren't seen in Holbein's portrait. Apparently Anne's nose was quite large from the side, concealed by the flattering straight-on view. This is backed up by the x-ray evidence from the broine portrait with the overpainted nose. It was reported that she also had a few smallpox scars. It's clear that Holbein, as the court painter, constantly had to Anne's foreignness must have also made her less attractive to the English court. It was said that Anne could be awkward, which makes sense given that she barely spoke English and was unfamiliar with their culture. Her German fashions were considered terribly ugly by the English. Apparently after they were married and Anne was decked out in English fashion, it so set forth her beauty and good visage that every creature rejoiced to behold her. I think a lot of the poor reports about her appearance deal with the fact that she could have been an attractive woman, but wasn't considered an attractive English woman. She just didn't have the ease and quick English wit of other women like Anne Boleyn. Henry would try his hardest to find a way out of the marriage, but it was impossible without endangering the vital alliance the marriage had made. Henry and Anne were married five days later on January 6th of 1540. The phrase, God send me well to keep, was engraved on her wedding ring. On the night of their wedding, a small crowd would gather to watch the couple consummate their marriage, but things would not go as planned. Of course, Henry would blame Anne's looks once again and even got his doctor to prove that he wasn't impotent by stating that he had nocturnal pollutions not once but twice, so it had to absolutely be the queen. Nevertheless, Anne would stay humble and gracious. Even after the name-calling and accusations of being dull, Anne would praise Henry. She said to her lady-in-waiting, When he comes to bed, he kisses me and takes me by the hand and bids me goodnight, sweetheart. In the morning, he kisses me and bids me farewell, darling. But Henry would begin flirting with other women, paying little attention to Anne in public, and he began to pay more special attention to a young woman named Catherine Howard. Anne did not need to know English to understand that Henry was not interested in her. Nevertheless, she had always known that this was a political alliance, her duty, and the agreement meant a lot for Henry. When Anne was asked to leave the royal court only six months after her marriage, she did so with grace and decency. When she was told that the marriage had been annulled, she again agreed without pettiness or anger. But behind the scenes, Anne may have been playing a longer game than everyone thought. After the annulment, Henry would give Anne such a large settlement that she became one of the richest women in England overnight. She was given Richmond Palace, Hever Castle, which was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and a house to live in in East Sussex. The woman who was considered too ugly for King Henry may have been the only woman to truly beat him at his own game. No one really knows what happened between the two of them, but Henry's insecurities may have set Anne up to become one of the most important women of her time. In the following years, she was eventually invited back to court and would go on to visit many times. Anne and Henry actually struck up an unlikely friendship. Whether it was her grace during the annulment or something that was agreed upon just between them, Henry would go on to show his grace and gratitude towards her many times over the years. She became an honorary member of the royal family and was referred to as the king's beloved sister. Henry would even later decree that she be given precedence over all women in England besides the queen and his own daughters. In the coming years, she would become good friends with Mary and Elizabeth Tudor and was with Mary during her coronation procession after the deaths of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Despite being the Protestant alliance that everyone desired, Anne, always flexible to ensure what was best for her, became Roman Catholic under Mary I's rule. She eventually lost favor with Mary after Wyatt's rebellion, the Protestant plot to overthrow her. Anne's close relationship with Elizabeth Tudor convinced Queen Mary that the Lady of Cleves was of the plot and intrigued to obtain help for Elizabeth. After the harrowing events of the messy succession between the Tudor siblings, it was time for Anne to finally live a quiet life. Her trajectory was unusual, plucked from her town in Germany, brought onto the world stage, and eventually ending up a wealthy single woman in She would live out the rest of her days at Chelsea Manor, outliving Henry and all of his other wives. Anne of Cleves died on July 16, 1557, and is buried inside of Westminster Abbey, opposite one of the first kings of England. After researching Anne, I can't help but feel like she was such an important background character during this time. Not expressly written in the history books, but incredibly influential. Her careful handling of Henry's insecurities, her grace during the annulment, her rise to prominence, and her close relationship with the two women who would end up becoming incredibly important to England all point to an intelligent and savvy woman who realized just how powerful she was. As far as her appearance, I think it's fair to say that Anne was an average-looking woman, not incredibly beautiful and not ugly either. But beauty is so subjective. Through a modern lens, her portrait is one of the most attractive in the lineup of Henry's wives. Unfortunately for Anne, much of the talk of her today revolves around if she was too ugly a bride for King Henry. After Henry's rejection, it actually became fashionable to speak ill of her. Words that have no doubt echoed down to us throughout history. But recently, more discussion has opened up about her as a person, and how she genuinely was the luckiest wife of all. So, without further ado, let's take a look at some recreations of Anne of Cleves now. Thank you all so much for watching. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Anne. Please check out our Etsy store for prints and bookmarks of your favorite subjects, and we'll see you all for the next episode.