Henry VIII and his wives

by motherofkatana

The King's wives were all rather homely, why is this? One would think he would have his pick of a kingdom of women. It's not like several were lovely and just a couple weren't pretty. Were they considered pretty by Tudor standards and just not ours? Also, was it true that Anne of Cleaves smelled? Was there a reason? I can't imagine it was being unclean. Thank you for your insight.

QVCatullus

For your original assertion that Henry's queens were unattractive, are you relying on portraits, contemporary accounts, or some other source for your claim here? Note that, in the specific example of Anne Boleyn, the calumnies about her sickliness and hiding an extra finger and such are essentially politically motivated fiction rising from the extremely unpleasant dialogue between reformists and traditionalists in the Church at that time.

Also note that Henry married Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Kleves for political reasons before any personal attraction. Anne of Kleves in particular was important primarily because she offered an "in" with the mainland Lutherans, since Henry had cut ties with Rome by that point.