You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
1540
The marriage of Henry VIII of England and his fourth and final wife, Anne of Cleves, occurred on the 6th of January, 1540. The Queen’s initial introduction to the King might have been unfortunate, had she not been warned ahead of time that the King would arrive in secret as a messenger to her, as a jest. Thus, their first meeting was smooth, and the quiet German woman impressed her husband by unmasking him as her husband, never letting on she had known because someone in her party had let on the trick.
What is known of their first night together is that the King did not consummate the marriage, although within a week, that deed had been done. In a letter to her sister Amalia, Anne suggested the King may have been drunk or otherwise impaired after their wedding, but it is altogether possible he was in the middle of a bout of impotence. Whatever the reason, a later letter to her sister explicitly stated, by February, “There is every hope for a Prince or Princess, should God provide.”
The Queen’s entrance to London was met with much fanfare, and many found the King’s current wife most attractive, although one reporter alluded to the fact she was less fair than might have been anticipated. In a report to the French King, his ambassador wrote: “She is currently very brown, but with time, that may fade. The worst of it is her nose, which grown long and large in comparison to her other features. But this is only obvious from the side, and from the front, she might be considered even pretty. Now, to the Queen’s face, she received multiple compliments on her looks, and the King paid one man “a large sum” after hearing a poem calling her his Lady of the Dusk, where the Lady Jane had been of the dawn. Had he thought about that comment, Henry might have had the man hanged for imagining his death, but he seems to have been in a better mood than he might have been, and thus the poet was rewarded rather than punished.
The Queen of England was united with her eldest stepchild, the Lady Mary Tudor, a year her junior. The meeting seems to have occurred between late February and early March, with Mary claiming illness had prevented her from taking the trip from her home in the country to court. Whatever the reason, the two got along famously, and, having met the elder daughter, the Queen requested the Lady Elizabeth be brought in from her exile to Hertford Castle, which was granted. Now, initial plans had been made for both the King’s daughters to arrive from their respective country houses around early February, but neither had been allowed. It seems Henry’s post-marriage glow had faltered very quickly, but regardless, when the meetings occurred they went quite well.
The King was, by April, seemingly unhappy with his wife, but let on to little publicly, instead travelling to his son’s household, where he introduced Anne to the young Prince of Wales. Edward, being a precocious child, charmed his German stepmother, who in turn impressed the toddler by giving him a toy sword made of birch and silk wrappings, brought with her from Cleves as one of over 200 gifts handed out to her new family. The Ladies Mary and Elizabeth had received assorted books and jewels, and the Lady Margaret Douglas came into possession of a set of 5 rings, each showing a different phase of the moon. The Queen had sufficiently impressed the court with her generosity, even as many acknowledged her home Duchy was not necessarily the richest.
The Queen was rumoured to be pregnant by May, and in June, the King and Queen formally wrote to the other great Kings of Europe, announcing that they expected a child by the end of the year. The court itself had known as early as late April, when the travel back to London was taken slow “for the Queen’s health”. It’s thought that, while at Edward’s household, Anne was checked over by a midwife, who pronounced her pregnant, which was later agreed to by the King’s doctors.
The announcement of a child seems to have coincided with Henry VIII’s decision to finally crown his bride, and in late July, a date of 16th of August was decided on. Meanwhile, the King had begun paying court to another young lady, by the name of Catherine Howard. How the King had decided upon this young woman is not known, but by the start of August, rumours swirled that the King meant to put aside his pregnant wife, and that the coronation would actually be for the Lady Howard. Even as late as the 12th of August, Anne of Cleves was forced to write to her husband from the Tower of London, begging him to either deny the rumours or let her know beforehand, so she might prepare. However, the rumours were obviously false, and on the 16th, Catherine Howard was amongst those who participated in the coronation of the now obviously pregnant Anne of Cleves, who was anointed and was now officially, now and forever, Queen of England.
The King’s mistress was, meanwhile, set the task of entertaining her lover, while the Queen prepared for her confinement, to begin mid-October. A husband in the form of Thomas Culpeper was found, a young man favoured by the King and who was already acquainted with the Lady Howard. The Queen herself attended their wedding in September, promising to act as godmother to any children they might have. By showing favour to her husband’s mistress, Anne showed she was willing to overlook infidelity if the King was discreet, and as a reward, Henry sent agreed that her sister, Amalia, might travel to England and aid her during her confinement, to stay as long as a year after the birth of a son, or six months in the event of a daughter. Granted, part of the agreement meant the last of Anne’s German entourage was to leave with her, but considering at least two had, at this point, married into the English court, it was likely the Queen would have German’s surrounding her for a while yet.
The beginning of the confinement of Anne of Cleves was between the 25th and 28th of October, delayed due to issues with the rooms, quickly rectified. It seems the tapestries picked to cover the walls were either stained or too small for the walls, and it took almost a week for new ones to be picked out and hanged. However, it was still likely the Queen would have at least a month until she went into labour, or at least that was the impression of the court. However, on the 5th of November, the Queen of England began her labour, and by midnight that night, a son was born, in the form of Henry Tudor, Duke of York. There had been talk of naming the child William, but the King ultimately chose vanity, and his second son was named after himself. Amalia of Cleves would arrive, escorted by her brother, two days after the birth, and the two acted as godparents to their nephew, before the Duke of Cleves was called back to Cleves.
To fulfill his side of the alliance with Cleves, the King of England sent a small force of troops as the Duke of Cleves began his war to hold Guelders. In return, the King of England received papers, enforcing that, while Sybille of Cleves had renounced her claimed to the Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, Anne had not, and thus any sons they had might inherit the titles and lands William held, should he die without children.