Who Would Marry Henry VIII? The Search for Wife No. 4

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Who would agree to become Henry VIII's fourth wife?

By late 1537, Henry VIII was back on the marriage market. Catherine of Aragon had been banished, Anne Boleyn had been executed, and Jane Seymour had died shortly after giving Henry the legitimate son he had longed for.

Now the 46-year-old king needed another queen.

And so began an extraordinary search across Europe.

In this video, I'm giving Henry VIII's search for wife number four the Tudor Blind Date treatment as we meet some of the women considered by Henry and his government.

There was Christina of Denmark, the young widowed duchess whose portrait by Hans Holbein delighted Henry; Marie de Guise, a tall French widow who had already produced sons; her younger sister Louise; Anna of Lorraine; and, eventually, two sisters from Cleves: Anne and Amalia.

Along the way, ambassadors were dispatched, portraits were commissioned, diplomatic negotiations unfolded and Hans Holbein found himself travelling around Europe painting prospective queens.

But finding Henry VIII a suitable wife wasn't simply a matter of finding a woman he liked. Marriage was foreign policy, and every prospective bride came with dynastic connections, diplomatic advantages and complications of her own.

So who would win Tudor Blind Date and become Henry VIII's fourth wife?We already know the answer.But the story of how Henry ended up with Anne of Cleves is far more interesting than you might think.

#HenryVIII #AnneOfCleves #TudorHistory #HansHolbein #TheTudors

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