Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King's Beloved Sister

by Heather R. Darsie

Overview

'The King's Beloved Sister' looks at Anne of Cleves 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 Anne’s life as a child and young woman was like, the author describes the climate of the Cleves court, and the achievements of Anne’s siblings. It looks at the political issues on the Continent that transformed Anne’s native land of Cleves - notably the court of Anne’s brother-in-law, and its influence on Lutheranism - and Anne’s marriage. Finally, Heather Darsie explores ways in which Anne influenced her step-daughters Elizabeth and Mary, and the evidence of their good relationships with her.

Was Anne - 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'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781445677101
Publisher:	Amberley Publishing
Publication date:	07/01/2019
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	548,108
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Heather Darsie works as a licensed attorney in the US. As well as her legal qualifications she has a BA in German, which was of great value in her research in the archives of Germany, Switzerland and the Nether lands for this book. She is currently studying for her Master of Arts in Early Modern History. She runs MaidensAndManuscripts.com and regularly contributes to QueenAnneBoleyn.com and TudorDynasties.com. She has been researching The King's Beloved Sister for 6 years.

Table of Contents

Family Trees 6

Introduction 8

Acknowledgements 10

1 Anna, Born Duchess of Cleves 12

2 Peasants, Leagues, and Reforms 33

3 1538 51

4 January-June 1539 63

5 July-December 1539 83

6 Queen Anne 104

7 Tensions on the Continent 126

8 Doubting the Thomases 148

9 The Annulment 166

10 Political Refugee 186

11 The Slow March Towards War 209

12 A Second Bite at the Cherry 230

13 The Von der Marks in Decline, 1542,-1557 242

14 The King's Beloved Sister 264

Epilogue 271

Bibliography 275

Index 281