Anne Makes The Painters Job Even Harder
Anne was a German princess who would eagerly dress herself in the latest fashions of her land. This meant that whatever she put on in the morning would be vastly different from the choices of English women. One of the biggest discrepancies in the German style was tighter fitting sleeves. Henry would soon find that one particular garment would bring his marriage preparations to a grinding halt. What had the English king seen that so disturbed him?
Anne Makes The Painters Job Even Harder
The German sisters followed the German fashion of donning black veils and were famous for concealing their faces. Henry’s minions would then have a lot more trouble when it came to discovering their real looks, not to mention believable descriptions. In the end, Holbein was able to paint respectable portraits of the young women which were widely agreed to be fair visuals. Was this good enough for the King? The man certainly had high standards…
Henry Was Not Interested In The Representation Of Annes Beauty
Princess Anne was not just a good choice objectively, she was also strongly suggested by those around her. Charles de Marillac was a fan of her ‘medium beauty and [her] assured and resolute countenance.” Edward Hall, a historian of the time, had a comparable commendation for Anne, which he published in a tome in 1548, saying that Anne’s “French hood… set forth her beauty and good visage [and] that every creature rejoiced to behold her.”
Henry Was Not Interested In The Representation Of Annes Beauty
Despite all this high praise, Henry felt rather let down when he finally saw Anne. John Schofield, another historian, and author, the king would disappointedly say that Anne was nowhere near as beautiful as everyone had been saying. Henry didn’t think much of Anne’s looks and would go on to plan his rebuking of those that had reported differently. The king was angry, and he would not accept any more flattery for Anne. The man seemed to have very high standards…
