What does the LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ANNE OF CLEVES say and what were the dying wishes of a former Queen of England before she went to meet her maker in 1557? In this six wives documentary from History Calling I’ll take you through the final days in the life of Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of Henry VIII and the legal preparations made for the death of a former Queen who had held the anomalous position of ‘the King’s sister’ after the annulment of her 6 month marriage to Henry back in 1540, but who lost even that distinction upon his death in 1547. The will describes how Anne (whose marriage, however brief, has arguably made her one of the most famous Queens in history) wished to be buried and who she left her belongings to. It provides insights into the social circle she had built in England, her role as a landowner and mistress of a large household, what she considered to be her most prized possessions and the relationships between Anne of Cleves and Mary I, Anne of Cleves and Elizabeth I (or rather the future Elizabeth I) and Anne of Cleves and Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk. It also indicates what a wealthy Tudor lady she was, despite her complaints to the contrary. In addition, the video will look at how far the last will of a former Queen was observed by her executors and by the Tudor family she had been absorbed into.

The death of an ex Queen of England was an exceptional event in the country’s history and Anne’s fate and the preparations she made for it provide an insight into the unique position this one time bride of Henry VIII found herself in as her life neared its end. As I’ve discussed in another video, she was given an ostentatious funeral and in this documentary, you’ll also see the tomb of Anne of Cleves in Westminster Abbey, not far from those of her former stepdaughters, Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.

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READ MORE:

[FREE – copy of Anne’s will in both English and Latin] Samuel Bentley (ed.) Excerpta historica: or, Illustrations of English History
https://books.google.co.uk/books/abou...
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) https://amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) https://amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
Franny Moyle, The King’s Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein (Apollo, 2021). https://amzn.to/3h4uU8n (UK LINK) OR https://amzn.to/3BGGMXz (US LINK)

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DIGGING UP ANNE BOLEYN AND OTHERS
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