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Anne Neville

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For her mother, see Anne Neville, 16th Countess of Warwick.
Anne Neville
Queen consort of England
Tenure26 June 1483 – 16 March 1485
Coronation6 July 1483
Born(1456-06-11)11 June 1456
Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
Died16 March 1485(1485-03-16) (aged 28)
Westminster, London
Burial
Westminster Abbey, London
SpouseEdward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Richard III of England
IssueEdward of Middleham, Prince of Wales
FatherRichard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
MotherAnne de Beauchamp

Lady Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was an English noblewoman, the daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"), who became Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III.

As a member of the powerful House of Neville, she was caught up in the Wars of the Roses fought between the House of York and House of Lancaster for the English crown. Her father Warwick betrothed her as a girl to Richard,[citation needed] youngest brother of King Edward IV, then later arranged her marriage to Edward, the son of King Henry VI.

After the deaths of Edward and Warwick, she married Richard. She became Queen when Richard seized the crown in June 1483, but died in March 1485, five months before Richard was killed at Bosworth Field. Her only child, with Richard, was Edward of Middleham (1473-1484), who predeceased her.

Early life

Lady Anne was born at Warwick Castle, the younger daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Anne de Beauchamp. Her father was one of the most powerful noblemen in England, and the most important supporter of the House of York. Her grandfather's sister, Cecily Neville, was the wife of Richard, Duke of York, who first claimed the crown for York and started the war.

Much of Anne's childhood was spent at Middleham Castle, one of her father's properties, where she and her elder sister, Isabella, met the Duke's two younger sons, Richard (the future king) and George (future Duke of Clarence). The Duke was killed in 1460, but with Warwick's help, his eldest son became King Edward IV in 1461. In 1469, Isabel married George, and in 1470, Anne was betrothed to Richard.

Princess of Wales

Warwick was already at odds with Edward. In 1470, he allied himself with the ousted House of Lancaster. King Henry VI being demented, the real Lancastrian leader was his consort, Margaret of Anjou, who was suspicious of Warwick's motives. To quell these suspicions, Anne was formally betrothed to Henry and Margaret's son, Edward of Westminster at the Château d'Amboise in France. They were married in Angers Cathedral, probably on 13 December 1470.

Warwick had restored King Henry to the throne in October 1470. Anne was now Princess of Wales. But Warwick was defeated and killed by King Edward in the Battle of Barnet in April 1471.

Margaret had just returned to England with Anne and Prince Edward, bringing additional troops. At the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, King Edward crushed this last Lancastrian army. Prince Edward was killed on the field, and Anne was taken prisoner.

She was taken first to Coventry and then to the Duke of Clarence's house in London. She became the subject of some dispute between Clarence and Richard (now Duke of Gloucester), who still wanted to marry her. Anne and her sister Isabel (Clarence's wife) were heiresses to their father's Neville estates. Clarence, anxious to secure the whole Neville inheritance, treated her as his ward and opposed her getting married, which would strengthen her position to claim a share. King Edward refused her safe conduct to plead her case and she wrote to Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth of York and several others to no avail.[1]

There are various accounts of what happened subsequently, including the story that she escaped from Clarence's custody and sought refuge in a London cookshop disguised as a servant.[2] Richard is said to have tracked her down and escorted her to sanctuary at the Church of St Martin le Grand.

Duchess of Gloucester

The wedding of Anne Neville and Richard took place on 12 July 1472, at Westminster Abbey, and they made their marital home in the familiar surroundings of Middleham Castle, Richard having been appointed Governor of the North on the king's behalf. Upon her marriage, she was styled Duchess of Gloucester. They had only one child, Edward, born at Middleham in around 1473.

Queen consort of England

Anne Neville's arms as Queen consort[3]

On 9 April 1483, Edward IV died. Richard was named Lord Protector for his 12-year-old nephew Edward V. However, on 25 June 1483, Edward and his siblings were declared illegitimate, and Richard ascended the throne as King Richard III. Anne was crowned on 6 July 1483 by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, and her son was created Prince of Wales. She was accompanied by less than half the knights that her predecessor had, which might have reflected the reluctance of many to embrace the new regime.

She was on good terms with her mother-in-law, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, with whom she discussed religious works, such as the writings of Mechtilde of Hackeborn.[4]

Edward of Middleham died suddenly on 9 April 1484, at Sheriff Hutton, while his parents were absent. He was 10 years old.

After the death of his son and heir, rumours arose that Richard planned to divorce Anne and marry his niece, Elizabeth of York. There is little evidence for this, however, and none at all for the later rumour that he had poisoned Anne.

After the death of her son, Anne effectively adopted Edward, Earl of Warwick, the nine-year-old son of George of Clarence and her sister Isabel, who were both dead. The boy was thus nephew of both Richard and Anne. Richard made the boy his heir presumptive, probably in deference to Anne's wishes. Edward of Warwick was described as "simple-minded", and after Anne died, Richard promptly named another nephew — John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln — as his heir presumptive.

Death

Anne died on 16 March 1485, probably of tuberculosis, at Westminster. The day she died, there was an eclipse, which some took to be an omen of Richard's fall from heavenly grace. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, in an unmarked grave to the right of the High Altar, next to the door to the Confessor's Chapel. Richard is said to have wept at her funeral. Nevertheless, rumours circulated that Richard had poisoned her in order to marry his niece Elizabeth of York.[5]

There was no memorial to her until 1960, when a bronze tablet was erected on a wall near her grave by the Richard III Society.

Depictions in drama

Anne appears in three scenes in William Shakespeare's Richard III. In Act I, Scene 2, Richard persuades her to marry him. In Act IV, Scene 1, just before Richard's coronation, Anne meets Edward IV's widow and laments her own position. In Act V, Scene 3, Anne is one of the ghosts that appear to Richard.

The role has been played in film by

Anne is also a character in Tower of London (1939) (played by Rose Hobart); Tower of London (1962) (played by Joan Camden); and The White Queen (2013) (played by Faye Marsay).

Depictions in fiction

Anne is a major character in several historical novels. She is the title character in:

She is a main character in:

Ancestry

Family of Anne Neville
16. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby
8. Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
17. Lady Maud Percy
4. Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
18. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
9. Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland
19. Katherine Swynford
2. Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
20. John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
10. Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
21. Lady Maud Francis
5. Lady Alice Montacute
22. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
11. Lady Eleanor Holland
23. Lady Alice FitzAlan
1. Anne Neville
24. Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
12. Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
25. Lady Katherine Mortimer
6. Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
26. William Ferrers, 3rd Lord of Groby
13. Lady Margaret Ferrers
27. Lady Margaret d'Ufford
3. Lady Anne de Beauchamp
28. Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer
14. Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester
29. Lady Elizabeth de Burghersh
7. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick
30. Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York
15. Constance of York
31. Infanta Isabella of Castile

References

  1. ^ Hilton, Lisa (2008). Queens Consort, England's Medieval Queens. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nichelson. p. 444. ISBN 978-0-7538-2611-9.
  2. ^ Paul Murray Kendall, Richard The Third, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1955, p.108
  3. ^ Boutell, Charles (1863). "A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular" (Document). London: Winsor & Newton. p. 277Template:Inconsistent citations{{cite document}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  4. ^ Hilton, Lisa (2008). p. 456. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ Michael Hicks, Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III, Tempus, 2006, p.196.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anne Neville.
  • Michael Hicks, Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III, Tempus 2006.
  • Amy Licence, Anne Neville, Richard III's Tragic Queen, Amberley 2013
English royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Elizabeth Woodville 		Queen consort of England
Lady of Ireland
26 June 1483 – 16 March 1485 		Vacant
Title next held by
Elizabeth of York

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