WEBVTT - Divorced II 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:03.640 Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:08.160 and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Miinkie. Listener discretion is advised. 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:16.720 Anne of Cleaves had traveled over three hundred miles by 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:20.400 land and by sea to come to England to meet 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:25.520 her future husband to be, King Henry the Eighth. Neither 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:28.280 had laid eyes on the other before the marriage arrangement 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.960 was finalized, but Henry had commissioned a portrait of Anne, 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.120 and he liked what he saw well enough to agree 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:38.839 to the diplomatic match, and so arrangements were made for 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:41.840 the twenty four year old sister of a prominent duke 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:48.000 to become wife number four. After weeks of travel, Anne 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:51.879 and her entourage made it to Rochester in England on 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.880 New Year's Eve, the final day of fifteen thirty nine. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.959 She was staying there at the Bishop's Palace. In three 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.800 three days time, she would make her way to London, 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:05.840 where she was supposed to meet her future husband for 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:11.240 the first time. On New Year's Day, Anne found herself 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:14.679 gazing out the window of her bedchamber into the courtroom below, 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:20.399 where a celebratory bull baiting was occurring, and didn't speak English, 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.800 only German, and while her escorts had been nothing but 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:27.119 polite and deferential to her, she was still in an 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:32.240 alien country where the clothings, customs, even the smiles could 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:36.120 be sinister. They had warned her that the English court 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.720 was a dangerous place. Watching the men danced around the 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:45.080 animals in the courtyard below the dog dodging in between 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:48.280 the legs of the bull, Anne wondered if she had 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.480 come to England to be predator or prey. She had 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:56.400 the uneasy sense that the position of queen wasn't a 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:00.680 spectator role, and the bull baiting never as well for 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:04.840 either the dog or the bull. The English seemed to 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:09.560 enjoy their sports when they end in blood. It was 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:13.520 at that moment that her chamber door flung open, and 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:19.760 nine men wearing hooded cloaks swept into the room and screamed. 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.600 But before the sound had even left her mouth, the 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:27.400 tallest of the men had ensnared her in his arms 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:33.040 and attempted to sweep her into a kiss. Anne wriggled away, 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:38.200 disgusted and called for help. In German, she begged her 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:42.200 attendance for an explanation. The men didn't seem to mean 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:47.240 any harm. In fact, they had begun to laugh. The 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.079 man who had tried to kiss her, she saw, who 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.720 was not only the tallest but also the widest, had 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:57.560 an uneasy gait and a glint of red hair that 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:01.720 flashed from beneath his hood. After a few words in 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:07.200 English that Anne couldn't comprehend, all of the men walked away. 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:10.880 It was a game, one of her attendants explained to her, 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:15.600 a courtly game of chivalry. The men were pretending to 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:20.560 be robin Hood or romantic heroes. I don't understand, Anne replied, 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.440 I'm going to marry the king now, why would anyone 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:29.360 insult him by trying to compromise my honor. Anne got 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.920 her answer a moment later, when the same retinue of 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:37.080 men re entered her chamber, this time without their cloaks. 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:43.200 Now the tall broad man wore purple and gold, His 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:47.160 hair and beard were red, and as he stepped forward, 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:53.400 everyone around Anne lowered into a bow. Anne bowed too. 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:57.320 Of course, the man was King Henry the Eighth, himself, 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:01.560 not content to wait three days to see his bride. 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:06.920 Henry had come to surprise her early in disguise, imagining 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.800 that she would fall instantly in love. That soulmates do. 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:14.280 It would be like something out of the stories of 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.400 King Arthur and his Knights at the round Table, the 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:22.120 beautiful princess recognizing her love even as he's disguised as 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:26.680 a common knave. Henry had played masquerade games in court 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:31.400 for decades. His courtiers were well practiced in both treating 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:33.880 him with nothing but flattery when he was in his 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:39.080 flimsy disguises, and at feigning delighted surprise when the King 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:44.960 unmasked himself. But Anne had never seen Henry before, let 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:50.120 alone heard of his proclivity for self indulgent theatrics. To her, 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.920 here was just a strange middle aged man attempting to 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.960 assault her days before her wedding. As soon as she 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:01.360 saw the King and his royal fine, she lowered her 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.960 face to the floor to avoid the discomfort of their 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:09.880 mutual humiliation. But King Henry just laughed and raised her 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.280 up and kissed her on the cheek. The two made 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.680 polite conversation with an interpreter and bid each other goodbye 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.000 until they would see each other in London in a 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:24.599 few days time. The disaster, it seemed, had been averted 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:28.880 by their mutual good humor. But the moment Henry left 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:33.039 the bishop's palace, the good humor dissolved from his face, 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:38.919 replaced with a scowl. He turned to his minister, Thomas Cromwell, 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:42.400 riding next to him on a horse. I like her not, 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:50.360 Henry said. It was an inauspicious start to an inauspicious marriage. 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.119 Though Anne of Cleaves is now mainly remembered for being 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.719 less attractive than her portrait made her out to be, 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.120 her story goes much deeper than that. She spent her 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:05.440 life in England outliving all five of Henry's other wives, 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:08.719 something between a hostage and a casualty of Henry the 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.920 Eighth's narcissism and ego. She was a woman who did 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:18.520 what it took to survive. I'm Danish Schwartz and this 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:27.240 is noble blood. It had been two years since Henry's 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:31.240 third wife, Jane Seymour, died after giving birth to their 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:35.320 son Edward. Henry of course felt the immense relief at 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.760 having a male heir, a toddler whom everyone assured him 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.320 was perfectly healthy. But two years without a wife was 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:46.159 enough time in mourning. Besides, everyone knows you need a 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:50.200 second son, just in case, a backup. Henry already had 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.000 a tiny Prince of Wales, and now he wanted a 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:57.520 baby Duke of York. Henry's first choice of bride was 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.800 the beautiful French widow Madame de la Longville, born Mary 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:05.760 of Geese. Henry sent envoys to France to try to 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:09.480 negotiate to try to entice her to become the fourth 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:14.040 Queen of England, but Mary of Geese was already spoken for, 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:18.800 engaged to the young and very handsome King James of Scotland. 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.400 Though Henry demanded some diplomatic wheedling to try to break 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:27.760 up their engagement, it was a lost cause. Both Mary 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.000 of Geese and King James of Scotland were attractive and 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:35.240 in their twenties. Henry was in his late forties, already 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:39.600 expanding with a swollen leg that needed to be periodically 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:44.960 punctured to let the ooze out. Mary politely declined his 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:51.040 offer and married James. A little stung, Henry asked the 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.840 French ambassador to assemble all of the eligible French women 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:58.600 at the same Mannor house in Calais so he Henry 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:02.480 could come by and cho is one. The King of France, 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:07.280 Francis the First, was outraged when he heard Henry's proposition. 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.920 It is not our custom, he wrote back, to display 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:17.000 women of noble rank like horses for sale. Henry would 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:20.160 need to look further afield to find his next bride. 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:28.840 In Brussels, Henry's ambassador, Thomas Rothsley, had finally convinced the 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.800 beautiful Christina of Denmark to sit for a portrait so 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:34.760 that they could send it back to Henry and he 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:39.560 could see what she looked like. Christina was tall and willowy. 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.880 She had dimples when she smiled, one in each cheek 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:46.640 and one that appeared in her chin when she was laughing. 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:51.120 She was widely praised among the courts of Europe for 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:55.280 her gentle nature. People whispered that she was also brilliant. 0:08:55.760 --> 0:09:00.640 She spoke three languages. She also had very little interest 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:04.600 in King Henry the Eighth. Christina knew all about what 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.280 had happened to Catherine of Arragon so cruelly disposed of, 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:12.360 and to Anne Boleyn, and the third one had died too, 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:16.160 hadn't she No, it was much safer not to be 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:19.680 a wife at the mercy of Henry's fickle whims and 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:25.360 mercurial mood swings. While Christina posed for her portrait. Rothley 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:29.160 tried to convince her of Henry's charms. He told her 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:33.600 that Henry was gentle and kind and good. Christina couldn't 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:36.120 help but laugh at that hard enough that the dimple 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:40.040 in her chin appeared. I would marry King Henry, she said, 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:44.360 if I only had an extra head to spare. Another 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.880 dead end and another blow to the ego of the king, 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:52.560 who had once been celebrated for his looks and charm. 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.400 And now the need for Henry to make a diplomatic 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:59.959 marriage was increasing. Thanks to the kerfuffle of divorcing Catherine 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:04.760 of Aragon and marrying Anne Boleyn. Henry was excommunicated, which 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:08.600 meant any neighboring country could invade England and claim it 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.720 was in the name of the Church, and the Catholic 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.080 nations around England seemed to be getting pretty cozy. King 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.959 Francis the First and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.600 Five looked to be forging a little friendship. The two 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.320 of them were gallivanting around the Louver Palace together while 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:31.880 the English ambassador present was assigned the smallest, least hospitable 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:36.160 rooms possible. If the two of them united and attacked England, 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:40.960 Henry had very few international allies who would help him. 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:44.400 Henry had married for love before, and now he needed 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:52.720 a foreign bride. Though Henry was excommunicated, he still wasn't 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:56.240 a Lutheran, which limited his options for a bride a bit. 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:02.760 What about Cleave's Juelich Henry's adviser, Thomas Cromwell offered one day. 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:06.480 Their new duke was a reformed Catholic but no friend 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:11.640 of the pope, and he had an unmarried sister. When 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.520 Rothsley went to visit Cleaves, Germanic custom meant that the 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:21.679 unmarried girl appeared wearing heavy veils. Well, Henry bellowed when 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:26.800 Rothsley returned, so much prettier than Christina of Denmark. Rothsley 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:30.320 assured the king, but Henry didn't need to take his 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:33.080 word for it. He had commissioned a portrait of the 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:37.600 girl and of Cleaves by Hans Holbein, and when the 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:42.520 portrait came back, Henry was entranced. She had a gentle, 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:46.280 kind face and heavy lidded eyes that made her look 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:52.400 both mysterious and wise. Henry spent hours staring at the portrait, 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:57.040 imagining his hands around her tiny waist and his lips 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:02.400 upon her perfect smooth cheek x. The match was set. 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.560 Twenty four year old Anne of Cleves, who had never 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:10.679 before left the cloistered confines of her family, was going 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:20.880 to become the next Queen of England. Though Anne of 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:24.320 Cleves had a sterling noble lineage on both sides of 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:28.600 her family, she was almost entirely unprepared for life in 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.679 the English court. No one had ever really believed she 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:36.120 would marry higher than being a duchess. She spoke only German, 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:40.480 no English or French, and she was untrained in music 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:44.439 and poetry. The only dances she knew were the German 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:47.839 ones she had grown up with. But prepared or not, 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.560 the chance to become the Queen of England was not 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.800 something her family was going to refuse, especially because being 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:58.480 unmarried at twenty four, Anne was beginning to become a 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.880 bit of an embarrassment. Henry wanted her to travel north 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.600 via Antwerp on her way to England so she wouldn't 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:08.360 have to pass through the lands of the Holy Roman Emperor, 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.440 but that would necessitate a longer sea voyage, and Ann's 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.880 mother didn't want to risk and complexion being damaged by 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:20.319 the salty sea air. After all, Henry only wanted her 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.600 because he liked what he saw in the portrait, so 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:27.360 permission was asked and granted by Charles the fifth, and 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.120 Anne and her retinue of nearly three hundred people traveled 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:36.520 across Europe towards her new future in Calais, where Anne 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.280 was set to board a boat across the English Channel 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:44.920 and was delayed two weeks by foul weather. Rothsley was apologetic. 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:47.480 He brought Anne to see the ship all ready for 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:52.160 her departure, dripping in festive streamers and ribbons and banners. 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:56.040 No matter, Anne said, I'll take this time to learn 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:59.760 of my new people and my new husband. While staying 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.600 in Calais at the home of Lord and Lady Liesel 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:09.240 And asked Rothsley for his help via translator. Rothsley taught 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.600 Anne how to play Henry's favorite card game called Scent, 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.520 and also requested that Rothsley bring English noblemen and ladies 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.880 to dine with her, that she could learn English table 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.000 manners and become more accustomed to the pattern of their 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.360 jokes in the pattern of their speech. She didn't understand 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:32.000 the language, but she smiled and laughed alongside them. All 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:37.120 the same letters arrived for Henry, describing how charming and 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:44.320 good natured his bride on the way was. Henry was 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:48.920 jittery with anticipation. He was supposed to spend Christmas with Anne, 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:52.720 but the weather delay meant he spent it alone. He 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.880 paced his palaces, waiting for her to arrive, like a 0:14:55.960 --> 0:15:00.760 package to be delivered. Finally, by New Year's the Anne 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:04.120 had made it to Richmond, and Henry, not willing to 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:08.360 wait any longer, rode out to surprise her. That was 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.440 when he first appeared to her in his robin hood costume, 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.440 imagining that she would be so taken by his handsomeness 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:20.240 that she would succumb immediately. Imminent marriage be damned. These 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.160 were the sort of courtly games that Henry was used 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.960 to everyone around him indulging him in. Catherine of Aragon 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.400 had grown up in the great courts of Europe, she 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:33.040 would have known exactly how to react and clever Anne 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.360 Boleyn would have also perfectly matched Henry in this game. 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:41.120 But Anne of Cleves was a complete stranger and totally 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.200 unaware of both what Henry looked like and of what 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:47.360 the game she was supposed to be playing was. She 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:52.120 left Henry humiliated, smarting from the pushed down knowledge that 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:56.560 maybe he was no longer as handsome as he once was. Well, 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:00.240 what of it, Henry thought, She's not so pretty herself, 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.080 not nearly as pretty as that portrait made her out 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:07.520 to be. His first three marriages had been love matches 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.880 with women who matched him in wits and flattered him 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:15.280 with affection. Now Henry was being roped into a diplomatic 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:18.440 marriage with a stranger, and he did not care for 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:23.120 it one bit. Anne of Cleaves arrived in London in 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:27.840 a drawn chariot flanked by one hundred horsemen, wearing livery 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:32.520 embroidered with golden lions. Anne was escorted to a massive 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:36.760 pavilion with lit fires inside, where she was dressed in 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:40.280 a gold gown with a round skirt in the Dutch fashion, 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:44.160 and given a round pearl bonnet to set it up 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.960 her head. As for Henry, when she arrived, he played 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:52.480 the part of the loving groom, perfectly, smiling and extending 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:56.120 his arms and kissing her and welcome. But as soon 0:16:56.320 --> 0:17:00.360 as the pageant was over he turned to Cromwell, get 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:07.240 me out of this marriage, he said, But it was 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:11.160 too late. The wheels of diplomacy had already been set 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:14.840 into motion. If Henry were to reject Anne at this point, 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.160 he would anger not only Anne and her powerful family, 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:22.639 but all of their allies across Germany, especially if he 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.800 was rejecting her for no good reason. Cromwell, for his part, 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.119 tried his best back. When Anne had been tent, she 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:33.880 had been temporarily engaged to the Duke of Lorraine. If 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.040 she was pre contracted, that would avoid the marriage arrangement 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:42.160 with Henry. The ambassador from Cleaves was confused when Cromwell 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.120 brought it up to him. She was a child. Then 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.520 he said it was before the age of consent. No 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:51.560 one actually believes it was a legitimate engagement. Cromwell knew 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:55.879 that well enough, but still Cromwell had the confused and 0:17:56.000 --> 0:18:00.119 scrambling ambassador from Cleaves agreed to send for the for 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.199 paperwork back in Germany that would prove that Anne was 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.240 completely free and clear to marry Henry, as everyone knew. 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:16.120 The two were married on January sixty eight. Year old 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:19.520 King Henry the Eighth got married for the fourth time 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:24.320 to Anne of Cleaves. She wore her long blonde hair 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:29.280 loose beneath a golden cornet set with jewels and fresh 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:34.480 sprigs of rosemary. That evening, they were ceremonially put to 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:38.720 bed so that the pair might conceive another son for Henry, 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:44.399 a little duke of York. They didn't Henry, how do 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:49.160 I put this, couldn't sail his boat without a stiff breeze. 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:54.520 Young virginal Anne, who had only been instructed with the 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:58.720 vaguest possible descriptions of what was expected of her, just 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:01.800 spent the night a s ape next to her new husband. 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:07.760 The next morning, Henry confronted Cromwell, I like her not before, 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:11.639 but now I like her much less. He consulted his 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:15.399 doctors about his sexual problems, while making it very clear 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.080 to anyone who would listen that it was not his fault. 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:21.280 I mean, I saw the way her breasts and her 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:26.359 belly sagged. Henry said, she probably wasn't even a virgin. 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:30.200 Henry made sure that the doctors wrote down that it 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:35.440 wasn't his fault. He wasn't impotent. He had two missions 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:39.600 in the night in his sleep. Doctors advised that he 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:42.679 take a night off from trying, and so on the 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:46.200 third night, he once again went to Anne's bed, where 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:55.760 he once again failed to consummate the union. No virgin 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:59.240 has breasts like that, Henry set that has to be 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:01.640 good enough, free and to get this marriage, And all right, 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:06.080 what more proof could I possibly need? Also she smells, 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:11.120 to make matters worse. The Franco imperial threat that Cromwell 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:15.359 had warned about never actually materialized, which meant that this 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:20.960 diplomatic marriage, which had seemed so important, was now basically worthless. 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.560 Though Anne was still in the slow process of learning English, 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:28.960 it was abundantly clear that Henry wasn't pleased with her. 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.080 He kissed her good morning and good night, and came 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:35.600 to her bedroom, but his increasing chill was obvious in 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:39.760 any language. Anne began wearing a French hood, like the 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:42.760 kind that Anne Boleyn used to wear, one that showed 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:46.680 off her beautiful blonde hair, but Henry paid her no attention. 0:20:47.440 --> 0:20:51.520 He much preferred flirting with the very young Katherine Howard, 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:56.000 a very pretty teenager who, like the late Anne Boleyn, 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:02.600 was a niece of the powerful Duke of Norfolk. When 0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:05.159 it was time for Anne of Cleaves to establish her 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:08.600 own household at Greenwich, all of her ladies in waiting 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:12.800 were Henry's choice. Anne requested that one of the ladies 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:16.600 be Catherine Beset, the daughter of Lord Leesel, who had 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:19.520 been so warm and hospitable to her during her two 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:24.040 weeks stay in Calais. But Henry rejected the proposition not 0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:27.000 attractive enough. If he was going to have to be 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:29.560 married to an ugly wife, he at least wanted to 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:33.880 be surrounded by attractive ladies in waiting. Of course, Catherine 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:38.240 Howard was given a position outside the bedroom. Anne of 0:21:38.320 --> 0:21:40.920 Cleaves was finding that she was good at being queen, 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:44.120 and she was, for the most part, enjoying it. Though 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:47.320 she had been Catholic, of course, she converted to Anglicanism 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:51.399 when she married Henry. The Reformers loved her, and the 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:55.160 people loved her, mostly because she wasn't that social climbing 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:58.639 little nobody Catherine Howard, who seemed to be monopolizing all 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:02.199 of the King's attention. Everyone seemed to find Anne of 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:08.000 Cleave's charming, everyone except her husband. Even after three wives. 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:12.399 One thing remained consistent about Henry the Eighth. When he 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:14.840 was done with a woman, he wanted her out of 0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:17.400 sight so he didn't have to deal with her himself. 0:22:18.760 --> 0:22:22.679 Late in the spring, just months after their wedding, Anne 0:22:22.680 --> 0:22:26.560 got word that Henry wanted her household moved to Richmond, 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:30.840 far from the plague in London. She was told it 0:22:31.000 --> 0:22:34.360 was a thin excuse. I'm going the way of Catherine 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:37.600 of Arragan, she told one of her ladies. He is 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:41.400 disposing of me. What power did she have to stop him. 0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:44.359 She was in a foreign country where she didn't speak 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:47.960 the language and had no power. Her brother seemed very 0:22:48.000 --> 0:22:51.479 far away, and anyway, she believed it was her fault. 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:54.880 If she had been able to consummate the marriage with Henry, 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:58.159 none of this would be happening. In the middle of 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:02.120 the night on June twenty fourth, messenger arrived and an 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:05.439 interpreter delivered the news to Anne that the King was 0:23:05.480 --> 0:23:09.720 beginning an investigation to determine whether or not their marriage 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:15.679 was valid with extraordinary composure and signed the request. Anna, 0:23:16.000 --> 0:23:21.400 daughter of Cleaves, thanked the man and went about her business. 0:23:21.440 --> 0:23:25.639 Her confusion, her shame, her hurt, her fear. All of 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:30.080 that was dealt with privately. Cromwell knew he was hanging 0:23:30.080 --> 0:23:33.280 on by a thin rope. After all, the marriage to 0:23:33.320 --> 0:23:35.879 Anne of Cleaves had been his idea all along, and 0:23:35.960 --> 0:23:39.080 now it was a disaster. He needs to figure out 0:23:39.080 --> 0:23:41.280 a way to give the King the divorce he wanted 0:23:41.480 --> 0:23:46.840 and fast. During the investigation, two of AND's ladies testified 0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:49.600 they had talked with the brand new queen a few 0:23:49.640 --> 0:23:52.879 weeks after her wedding and inquired as to whether a 0:23:52.880 --> 0:23:56.359 little prince might be on the way. According to them, 0:23:56.760 --> 0:23:59.199 Anne said that the King kissed her good night and 0:23:59.240 --> 0:24:02.000 fell asleep, and then in the morning bid her farewell. 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:05.600 Anne had looked at the ladies with wide doe eyes. 0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:10.560 That's enough, right, she asked. That story became the gossip 0:24:10.600 --> 0:24:15.400 of court, repeated endlessly until ultimately it became an anecdote 0:24:15.400 --> 0:24:18.359 of history to prove that Anne of Cleaves was not 0:24:18.520 --> 0:24:22.240 only a virgin, but so innocent that she didn't even 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:26.359 know what the act of sex was. The truth of 0:24:26.400 --> 0:24:29.200 it was those two ladies were trying to tell Henry's 0:24:29.200 --> 0:24:32.480 commission what they wanted to hear, proof that the marriage 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:37.040 was never consummated. Anyway, Anne wasn't nearly fluent in English 0:24:37.119 --> 0:24:41.200 at that point. If that private conversation had taken place, 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:44.600 it would have been a comedy of confusion on both sides. 0:24:50.359 --> 0:24:55.120 Henry's Assembly of clergymen examined the charges first that Anne 0:24:55.119 --> 0:24:58.800 of Cleaves had already been betrothed. Second that the wedding 0:24:58.880 --> 0:25:02.440 was never consummated, but of course not because Henry was impotent. 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:06.680 And third that Henry had never consented to the marriage. 0:25:07.520 --> 0:25:10.560 I mean, yes, they said, he consented in his manner 0:25:10.640 --> 0:25:15.080 and fashion of behavior, but inside, inside he was troubled. 0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:21.720 On July seven, the marriage was deemed invalid. Anne received 0:25:21.800 --> 0:25:26.040 the news with genuine grace after the trouble Catherine of 0:25:26.119 --> 0:25:29.399 Arragon had given him. Henry was so relieved that Anne 0:25:29.480 --> 0:25:32.040 wasn't going to put up a fight that he granted 0:25:32.040 --> 0:25:37.720 her an extremely generous settlement, two palaces, a large annual income, 0:25:38.040 --> 0:25:42.960 furniture lands, a household. Anne had only one request, that 0:25:43.119 --> 0:25:46.240 her former step daughter Elizabeth might be allowed to visit 0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:49.920 her every once in a while, and Henry gladly accepted. 0:25:50.600 --> 0:25:54.080 Of course, he wrote, I know how this annulment pains her, 0:25:54.640 --> 0:25:58.199 considering the great love and affection which she seems to 0:25:58.240 --> 0:26:02.280 have for my person. Henry did require one thing of 0:26:02.320 --> 0:26:05.720 Anne that caused her to struggle to write a letter 0:26:05.800 --> 0:26:09.320 to her brother telling him of the new arrangement, so 0:26:09.400 --> 0:26:13.040 that he wouldn't be angry at Henry. Anne swallowed the 0:26:13.119 --> 0:26:17.000 humiliation and wrote that her body remained in the same 0:26:17.040 --> 0:26:20.359 integrity with which she brought it to England, and that 0:26:20.480 --> 0:26:24.879 the King had quote kindly adopted her as his beloved sister. 0:26:25.920 --> 0:26:29.199 She asked her brother to treat Henry with kindness and 0:26:29.280 --> 0:26:32.120 told him that she would be staying in England as 0:26:32.160 --> 0:26:36.879 required by the terms of their settlement. Anne's family privately 0:26:37.040 --> 0:26:41.000 was of course outraged. Her sister always continued to refer 0:26:41.040 --> 0:26:43.560 to her as the Queen of England, and they never 0:26:43.600 --> 0:26:47.199 blamed her. Every one knew what a nightmare Henry was 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:50.760 when it came to women, and from the people of England. 0:26:50.880 --> 0:26:54.560 There came a massive outpouring of public sympathy towards the 0:26:54.600 --> 0:27:05.400 woman jilted for a teenage would be mistress. With marriage 0:27:05.400 --> 0:27:08.399 behind them and the pressures of the wedding bed gone, 0:27:08.840 --> 0:27:13.720 Henry and Anne's relationship vastly improved, especially once Anne became 0:27:13.760 --> 0:27:16.199 fluent enough in English for the pair to talk and 0:27:16.280 --> 0:27:19.720 realized they actually had a lot in common. Anne lived 0:27:19.760 --> 0:27:23.800 happily enough, making a mini Germany of her household, and, 0:27:23.880 --> 0:27:29.280 according to one observer, wearing new dresses every day. About 0:27:29.280 --> 0:27:32.920 a year after Little Katherine Howard, former Lady in waiting, 0:27:33.040 --> 0:27:36.879 became Queen, Anne of Cleave's came to Hampton Court for 0:27:37.000 --> 0:27:41.679 New Year's Katherine was terrified and insecure, unsure what the 0:27:41.720 --> 0:27:44.600 protocol was for a former queen to come and greet her, 0:27:45.480 --> 0:27:49.159 but Anne of Cleave's was grace itself. She brought a 0:27:49.240 --> 0:27:52.920