Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

On 9th July 1540, the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves was annulled. The grounds given were that Anne had been pre-contracted to marry Francois, Duke of Lorraine and that Henry, unsure of the legality of the marriage, had been unable to consummate it. In fact, Henry, although he seems later to have got on well with Anne, found her physically unappealing. Anne, perhaps cannier than Henry’s other wives, accepted the annulment with good grace, and received a handsome settlement, including Richmond Palace and Hever Castle. She lived in England for the rest of her life, on good terms with the whole royal family, even attending Mary I’s coronation. She died in 1557 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

On 8th July 1553, Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, having heard of the death of her brother, Edward VI, proclaimed herself as Queen at Kenninghall, her home in Norfolk. The Privy Council, which should have proclaimed her in London, was attempting to overturn the succession by installing Lady Jane Grey, Mary’s 16-year-old cousin, as queen instead. Mary was having none of it. With all the courage and determination of her grandmother, the warrior queen, Isabella of Castile, she determined to fight for her inheritance.

On 7th July 1537 Madeleine, Queen of Scots, died at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. The sixteen year old queen had been in Scotland for just two months, having married James V on 1st January 1537 (N.S.) at Notre Dame de Paris. Madeleine had tuberculosis, and her father, Francois I of France, who had already lost two daughters to the disease, had been reluctant for her to marry and leave for the colder climate of Scotland. Madeleine however, had been eager for the match to the 25 year old King of Scots, allegedly saying she wanted to be a queen before she died. The wedding had been celebrated with much ceremony, and Madeleine had received a munificent dowry. James mourned his young bride, and five years later, he was buried beside her.

The picture shows Madeleine with her mother, Claude, Queen of France and Duchess of Brittany, and her siblings. Madeleine is back right.