Story Highlights
- Historical event
- 6 January 1540
- King Henry VIII personally met Anne of Cleves exactly on New Year’s Eve in 1540, and they were married five days later, precisely on this day. It is interesting that it was exactly Anne that outlived Henry for the longest of all of his six wives.
On this day in 1540 English King Henry VIII from the Tudor dynasty married for the fourth time. This time his chosen one was Anna Cleves, a member of the German La Marck dynasty. It is interesting that Anna was born in Düsseldorf, and grew up in the Burg Castle near Solingen.
While Henry VIII did not yet know how Anne looks like, he sent famous painter Hans Holbein the Younger to paint a portrait of Anne, as well as the portrait of her younger sister. Apparently, the king asked Holbein not to embellish the pictures, but to convey the actual look of the girls (probably so he could choose a more attractive bride).
King Henry VIII personally met Anne of Cleves exactly on New Year’s Eve in 1540, and they were married five days later, precisely on this day. However, Henry VIII was soon disappointed. Already in June of that same year he decided to annul the marriage, claiming that it was never consummated. Fortunately for Anne, Henry was kind and took good care of her for the rest of his life, as if she were his sister. It is interesting that it was precisely Anne that outlived Henry for the longest of all of his six wives.
