Henry VIII was so excited to meet Anne of Cleves that he rushed off to surprise her in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light episode 5. The big question is whether this really happened in history.
Well, yes it did. Henry embarrassed himself and Anne by doing this, and Thomas Cromwell likely knew that it was a big mistake. We don’t have much to tell us about how Cromwell reacted, but we do know that Henry acted like a love sick puppy, excited to meet his fourth wife.
Henry VIII didn’t wait for Anne of Cleves to get her land legs in Wolf Hall
Cromwell pointed out that it would be a disaster for Henry to rush to meet Anne of Cleves. She needed time to get ready for him, knowing that the journey across from Calais wouldn’t have been pleasant. It was the beginning of December when she arrived in England. That water would have been extremely choppy, and it wasn’t the one-hour ferry ride that it is now!
It’s no wonder that she looked pale and that she wasn’t really all that focused on the people around her. On top of that, she didn’t even know what Henry VIII looked like. So, when she failed to recognize him at first, it wasn’t a surprise to others, but it angered Henry VIII.
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Henry VIII felt like a fool for Anne’s reaction
Anne was supposed to have a few more days to get ready to meet the king. By not knowing who he was and being put on the spot, she naturally took offense at someone who looked like a lowborn man coming to see her. It’s no wonder she pushed him away! Being German, she wouldn’t have been used to this French custom of the surprise.
With this snub, Henry decided that he didn’t like her after all. He found as many faults as he could with her, leading to him trying to get out of the marriage.
This was a man who was used to commanding the respect of people. He was a tyrant, willing to put anyone in the Tower of London for the slightest of offences. Just look at how he treated his previous wives and his own daughters. Of course people feared him, and that’s what he was used to. When someone stood up to him, he didn’t like it one bit, and with Anne, there was a delicate political matter to deal with so he couldn’t just arrest her or treat her overly poorly.
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What happened between Henry and Anne?
In the end, Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves did marry, but their marriage lasted just six months. It was annulled, so it was as if the marriage never happened.
Since Anne agreed to the terms of the divorce, she was able to live a life of luxury, called The King’s Sister. She had her own house and was invited to Court on many occasions. She lived the easier life of any other of Henry VIII’s wives, and she even ended up outliving Catherine Parr, which many overlook, and was friends with Mary I of England (despite their different religious views).
However, it was this marriage and the end of it that led to the end of Thomas Cromwell, and we’ll get to see how that plays out in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light episode 6.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light airs on Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.
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