Ultimate Fate
Rejected by Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves finally came into her own. The 25-year-old "sister" of the king now had independent funds and status and used both to indulge in "all the recreation she could in diversity of dress and pastime," according to French ambassador Charles de Marillac. Anne also eschewed her former abstention where alcohol was concerned and imbibed heavily.
Since parting ways with Henry, Anne spent considerable time with the king and his new wife, Catherine Howard, playing cards or eating dinner. At the court's 1541 New Year's festivities, it was Anne of Cleves who danced with Queen Catherine Howard when Henry VIII slunked off to bed with his gout. Rumors would swirl that the former queen was actually pregnant with the king's child.
After the execution of Catherine Howard in 1542, hopes raised high in the Cleves camp that that imagined story might become a reality. A letter campaign from Anne's brother, William, Duke of Cleves actively targeted the king to remarry the former Queen Anne.
But all of Cleves' hopes would come to nothing. As Henry's courtship of Catherine Parr gathered pace, though, he took steps to assuage any hurt feelings on the part of his "beloved sister." The pair reportedly dined together not long before the king's engagement was announced.
In her later years, Anne of Cleves was best remembered for her persistent letters to Henry VIII and his son, Edward VI, detailing her financial woes. Her missives home increasingly spoke of a desire to return to Cleves: "And so I might come to life again among my friends," she wrote in 1551.
She maintained close relations with the king's daughter, Mary, and rode in her coronation procession in 1553. In her will, Anne would name Mary her executrix and leave jewels to Elizabeth for the care of the former queen's servants.
Anne of Cleves died on July 16, 1557 at Chelsea Manor, outside London, of suspected cancer. She was 42 years old.
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