June 24 - The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Part 4 - Anne of Cleves

Here is a film with a scene that happens today - June 24. I hope you enjoy the movie and watch it tonight.

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII: PART IV – ANNE OF CLEVES

Two years after Queen Jane’s death, Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Chancellor is pushing Henry to marry again, both to secure the succession with another son and to form an alliance with the German Protestants against France.  The court painter Hans Holbien and Sir Christopher Motte are sent to Cleves to paint  portraits of Anne and Amalia, sisters of William, Duke of Cleves. Henry decides to marry Anne. When she arrives in England he rushes to see her incognito and is disappointed by her looks.  Henry blames Cromwell. Anne has second thoughts also, but the wedding takes place, but is not consummated. Anne is ignored by the king, while the Duke of Norfolk, Wriothosley and Bishop Gardiner plot to get at Cromwell, by getting rid of Anne. Robert Barnes, a rabid Protestant, visits the Queen.  He is followed by Cromwell, who knows that he is the target of intrigue. He asks the Queen to help him. An envoy arrives from her brother. While he is kissing her hands, Henry walks in. He is upset, even more so when Henry finds Robert Barnes and Cromwell are present. However, the envoy is actually Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse who wants to meet with Henry in order to find out how to divorce his wife.  He has committed bigamy, and the Emperor has told him to either abandon his fellow Protestants or suffer the death penalty for bigamy.   Henry won’t advise him, so the Landgrave says he will join the Empire. The collapse of the Protestant League ends the reason for their marriage. She convinces Henry to agree to an annulment and she is asked to leave court on June 24, 1540. [1:15:29 to 1:29:05].   

I think this is the most interesting on the episodes. Anne is portrayed as especially clever, since she thinks up a way out of the box she’s in.  Anne is also shown as probably the nicest of Henry’s Queens.

Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2007) at page 639 gives this date when Anne was asked to leave the court

Producer – Ronald Travers and Mark Shivas

Director – John Gleinster

Awards - . The film won the Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading

Role (Michell) Emmy award. It was also nominated for the Outstanding   Drama Series, Outstanding New Series, Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a leading role in a dramatic series (Michell) and the Outstanding Single Program, drama or comedy.

Screenplay – Jean Morris

Runtime – 1 hour 30 minutes

Released – January 22, 1970

Starring –

Keith Michell as Henry VIII of England

Patrick Troughton as the Duke of Norfolk

Bernard Hepton as Archbishop Thomas Cranmer

Wolfe Morris as Thomas Cromwell

Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves

Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner

Patrick Godfrey as Sir Thomas Wriothesley

James Mellor as Hans Holbien

Carol MacCready as Amalie of Cleves

William Maxwell as Duke Wilhelm of Cleves

Mollie Sugden as Lotte

Jody Schaller as Princess Elizabeth

Robert James as Robert Barnes

Peter Reeves as Philip of Hesse

Watch part 1 of "the Six Wives of Henry VIII-Part IV, Anne of Cleves"