Dear readers, tonight with us is a young noble woman, sent from her home in the Holy Roman Empire to be a wife to the English king. She’s here to speak about the women’s world at both courts, and what it’s like to be the fourth wife of a king who cast off his previous wives.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

My homeland is known in England as Cleveland, but in truth it comprised two states of the Holy Roman Empire, Julich which were my mother’s lands and Cleves, which were my fathers. They were united by the marriage of my parents.  

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

Many cherished memories. I grew up in the Frauenzimmer, the court of women, which in Cleves was kept separate from that of men, for the protection of the women. My mother, the Duchess Maria, presided over our court, teaching us many skills good for a woman to know, such as needlework, the art of cookery and medical skills. Until her marriage into Saxony, my sister Sybylla lived with us and we were close, most of the time. She did once throw a set of shears at my head, leaving a scar in my eyebrow, but she was contrite afterwards. Our younger sister, Amalia, also grew up with us there, a rebellious soul who loved to secretly write poetry and dreamt of becoming as Joan of Arc once was.

Although I loved my family, the Frauenzimmer was a restricted place to grow up, many rules and not a great deal of freedom. We were not prisoners, mistake me not, and we joined the main court from time to time for feasts and hunting, but our day-to-day life was sometimes dull.

All the same, given where I am now heading, I would accept a life of dullness over my present state of trepidation and fear.

What do you do now?

I am to be a bride, sent to marry the mad King of England, Henry VIII. The thought was that either Amalia or I would become his next Queen, he has had three already, and I did not want my sister sent to this much-married man. The English think we do not know how he cast off his first wife, executed his second, (many say she was innocent) and allowed his third to die of neglect, but we know. My brother, now my guardian and master, knows what kind of man he sends me to. But Cleves needs allies against the Emperor, and so, for the good of my people, I am sent to secure this alliance with the King by marriage. He is twice my age and has killed women he swore he loved as well as friends.

I do not want to marry him.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

My most recent adventure is to leave the only life I have known, in the sheltered world of the Frauenzimmer and be taken through my homeland into Imperial territory, through the Low Countries and thence into France so I may be taken to Calais and then to England and this unwanted marriage. For much of my life I have been shut away, and now I am exposed to the wide world! Also, it is the start of winter, and we are not making good time. The wagons get stuck, the roads are slick with mud, and we are crawling to England, where I am to be made Queen. I think God hears my terrified prayers and delays my arrival.

What did you first think when people suggested you marry the King of England?

I had no more wish to marry him than I had to fall from a cliff and die. His reputation in our lands of the Holy Roman Empire is of a changeable, cruel man, a tyrant in truth. We heard many tales of how Katherine of Spain was cast out and may well have been poisoned, how the Boleyn Queen was removed because she failed to give him a son and because he wanted a Queen who was meeker than she and how Jane Seymour was neglected so greatly at the birth of her child, this long-awaited boy, that she died of poor treatment. The King of England seemed to think all maids of the world were panting to be wed to him, yet I knew only women who were panting for running away from him!

Only my sister wanted to wed him, and all of the family knew that would be a disaster for her. Amalia is too outspoken, too headstrong and we thought if she went to England she would be cast off or lose her head for some fantasy the King dreamed up out of irritation with her sharp tongue. She was too like the Boleyn Queen, and we saw where that poor lady ended up. So, to protect my sister, and my country, I was sent.

What was the scariest thing in your adventures?

Being married to a monster.  

What is the worst thing about England, your new country?

The language frustrates me, but I try to learn fast for I know not what people are saying and knowing myself to be in possible peril from the moment of arrival, I need to know what is hidden from me.

What is the best thing about it?

It is a pretty place, and I have made friends quickly. Though the court of the King is a nest of vipers, there are some snakes here who are kind, and just as wise as those who are cruel.  

Tell us a little about your friends.

My great friend in England is Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk. She met me when first I arrived, and I have admired her wit, intelligence and charm ever since. She reminds me of my sister Sybylla, who I miss every day.  

Any romantic involvement?

My marriage to the King has nothing to do with romance, and I think he does not like me, which scares me. This King is not one to keep women who do not please him, he gets rid of them, in ways most brutal.  

Whom (or what) do you really hate?

If the King is none too fond of me, I in turn loathe him. He is cruel and rude, boorish and ungainly. And he holds my life and freedom in his hands.  

What’s your favourite drink, colour, and relaxing pastime?

I am most fond of English ale, such a refreshing cup when flavoured with herbs. And I have found a great talent in myself for games of cards. We women were not allowed to play cards before men in Cleves, but in England it is common. I find I can beat most men and women set against me and end up with a ready pile of coins at the end of the night, much to my satisfaction. The money is not important to me, I am Queen of England so have plenty, but it is a way of keeping score of who wins, and I win almost always.

What does the future hold for you?

That all depends on the King. Now I have been married to him, I have very little control over my life, or death.  

Can you share a secret with us, which you’ve never told anyone else?

There is a ghost who talks to me. For years she has appeared in my dreams, warning me, and since I came to England, in my ear she whispers. I think she is another Anne, one who walked these same halls before me.

G. Lawrence is an indie author of historical fiction and fantasy, concentrating on the stories of women in the Tudor and Medieval periods of British history. Using detailed descriptive writing, G. Lawrence draws the reader into the world of the past, offering a glimpse into the lives of remarkable women of history.

You can find Anna on the pages of The Whiteness of Swans and The Swan Maiden.

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