The Marrying of Anne of Cleves: Royal Protocol in Early Modern England
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 4/13/2000
EAN 9780521770378, ISBN10: 0521770378
Hardcover, 376 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
This book is a study of the marrying of Anne of Cleves to King Henry VIII. It contains fascinating material - including 'demonic' interference and sexual politics at court - which differs greatly from the usual stereotyped accounts of Anne. It also provides a rich context of royal courtship rituals, and a startling account of the king's failure to consummate his marriage. Contrary to the standard view, Henry's marriage procedures, from the advent of negotiations and the portrait of Anne by Hans Holbein the Younger to Henry's Rochester greeting of Anne - in disguise - and the Greenwich nuptials, all followed usual royal protocol. But the king's sexual incapacity, which prevented the consummation of the marriage, culminated in the fall and subsequent execution of Thomas Cromwell and his client Lord Hungerford, who were both tarred with the brush of sexual heresy.
1. Introduction
2. English negotiators
3. Candidate pool
4. Cleves selection
5. Traveling bride
6. Royal greeter
7. Queen consort
8. King's scapegoat
9. Henry's sister
10. Conclusion.
'Review of the hardback: I have nothing but praise for this 'fresh and original' treatment of a most unsatisfactory episode in English history.' The Canterra Times