The HORRIFIC Death Of Anne Of Cleves - Henry VIII's Fourth Wife 

This woman hit the jackpot 🤷 she didn't have to sleep with him!

I've always been confused by Henry's anger that she didn't respond well to being kissed by a stranger. Did he WANT a wife that would welcome such improper behavior? What was she supposed to do? It's just an example of his behavior becoming more and more erratic.

Other historians provide a different view of Anne’s feelings about staying in England. She was very fearful of her brother, the Duke, and was afraid that the annulment had brought shame to her family for which she would be punished if she returned to her homeland. By staying in England, her safety was guaranteed by the King. She may have had nostalgic feelings for the homeland of her childhood but I doubt she longed to return there, knowing the dishonor she brought by failing at remaining Queen. She would not have been seen as a victim of the King’s unfair indecisiveness; she would have been blamed for failing and be punished.

To be fair, in a time lacking in medical advances, all deaths were pretty uncomfortable. And I understand being homesick, but when royal women were betrothed to kings or princes, they knew they wouldn’t be returning home. I think Anne is still the luckiest out of Henry’s wives still. Her tale is certainly sad in a lot of ways but when compared to Henry’s other wives, she made off considerably better than any of them

I always thought that because she didn't recognize him as the king when he surprised her,Henry's ego was hurt,so he couldn't forgive her.

If only he had thought about it at a woman's point of view... You're minding your own business and suddenly some creep comes up and not only hugs you, but kisses you without your consent. It's quite shocking and terrifying, especially for a gentle lady young as Anne.

She ended up the richest woman in England. By all accounts she was quite happy and content...not every woman wanted to be married...especially since that was a time when wives were officially the property of their husbands: especially royal wives.

Anne of Cleves is my favorite Queen of Henry VIII. Thanks for this video😊

Couple of things not said here. Her staff remarked how politely she addressed them and Anne liked to experiment with cooking recipes and preferred using the staff kitchen . Anne still visited court frequently and enjoyed being with the children. Another aspect of English life at this time was childbirth was a dangerous event and many women died from fevers and infection shortly after giving birth . Many women avoided this and claimed they had seen religious visions so they could join a convent. Anne had a quiet nature and it's been speculated that Anne had a calming influence on those around her. Henry is said to visit her often.

What kind of bozo grabs a girl and kisses on her without making sure she knows who he is? He was so self absorbed he didn’t even introduce himself.

The fact that, Anne of Cleves was a Protestant, and Queen Mary, and gave Anne of Cleves a significant role in Queen Mary's coronation, is quite impressive! To survive, during King Henry the 8th is one thing, but to survive during Bloody Mary is another!

He was gross and disgusting looking. I feel bad for his wives and other women that had to go to bed with him. GROSS !!!

Her death wasn't horrific, she died in her bed, & had wealth, because she agreed to a divorce, Henry didn't dare execute her, as she was of noble birth, & it would have started a war, Holbein's portraits look well executed, his sketches, I would say are true to life, if so Anne was an attractive woman, man was an all out monster, who was he? bloated, fat, & getting on in years for the times, with an ulcerated leg, that we are told stank, to call anyone else unattractive.

Not gonna lie, the title is misleading and clickbait-y. That's no horrific death. Away from home yes, but rich, regarded and free. It was hard back then to marry someone you loved and loved you back and didn't mistreat you once married. For medieval women's standards, she did great!

Anne of Cleves couldn't go home because the annulment "Settlement" stipulated that if she ever leave England (not even for a short visit), she would forfeit everything.

In my opinion the saddest thing about Anne of cleves’s life was the fact that even though the marriage to Henry VIII was never consummated she was never allowed to remarry and have a family. I’m not completely sure if once having been married to the king if she would even be allowed to remarry since Catherine Parr remarried after Henry’s death but it just seems to me that being a woman of that time where she was raised being told that that’s a woman’s main role (to have as many children as possible) amongst other duties did she die feeling fulfilled did she feel like she missed out on something. She seems so caring and maternal by leaving everything to her servants and asking for their well-being to be looked after I think she would have been a great mother and wife. ❤

I have a theory about Henry, let’s start with the fact that he only killed English wives…because he knew he would not get away with just killing off foreign ones. What could that make him 🤔

Thousands of miles from home? She was German and, to the best of my knowledge the distance from London to Berlin is barely 700 miles!

Why do you use the word horrific so much? It is misleading. She wasn't tortured or burned alive at the stake. Those I would class as horrific deaths She died in a clean warm bed, which was rare in Tudor times.

It truly it amazes me where people underestimate Ann Of Cleve’s not only did she not lose her head but she profited from it and historians have said that Ann of Cleve’s spoke a few different languages. She and the young Elisabeth I where close friends. It has been said by a few different historians that Ann of Cleve’s was very supportive of the young Princess Elisabeth I.

I view Anna of Cleves as being the most practical of Henry Vlll's wives. She maybe knew not to cause any threat to him. She was in a foreign country with a foreign language yet made out quite well. I think because of her easy agreement with him and her behavior when with Henry, she found that little spot in his grotesque heart of feeling compassion. After all, she was royalty and he would be offensive to other countries if he treated her poorly. She indeed was lucky although I cannot see why she could not return home. I think she is my favorite of his wives. I do feel so very sorry for the behavior of Catherine Howard by men who used her. She was doomed from the start.

Anne of Clooves, the "Flanders Mare" as Henry called her. He who also complained of her womanly airs. Yet, of the twain it wasn't Anne who was the one who reeked. Henry had a wound in his leg which the royal doctors, unable to heal this, kept in a constant state of putrification, raking it over. It was said that one could smell the vast king from two rooms away.

Anne of Cleeves was not unattractive. Meanwhile King Henry was becoming grotesque and a wife killer .

Some good insights here but the term "horrific" & other hyperbole are somewhat unnecessary. Had she been hung, drawn & quartered "horrific" might have been more appropriate but, for the period, she died in wealth & comfort & it would have been considered a "good death" at that time.

I feel sorry for all 6 wives. They were only property, nothing more tan a slave. Glad I wasn’t born in that time.

Just think how history would have charted a different course had Henry chosen to stay with Anne and bore him a second son. Just a thought. Having researched Anne she was smart enough to agree to Henry’s demands and stay on his good side as well as his children. A testament to Anne who eventually learned how to play the game of survival in the drama that was the House of Tudor. ❤

1. 3/4 of this has nothing to do with her death; 2. Nothing reported is remotely "horrific".

Totally wrong about missing and wanting to go back home. She wasn't happy and her brother was cruel to her. She had a good life and was happy in England after her divorce from Henry

In 1530, Henry was still chasing Anne Boleyn and still trying to divorce Katherine of Aragon. He did not marry Anne Boleyn until 1533 and she did not die until May 1536.

Thank you for this insightful and well presented video. Anne of Cleves was a remarkable figure, her portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger is a wonderful masterpiece. Excellent work 💐

Anna might of missed her homeland...but...she knew if she went back her brother would of married her of again, and not to a love match. It's all about politics if your a royal. They are a piece on a chessboard. So she made the most of her bad options. Needless to say I would of maded the same choices in her shoes

how come everyone as had a HORRIFIC death according to you most didnt

Henry claimed that Anne of Cleves was ugly, and that she smelled bad. I think he was embarrassed because she recoiled and shoved him away when he tried to hug and kiss her while disguised as someone else. Henry was such a maniac, I could see him accusing Anne of adultery if she allowed his advances whilst disguised. In reality, his festering, leaking boil on his leg was probably the offensive odor that he was smelling, but nobody dare tell Henry that he had an offensive odor. Out of all of Henry's wives, I always thought that Anne was the most attractive. Though standards of beauty and perception of attractiveness varies from person to person, and this was hundreds of years ago.

Correction: 9'18" - Kleve (Cleves) is 268 miles from London, not 'thousands of miles'.

Thank you for bringing light to this often overlooked wife. However, she was only about 300 miles away from home, not thousands of miles…

London to Duesseldorf is less than 400 miles. With her money I wonder why she couldn't travel home at least once. Seems odd. I've heard her family was somewhat indifferent to her existence.

I love your videos! Thanks!

Anna de Klava was a refined Protestant and not a sexpot. Two different styles of royal households.

"New Year's Day 1530 ..." No, at that time Henry was still married to Catherine of Aragon and in the midst of his affair with Anne Boleyn. And Henry hadn't "been put off marriage", he was still mourning Jane Seymour (perfect because she'd not only given him the much longed-for son but died before he could get tired of her) and he had already met, and noticed, Catherine Howard. Schwanenburg Castle is only 350 miles from London, not "thousands" - you can easily get there in a day.

Doesn’t sound a horrible death, considering there was no treatment for cancer. Also I have read she wasn’t all that well-regarded at home, because she was an “old maid” and her family couldn’t figure out a proper way to dispose of her. To be the Queen Consort of England was way above anything her family had imagined for her and she must have been treated with much greater respect in her adopted country than she had been at home, even after being put aside by Henry.

What's with the BS clickbait title? If you start doing this I will unsubscribe. Just saying. Cheers

So on reflection not horrific, unfortunate, but could have been worse. Very misleading.

I can't think of a better fortune than escaping a marriage to that disgusting blob of a king without even having to consummate it with him, only to be granted lands, titles, a lifelong income on par with nobility, and an open invitation to all the lavish events at court. The only thing I don't understand is why she didn't return home. Why stay in England? Perhaps it was because there she was able to be an independent woman in her own right, apart from the dictates of men- including the men of her own family.

I’m a 20 year researcher (armchair) historian with a deep expertise of this court and period and essentially Tudors and I just find your “horrific” death titles too clickbaity to be respectful. How many titles of famous people of this period will you cover as “THE HORRIFIC DEATH” just for clicks vs truths? I didn’t mind at all when you did this the first time to someone who actually had a horrific afterlife and death but it’s so tacky now. Why not be a bit more reverent of history and inventive so you don’t have to clickbait on a channel that can hold its own?

Kleve Germany is definitely not “thousands of miles” from London. It’s like a 7 hour drive.

You did the horrific death of Queen Victoria and one on the horrific death of Prince Albert. Did you know that Victoria was one of the first women to use ether for pain relief in childbirth, and morphine would have been readily available for her and Albert in their last hours of life,?

It's nice to know how Anne of Cleves' life ended, though I think I would have liked this video to focus more on where she was around that later point. Even the narration itself says that "The most horrific part of Anne of Cleves' death was the fact that she was a young woman who was thousands of miles from home." And I get that the point is that she was lonely and homesick, but I feel like the wording implies the worst thing about her death is what happened to her years before she was even sick.

Anne used a filter on her painting. Long before it was even fashionable.

She wasn't thousands of miles from home. Also, she gladly accepted the properties, lands and money because she didn't want to go home to Cleve and be married off to yet another man.

Henry VIII- what a piece of work

Doesn’t seem like a “horrific death”.

I bet Anne was horrified. Never mind that Henry was abashed.

"Horrific death"? "Thousands of miles from home"? Get real.

What exactly was “horrific” about her death? I’m confused.

One other thing, not quite right here she would’ve had no expectation of a love match she would not have been dreaming of going back to Cleves and finding someone she truly loves to settle down with. She would’ve been sold off on the marriage market within weeks.

It has to be said that people used to recognize status in the clothing because of the restrictions and the portrays if Henry surely weren't very real due to the fact that he was heavily overweight but still needed to be portrait as good as possible. What a person Anne of Cleves would have been if she gave in into a strangers embrace and kiss though engaged to another man? Also not taking interest into a person of low status was normal and she must have felt like this stranger took too much freedom in her approaching that way. Henry should have praised her for her still calm and graceful manners and recognize how loyal she was to the engagement. But Henry was a twisted personality with a complex not realizing that he was utterly unhealthy looking. I personally like Anne of Cleves because she always was praised for her calm manners and kindness what definetely could not be said about Anne boleyn. I think Anne and Catherine Parr had some things in common in their personalities but Catherine had the advantage of speaking English and somewhat was politically smart what Anne had clearly no interest in whatsoever.

And what was so horrific about her death? Click bait.. it's ridiculous to apply the standards of 21st century, going on about how old Henry was etc. He was King of England and that overrode all other trivial considerations...

She had it the best out of all of the wives x

I would agree that dying of cancer can be horrific, but Cleves and London are under 300 miles apart, not thousands, and she didn't die alone, sounds like she had lots of company.

Although no one would have chosen nor would choose now to be born poor, no one would have chosen to be born in those circles either before modem times. No man and especially no woman. Both were traded in arranged marriages for treaties and power, particularly girls and women, and were at the mercy of powers often beyond their control even more than is so for the average person in any age. Not only they, but their children. In France in about 970, one of the sons of Charlemagne put his son into the church. Although the then teenager had promotions at an early age, he hated it and absconded. The Church hierarchy decided he should be punished by blinding. Of course his father wouldn't agree - at first - but pressures were brought to bear upon him to the point he eventually had it done. His son was a mere 24 years old at that time. The power of the RC Church was such that kingdoms which were not RC would be attacked by those which were. Many countries accepted the re-legion to avoid this. The RC Kingdoms which had accepted the RC re-legion were supposed to not attack each other. That is how the RC Church became the world misgovernment of the time, and it still has more power than freemasons (they always had their own freemasons and other secret societies too). If a King didn't do as ordered by the Holy Roman Emporer (much more powerful than the Pope), or the Pope, they and their kingdom could be executed and attacked. If the King of that region of France had been recognised excommunicated and his region attacked them many people would have died for the sake of his son not being blinded, and the king himself would almost certainly been overthrown and replaced by someone who would do as he RC Church ordered. What a cruel set up.

Germany is not thousands of miles away from England as stated. Please get your facts right. I think she enjoyed a very comfortable life after her divorce. She threw the lucky dice and kept her head.

I realise that dying of cancer in those days without modern drugs must have been bad, but I feel the title is a bit misleading by calling it horrific

I don’t think she was ugly.

The king said she looked like a horse. She was very smart and became one of the wealthiest women in England after they divorced from business deals.

It was 1540, not 1530.

Clickbait. Anne of Cleves died about 2 months before her 42nd birthday, reportedly of cancer. That's pretty much all this video mentions of her horrific death. Three seconds about her death, ten minutes of fluff.

*New Years 1540 as in 1530 Henry was still married to Katherine of Aragon.

I remember seeing her grave in Westminster Abbey.

Why HORRIFIC? You are just seeking sensationalism.

Henry 8 th was the ugly one

She was his equal, a princess from a royal house, He did not raise her up like the last 2. And then she did not recognise him as royal at their 1st meeting, insecure little pri**. So she had to go. Can only imagine her fear knowing what he might and could do and then he ends up calling her his sister. And while she awaits her fate he is courting one of her ladies. And if that wasn't bad enough she gets a ring side seat to see her fate. But yes he did throw some cash her way,. Least it could do in the circumstances.

Anne was the smartest of all the wives!

Thousands of miles from home? Kleve is less than 300 miles from London.

Henry met with her on New Year’s Day 1530? He hadn’t even married Anne Boleyn by then. Think you misspoke.

My favorite too!

I realized something, every Queen of Henry's was small, petite, but not Anne of Cleves.

She died of cancer after a long and enriched life. So where is the horror in that? Your title is deceiving.

PART 2..... BOTTOM LINE.....This is not the description of a tyrant. It is the story of a King who needed an heir and felt that God was in all that he was doing, and the result is what we saw. In fact, Henry was beloved by all when he started out and for many years thereafter, and generous to the poor. A picture of health and stature. Foreign dignitaries noted his 'beauty', character, and magnificence when they arrived on State visits. It was truly authentic and genuine. He was generous and carefree. Very athletic, tall for the times (6' 1"), and a KING in all his glory. The infamous Cardinal Wolsey, a very able man, handled the affairs of this new 19-year-old King for his initial years and did it very efficiently. Although, to the dismay of some of his courtiers. Some things never change in the running of a nation. Imagine that. However...LIFE, yes life, like we all have to go through, and certainly without the responsibilities of a KING, started to weigh on him, but in ways he did not expect, to include medical issues for the King that would change the course of history. But again....only TWO wives were beheaded. Not six. And one deserved it per established English Law. Anne Boleyn was the only beheading injustice. Catherine of Aragon, though a sad story, got caught up in a King's matter of the times and was unfortunately put away via divorce. Things would have gone far better for her in terms of post-divorce treatment had she agreed with her husband the King to the divorce. She was stubborn, but very pious and she just could not do it. Understandable. Catherine had no fault in this and one must feel for her. She was heartbroken. However, we cannot dismiss King Henry's dilemma in this story and the wrenching turmoil it presented. No one should be quick to judge. Do NOT think Hollywood screen versions. Distortions. Catherine was taken care of regardless, just not as a Queen. Yes, some say she was slowly poisoned via her food, but no evidence of that. She more likely died of a broken heart at 50. The average life expectancy during those times was about ~45. I will concede that the treatment of his dear friend Sir Thomas More is a mystery to me. They were such good friends, or at least historical documents say as much. How he could mistreat Thomas More as King Henry did, as a result of their differences concerning the Catholic Church and divorce matter of King Henry, and the subsequent execution of Thomas More, makes no sense. How could they have not just agreed to disagree? Keep in mind though, Sir Thomas More had many non-Catholics burned at the stake for heresy in his mind. Yes. Nothing saintly about that. But I know...there is always more to the story than we have been given. Only God knows, and maybe one day we will find out in the hereafter. Fascinating history, with many more details. Much more to this story than the one force fed to the masses via those with an agenda. This was only a smidgen. But keep in mind, that Henry VIII ruled for 37 years! He did amazing things besides having wives, that still affect the world today. ----Education was highly regarded, encouraged, and supported, and many learning institutions were started to include prestigious colleges built and exist to this day. Oxford and Cambridge anyone? A direct result of Henry's doing as King. ----Henry is considered as the 'Father of the English Navy'. He built many advanced design naval ships of the day and developed naval war doctrine, and traditions that are used to this day as well. Upwards of 80 ships were in the Battle of the Solent in 1545 against a French invasion attempt. Incidentally, the infamous Henry VIII flagship, the Mary Rose, was sunk at this time due to an error in the weight distribution of heavy guns, etc. No doubt the world's most powerful Navy, the United States Navy, has been influenced largely by Henry's naval prowess, as we come from our cousins over the Atlantic. Yes. He also built still-in-use Naval installations/ports in England. ---Developed a modern army and fortresses, modern for the times, with new and innovative weaponry. Many innovations still used today, and/or built upon, made England prosper and grow as a great empire and world superpower of the day. A direct influence on England's current status as a world power, politically, financially, and militarily. ----He combined Imperial and Feudal Concepts. He curbed the power of noblemen and their families. Instead, he enhanced the power of the monarchy and the parliament. He paved the way for the Constitution of England. ----He separated from the Catholic Church. Much due to the divorce issue the Pope would not grant him with Catherine of Aragon after 24 years of marriage. Corruption of the church was a factor as well. True...divorce is wrong other than for adultery, but the King's 'matter' for Henry, was overwhelming to him to the core. It was anathema to not to have an heir. A son. So, he split from the Catholic Church and created the Church of England, which exists today. This got him his divorce. As a result, eventually, the Bible was allowed into the hands of the common man (coincidence?), rather than just Catholic priests preaching via Latin scriptures/masses, which most did not speak. These were the times of Martin Luther and his 95 Theses challenges to Catholic Church corruption. Henry and Martin knew each other. Did not agree on many matters and let each other know as much. Exciting times. These times were the start of the Gospel being available to all (who could read), which had its roots in part, to their actions, regardless of their differences. The Bible was now being printed in English, albeit a very slow process that took many years to come to full fruition, culminating in the King James version via King James I in 1611. Though the Geneva Bible was developed ~50 years earlier. It's worth noting Henry was pious, albeit his view was somewhat distorted from the environment/culture he was brought up in, yet he was very learned and well versed in spiritual matters. He was originally groomed as a child, up to his brother Arthur's death, to have a career in religious life, and serve the Catholic church in some capacity. But those were the times. We must look at these issues through the lens of those who lived then. ----Architecture was a huge Henry VIII effort. Many new building designs and techniques were employed under his charge. He built a tremendous amount of structures, many of which were wonders and some that still stand today. ----Henry was an avid Natural Health advocate, even for those times. He is thought to have created many apothecary-like medicines of the time, which were recorded in medical documents. “Henry’s Little Prescription Book” or “Dr. Buttes Diary” contains around 200 recipes for Tudor treatments and approximately half of the treatments are thought to have had Henry’s own hand in the creation of it. ---He was an accomplished musician, singer, poet, and developed and contributed to many modern musical concepts/styles, etc. Wrote a number of musical compositions, a few famous to this day. And much more. 37 years folks! He did more than have wives. People should do their homework if they are going to tell us how it was in those times, or continue the Henry was a barbarian narrative. The Tudors series on HBO was a great representation of Tudor life, clothes, events, buildings, castles, court political/relational life, war, etc., fun to watch, but sadly not a true representation of King Henry VIII. Everyone loves to judge, but put them in the KING's shoes? Yea. Any skeleton's in your closet? In fact...England NEEDS a King Henry VIII right about now in history. Without doubt. He would see the mess they have created in that great nation, the selling out of the English people to foreigners, and it would be rectified faster than a politician on a tax dollar or photo op. Yea. MEGA! (And for God's sake England....re-inter him in a tomb worthy of a King of England. That hole he is in is the ultimate humiliation and travesty. Get it corrected!!)

Thousands of Miles?? Try a map - probably not even 500 Miles...

The audacity to call someone ugly…Henry bye!

Henry was really something…He did give us Elizabeth…but he was not a good king being selfish …

Anne of Cleaves house is for sale for 2 million pounds. It's beautiful but I think the kitchen renovation missed the mark

What!? She was smart. Took the divorce, castles and land. What I know to be a fact is quite the opposite of her dying a terrible death, as your title suggests!

Cleeves is less than 300 miles from London.

Anne of Cleves being a German princess probably didn't know about this odd English tradition based on courtly love

Such a pity there was nothing new here except occasional wonky grammar.

She had a rather comfortable life and the term hortific in this case is clickbait.

1000's of miles from home?, think that may be a tad exaggerated!.

My favourite pub in the U.K. is the Anne of Cleeves in Melton Mowbray. Absolutely stunning. One of her houses. Also occupied at some point my Thomas Cromwell.

Horrific?? She died rich and single …sheesh

Spot on re: homesick and more importantly classifying King Henry as “Evil” 🥳

What's with the title? Anne didn't die a horrific death. I'm sure she passed a lot more comfortably than most at the time.

Anne of Cleves is one of my two favorite of Henry's wives. Anne and Catherine of Aragon.

genuine love, that was a rare thing for women of title in those days

I think she was treated badly by Henry- she must have missed her home and family but had to live out her lonely life here.

Weird clickbait title... I mean, they're pretty sure it was cancer which wasn't great at all especially back then, but still ...

Very inappropriate coverage. You clearly lacking deep knowledge of your history. Shame. Anne never wanted to return home after her journey to England. She was mistreated by her brother and was happy to be away. I highly recommend doing research, before talking...yak

She was one lucky lady had everything she escaped the abuse handed out by that nasty piece of work 😡 the king now this could have been horrific for her 😮

Not knocking Elizabeth I, but as far as im concerned, AofC was the only real virgin Queen of England.. i love E1 but i thibk there was some goings on behind the scenes.

She was treated well by Henry & became firm friends he would ask her opinion on numerous things.