Anne of Cleves

Happy birthday (for yesterday) Anne of Cleves. That's the one whom Henry VIII is supposed to have called a "fat Flanders mare" when they first met, and although as far as we can tell that phrase wasn't recorded until over 200 years after the event, it is fair to say that they did not click as a couple. Nevertheless it remains one of Henry VIII's least unhappy marriages. Brought together for political reasons that were already disappearing before the best man's speech, the couple held off from consummating the marriage (once bitten twice shy, in his case) and it was easily annulled a few months later. By that stage, Henry had his eye on Catherine Howard.

Catherine turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In exchange for a quick and amicable separation, Henry granted Anne £3000 per year for life, and she remained in England a very wealthy and exceptionally independent woman.
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