Anne of Cleves

Born in Düsseldorf in 1515 to the Duke of Cleves, Anne had been promised to Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, but that fell through. In 1539, Henry VIII — hunting for Protestant allies against France and the Holy Roman Empire — saw Holbein's flattering portrait of her and agreed to the match. She arrived in England in December, met the king in January when he showed up in disguise, and married him on 6 January 1540. The difference in their personalities made them incompatible; six months later, with the marriage unconsummated, it was annulled on 12 July. Henry gave her a generous settlement, dubbed…