Anne Boleyn always steals the limelight. Katherine Howard’s story is both dramatic and pitiful. Jane Seymour dies after giving birth to an heir – the ultimate sacrifice. Katherine of Aragon is a fighter, and Katherine Parr is the Queen who outlived Henry VIII. Where does this leave Anne of Cleves, who, although she too survived Henry, has been seen as rejected, discarded and all but forgotten, in the shadow of the other, more memorable queens?

Anne was born in 1515 in the small but prestigious state of Cleves, within the Holy Roman Empire. Her parents were Maria of Julich-Berg and John III, Duke of Cleves. The marriage of Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves was first mooted in early 1539 to form a Protestant alliance against the kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Duke William of Cleves, Anne’s brother, was the leader of an influential Protestant league within Europe and he was very open to an alliance with the significant power that was England. Thomas Cromwell meanwhile wanted to bolster the Protestant reformation in England against the threat of the European Catholic powers. Anne had been betrothed to the Duke of Lorraine since she had been a child but the marriage did not proceed and the agreement had fallen into abeyance, meaning that she was free to marry Henry. The pre-contract was, however, significant for Anne’s future.

Henry already had a decidedly chequered marital history. He had divorced and banished his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, regardless of the fact that she was a royal princess by birth and her nephew was the Holy Roman Emperor. Both Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, in contrast, were members of the court, elevated by marriage and with little personal status or power. Anne of Cleves was somewhere in between. We know nothing of Anne’s personal feelings about the match but it is interesting that her brother William refused a marriage for their sister Amalia to Bernard IV of Baden-Durlach on the grounds of his dissolute reputation and yet Henry VIII of England was welcomed as a suitor for Anne. An alliance with England was a prize, and all the power, as ever, lay with Henry.

The myth of Anne’s ugliness and Henry’s horror and revulsion on meeting her has been much embroidered upon over the years. Initially encouraged by Holbein’s portrait of her, and reassured by reports that Anne was beautiful and demure, Henry was apparently disappointed to see her in the flesh. “She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported,” he is said to have claimed, pressuring Cromwell to find a way to get him out of the marriage before it had even taken place.

Henry’s initial distaste for Anne could well have been based on their unfortunate first meeting. The king and a number of his courtiers rode to Rochester to surprise her soon after she had arrived in England. Disguised as an “ordinary” gentleman, the King burst in on his future Queen unannounced on New Year’s Day 1540. This was supposed to be a romantic and chivalrous gesture, a courtly tradition during which Anne would either recognise Henry as his true self or instinctively be drawn to him in a case of love at first sight. Alas, the reality was painfully different. Anne did not realise that the gentleman who was accosting her was her future husband and treated him cooly and with reserve. Some reports suggest that she went so far as to ignore him.  Not only had she failed to fulfil her role in the masquerade (despite not knowing that she had a role to play), she had also offended and insulted the thin-skinned and self-absorbed Henry. The lavish celebrations put on to mark Anne’s arrival got off very much on the wrong foot and went from bad to worse. Not only was Anne ugly and unappealing, she also appeared dull. She did not dance or play music, and she spoke only German. Henry, who could neither flirt nor dance with her, already felt bored and betrayed.

Cromwell tried to use Anne’s pre-contract to the Duke of Lorraine as a get out for Henry to cancel the wedding but the Cleves delegation was not prepared to agree and, wishing to preserve an important alliance, Henry went ahead with the marriage. The fact that he felt trapped into it no doubt made him even less happy to be marrying Anne. Then the wedding night was a disaster with Henry unable to consummate the union, allegedly because he had taken Anne in so strong a dislike. The marriage was over before it was started. Henry had already mentally moved on to Katherine Howard. It was simply a question of finding a way to rid himself of Anne, which, being Henry, he did.

So much humiliation heaped on one woman! The traditional view of Anne has been damning. She has been seen as a historical blip, someone who barely made any impression before she was discarded and written out of history. If she has been given any credit for surviving marriage to Henry and the dangers that beset her position, this has often been ascribed to no more than good luck.

Anne of Cleves can, however, be interpreted in another way. She was brought up in a German court that had significantly different cultural traditions from England. She and her sisters were raised primarily by their mother, who was wise, learned and politically astute. The family were close. It was a comparatively sheltered upbringing and Anne, with her reserved character and serious nature, was not known for frivolity. She was taught to read and write in German but no other languages. However, her intelligence suggested that she would quickly learn English, which she did. She also had a strong grounding in the complexities of household management to prepare her for a future role running a large establishment. She was particularly talented at needlework and embroidery. The traditions of music and singing that were prevalent in England were considered unrefined in Germany, the English drinking habits even more so. It was therefore no surprise that these were alien to her at first.

Holbein’s portrait of Anne is considered to have been accurate. It would be odd if it were not; he was an exceptionally accomplished portraitist. Further, Anne’s style of looks was much admired by contemporaries. Henry was the exception here. Perhaps he took offence that Anne did not immediately recognise him and fall at his feet when first they met, and after that he determined to find her unattractive. Whatever the case, the comments he made on her person and appearance were both inaccurate and cruelly intended to disparage her.

In terms of her character, Anne’s household staff all attested to her kindness, generosity and courtesy. Raphael Holinshed, a contemporary translator and chronicler, described her as: “A ladie of right commendable regards, courteous, gentle, a good housekeeper and verie bountifull to her servants.” When one considers the provocation to behave in a manner other than courteous and gentle, this is particularly admirable behaviour.

One could argue that throughout the discussions to annul the marriage, Anne played her hand with consummate skill. She appeared suitably reluctant to give up her position as queen and was distraught and dismayed, which flattered Henry’s ego. However, she was equally prepared to make a bargain. She did not concede immediately, but unlike Katherine of Aragon, for example, she was willing to come to terms. And what excellent terms they were: Properties that were granted to her included Hever Castle, Richmond Palace, Bletchingly Manor and the income from many other estates. Her annual income has been estimated as £500. She was allowed to keep all of her clothing, her jewellery and her silver and gold plate. Most significantly, she was given the title of the “King’s Sister” with precedence over all the other ladies in the kingdom with the exception of Henry’s future wife and his daughters. Over time, Anne’s role as the King’s sister became more of a reality. They built a cordial relationship. She attended court and befriended his children – and his fifth wife.

So, is Anne of Cleves a historical hero? Yes, if we admire the qualities of kindness, intelligence, courtesy, and dignity, if we give her credit for shrewd political manoeuvring and ultimate survival. In fact, Anne did not simply survive but she thrived, becoming that very rare creature of the Tudor era, a single woman of great wealth with relative independence as well. If she has been dismissed as “lucky” to survive, one might say that the greatest strategic skill is to be underestimated.

Six, the Musical, a very clever, modern retelling of the stories of all the six wives, portrays Anne as “Queen of the Castle.” As Marillac, the French Ambassador to the English Court, observed dryly in 1540: “Madame la Cleve has a more joyous countenance than ever. She wears a great variety of dresses, and passes all her time in sports and recreations.” Once Anne had discovered dancing and card games, it turned out she liked them very much and she played her cards very well indeed.

Nicola Cornick is the author of over 40 novels, including The Fourth Queen.