What do you think?
Rate this book
Accounting for Anne: The Tudor Queen Who Could Have Been
Discover the lost Tudor queen through her forgotten accounts in ACCOUNTING FOR The Tudor Queen Who Could Have Been
Anne of Cleves was the fourth – fourth in the succession of six unfortunate women who were married to Henry VIII. We remember the disastrous circumstances in which she came to England; the disgust of an ageing and ailing king; the distasteful remarks he made about about Anne’s appearance; the discretion he lacked in courting her maid, and the disappointment she must have felt when she was cast aside for Henry’s fifth. Marrying the king made Anne a queen, if only for six months. And, unsurprisingly, given its brevity, her queenship is often overlooked. Better known as Henry’s discarded bride, or the ‘Flanders Mare’, rarely is Anne seen as a queen.
Scrutinising every shilling in and out of her privy purse, James Taffe closely examines Anne's accounts to reconstruct her queenship and consider her missed potential as consort. Interpreting the almost indecipherable scrawlings of Anne's clerks, from the manoeuvrings of her council, to the fetching and feeding of her pet parrot, this book preserves the original manuscript text, transporting the reader into the archives and back to the sixteenth century. Demystifying the Tudor court, the day-to-day running of Anne’s household, both above-stairs and below-stairs, is also exposed, as the author continues his obsession with the lives of the men and women behind the throne.
Anne of Cleves was the fourth – fourth in the succession of six unfortunate women who were married to Henry VIII. We remember the disastrous circumstances in which she came to England; the disgust of an ageing and ailing king; the distasteful remarks he made about about Anne’s appearance; the discretion he lacked in courting her maid, and the disappointment she must have felt when she was cast aside for Henry’s fifth. Marrying the king made Anne a queen, if only for six months. And, unsurprisingly, given its brevity, her queenship is often overlooked. Better known as Henry’s discarded bride, or the ‘Flanders Mare’, rarely is Anne seen as a queen.
Scrutinising every shilling in and out of her privy purse, James Taffe closely examines Anne's accounts to reconstruct her queenship and consider her missed potential as consort. Interpreting the almost indecipherable scrawlings of Anne's clerks, from the manoeuvrings of her council, to the fetching and feeding of her pet parrot, this book preserves the original manuscript text, transporting the reader into the archives and back to the sixteenth century. Demystifying the Tudor court, the day-to-day running of Anne’s household, both above-stairs and below-stairs, is also exposed, as the author continues his obsession with the lives of the men and women behind the throne.
- GenresNonfiction
191 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2026
31 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
James Taffe
5 books11 followersDr James Taffe is a Tudor historian whose research focuses on royal servants in the households of Henry VIII and his queens. Born in Birmingham, England, he studied at Queen Mary, University of London and University of Birmingham before completing his PhD at Durham University in 2022. Courting Scandal: The Rise and Fall of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, is his first publication.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 13, 2026
I very much enjoyed this book. I only have one criticism. I love the photo inclusion of the actual entry but I wish there was a word for word “translation” for what the entry says. I’ve spent so much time staring at the almost 500 year old quill and ink entries trying to decipher what it actually says.
Displaying 1 of 1 review