Anne of Cleves: Fourth Wife of Henry VIII Quiz

Answer: Maria of Jülich-Berg

Maria of Jülich-Berg was heiress to her father's states of Jülich, Berg, and Ravensberg in Germany. She had been engaged to John III, Duke of Cleves, since 1496 when she was 6 and John was 7. They actually got married in 1509.

Maria adhered to Catholicism and educated Anne on how to organise a noble household. This was a typical education for German noblewomen in those days, and this differed from the education of English noblewomen of the same period, which was more geared towards academic knowledge and cultural sophistication - both of which Henry VIII found very attractive in women.

Answer: Francis I, Duke of Lorraine

Anne of Cleves was first betrothed when she was 11 years old. Francis was about 10. The engagement was brief and Francis ended up marrying Christina of Denmark, in 1541.

Anne's father, the Duke of Cleves and Francis' father, the Duke of Lorraine, signed a marriage contract for their children, Anne and Francis, in 1527. This was being brokered by the Duke of Guelders, who negotiated land and money for the marriage to take place. This fell through when the Duke of Guelders died in 1538, and Anne of Cleves' brother, William of Cleves, was named as his heir. The ambassador from Lorraine visited William in order to cement the marriage between Anne and Francis, however, Anne's brother felt differently than the Duke of Guelders, and would not agree to the marriage.

Answer: Sibylle

Sibylle of Cleves was married to John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, leader of the Schmalkaldic League. He had a personal relationship with Martin Luther, a German monk who was a key figure of the Reformation.

This was a stark contrast to Anne's Roman Catholic faith, the very faith which the Protestant religion had sprung from, in opposition, started by Henry VIII's disagreement with the Catholic pope over his wish to divorce Catherine of Aragon. However, Anne conformed to Henry's new Protestant faith once married to him.

Answer: Rochester Castle

Henry's ill-fated attempt at courting Anne of Cleves, started with a playful courting tradition of the King and his friends disguising themselves, then sneaking to where Anne was staying. Anne was gazing out of a window into the courtyard of either Rochester Abbey or Rochester Castle. Henry kissed Anne, and then gave her a gift. Anne was taken aback, unaware of who had accosted her, thanked him awkwardly, and continued to look from the window. Henry disappeared, and then emerged dressed in royal clothing to show who he actually was.

The tradition Henry was attempting to uphold stated that the fiance - in this case Anne - was supposed to see through the disguise and recognise her one true love. Anne did not and remained completely disinterested in Henry. This incident dampened Henry's enthusiasm about the upcoming marriage.

Answer: Hans Holbein the Younger

Some historians consider Hans Holbein the Younger partly responsible for the death of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell was eager for Henry to marry Anne because it would help cement Cromwell's religious reforms. He arranged the marriage and had assured the King of Anne's beauty. Although Cromwell did not paint the picture, he arranged the marriage on its premise. Henry pressured Thomas Cromwell to find a legal way to end the marriage. This proved to be impossible without angering the Germans, and Henry did not want to alienate his allies, particularly as Anne's brother, William, was leading the Protestants in Western Germany. Henry believed they needed the alliance as he suspected Catholic France and the Holy Roman Empire, were going to join forces to attack England. But this did not happen.

Henry later had Cromwell beheaded. He felt regret for this later.

Answer: Amalia

Amalia of Cleves was the youngest child of her family. She was born in 1517.

Hans Holbein the Younger also painted Amalia when Henry was considering that she might be his next wife. Amalia remained unmarried throughout her life. She helped her and Anne's brother, William, raise his children.

Anne remained in England even after her divorce from Henry VIII. Anne left her a diamond ring to inherit. Amalia of Cleves died at 68 years old in Düsseldorf, in 1586. She outlived both Anne, and their other sister.

Answer: Palace of Placentia

Also known as Greenwich Palace, the Palace of Placentia was built in 1443. It was situated on the bank of the river Thames in Greenwich. King Charles II demolished this palace in 1660. He intended to built a greater palace but it was never built. Greenwich hospital currently stands on the site.

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer married Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves.

Answer: 6 months

Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII did not consummate their marriage. The date of their wedding was 6 January 1540. They were divorced on 9 July 1540.

Henry even went as far as to call into question Anne of Cleves' virginity, even though she clearly did not know her way around the bedroom. He used her previous engagement to Francis, Duke of Lorraine, despite the fact that they had been briefly betrothed as children. No paper could be found to say the betrothal had been officially cancelled, which gave Henry an opportunity to legally end the marriage.

Some sources say that Anne fainted upon seeing that Henry wanted to divorce her. But this claim is likely untrue - it surfaced 70 years after the fact.

Answer: True

Anne of Cleves danced with Catherine Howard in 1541, during Henry's court's New Years celebration. This was while Henry had disappeared to bed as his gout was distressing him. However, he must have heard of the friendliness between the two women as they danced, no doubt going in Anne's favour as she had truly accepted his marriage to Catherine, and would not provide trouble to his life.

Anne had no choice in accepting Henry's interest in Catherine. Her marriage had been declared illegal. She did not want to suffer the same fate as Anne Boleyn.

Anne was also handsomely compensated for her cooperation. She was given Richmond Palace and Bletchingly Manor, as well as an annual income.

Answer: Hever Castle

Hever Castle is in the village of Hever, Kent, and still stands to this day.

Anne Boleyn's father, Thomas Boleyn, bought Hever Castle in around 1505. Anne Boleyn grew up there. It became Anne of Cleves' main residence. Henry became close to Anne of Cleves in a platonic way after the divorce, referring to her as his "dearest sister."

The castle is now open as a historical tourist attraction. Anne Boleyn's prayer books are on display.

Answer: 10

Anne of Cleves died on July 16, 1557. She was 41.

Anne not only outlived Henry, she outlived all of his wives. Perhaps because Catherine Parr (Henry's last wife) was the only one to outlive Henry while still married to him, and also because Catherine Parr is often played by actresses much older than she actually was, it sometimes comes as a surprise to find that Anne of Cleves was the wife of Henry VIII who died last.

Answer: 2 years

Jane Seymour died in 1537. Anne of Cleves arrived in England in 1539.

Henry VIII clearly thought well of Jane Seymour. There is evidence that he loved her very much, although his reasoning for waiting 2 years to get married again is not as romantic as some claim.

Henry actually sent out instruction to find him a new wife when Jane had barely been dead a month. The marriage negotiations simply took a lot of time.

Answer: Mary I

Mary Tudor's coronation was in 1553. She rode alongside Elizabeth, in a chariot donned with silver cloth.

Anne of Cleves was close to Henry VIII's children. She was close in age to Mary.

Despite their religious differences (Mary being a staunch Catholic and Anne converting to Protestantism to please Henry) when Anne died, Mary had her buried with full honors - the woman who would burn people to death - for adhering to Protestantism.

Answer: Westminster Abbey

In Anne of Cleves' will she even left money to her servants, and asked both Elizabeth and Mary to employ them so that they would still have work after her death.

Mary I ordered Anne of Cleves to be buried in Westminster Abbey. It was an extravagant funeral - Mary held Anne in high regard. It was also a Catholic funeral, which no doubt pleased Mary I, but it was also what Anne had wanted.

The tombstone of Anne of Cleves reads at the back: "Anne of Cleves Queen of England. Born 1515. Died 1557" but this was added in the 1970s.

Answer: "God send me well to keep"

Outliving both Henry VIII and all of his other wives, Anne's motto did prove apt - and not just in the way she originally had in mind.

At Anne and Henry's wedding, she was given a ring with "God send me well to keep" inscribed on the inside. Anne's religious tendencies no doubt also formed her attachment to the motto.