Anna was the 'last woman standing' of Henry VIII's wives - and the only one buried in Westminster Abbey. How did she manage it?
Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King's 'Beloved Sister' looks at Anna from a new perspective, as a woman from the Holy Roman Empire and not as a woman living almost by accident in England. Starting with what Anna's life as a child and young woman was like, the author describes the climate of the Cleves court, and the achievements of Anna's siblings. It looks at the political issues on the Continent that transformed Anna's native land of Cleves - notably the court of Anna's brother-in-law, and its influence on Lutheranism - and Anna's blighted marriage. Finally, Heather Darsie explores ways in which Anna influenced her step-daughters Elizabeth and Mary, and the evidence of their good relationships with her.
Was the Duchess Anna in fact a political refugee, supported by Henry VIII? Was she a role model for Elizabeth I? Why was the marriage doomed from the outset? By returning to the primary sources and visiting archives and museums all over Europe (the author is fluent in German, and proficient in French and Spanish) a very different figure emerges to the 'Flanders Mare'.
- ISBN10 1398103268
- ISBN13 9781398103269
- Publish Date 15 November 2020 (first published 15 April 2019)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Amberley Publishing
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 288
- Language English