Too Ugly for Henry VIII? Facial Re-Creations & History Revealed.
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Published 2022-08-12
Writing, Editing & Music Direction: Andre Segovia
Ugliest wife, or luckiest wife?
Anne of Cleves is known to history as being the “ugly” fourth wife of King Henry VIII, but we have reasons to believe this is not true. Anne of Cleves was sent at the age of 24, only speaking German and not familiar with English customs, to be the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. After an awkward first meeting between the two, Henry shunned her, saying she was not nearly as beautiful as everyone described. Today, we'll interweave her history with information about her appearance using contemporary accounts. After that, I'll reveal my re-creations of Anne of Cleves from two different portraits.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
0:31 Young Life
2:10 A Bride for the King
8:42 What did Anne Look Like?
13:14 Annulment & Later Years
16:52 Re-creations Revealed
All Comments (21)
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Calling her ugly is like calling Henry a good husband..
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Being a “wealthy, single woman” in that time period sounds like a best case scenario to me.
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She absolutely played every single one of her cards right. Their friendship was also somehow unexpectedly wholesome
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She had the best ending compared to the other wives, she was given a home all to herself, wealth, and she even remained on friendly terms with her Henry. If there was ever a show made about her I’d watch it her story would be so interesting to tell ❤
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I think the most telling thing about Anne is that when she died, her servants remembered her as being sweet and kind.
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Based on the renderings of Henry the 8th appearance, he definitely was in no position to call anyone ugly.
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She seemed lovely both inside and out. Her kindness and lack of backstabbing Henry served her well.
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I always thought her portrait illustrated a woman who was warm and smarter than the language barrier allowed for. She was a clever enough woman to be a very savvy card player. I also feel like she was aware that her gentleness probably saved her life.
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She was raised only to be a wife and then ended up a wife for only 6 months of her life. She was smart. Because she ended up living as a wealthy single woman in a time where women had little freedom or agency. She truly was the best player of the game.
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Henry called her ugly, ruined her image and divorced her, just because she was frightened when he tried to pose as a peasant is such a r/niceguys move.
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Even though your videos are short and focus on portraits, you give more helpful historical context than many documentaries that are hours long. Well done and thank you for your work.
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I love how, in an age before photography, the king actually sent a renowned painter to capture an image of Anne!!
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I have always felt an immense amount of sympathy for Anne. Totally out of her element, scared out of her mind and extremely homesick, she got completely smeared by Henry and that smear continues to this day. I am sure that she felt an immense amount of relief when she was divorced and managed to keep her head, unlike her predecessor and successor.
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TBH, Anne's front-facing portrait is the best one out of all the known portraits of the six wives. She looks like a real human being.
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"If i had two heads, i would happily put one at the disposal of the King of England."....Honestly Christina of Denmark was a Rockstar!!! 🤘😂 I love her for that sentence alone! ❤
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I wish people made moves about Anne of Cleves like they make about Anne Boleyn. She must have been such an interesting character
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Even considering Holbein's portrait stressed flattery, Anne could not be called ugly, not by our standards. It does seem, however, that her looks helped to save her life.
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She was the smartest wife by far. Gave him the requested divorce immediately, which I think genuinely earned his affection. He referred to her as "our dear sister," gave her a palace and a generous financial settlement.
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I've always thought she was lovely to look at but obviously read that the portrait had been painted 'kindly' and Henry was repulsed by her in the flesh. It's clearly not that way at all, thank you for this eye opening look at the lucky queen (as was Catherine Parr) who survived him. I had forgotten that he referred to her as his sister later on, she must have been a wise woman not to upset any of the Tudors!
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She took the high road with genuine grace & lived to see her reward. Brava 👏
