Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait: A Novel (Six Tudor Queens Book 4)

The surprising and dramatic life of the least known of King Henry VIII’s wives is illuminated in the fourth volume in the Six Tudor Queens series—for fans of Philippa Gregory, Hilary Mantel, and The Crown.

Newly widowed and the father of an infant son, Henry VIII realizes he must marry again to ensure the royal succession. Forty-six, overweight, and suffering from gout, Henry is soundly rejected by some of Europe's most eligible princesses. Anna of Kleve, from a small German duchy, is twenty-four, and has a secret she is desperate to keep hidden. Henry commissions her portrait from his court painter, who depicts her from the most flattering perspective. Entranced by the lovely image, Henry is bitterly surprised when Anna arrives in England and he sees her in the flesh. Some think her attractive, but Henry knows he can never love her.

What follows is the fascinating story of an awkward royal union that somehow had to be terminated. Even as Henry begins to warm to his new wife and share her bed, his attention is captivated by one of her maids-of-honor. Will he accuse Anna of adultery as he did Queen Anne Boleyn, and send her to the scaffold? Or will he divorce her and send her home in disgrace? Alison Weir takes a fresh and astonishing look at this remarkable royal marriage by describing it from the point of view of Queen Anna, a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own, alone and fearing for her life in a royal court that rejected her almost from the day she set foot on England’s shore.

• Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen: A Novel (Six Tudor Queens Book 3)
• Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession: A Novel (Six Tudor Queens Book 2)
• Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: A Novel (Six Tudor Queens Book 1)
• The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel (Elizabeth I)
• The Marriage Game: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth I
• Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey
• A Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower
• The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas
• Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings
• Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine