Was Anne of Cleves really ugly?
Stereotypically labeled as the Flanders Mare, Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of Henry VIII, has held the reputation of being ugly and unattractive ever since the Tudor king laid eyes on her in 1540! But was Anne really what all the courtiers and historians have labeled her as? To be honest, no courtier could really disagree with the king without the danger of losing his or her's life, and if King Henry disliked her looks, then the court would more than likely have agreed with him. 'Anne of Cleves' by Hans Holbein the Younger In 1539, two years after the death of Henry VIII's third and quite possibly his favourite wife Jane Seymour, the king sent a member of Thomas Cromwell's household- Christopher Mont- to inspect a suitable candidate for the king to wed. Mont returned to England from Cleves in Germany with the report that everyone praises the young woman on her beauty. This impressed Henry as Anne, the reported German beauty, had already agreed to marry Hen...