1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised, this is 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz. While I'm on maternity leave. Noble Blood is 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: revisiting the original series I did years ago on the 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: Six Wives of Henry the Eighth. Today's episode is about 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: Anne of Cleaves, the German princess who is best known 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: for a painting that Henry the Eighth approved and then 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: in appearance in real life that he did not. But 9 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: the story might be a little more nuanced than. 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 2: You might have heard. I hope you enjoy. Anne of 11 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:50,599 Speaker 2: Cleaves had traveled over three hundred miles by land and 12 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 2: by sea to come to England to meet her future 13 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 2: husband to be, King Henry the Eighth. Neither had laid 14 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 2: eyes on the other before the marriage arrangement was finalized, 15 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 2: but Henry had commissioned a portrait of Anne, and he 16 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 2: liked what he saw well enough to agree to the 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 2: diplomatic match, and so arrangements were made for the twenty 18 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 2: four year old sister of a prominent duke to become 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 2: wife number four. After weeks of travel, Anne enterr entourage 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 2: made it to Rochester in England. On New Year's Eve, 21 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 2: the final day of fifteen thirty nine, she was staying 22 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 2: there at the Bishop's Palace. In three days time she 23 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 2: would make her way to London, where she was supposed 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 2: to meet her future husband for the first time. On 25 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 2: New Year's Day, Anne found herself gazing out the window 26 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 2: of her bedchamber into the courtroom below, where a celebratory 27 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: bull baiting was occurring. Anne didn't speak English, only German, 28 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 2: and while her escorts had been nothing but polite and 29 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 2: deferential to her, she was still in an alien country 30 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 2: where the clothings, customs, even the smiles could be sinister. 31 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 2: They had warned her that the English court was a 32 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 2: dangerous place. Watching the men dance around the animals in 33 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 2: the courtyard below, the dog dodging in between the legs 34 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 2: of the bull, Anne wondered if she had come to 35 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 2: England to be predator or prey. She had the uneasy 36 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 2: sense that the position of queen wasn't a spectator role, 37 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 2: and the bull baiting never ends well for either the 38 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 2: dog or the bull. The English seemed to enjoy their 39 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 2: sports when they end in blood. It was at that 40 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 2: moment that her chamber door flung open, and nine men 41 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 2: wearing hooded cloaks swept into the room. Anne screamed, but 42 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 2: before the sound had even left her mouth, the tallest 43 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 2: of the men had ensnared her in his arms and 44 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 2: attempted to sweep her into a kiss. Anne wriggled away, 45 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 2: disgusted and called for help In German. She begged her 46 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,399 Speaker 2: attendants for an explanation. The men didn't seem to mean 47 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 2: any harm. In fact, they had begun to laugh. The 48 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 2: man who had tried to kiss her, she saw, who 49 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 2: was not only the tallest but also the widest, had 50 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 2: an uneasy gait and a glint of red hair that 51 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 2: flashed from beneath his hood. After a few words in 52 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 2: English that Anne couldn't comprehend, all of the men walked away. 53 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 2: It was a game, When of her attendants explained to 54 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 2: her a courtly game of chivalry. The men were pretending 55 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 2: to be robin Hood or romantic heroes. I don't understand, 56 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 2: Anne replied, I'm going to marry the king. No, why 57 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 2: would anyone insult him by trying to compromise is my honor? 58 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 2: Anne got her answer a moment later, when the same 59 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 2: retinue of men re entered her chamber, this time without 60 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 2: their cloaks. Now the tall broad man wore purple and gold. 61 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 2: His hair and beard were red, and as he stepped forward, 62 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 2: everyone around Anne lowered into a bow. Anne bowed too. 63 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 2: Of course, the man was King Henry the Eighth himself, 64 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 2: Not content to wait three days to see his bride. 65 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 2: Henry had come to surprise her early in disguise, imagining 66 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 2: that she would fall instantly in love, as soulmates do. 67 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 2: It would be like something out of the stories of 68 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 2: King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, the 69 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 2: beautiful princess recognizing her love even as he's disguised as 70 00:04:55,320 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 2: a common knave. Henry had played masquerade games in court decades. 71 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 2: His courtiers were well practiced in both treating him with 72 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 2: nothing but flattery when he was in his flimsy disguises, 73 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 2: and at feigning delighted surprise when the king unmasked himself. 74 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 2: But Anne had never seen Henry before, let alone heard 75 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 2: of his proclivity for self indulgent theatrics. To her, here 76 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 2: was just a strange middle aged man attempting to assault 77 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 2: her days before her wedding. As soon as she saw 78 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 2: the King in his royal finery. She lowered her face 79 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 2: to the floor to avoid the discomfort of their mutual humiliation, 80 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 2: but King Henry just laughed and raised her up and 81 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,599 Speaker 2: kissed her on the cheek. The two made polite conversation 82 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 2: with an interpreter and bid each other goodbye until they 83 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 2: would see each other in London in a few days time. 84 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 2: The disaster, it seemed, had been averted by their mutual 85 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 2: good humor, But the moment Henry left the Bishop's palace, 86 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 2: the good humor dissolved from his face, replaced with a scowl. 87 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 2: He turned to his minister, Thomas Cromwell, riding next to 88 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,279 Speaker 2: him on a horse. I like her not, Henry said. 89 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 2: It was an inauspicious start to an inauspicious marriage. Though 90 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 2: Anne of Cleaves is now mainly remembered for being less 91 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 2: attractive than her portrait made her out to be, her 92 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 2: story goes much deeper than that. She spent her life 93 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 2: in England outliving all five of Henry's other wives, something 94 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 2: between a hostage and a casualty of Henry the Eighth's 95 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 2: narcissism and ego. She was a woman who did what 96 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 2: it took to survive. I'm Danish Schwartz, and this is 97 00:06:52,320 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 2: noble blood. It had been two years since Henry's third wife, 98 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 2: Jane Seymour, died after giving birth to their son, Edward. 99 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 2: Henry of course felt the immense relief at having a 100 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 2: male heir, a toddler whom everyone assured him was perfectly healthy. 101 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 2: But two years without a wife was enough time in mourning. Besides, 102 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 2: everyone knows you need a second son, just in case 103 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 2: a backup. Henry already had a tiny Prince of Wales, 104 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 2: and now he wanted a baby Duke of York. Henry's 105 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 2: first choice of bride was the beautiful French widow Madame 106 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 2: de Longueville born Mary of Geese. Henry sent envoys to 107 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 2: France to try to negotiate to try to entice her 108 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 2: to become the fourth Queen of England, but Mary of 109 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 2: Geese was already spoken for, engaged to the young and 110 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 2: very handsome King James of Scotland. Though Henry demanded some 111 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 2: diplomatic wheedling to try to break up their engagement, it 112 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 2: was a lost cause. Both Mary of Geese and King 113 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 2: James of Scotland were attractive and in their twenties. Henry 114 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 2: was in his late forties, already expanding with a swollen 115 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 2: leg that needed to be periodically punctured to let the 116 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 2: ooze out. Mary politely declined his offer and married James. 117 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 2: A little stung, Henry asked the French ambassador to assemble 118 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 2: all of the eligible French women at the same manor 119 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 2: house in Calais so he Henry could come by and 120 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 2: choose one. The King of France, Francis the First, was 121 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 2: outraged when he heard Henry's proposition. It is not our custom, 122 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 2: he wrote back, to display women of noble rank like 123 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 2: horses for sale. Henry would need to look further afield 124 00:08:51,880 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 2: to find his next bride. In Brussels, Henry's ambassador, Thomas Rothsley, 125 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 2: had finally convinced the beautiful Christina of Denmark to sit 126 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 2: for a portrait so that they could send it back 127 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 2: to Henry and he could see what she looked like. 128 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 2: Christina was tall and willowy. She had dimples when she smiled, 129 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 2: one in each cheek and one that appeared in her 130 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,839 Speaker 2: chin when she was laughing. She was widely praised among 131 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 2: the courts of Europe for her gentle nature. People whispered 132 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 2: that she was also brilliant she spoke three languages. She 133 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 2: also had very little interest in King Henry the Eighth. 134 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 2: Christina knew all about what had happened to Catherine of 135 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 2: Aragon so cruelly disposed of, and to Anne Boleyn, and 136 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 2: the third one had died too, hadn't she No, it 137 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 2: was much safer not to be a wife at the 138 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 2: mercy of Henry's fickle whims and mercurial mood swings. While 139 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 2: Christina posed for her portrait, Rosley tried to convince her 140 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 2: of he Henry's charms. He told her that Henry was 141 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 2: gentle and kind and good. Christina couldn't help but laugh 142 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 2: at that, hard enough that the dimple in her chin appeared. 143 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,319 Speaker 2: I would marry King Henry, she said, if I only 144 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 2: had an extra head to spare. Another dead end and 145 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 2: another blow to the ego of the king who had 146 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 2: once been celebrated for his looks and charm. And now 147 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,839 Speaker 2: the need for Henry to make a diplomatic marriage was increasing. 148 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 2: Thanks to the kerfuffle of divorcing Catherine of Aragon and 149 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:39,079 Speaker 2: marrying Anne Boleyn, Henry was excommunicated, which meant any neighboring 150 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 2: country could invade England and claim it was in the 151 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 2: name of the Church, and the Catholic nations around England 152 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 2: seemed to be getting pretty cozy. King Francis the First 153 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 2: and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth looked to 154 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 2: be forging a little friendship. The two of them were 155 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 2: gallivanting around the Louver Palace together while the English ambassador 156 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 2: present was assigned the smallest, least hospitable rooms possible. If 157 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 2: the two of them united and attacked England, Henry had 158 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,719 Speaker 2: very few international allies who would help him. Henry had 159 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 2: married for love before, and now he needed a foreign bride. 160 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 2: Though Henry was excommunicated, he still wasn't a Lutheran, which 161 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 2: limited his options for a bride a bit. What about 162 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:36,439 Speaker 2: Cleves Julich, Henry's adviser, Thomas Cromwell offered one day. Their 163 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 2: new duke was a reformed Catholic, but no friend of 164 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:45,439 Speaker 2: the pope, and he had an unmarried sister. When Rothsley 165 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 2: went to visit Cleaves, Germanic custom meant that the unmarried 166 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 2: girl appeared wearing heavy veils. Well, Henry bellowed when Rosley returned, 167 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 2: so much prettier than Christina of Denmark. Rothesley assured the King, 168 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 2: but Henry didn't need to take his word for it. 169 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 2: He had commissioned a portrait of the girl, Anne of 170 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 2: Cleaves by Hans Holbein, and when the portrait came back, 171 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 2: Henry was entranced. She had a gentle, kind face and 172 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 2: heavy lidded eyes that made her look both mysterious and wise. 173 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 2: Henry spent hours staring at the portrait, imagining his hands 174 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 2: around her tiny waist and his lips upon her perfect 175 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 2: smooth cheeks. The match was set. Twenty four year old 176 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 2: Anne of Cleaves, who had never before left the cloistered 177 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 2: confines of her family, was going to become the next 178 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:55,559 Speaker 2: Queen of England. Though Anne of Cleaves had a sterling 179 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 2: noble lineage on both sides of her family, she was 180 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 2: almost entirely unprepared for life in the English court. No 181 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 2: one had ever really believed she would marry higher than 182 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 2: being a duchess. She spoke only German, no English or French, 183 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 2: and she was untrained in music and poetry. The only 184 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 2: dances she knew were the German ones she had grown 185 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 2: up with. But prepared or not, the chance to become 186 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 2: the Queen of England was not something her family was 187 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 2: going to refuse, especially because being unmarried at twenty four, 188 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 2: Anne was beginning to become a bit of an embarrassment. 189 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,320 Speaker 2: Henry wanted her to travel north via Antwerp on her 190 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 2: way to England so she wouldn't have to pass through 191 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 2: the lands of the Holy Roman Emperor, but that would 192 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,560 Speaker 2: necessitate a longer sea voyage, and Anne's mother didn't want 193 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 2: to risk Anne's complexion being damaged by the salty sea air. 194 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 2: After all, Henry only wanted her because he liked what 195 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 2: he saw in the portrait, so permission was asked and 196 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 2: granted by Charles the Fifth, and Anne and her retinue 197 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 2: of nearly three hundred people traveled across Europe towards her 198 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 2: new future in Calais, where Anne was set to board 199 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 2: a boat across the English Channel. Anne was delayed two 200 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 2: weeks by foul weather. Rothsley was apologetic. He brought Anne 201 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 2: to see the ship all ready for her departure, dripping 202 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 2: in festive streamers and ribbons and banners. No matter, Anne said, 203 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 2: I'll take this time to learn of my new people 204 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 2: and my new husband. While staying in Calais at the 205 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 2: home of Lord and Lady Lisel, Anne asked Rothsley for 206 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 2: his help via translator. Rothsley taught Anne how to play 207 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 2: Henry's favorite card game called Scent. Anne also requested that 208 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 2: Rothsley bring English noblemen and ladies to dine with her, 209 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 2: so that she could learn English table manners and become 210 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 2: more accustomed to the patter of their jokes and the 211 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 2: pattern of their speech. She didn't understand the language, but 212 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 2: she smiled and laughed alongside them. All the same letters 213 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 2: arrived for Henry describing how charming and good natured his 214 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 2: bride on the way was. Henry was jittery with anticipation. 215 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 2: He was supposed to spend Christmas with Anne, but the 216 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 2: weather delay meant he spent it alone. He paced his palaces, 217 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 2: waiting for her to arrive, like a package to be delivered. Finally, 218 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 2: by New Year's Eve, Anne had made it to Richmond, 219 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 2: and Henry, not willing to wait any longer, rode out 220 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 2: to surprise her. That was when he first appeared to 221 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 2: her in his robin hood costume, imagining that she would 222 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 2: be so taken by his handsomeness that she would succumb immediately. 223 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 2: Imminent marriage be damned. These were the sort of courtly 224 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 2: games that Henry was used to everyone around him indulging 225 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 2: him in. Catherine of Erica had grown up in the 226 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 2: great courts of Europe. She would have known exactly how 227 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 2: to react and clever. Anne Boleyn would have also perfectly 228 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 2: matched Henry in this game. But Anne of Cleves was 229 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 2: a complete stranger and totally unaware of both what Henry 230 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 2: looked like and of what the game she was supposed 231 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 2: to be playing was. She left Henry humiliated, smarting from 232 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 2: the pushed down knowledge that maybe he was no longer 233 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 2: as handsome as he once was. Well, what of it, 234 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 2: Henry thought, She is not so pretty herself, not nearly 235 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 2: as pretty as that portrait made her out to be. 236 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 2: His first three marriages had been love matches with women 237 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 2: who matched him in wits and flattered him with affection. 238 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 2: Now Henry was being roped into a diplomatic marriage with 239 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 2: a stranger, and he did not care for it one bit. 240 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 2: Anne of Cleaves arrived in London in a drawn chariot 241 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 2: flanked by one hundred horsemen wearing livery embroidered with golden lions. 242 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,680 Speaker 2: Anne was escorted to a massive pavilion with lit fires 243 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 2: inside where she was dressed in a gold gown with 244 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 2: a round skirt in the Dutch fashion, and given a 245 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:19,640 Speaker 2: round pearl bonnet to set atop her head. As for Henry, 246 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 2: when she arrived, he played the part of the loving groom, 247 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 2: perfectly smiling and extending his arms and kissing her in 248 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 2: welcome But as soon as the pageant was over he 249 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 2: turned to Cromwell, Get me out of this marriage, he said, 250 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 2: But it was too late. The wheels of diplomacy had 251 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 2: already been set into motion. If Henry were to reject 252 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 2: Anne at this point, he would anger not only Anne 253 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 2: in her powerful family, but all of their allies across Germany, 254 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 2: especially if he was rejecting her for no good reason. Cromwell, 255 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 2: for his part, tried his best back. When Anne had 256 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 2: been ten, she had been temporarily engaged to the Duke 257 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,159 Speaker 2: of Lorraine. If she was pre contracted, that would avoid 258 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,640 Speaker 2: the marriage arrangement with Henry. The ambassador from Cleaves was 259 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 2: confused when Cromwell brought it up to him. She was 260 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 2: a child, then, he said, it was before the age 261 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 2: of consent. No one actually believes it was a legitimate engagement. 262 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 2: Cromwell knew that well enough but still Cromwell had the 263 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 2: confused and scrambling ambassador from Cleaves agreed to send for 264 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 2: the proper paperwork back in Germany that would prove that 265 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,640 Speaker 2: Anne was completely free and clear to marry Henry as 266 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 2: everyone knew. The two were married. On January sixth, fifteen forty. 267 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,160 Speaker 3: The forty eight year old King Henry the eighth got 268 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 3: married for the fourth time to Anne of Cleaves. She 269 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 3: wore her long blonde hair loose beneath a golden cornet 270 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 3: set with jewels and fresh sprigs of rosemary. That evening, 271 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 3: they were ceremonially put to bed so that the pair 272 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:13,160 Speaker 3: might conceive another son for Henry, a little Duke of York. 273 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 3: They didn't Henry, how do I put this, couldn't sail 274 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:25,639 Speaker 3: his boat without a stiff breeze. Young virginal Anne, who 275 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,919 Speaker 3: had only been instructed with the vaguest possible descriptions of 276 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 3: what was expected of her, to spend the night asleep 277 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 3: next to her new husband. The next morning, Henry confronted Cromwell. 278 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 3: I like her not before, but now I like her 279 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 3: much less. He consulted his doctors about his sexual problems, 280 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 3: while making it very clear to anyone who would listen 281 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 3: that it was not his fault. I mean I saw 282 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:56,680 Speaker 3: the way her breasts and her belly sagged. Henry said, 283 00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 3: she probably wasn't even a virgin. 284 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,359 Speaker 2: Henry made sure that the doctors wrote down that it 285 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 2: wasn't his fault. He wasn't impotent. He had two missions 286 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 2: in the night in his sleep. Doctors advised that he 287 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 2: take a night off from trying, and so on the 288 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,359 Speaker 2: third night, he once again went to Anne's bed, where 289 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 2: he once again failed to consummate the union. No virgin 290 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 2: has breasts like that, Henry said, that has to be 291 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 2: a good enough reason to get this marriage in alled right. 292 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 2: What more proof could I possibly need? Also, she smells. 293 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 2: To make matters worse, the Franco imperial threat that Cromwell 294 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 2: had warned about never actually materialized, which meant that this 295 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:54,679 Speaker 2: diplomatic marriage, which had seemed so important, was now basically worthless. 296 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 2: Though Anne was still in the slow process of learning English, 297 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 2: it was abundantly clear that Henry wasn't pleased with her. 298 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 2: He kissed her good morning and good night, and came 299 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 2: to her bedroom, but his increasing chill was obvious in 300 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 2: any language. Anne began wearing a French hood, like the 301 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 2: kind that Anne Boleyn used to wear, one that showed 302 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 2: off her beautiful blonde hair, but Henry paid her no attention. 303 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 2: He much preferred flirting with the very young Katherine Howard, 304 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 2: a very pretty teenager who, like the late Anne Boleyn, 305 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 2: was a niece of the powerful Duke of Norfolk. When 306 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,360 Speaker 2: it was time for Anne of Cleaves to establish her 307 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 2: own household at Greenwich, all of her ladies in waiting 308 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:46,040 Speaker 2: were Henry's choice. Anne requested that one of the ladies 309 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 2: be Catherine Beset, the daughter of Lord Liesl, who had 310 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 2: been so warm and hospitable to her during her two 311 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 2: weeks stay in Calais, but Henry rejected the proposition, not 312 00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 2: attractive enough. If he was going to have to be 313 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 2: married to an ugly wife, he at least wanted to 314 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:07,040 Speaker 2: be surrounded by attractive ladies in waiting. Of course, Catherine 315 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:11,440 Speaker 2: Howard was given a position outside the bedroom. Anne of 316 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 2: Cleaves was finding that she was good at being queen, 317 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 2: and she was, for the most part enjoying it. Though 318 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 2: she had been Catholic, of course, she converted to Anglicanism 319 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 2: when she married Henry. The Reformers loved her, and the 320 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,360 Speaker 2: people loved her, mostly because she wasn't that social climbing 321 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 2: little nobody Catherine Howard, who seemed to be monopolizing all 322 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 2: of the King's attention. Everyone seemed to find Anne of 323 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 2: Cleaves charming, everyone except her husband. Even after three wives. 324 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 2: One thing remained consistent about Henry the Eighth. When he 325 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 2: was done with a woman, he wanted her out of 326 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 2: sight so he didn't have to deal with her himself. 327 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,879 Speaker 2: Late in the spring, just months after their wedding, Anne 328 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 2: got word that Henry wanted her household moved to Richmond, 329 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,119 Speaker 2: far from the plague in London. She was told it 330 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 2: was a thin excuse. I'm going the way of Catherine 331 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 2: of Arragon, She told one of her ladies. He's disposing 332 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 2: of me. What power did she have to stop him. 333 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 2: She was in a foreign country where she didn't speak 334 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 2: the language and had no power. Her brother seemed very 335 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 2: far away, and anyway, she believed it was her fault. 336 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 2: If she had been able to consummate the marriage with Henry, 337 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 2: none of this would be happening. In the middle of 338 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 2: the night on June twenty fourth, a messenger arrived and 339 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:38,360 Speaker 2: an interpreter delivered the news to Anne. That the King 340 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 2: was beginning an investigation to determine whether or not their 341 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:48,879 Speaker 2: marriage was valid. With extraordinary composure, Anne signed the request. Anna, 342 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 2: daughter of Cleaves, thanked the man and went about her business. 343 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 2: Her confusion, her shame, her hurt, her fear. All of 344 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 2: that was dealt with. Cromwell knew he was hanging on 345 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 2: by a thin rope. After all, the marriage to Anne 346 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,360 Speaker 2: of Cleaves had been his idea all along, and now 347 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 2: it was a disaster. He needs to figure out a 348 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 2: way to give the King the divorce he wanted and fast. 349 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 2: During the investigation, two of Anne's ladies testified they had 350 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 2: talked with the brand new queen a few weeks after 351 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 2: her wedding and inquired as to whether a little prince 352 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 2: might be on the way. According to them, Anne said 353 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 2: that the King kissed her good night and fell asleep, 354 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,680 Speaker 2: and then in the morning bid her farewell. Anne had 355 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,360 Speaker 2: looked at the ladies with wide doe eyes. That's enough, right, 356 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 2: she asked. That story became the gossip of court, repeated 357 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:49,679 Speaker 2: endlessly until ultimately it became an anecdote of history to 358 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 2: prove that Anne of Cleaves was not only a virgin, 359 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,160 Speaker 2: but so innocent that she didn't even know what the 360 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 2: act of sex was. The truth of it was those 361 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,160 Speaker 2: two ladies were trying to tell Henry's commission what they 362 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 2: wanted to hear, proof that the marriage was never consummated. Anyway, 363 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 2: Anne wasn't nearly fluent in English at that point. If 364 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,200 Speaker 2: that private conversation had taken place, it would have been 365 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:24,639 Speaker 2: a comedy of confusion on both sides. Henry's assembly of 366 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:28,959 Speaker 2: clergymen examined the charges, first that Anne of Cleaves had 367 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,200 Speaker 2: already been betrothed, second that the wedding was never consummated, 368 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 2: but of course not because Henry was impotent, And third 369 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 2: that Henry had never consented to the marriage. I mean, yes, 370 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 2: they said, he consented in his manner and fashion of behavior, 371 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 2: but inside, inside he was troubled. On July seventh, the 372 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 2: marriage was deemed invalid. Anne received the news with genuine 373 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,360 Speaker 2: grace after the trouble Catherine of Aragon had given him. 374 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 2: Henry was so relieved that Anne wasn't going to put 375 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:07,360 Speaker 2: up a fight that he granted her an extremely generous settlement, 376 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 2: two palaces, a large annual income, furniture land, a household. 377 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 2: Anne had only one request that her former stepdaughter Elizabeth 378 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 2: might be allowed to visit her every once in a while, 379 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:25,639 Speaker 2: and Henry gladly accepted. Of course, he wrote, I know 380 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 2: how this annulment pains her, considering the great love and 381 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 2: affection which she seems to have for my person. Henry 382 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 2: did require one thing of Anne that caused her to 383 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 2: struggle to write a letter to her brother telling him 384 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 2: of the new arrangement, so that he wouldn't be angry 385 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:48,679 Speaker 2: at Henry. Anne swallowed the humiliation and wrote that her 386 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 2: body remained in the same integrity with which she brought 387 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,880 Speaker 2: it to England, and that the King had quote kindly 388 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 2: adopted her as his beloved sister. She asked her brother 389 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 2: to treat Henry with kindness and told him that she 390 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 2: would be staying in England as required by the terms 391 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 2: of their settlement. Anne's family privately was of course outraged. 392 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 2: Her sister always continued to refer to her as the 393 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 2: Queen of England, and they never blamed her. Everyone knew 394 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 2: what a nightmare Henry was when it came to women, 395 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 2: and from the people of England. There came a massive 396 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 2: outpouring of public sympathy towards the woman jilted for a 397 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:39,679 Speaker 2: teenage would be mistress. With marriage behind them and the 398 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,680 Speaker 2: pressures of the wedding bed gone, Henry and Anne's relationship 399 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 2: vastly improved, especially once Anne became fluent enough in English 400 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,560 Speaker 2: for the pair to talk and realize they actually had 401 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,439 Speaker 2: a lot in common. Anne lived happily enough, making a 402 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 2: mini Germany of her household, and, according to one observer, 403 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 2: wearing new dresses every day. About a year after Little 404 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 2: Katherine Howard, former Lady in waiting, became Queen, Anne of Cleaves, 405 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 2: came to Hampton Court for New Year's Catherine was terrified 406 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,359 Speaker 2: and insecure, unsure what the protocol was for a former 407 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 2: queen to come and greet her, but Anne of Cleaves 408 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 2: was grace itself. She brought a New Year's gift of 409 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,879 Speaker 2: horses for the couple and greeted Catherine with a deep bow. 410 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 2: Henry came in, kissed Anne, and the three of them 411 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 2: had what was, by all accounts, the least awkward dinner 412 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 2: among exes in history. Still gracious as she was, Anne 413 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 2: was still a little secretly pleased to hear about Catherine's fall. 414 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 2: Anne even thought that maybe she would get a second 415 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 2: chance of being queen now that he had gotten his 416 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 2: fling out of the way, maybe Henry would want to 417 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 2: remarry her, but unfortunately that hope was dashed. Anne's former stepdaughter, 418 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 2: Mary Mary Tudor, came to visit Anne at Richmond, but 419 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 2: had to leave suddenly. Anne found out why two weeks later, 420 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 2: when Henry came by to tell her that he had 421 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:14,640 Speaker 2: gotten married to a woman named Catherine Parr. Anne never 422 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 2: married again. In her mind, she was always still married 423 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 2: to Henry the Eighth. After his death, she even briefly 424 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 2: tried to overturn the annulment ruling to make her settlement 425 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,240 Speaker 2: more generous, but the council of the brand new young 426 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 2: King Edward didn't bite. With Henry's death, Anne's status was 427 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 2: reduced from that of the king's sister to the king's aunt, 428 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 2: so although she lived comfortably, her position was still limited, 429 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 2: especially when her brother lost his lands to the Holy 430 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 2: Roman Emperor, which meant that even if she wanted to 431 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 2: give up her English property, she wouldn't be able to 432 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 2: return home. 433 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 3: Now. 434 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 2: For the last decades of her life, Anne's real family 435 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 2: was the household she maintained. They became her friends and confidants, 436 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 2: and Anne finally died aged forty one, She left generous 437 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,120 Speaker 2: gifts to the poor surrounding her properties and to her 438 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 2: entire household staff. In her will, she referred to them 439 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 2: all by name, an extraordinary gesture of the charm and 440 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,640 Speaker 2: kindness that hadn't won over a king but managed to 441 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 2: win over everyone else. That's the story of Anne of 442 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 2: Cleves's brief marriage to Henry the Eighth, But stick around 443 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,600 Speaker 2: after a sponsor break for a little bit more about 444 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 2: the marriage's consequences. Anne managed to get out of her 445 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 2: marriage to King Henry the Eighth with her head, but 446 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 2: the same wasn't true for Thomas Cromwell, Henry's former chief minister. 447 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 2: Bromwell had been the one who pushed Henry into the 448 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,800 Speaker 2: marriage with Anne, who told him that France and the 449 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:09,320 Speaker 2: Holy Roman Emperor were going to forge an alliance, and 450 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,120 Speaker 2: Cromwell had maybe overplayed Anne's beauty to make sure that 451 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 2: Henry accepted the match. While the Council was examining the 452 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 2: validity of Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleaves in the 453 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 2: summer of fifteen forty, Cromwell was thrown into the Tower 454 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 2: of London. Cromwell was beheaded without a trial on charges 455 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 2: of treason to the delight of his political enemies. There's 456 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:47,000 Speaker 2: always a cost for a bad marriage with Henry the Eighth. 457 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 2: Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and 458 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 2: Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me 459 00:31:55,320 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 2: Danash Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Annaswick, 460 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 2: Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milani. The show is 461 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,959 Speaker 2: edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima 462 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 2: il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and 463 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:20,200 Speaker 2: Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 464 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.