King vs. Queen
From the first, Henry was anxious to rid himself of Anne of Cleves. He tried legal technicalities. He considered simply withdrawing from the engagement. Nothing worked.
The answer was found on the couple's wedding night when Henry VIII proved unable to consummate his union with Anne. By church law, this would easily provide grounds for annulling the marriage. To secure his goal, though, Henry needed Anne's cooperation.
Official reports back to the king, however, stated that she took the news "without alteration of countenance." Anne's ultimate response was a submissive letter that stated her willingness to comply with His Grace's wishes.
The grateful Henry offered a plush severance package. Anne would rank as the second lady in the realm after any future queen consort and before the king's daughters. A rich collection of estates and manors would provide Anne with a handsome yearly income. She would receive this on condition that she did not leave England. Instead, she was to bear the title of the king's "good sister" and become a naturalized English subject.
But Anne's brother wanted her to return home. A letter from the queen, dictated by Henry's advisors, arrived shortly to assure the Duke of Cleves that his sister was staying in England of her own free will. In it, Anne wrote that she had "suffered no wrong or injury," described Henry as "a most kind, loving and friendly Father and Brother" and pressed her brother "that you so use yourself in this Matter, [that] I fare not the worse."
Others would not escape lightly from this marital failure. Henry intended that his broker for this match, Lord Great Chamberlain Thomas Cromwell, would pay for his mistake. Cromwell was arrested on charges of denying the divine presence in masses. Condemned to death as a traitor and heretic, he lingered in the Tower of London while Henry pumped him for details of the marriage talks with Cleves - information that could prove useful in an annulment. Cromwell was beheaded a month later, on July 28, 1540.
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