Francis I (Duke of Lorraine)
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The Duke of Lorraine was engaged to Anne of Cleves.
By 1538, this engagement had been broken, and plans were underway for Anne to marry the King of England, Henry VIII. In 1539, when Henry VIII declared his intention to marry Nyssa instead of Anne, Thomas Cromwell objected. The Duke of Norfolk then reminded Cromwell that his plans could be broken otherwise "Your Majesty’s intended bride would have already been wedded to the Duke of Lorraine."
Henry asked Cromwell if he had all the paperwork to prove that the engagement between Anne and the Duke of Lorraine was indeed broken. (PROSE: God Send Me Well to Keep [+]Loading...["God Send Me Well to Keep (short story)"])
Behind the scenes
In the real world, Francis was not yet Duke of Lorraine in 1539. He would not inherit the Dukedom until 1544.
Francis had been betrothed to Anne of Cleves in 1527, although this betrothal would be cancelled in 1535. Henry VIII was still married to Anne Boleyn at the time, and neither he nor Thomas Cromwell were involved in the breaking of the betrothal. As alluded to in God Send Me Well to Keep, the betrothal would eventually be used as a reason for the annulment of the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. Francis would go on to marry Christina of Denmark, who incidentally was also considered a potential wife for Henry VIII prior to Anne of Cleves.
