ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, June 2007. Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry VIII. The marriage was a political one. Henry agreed to the marriage only having seen a portrait of Anne and having heard glowing reports of her virtue and honesty. However, when Anne finally arrived in England and the two met, Henry was bitterly disappointed with her and was furious, feeling he had been lied to. Anne spoke no English and while she spoke and wrote German and was skilled at needlework, she was rather innocent and naive. One doubts if Anne was exactly thrilled at the sight of the enormously fat Henry either. However, the marriage went ahead as planned in 1540. The weding night was not a success - Henry was so repulsed by Anne he was unable to consummate the marriage - Anne was so sexually naive she was unaware of this and her ladies-in-waiting had to explain it all to her. Six months later the marriage was annulled, the minister who had arranged the whole debacle, Cromwell, had been executed and the King was making plans to marry Catherine Howard. As for Anne, wisely she agreed to the annullment and went along with all that was asked of her. She was given money and property and lived out the rest of her life quietly, dying in 1557.