ANNE OF CLEVES

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 14 April 1928, Page 11

ANNE OF CLEVES

TF all the wives of King- Henry J Vill none was so mysterious both in herself and in the circumstances of her marriage as was Anne of Cleves. Her match was Unsigned by Thomais Cromwell as the climax of that campaign against the Homan Uatholic Church which had caused the final breach with the Papacy, Harry himse>f was always a little hesitant, and the Duchess’s nephew, the Elector .John Frederick of Saxony, disliked the project because, as he put it, “Luther never spoke well of Henry.” \\ lien the Protestant Duchess landed at Dover on ihe last day of 1.539 to journey Londonvvards along the old road through Canterbury, Rochester, and Blackheath, Henry discovered that her ieatures were “harsh and awqward” and her whole person “anything but elegant and distinguished,” As the good old lady only spoke Dutch, she herself did not understand when her future spouse referred to her as “that great Flanders mare”; but Cromwell had to bear a great many things which can hardly have been pleasant to him.

For better or worse, and it proved very much for worse, the Koyal pair weie married by Cranmer on January 6, 1549, writes “Pasquino” in the “’Graphic.” Within a month the wedding was repudiated by the King, and the Queen was removed to the Palace >n Richmond Green. In July of the same year Cromwell was beheaded. Thus, within seven months, these amazing nuptials were brought to an end, causing the death of one of the most powerful and unscrupulous Ministers in .Europe. Exactly what became of this fateful woman has never been satisfactorily Cleared up. At any rate, it is generally assumed that she died at Richmond in July of 1557, after having lived practically a prisoner lor nearly seventeen years, Alary 'ltulor’s ( ourt went into mourning (rather a striking tribute from a Catholic monarch to a divorced Protestant queen) and the .oreign ambassadors were ostentatiously notified. It would seem that Queen Mary was anxious to convince everybody that Queen Anne had definitely died.

In the -follow,ng year the Elector John Frederick lereived two somewhat r. ptic letters, signed by a mysterious person calling herself “Anne of Aglialen, widow of Duke Henry of Shyp us, in Ireland,” entreating him to “bear certain important'matters i elati.iei to his aunt. Queen Aline of England.'’ As it was the middle of December. a severe time for travelling on the irosLv German cart tracks, tho Elector prolonged the correspondence, which struck him as rather curious. Anne, however, persisted saying that her story was for John Frederick ••done, whereupon the Elector then sent his sc ret ary, John Rudolf, io visit her.

To this gentleman she told a most, remarkable story. She had, she said,

AN HISTORICAL MYSTERY A FATEFUL WOMAN

just made her escape by a knotted rope iroin a London prison and bad iound sanctuary on a Jtianse boat Danzig bound. On board she had met Antie oi Cleves, who had escaped from the convent wfiere Queen Mary had conlined her. Now, there is a ring oi likelihood in this story. Mary was just the woman to act in that way towards a convinced Protestant line Anne, and it the story were true it would go far to explain the great stir which had attended the announcements o, the supposed death. The lady, having ianejed at Danzig, obtained a safe conduct, she said, from the King of Poland, but being unfortunate enough to find herself at \\ arsaw when tnai town was besieged by I'ofzky, had made her escape clad only in her smock and a gold chain. Her only companion was an Englishman named William von Zieritz (this sounds somewhat unlikely!) whose wrist was severed by the blow of an axe, while her steward (apparently an unjust one) had made ell to Posen with all her valuables. She herself had reached Thuringia on loot; but she knew that Queen Anne was still alive, and that her treasure was at Augsburg in the strong rooms of -one Reftliausen, a representative of the Tuggers.

The treasure —and here the story would appear highly fantastical —consisted of “the Crown of England, the orb and sceptre, a diamond necklace with a carbuncle, six barrels or gold, .se.en dresses embroidered with fine pearls, fourteen gold chains, with as manv girdles and waist belts, with twelve head-dresses of fine pearls.” As a token of her high station “Anne of Aglnilen” gave Rudolf her signet ling, and asked him to give it to his master, requesting him to send her “rood stock of game and Rhenish wine.”

Jolin Frederick luv never seen his aunt; but he knew ner ieatures, ironi a family miniature, and he remembered that she bore upon her forehead a pecaliarl v shaped sear caused by a alow from a pair oi tailor’s shears. The sar was there, fso also was that heieditarv deformity of the House ot (_loves —a big toe. ‘ tent inwards and paritiysed lie doubted not that lie was face to face with the luckless wife of King Henry.

Thus the spring went by. At her earnest request a messenger was dispatched to Nu rein burg to letch “a bariel of gold.” which she said she had left there; but somewhat to the Electorate’s surprise he returned to say that there was no ,such treasure in the city. Meanwhile repeated warnings were conveyed to John Frederick that his a lit had died in London and that fin w>s harbouring a dangerous impostor. By July he grew uneasy, and when the reigning Duke of .Tubers Cleve demanded her arrest and examination he gave a very- reluctant consent.

“Anne” was examined before the Ducal Councillor (Dr. Stephen tlodius), Dr. .John Luther, and the collector ol taxes ior the city of Gotha. As she maintained her original story, site was remo\ed to the castle Tennenburg, where under close pressure, ishe broke down and made a confession. Unfortunately, however, she made several confessions. The ony thing that they had in common was the quality or being tar more unlikely than her original story. She was Countess of East Friesland, and had been taken to London, where she met Anne. There she heard about the jewels (which, or course, she could never possibly have heard anywhere). After that she came back to her own country, rode across East Friesland on a horse, dressed as a man, and so got to Danzig, after which she had Dehaved as she said at first. Next she was the daughter of the Countess of East Friesland, had married Count von liietherg, who had been to England, and told her the story.

Finally, at the seventh examination, she said she was the natural daughter, by an Essen nun, of John Duke ot Cieves, and had run away to Poland with an Englishman called Von Zieritz, who there ■ abandoned her for another woman. Then she broke down and said that the arch-fiend had forbidden her to tell the truth.

At this stage the executioner was called in, and in front of the rack she was asxed the question which has oatiled posterity ever since: “What is your o.jjeot in inventing all these follies:-” As she did not answer she was racked, when it was found “that her arms were coveerd with spots by the hend,” and also that she had lost the use of her limbs and count not be tortured without endangering her lhe. She began to babble about her mother being a Countess von Dafurth, about marrying and having two children, about meeting Zieritz at Liege and going with him to England, and about her landlady, distress Manning, introducing her ti Queen Anne. She was remo.cd begging for ‘ a priest, some ointment, . a barber to dress her wounds, a piece of bread, and some watchers to protect her against the fiend.”

The Du ke of Juliers C'leve declined to own her as in any way connected with his House; but the Elector of Saxony could never make up his mind. She was kept in Tennenburg, where she woes badiy treated during the week, but legated on Sundays with “roast meat and wine and books.” She finally died there.

Although no satisfactory solution to the mystery lias been found, there were many theories both at the time and since. The generally-accepted idea in Saxony was presented by John von "'roemont in an official report to the town council of Nuremburg. She was, he said, a courtesan, who had gone to England as woman of the bedchamber to Anne of Cieves