Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Anne and Henry: Mutual Aversion
Some talk of Hans Holbein recently reminded me of this portrait, which reminded me that one of King Henry VIII’s wives was GERMAN.
Anne of Cleves was his fourth and luckiest wife who managed not only to keep her head but also got a couple of “stately manors,” a bunch of money and the privilege of living independently after their divorce. He annuled their marriage before he even consumated it for, among other reasons including saggy breasts and belly, her disagreeable body odor!
According to one account: “She was taller than Henry's other wives, and many people later commented that she was afflicted with an excessive amount of body odor. The King was said to have noticed her smell more than once. He found her stupid, lacking of wit, and musical skills. After she learned courtly skills, Anne became all the things Henry said she lacked, including playing a mean game of cards, and people began to like her. It was thought that Anne loved her new found freedoms in England. Although she admired a few courtiers, she never wanted to marry again.”
I should also point out the dislike was probably mutual-- she was apparently equally grossed out by Henry who was twice her age and morbidly obese.
So not to keep harping on the BO, but this kind of puts it in hisorical context. It came in pretty handy for Anne and got her out of a tough situation into a life of luxury and independence. So the moral of the story is: Sometimes BOs not all bad, and you never know when it’s going to work in your favor!
¶ 2:00 PM
Anne of Cleves was his fourth and luckiest wife who managed not only to keep her head but also got a couple of “stately manors,” a bunch of money and the privilege of living independently after their divorce. He annuled their marriage before he even consumated it for, among other reasons including saggy breasts and belly, her disagreeable body odor!According to one account: “She was taller than Henry's other wives, and many people later commented that she was afflicted with an excessive amount of body odor. The King was said to have noticed her smell more than once. He found her stupid, lacking of wit, and musical skills. After she learned courtly skills, Anne became all the things Henry said she lacked, including playing a mean game of cards, and people began to like her. It was thought that Anne loved her new found freedoms in England. Although she admired a few courtiers, she never wanted to marry again.”
I should also point out the dislike was probably mutual-- she was apparently equally grossed out by Henry who was twice her age and morbidly obese.
So not to keep harping on the BO, but this kind of puts it in hisorical context. It came in pretty handy for Anne and got her out of a tough situation into a life of luxury and independence. So the moral of the story is: Sometimes BOs not all bad, and you never know when it’s going to work in your favor!
¶ 2:00 PM
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on the topic of holbein, his portrait of anne so entranced henry that he couldn't wait to marry her. sadly, the real thing didn't live up to the portrait, so it seems holbein took some artistic license.
and wow, her BO must have been bad. it was the 16th century; everyone smelled.
all in all, she got off very lucky, especially when you consider that two of his wives lost their heads.
and wow, her BO must have been bad. it was the 16th century; everyone smelled.
all in all, she got off very lucky, especially when you consider that two of his wives lost their heads.
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