Thomas Cromwell, the King's trusted adviser (S351), succeeded in
persuading his master to agree to marry Anne of Cleves, a German
Protestant Princess. Henry had never seen her, but her portrait
represented her as a woman of surpassing beauty.
When Anne reached England, Henry hurried to meet her with all a
lover's ardor. To his dismay, he found that not only was she
ridiculously ugly, but that she could speak--so he said--"nothing but
Dutch," of which he did not understand a word. Matters, however, had
gone too far to retract, and the marriage was duly solemnized (1540).
The King obtained a divorce within six months, and then took his
revenge by cutting off Cromwell's head. What is more, he cut it off
by virtue of that very Act of Attainder which Cromwell had used so
unscrupulously in Henry's behalf (S351).
The same year (1540) Henry married Catharine Howard, a fascinating
girl still in her teens, whose charms so moved the King that it is
said he was tempted to have a special thanksgiving service prepared to
commemorate the day he found her.
Unfortunately, Catharine was accused of having been guilty of
misconduct before her marriage. She confessed her fault, but for such
cases Henry had no mercy. The Queen was tried for high treason, and
soon walked that fatal road in which Anne Boleyn had preceded her
(S355).
Not to be baffled in his matrimonial experiments, the King took
Catherine Parr for his sixth and last wife (1543). She was inclined
to be a zealous Protestant, and she too might have gone to the block,
on a charge of heresy, but her quick wit came to her rescue. She
flattered the King's self-conceit as a profound theologian and the
compliment saved her life.