If Henry VIII was on Tinder, would Anne of Cleves swipe right? Would anyone, given his affinity for getting rid of his wives? Probably not. However, since Anne didn't call the shots, she was shipped off to wed the the recently widowed King and be crowned yet another Queen of England. 

Join us as we sip on a lightly stirred “Beloved Sister,” a yummy mix of lemon vodka, cranberry juice, orange juice, and ginger beer, while uncovering the sheltered life of King Henry VIII’s lesser-known wife, Anne of Cleves. 

Anne had a decent relationship with her parents and sis Amalia, but her bro basically threw her to the big bad wolf just to get back at the King of France. We also hash through the training she endured in preparation for meeting her future husband, only for it to be spoiled by his weird enjoyment of tricking his wives. What a jerk. At least the drink tastes good!        

In this episode, you’ll also hear:

Must-listen moments: 

[00:07:00] Not a lot is known about her mother, but we do know that her mother, Maria, sat in what we'd consider Congress or Parliament or something like that. She actually signed bills and was not passive.  

[00:37:00] He just becomes very hyper-focused on making sure that he has all the best everything for her when she arrives, which is kind of sweet in his weird little way. 

[00:52:00] Anne immediately realized her mistake, and somebody was like, oh, by the way, that is the king. And she apologized and bowed and…for weeks she was practicing how their first meeting would go and how she would painstakingly practice how she would bow and exactly what she would say and in English…and to have it just completely thrown out the window. 

Find out more about Queen Anne of Cleves in Part 2: https://pod.fo/e/f82b5

Check out our Tudor Women Spotify playlist for more if you like this topic.

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