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9:15 pm
March 30, 2010
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HAs anyone ever wondered what all of the wives looked like? In every portrait of JAne Seymour her hair is covered, same with Anne if Cleves, and theres no contemporary of Anne Boleyn or KAthryn Howard. And Catherine PArr…people took samples of her hair whe she was in her tomb, and it's said she had auburn hair and Catherine of Aragon did as well…so I was just wondering what everone else thinks about them…
11:36 am
March 12, 2010
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I thought some portraits of Anne Boleyn were contemporary. Hmm. But yes, I've wondered about their appearances too, especially considering the modest dress of the time and the fact that portraits were not always reliable (look how many different versions of Anne there are!). Henry VIII definitely seemed to have a soft spot for fair skin, auburn hair, and petite stature.
8:31 am
June 7, 2010
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I always felt that Anne of Cleves is more appealing to 21st century eyes. She has a certain beauty about her (at least in Holbein's painting, anyway) that contemporary people appreciate. However, since I am a female, I am never quite sure what men really find attractive!
To me, Anne has a traditionally beautiful heart-shaped face. I am sure she would still woo men today with her sex appeal.
Many people, and much to my chagrin, forget that Katherine of Aragon was actually blue eyed and had auburn hair. Nearly every portrayl of her in pop culture has her with the “traditional Spanish” appearance. I wish one time, if another film about the Tudors is made, the actress playing KOA actually resembles her.
I am not sure about Jane, Katherine Howard, or Katherine Parr. In Elizabeth Norton's biography of Katherine Parr, there is reference to Parr not being very attractive. Apparently, Anne of Cleves made a comment that she was better looking than Katherine Parr. I do not have the book here, so unfortunatley I cannot give an exact reference.
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
11:18 pm
August 12, 2009
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DuchessofBrittany said:
In Elizabeth Norton's biography of Katherine Parr, there is reference to Parr not being very attractive. Apparently, Anne of Cleves made a comment that she was better looking than Katherine Parr. I do not have the book here, so unfortunatley I cannot give an exact reference.
I've read that, too! And I haven't read Norton's bio of KP, yet. Hmm…
Antonia Fraser, in her The Wives of Henry VIII, relates a rumor passed on by Chapuys (of course!) that Anne of Cleves “had indignantly exclaimed that the new Queen was 'not nearly as beautiful as she',” and that Chapuys “[had not seen] fit to contradict it.”
David Starkey, in his Six Wives, relates the same story with more detail, ” 'She is', Chapuys was informed, 'in despair and much afflicted in consequence of this late marriage.' For Catherine, so Anne proudly felt, was her 'inferior…in beauty and gives no hope of posterity to the King, for she had no children by her first two husbands.' ” Starkey goes on to point out that Chapuys wasn't impartial, however, and would gain by stirring up trouble between England and Cleves, as Cleves was wrangling with the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and at any rate, if Anne was miffed, she got over it quickly.
"Don't knock at death's door.
Ring the bell and run. He hates that."
3:17 am
March 30, 2010
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I thought Anne of Cleves wasn't “comfortable” with her marriage to Henry…but maybe she was just “jealous of KP and decided not to acknowledge her beauty? And since Katherine was older than Anne, I don't think that Anne would completely acknowledge her as beautiful? But even when AB and COA were rivals, Catherine never acknowledged Anne as nothing more than pretty, but not ugly (considering that she said that none of her ladies-in-waiting were ugly). And Jane was described as fair, simple, and angelic-the Tudor sense of beauty. The complete opposite of Anne Boleyn. And then Anneof Cleves is considered the most attractive now, but then it's said that she had smallpox scars covering her face. So surely she is considered the most attractive now, but i heard that Katherine had auburn hair, fair skin, and green eyes. Wouldn't that still be considered beautiful to their eyes?
10:02 am
February 24, 2010
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An early portrait of Katherine of Aragon. She was considered pretty when she was young. Not so as she aged. Starkey says,…”with the looks inherited by her English ancestry, she corresponded closely to contemporary ideals of beauty.”
12:03 pm
March 12, 2010
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DuchessofBrittany, it has always bothered me too that KofA is never represented as she actually looked! And Sharon, what a pretty portrait. I've never seen that one before.
I think that by today's standards Anne Boleyn would still be bewitching, and probably beautiful.
Jane did apparently have the fair coloring and demure disposition considered attractive in her time, but portraits show that she did not have a pretty face to match.
I think that Anne of Cleves, scars or not, was a very pretty woman, perhaps the prettiest of all Henry's wives by today's standards. I think that when she made that comment about Catherine Parr, she was simply hurt that Henry considered even a somewhat plain woman far more attractive than her.
Katherine Howard has been described as pretty, but not necessarily the most beautiful of women. I think that she was probably a cute young girl that hadn't quite gotten rid of all her childlike physical qualities.
Katherine Parr must not have been especially pretty, but I've always thought that her charming personality would have improved her looks.
6:18 pm
March 30, 2010
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HannahL, I agree with you about kahterine Parr. Even though her personality may have brightened her beauty, we also must remember that she was older than what Henry would usually marry. So through age, I think she would have been a fairly attractive woman for her age, and of course,s he was considered, “too old” to have children. She was not expected to have children, and she was older, But not too old to be considered “ugly”. And as for Jane, she had a long oval shaped face, small lips, but I think her eyes were somewhat beautiful. I think they were better than Katherine Parr's, and I think that might have been her mos appealing feature…and I think of her eyes as calm, and serene, but I think of Anne Bolryn's as feirce and “fiesty”.
10:03 am
February 16, 2009
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Linda Porter writes about this earliest known portrait of Catherine Parr (Lambeth Palace portrait), pointing out that she was “blessed with good features, an oval-shaped face with a firm jawline and a clear complexion. But it is the overall impression of intelligence and intensity that is so compelling. She is not quite beautiful but there is an inner strength in the face that commands attention.”
I don't think the gable hood looks good on anyone, but if you look at the other two portraits of her, you can see that she wasn't the classical blonde haired and blue eyed beauty but she was certainly attractive and looks elegant and intelligent. She managed to attract Borough, Latimer, the King and Thomas Seymour so she definitely had something!
As far as C of Aragon is concerned, the Michael Sittow portrait of the young Catherine and the one where she is Mary Magdalene show an auburn/strawberry blonde attractive young woman and she was said to be a beauty, Henry was certainly very taken with her.
Debunking the myths about Anne Boleyn
7:05 am
August 2, 2010
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It bothers me too that people think Catherine of Aragon looked classic Spanish. I think she was a beauty when she was young, but as she aged she grew heavy and did not retain much of her beauty.
I think Anne Boleyn would have been beautiful in any time period.
In many books, I've seen Jane Seymour referred to as “plain” or something like “mildly pretty.” Well, she might have been the perfect opposite of Ane, a demure doormat, but her portrait is far from mildly pretty! I don't think she was pretty at all.
I think Anne of Cleves was really quite pretty, though Henry did not seem to think so 🙂 But her portrait might have lied, who knows.
It's funny; Kathryn Howard's portrait shows she really wasn't all that pretty, at least in the modern way.
I agree with you, Claire, on Katherine Parr: I think she was classic and elegant, and her face, while not beautiful, showed strong character and at least some attractiveness.
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
8:51 am
September 22, 2010
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Well,since Henry chose all his wives(even Anne of Cleves,although he later choosed to say he was deceived)so all of the were attractive in their way.
Katherine of Aragone:From the portraits where she is young it is easy to say that she was indeed a beautifull woman,even for nowdays.Small figured,curvy,with a round clear face,blue eyes and light hair.Although later she gained weight and aged,I think she was still pretty,and her good character,royal attitude only added in creating a respectfull and loved Queen.Also,I’m dissapointed of how every movie shows her black-haired and dark-eyed.It ruins the effect of how different she and Anne were
Anne Boleyn:First of all let me say that Anne was called plain propably because of her coloring(no extraordinary blond her or stunning blue eyes).But still a beautifull woman.Francis I called her “black-haired Venus”(or something among those lines).So perhaps not a head-blowing beauty but a pretty and desirable woman.Small and fragile stature,a wellshaped oval face,high cheekbones,dark pretty eyes,long dark hair.Add that she wasn’t just a pretty face,but also had a personality,sex-appeal,fashion sence,charm and everything that makes a woman stand out of the crowd
Jane Seymour:That was kind of tough you know.I don’t think she was as pretty as Anabelle Wallis or angelic-looking like Anita Briem.I think of her as a sweet looking woman,pale,pretty.But boy,she is such a mess in the Holbain portrait that everytime I look at it I think of her looks so poorly.To defend her,the painting was finished afer her death,based on sketches and his memories of the late Queen(he propably remembered during times where she was either unhappy,miserable or too sad).So it is a sad portrayal of her in my opinion.Jane was not a beauty but she wasn’t ugly.I think of her as small figured,blond,with small eyes,with a sweet face but also with a strange and royal aura about her(her taste in extravagant clothes,her demands,her pride and haughtiness)
Anne of Cleves:I think she is the most injusticed of all the Queens.She is labeled as ugly so she is considered boring.That’s really annoing.So,she is not good looking,she didn’t steal the king from any other wive(most productions focus on Anne,Jane and Katherine Howard).That’s so shallow.Perhaps she wasn’t so gracefull like his other wives,nor charming enough.Tall,with perhaps a not a desirable figure(or Henry needed an excuse for his inability to ….perform)but a remotely nice face(as her portrait suggests)Perhaps,her choice of clothing didn’t help either.
Kathryn Howard is usually seen as the Tudor Lolita but I kind of disagree with that.Yes,she was the youngest woman Henry married but for her era she was ready for marriage.She was propably childlike and not so cunning as Anne and Jane were(she attracted Henry but didn’t have the power to bend him to her will).She was the trophy wive,a perfect blend of Anne and Jane,pretty and desirable like Anne,obedient and shy like Jane.I don’t think any of her portraits(altough I ‘m not sure which one is authentic)do her justice.To me she was a pretty girl,around 17,with an elegant face which still had a childish innocence and baby fat(is that a correct term?),bright eyes and light auburn hair.As you noticed,I use for her looks a lot the word innocent.To me,the girl that inspired the nickname “Rose without a thorn” and all her follies do not disagree with me.She was unfortunately used by everyone.A victim of abuse and the wicked ways of men back then.I can’t think ill of a girl that was used like that at fourteen, a girl that men tried to use for their desires or αambitions,a girl married to an old fat smelly man,who thinks he’s still Adonis and demands of his “useless wives” sons which he can’t give them
Catherine Parr:First of all,she was not as old as she’s usually showed.If we take 1501 as Anne’s year of birth(something that makes them around the same age during their marriages with Henry),then why Anne is always played by actresses in their mid-20s while Catherine is played by actresses in their late-40s.And that is killing me.Catherine Parr was an educated cultured woman,stylish,pretty and charming(good looking but with elegant and gracefull presence).From her portraits,she strikes as one of the best-looking wives,fair.I’m not sure about her colorings since I have seen two different locks of her hair,one auburn-reddish and one colored blond!So,I guess I need more info on her.But ever since the 4th season of Tudors I think of her as blonde(Joely was my second favorite wife portrayal,first being Natalie’s Anne)
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