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Unfortunately, the marriage bed to which the headboard was
attached was never used for its intended purpose. King Henry’s
marriage to Anne was never consummated, and was annulled within the
year. Later, Anne said that, on their wedding night, they had just
sat on the bed and played cards.
King Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves in January 1540, a few years
after his previous wife, Jane Seymour, died in childbirth. He fell
for Anne after seeing a portrait of her that had been painted by
Hans Holbein the Younger, and signed the marriage contract based on
that image alone. But when she arrived in London in December 1539,
The King was shocked, and it is even believed that he called her a
“Flanders Mare”.
Nevertheless, King Henry proved to be a good husband, and
Queen Anne is said to have praised him to her
lady-in-waiting, saying that he would kiss her goodnight and
fondly bid her farewell in the mornings. In July 1540, their
marriage was annulled on the grounds of non-consummation, and less
than a month later, King Henry married his fifth wife, nineteen
year-old Catherine Howard. Anne received a large settlement that
included Richmond Palace.
Despite their failed marriage, Anne of Cleves continued to share a
cordial relationship with King Henry, who referred to her as his
“beloved sister”, and his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.She went on
to outlive her successors – Catherine Howard, who was beheaded
for treason, and Catherine Parr, who died in childbirth only a year
after The King’s death – to become the last of Henry VIII’s six
wives to die.
The 16th century headboard from Henry and Anne’s bed depicts a man
with a bulging codpiece and a woman with downcast eyes. In their
hands are the phallic symbols of a sword and a serpent, and
angelic cherubs – perhaps meant to represent the children that the
marriage could have produced – fly over their heads.
The history behind the headboard was uncovered by Pat Collins, a
curator at the Burrell, who also repaired the artifact after
discovering it in two pieces among the museum’s collection. About
Henry and Anne’s failed marriage, Ms. Collins said: “The irony is
that of all his wives Anne, a healthy, strong young woman, was the
one who probably could have born him lots of children – if only
he’d been able to accept her.”
In addition to the headboard, the exhibition will feature a
self-portrait by Rembrandt, a Cezanne painting, and a 1,000 year
old Korean porcelain bowl. This will be the first time that the
collection leaves Scotland, after an act to that effect was passed
by the Scottish parliament in January. This was
against the wishes of Sir William Burell, who left the
treasures to the city in 1944 and explicitly forbade them from
being sent overseas.
Another item of historical interest is a wall hanging of black
velvet and white silk, made for King Henry and his second wife,
Anne Boleyn.
Photo credit: CircaSassy via photopin
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