Today In History; Henry VIII Annuls His Marriage To Fourth Wife

1540: King Henry VIII of England had married Anne, princess of the small German state of Cleves, only six months before. The marriage was his attempt to forge an alliance with a Protestant nation as a protection against another alliance forming at the time between France and the Holy Roman Empire. Although Henry had first sent his court painter, Hans Holbein, to paint a portrait of Anne, upon meeting her he did not find her attractive. The marriage proceeded but Henry soon started planning the annulment so he could marry his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.