Thank you so much to our regular contributor, Heather R. Darsie, for writing this article on Anne of Cleves for us. Heather is working on a biography of Anne at the moment and is researching her using the German archives.

Anna von Kleve, known to English speakers as Anne of Cleves, left her homeland in December 1539 to join her new husband, Henry VIII of England. The two had been married by proxy a couple of months earlier, in October. After Henry successfully negotiated the marriage alliance with Anna’s younger brother Wilhelm, Duke of Cleves since early 1538, there was the simple matter of getting Anna to England. But which way to take, a sea route or over land? Both options would take Anna through Imperial and French territory, which was no small matter at the time.

Anna von Kleve, from the line of von der Marck (Germanic) or LaMarck (Francophone), fourth wife of Henry VIII and most commonly known as Anne of Cleves, is known to have shared the lineage of King Edward I of England with Henry’s other five wives. While an interesting anecdote, Edward I, or Edward Longshanks, Hammer of the Scots, died in 1307. In 1539, when Anna came to England to be Henry’s queen, she had many well-known powerful relations, distant though they were. Below, we will go through the genealogy of some of Anna’s royal connections.

For Part II of the Annes of Cleves, we’ll learn a little bit more about Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves; her niece, Anna of Cleves; and Anna, Duchess of Cleves. Throughout the article, I will address them as Anne, Anna of Cleves, and the Duchess, so as to help in understanding who is who.

Anne of Cleves, born in 1515 in Germanic territories of the Holy Roman Empire, married Henry VIII of England in 1540. Her marriage to the King lasted only about six months before he divorced her. Due to Anne’s congeniality, Henry settled a good income and several properties on Anne. She remained in England until her death in 1557, where she enjoyed a relationship with Mary I of England, who was only six months Anne’s junior, and with Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth and Anne rode together in the chariot just after Mary I’s during Mary’s triumphant ride through London as the new queen. Sadly, Anne passed away just over a year before her other stepdaughter, Elizabeth I, become queen.

The name “Anne of Cleves” conjures up thoughts of Henry VIII’s allegedly unattractive, unfashionable fourth wife. However, over the span of almost 200 years, there were five women known as “Anne of Cleves”. First, we will meet Anne of Burgundy, who by marriage became an Anne of Cleves. For purposes of this article, we will refer to her as “van Kleef.” Next, we will meet the daughter of Johann II of Cleves, aunt to the famous Henry VIII’s fourth wife. We will call her “von Cleve” throughout this article. Finally, we will quickly look into the early life of Anne of Cleves, the most well-known to the English-speaking world.

After just over six months of marriage, on 9 July 1540, Anna von Kleve, more commonly known as Anne of Cleves, was divorced from Henry VIII of England. As part of her reward for acquiescing so easily to Henry’s request, she would forever after be known in England as the Daughter of Cleves and Henry’s sister, though she signed letters to her brother as “Anna, born Duchess of Cleves,” or a variation thereof.

Anna was gifted many properties, including Chelsea and Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Anna maintained a relationship not only with Henry but also with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Anna would go on to live the rest of her life in England before dying at the age of 41. She never returned to the Holy Roman Empire, parts of which comprised most of what we know today as Germany.

Sibylle von Kleve was born on 17 January 1512 and eventually became older sister to Anna von Kleve, more commonly known as Anne of Cleves or Henry VIII’s fourth wife, in 1515. Sibylle, the eldest of Maria von Julich-Berg’s children with Duke Johann von Kleve, was elevated to the station of Electress Consort through her marriage to Johann Friedrich I, the Elector of Saxony, in 1527.

As Electress of Saxony, Sibylle enjoyed a fruitful marriage with Johann Friedrich and had four sons, three of whom survived to adulthood. Sibylle was known as a great beauty, as can be seen from her engagement portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder from 1526 (left hand portrait). Her long, golden-brown hair is loose and flowing about her shoulders. Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop would go on to produce many portraits of Sibylle and her family, including one finished in 1531, when Sibylle was 29. In the 1531 portrait of Sibylle (right hand portrait), we see that she likely plucked back her hairline, as was fashionable in the period as a high forehead showed that a woman was of noble bearing and intelligent.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 500ten Geburtstag, Anna! Anna von Kleve, most widely known as Anne of Cleves or Henry VIII’s fourth wife, was born on either 201 or 22 September 1515. Anna was born in Düsseldorf, the second daughter out of four children. She lived at her father’s court until late 1539, when Anna moved to England to become Henry VIII’s fourth queen.