Editing Anne of Cleves (section)

== Marriage ==
[[File:Bruyn Anne of Cleves.jpg|right|thumb|A portrait of Anne in the 1540s by [[Barthel Bruyn the Elder|Bartholomäus Bruyn the elder]]]]
Despite Henry's very vocal misgivings, the two were married on 6 January 1540 at the royal [[Palace of Placentia]] in [[Greenwich]], London, by [[Archbishop of Canterbury|Archbishop]] [[Thomas Cranmer]]. The phrase "God send me well to keep" was engraved around Anne's wedding ring.{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=412}} According to [[Edward Hall]], she wore a "gowne of ryche cloth of gold set full of large flowers of great and Orient pearl, made after the Duche fassion rownde".{{sfn|van Pelt|2024|p=[{{GBurl |id=jYjlEAAAQBAJ|pg=PA136}} 136]}} A round gown had no train.{{sfn |Hayward |Worsley |2007 |p=[{{GBurl |id=LTorDwAAQBAJ |pg=PA85}} 85]}} On the Sunday after the wedding there were [[joust]]s, Anne dressed in the English fashion, with a [[French hood]].{{sfn|van Pelt|2024|p=[{{GBurl |id=jYjlEAAAQBAJ|pg=PA137}} 137]}} 

Immediately after arriving in England, Anne conformed to the Catholic form of worship which Henry had retained after his break with Rome.{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=M1yHXitDdyQC&pg=PA412 412]}} The couple's first night as husband and wife was not a successful one. Henry confided to Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, saying, "I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse".{{sfn |Gairdner |Brodie |1896 |loc=[https://archive.org/details/letterspapersfor15lond/page/390/mode/2up #823, p. 391]}}

In February 1540, speaking to the [[Eleanor Manners, Countess of Rutland|Countess of Rutland]], Anne praised the King as a kind husband, saying: "When he comes to bed he kisseth me, and he taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me 'Good night, sweetheart'; and in the morning kisseth me and biddeth 'Farewell, darling.{{'"}} Lady Rutland responded: "Madam, there must be more than this, or it will be long ere we have a duke of York, which all this realm most desireth."{{sfn|Norton|2009|p=74}} 

Anne was commanded to leave the Court on 24 June, and on 6 July she was informed of her husband's decision to reconsider the marriage. Witness statements were taken from a number of courtiers and two physicians which register the King's disappointment at her appearance. Henry had also commented to [[Groom of the Stool#Grooms of the Stool under Henry VIII|Thomas Heneage and Anthony Denny]] that he could not believe she was a virgin.{{sfn|Strype|1822|pp=[https://archive.org/stream/ecclesiasticalme0102stry#page/450/mode/2up 450–463]}}

Shortly afterwards, Anne was asked for her consent to an annulment, to which she agreed. Cromwell, the moving force behind the marriage, was [[attainder|attainted]] for [[treason]]. The marriage was annulled on 12 July 1540, on the grounds of non-consummation and her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. Henry VIII's physician stated that, after the wedding night, Henry said he was not impotent because he experienced "''{{lang|la|duas pollutiones nocturnas in somno}}''" (two [[nocturnal emission|nocturnal pollutions]] while in sleep).{{sfn|Strype|1822|p=[https://archive.org/stream/ecclesiasticalme0102stry#page/460/mode/2up 461]}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Holbein en Angleterre |work=Amateur d'Art, par Lunettes Rouge |date=29 November 2006 |publisher=[[Le Monde|La Vie–Le Monde Group]] |url=http://lunettesrouges.blog.lemonde.fr/2006/11/29/holbein-en-angleterre/ |access-date=4 January 2014 |language=fr }}.</ref>