anna of kleve the princess in the portrait

She was aiming to get out of the marriage alive and hoping to stay in England with more freedom then if she returned to her brother's court in Kleve. When Anna became aware that Katheryn Howard had caught Henry VIIII's fancy she knew where her marriage was headed and that her lady-in-waiting was going to supplant her as queen. He also decided to surprise her in disguise with a kiss and embrace which horrified Anna. You might be a favorite in the morning and executed by the afternoon. Henry VIII complained that she wasn't as beautiful as advertised and had 'very evil smells about her.' This from the man who was exceedingly obese with a foul smelling ulcerated leg and mercurial temperament. In the afterword Weir states that the romance between Anna and her cousin Otho von Wylich, her pregnancies, and son Johann are all fiction, though von Wylich did serve her for seventeen years.

Will he accuse Anna of adultery as he did Queen Anne Boleyn and send her to the scaffold? Or will he divorce her and send her home in disgrace?Īlison Weir takes a fresh and astonishing look at this remarkable royal marriage by describing it from the point of view of Queen Anna, a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own, alone and fearing for her life in a royal court that rejected her almost from the day she set foot on England's shore.

What follows is the fascinating story of an awkward royal union that had somehow to be terminated.Įven as Henry begins to warm to his new wife and share her bed, his attention is captivated by one of her maids of honor. Some think her attractive, but Henry knows he can never love her. Henry is entranced by the lovely image, only to be bitterly surprised when Anna arrives in England and he sees her in the flesh. Henry requests her portrait from his court painter, who portrays her from the most flattering perspective.

Anna of Kleve, from a small German duchy, is 24 and has a secret she is desperate to keep hidden. Forty-six, overweight, and suffering from gout, Henry is soundly rejected by some of Europe's most eligible princesses. Newly widowed and the father of an infant son, Henry VIII realizes he must marry again to ensure the royal succession. The surprising and dramatic life of the least known of King Henry VIII's wives is illuminated in the fourth volume in the Six Tudor Queens series - for fans of Philippa Gregory, Hilary Mantel, and The Crown.

Anna of kleve the princess in the portrait