Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry VIII.
Biography
Anne was from Germany, (PROSE: God Send Me Well to Keep [+]Loading...["God Send Me Well to Keep (short story)"]) then part of the Holy Roman Empire. (AUDIO: The Doomsday Chronometer [+]Loading...["The Doomsday Chronometer (audio story)"]) Prior to her marriage to Henry VIII, Anne was engaged to the Duke of Lorraine. (PROSE: God Send Me Well to Keep [+]Loading...["God Send Me Well to Keep (short story)"])
Anne was selected in Flanders by Thomas Cromwell. (AUDIO: The Doomsday Chronometer [+]Loading...["The Doomsday Chronometer (audio story)"]; PROSE: God Send Me Well to Keep [+]Loading...["God Send Me Well to Keep (short story)"]) The King himself disapproved of his prospective next wife, in 1539, seeing in her portrait a woman "ugly as my privy!" He had not yet met her in person at the time.
Having only just been cured of cataracts by the Third Doctor, and so only recently capable of proper sight, Henry VIII remarked, "Did you think I would not notice when I saw her close? Do you think I have the tastes of a farmer's horse for its mare?" The King commissioned a new portrait to make her more appealing, and planned to learn the truth of her appearance on finally meeting her for the first time. (PROSE: Hiccup in Time [+]Loading...["Hiccup in Time (short story)"]) According to another account, Henry, while sceptical of the planned marriage, was unaware of her appearance.
Anne arrived in England, specifically Dover, on 27 December 1539. She would first meet Henry on New Year's Day 1540 at Rochester Abbey. Henry had a bad first impression as Anne looked out of a window instead of paying attention to him. Anne was unaware that she was talking to Henry, and was disgusted when he attempted to kiss her. She had been distracted by the sight of the Fifth Doctor posing as a magician outside and performing a "magic trick" as his TARDIS dematerialised. Despite this first impression, the couple would wed in early 1540. (PROSE: God Send Me Well to Keep [+]Loading...["God Send Me Well to Keep (short story)"])
She bore Henry no children (TV: The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo [+]Loading...["The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo (TV story)"]) and he later divorced her. (PROSE: The Roundheads [+]Loading...["The Roundheads (novel)"])
She was involved in Missy's plan to befriend several Tudor women in an effort to prevent the reign of James I, who created the charter for St Luke's University, thereby preventing her imprisonment in the Vault. (PROSE: Girl Power! [+]Loading...["Girl Power! (short story)"])
Legacy
The Sixth Doctor was in possession of six wedding invitations from Henry VIII. (COMIC: The Gift [+]Loading...["The Gift (comic story)"]) The Second Doctor and Polly counted the wives of Henry VIII using the rhyme "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived". (PROSE: The Roundheads [+]Loading...["The Roundheads (novel)"])
Behind the scenes
Henry's marriage with Anne of Cleves was never consummated. Henry had urged Cromwell to find a way to avoid the marriage in the first place.
The wedding itself was referenced in The STARSHED Experience [+]Loading...["The STARSHED Experience (TV story)"], although a connection is not explicitly made between this and Anne.
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