Anne Neville

Anne Neville
Queen consort of England
Tenure 26 June 1483 – 16 March 1485
Coronation 6 July 1483
Spouse Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
m. 1470; dec. 1471
Richard III of England
m. 1472; wid. 1485
Issue
Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales
Father Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Mother Anne de Beauchamp
Born 11 June 1456(1456-06-11)
Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
Died 16 March 1485(1485-03-16) (aged 28)
Westminster, London
Burial Westminster Abbey, London

Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Princess of Wales as spouse of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as spouse of King Richard III. She was queen consort from 26 June 1483 until her death on 16 March 1485. She was the mother of one son, Edward who predeceased her. She was a member of the powerful, northern English Neville family being the younger daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known to history as "The Kingmaker".

Contents

Early life

Anne was born on 11 June 1456, at Warwick Castle, the younger daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Anne de Beauchamp. Throughout her life, she would be used as a political pawn. Much of her childhood was spent at Middleham Castle, one of her father's properties, where she and her elder sister, Isabella Neville, came into contact with the younger sons of Richard, Duke of York. These boys would play a major role in the destiny of both sisters.

Princess of Wales

At fourteen, Anne was betrothed by her father to Edward, Prince of Wales, heir to Henry VI of England. Anne's father, dissatisfied with the rewards he had received for helping King Edward IV of England gain the throne, compared with the favours lavished on the Woodvilles, changed sides and allied himself with Margaret of Anjou, Queen consort of Henry VI. Margaret harboured suspicions about Warwick's motives, particularly since Anne's sister, Isabel, was married to the reigning king's brother, George, Duke of Clarence.

As part of the formal agreement, Anne was formally betrothed to the seventeen-year-old Edward at the Chateau d'Amboise in France, and married in Angers Cathedral probably on 13 December 1470.

The Earl of Warwick, who had been dispatched by Margaret to England to restore King Henry to the throne, succeeded in this task but was defeated and killed in battle a few months later. Anne arrived back in England with her new husband and mother-in-law to find herself fatherless.

With the death of Edward at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, she was taken prisoner along with Queen Margaret. She was taken first to Coventry and then to the Duke of Clarence's house in London where she became the subject of some dispute between Clarence and Richard. 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.[1]

Clarence, married to Anne's sister and anxious to secure the whole Neville inheritance, treated her as his ward. His brother, Richard, is said to have tracked her down and escorted her to sanctuary at the Church of St Martin le Grand. They were married early next year and left for Middleham Castle.

Duchess of Gloucester

The marriage of Anne Neville and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 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[2]

On 9 April 1483, Edward IV died. Richard was named Lord Protector for his 12-year-old nephew Edward of London. But on 25 June 1483, Edward and his siblings were declared illegitimate, and Richard inherited 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. However, Edward of Middleham died suddenly on 9 April 1484, at Sheriff Hutton, while his parents were absent. He was then eleven 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. But there is little evidence for this and none at all for the later rumour that he had poisoned Anne.

After the death of her son, Anne effectively adopted Richard's nephew, Edward, Earl of Warwick, the nine-year-old son of George of Clarence. Richard made the boy his heir, 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.

Death

Anne died of tuberculosis on 16 March 1485, at Westminster. 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 openly wept at her funeral. There was no memorial to her until the late 20th century, when a bronze tablet was erected on a wall near her grave by the Richard III Society in 1960.

Depictions in fiction

Anne is portrayed by Rose Hobart in the 1939 film Tower of London, and by Joan Camden in the 1962 remake. The story of Anne and Richard is portrayed in the 1982 novel The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman, which presents a strongly sympathetic portrayal of Richard. The early lives of Anne and Richard are dramatised in parallel fashion in Rhoda Edwards' Fortune's Wheel and their marriage and last years in The Broken Sword (alternately Some Touch of Pity), both published in the 1970s. Desire the Kingdom: A Story of the Last Plantagenets (2002), by Paula Simonds Zabka, features Anne as the protagonist in a story set towards the end of the Wars of the Roses. The book The Reluctant Queen: The Story of Anne of York is by Jean Plaidy. In Jan Westcott's Set Her on a Throne (1972), Anne is portrayed as self-willed and independent, Edward Prince of Wales is the romantic hero, and Richard III is an ambiguous figure.

Anne features only fleetingly in William Shakespeare's Richard III, in the early scenes when she is persuaded to consider Richard as a husband, in one brief scene just before Richard's coronation, and towards the end of the play as a ghost. She is portrayed by Claire Bloom in Laurence Olivier's Richard III, Kristin Scott Thomas in Ian McKellen's 1995 adaptation of the play and by Winona Ryder in the 1996 movie Looking for Richard.

Ancestry

Ancestors 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. Alice Neville, 5th Countess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 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. Anne Neville, 16th Countess of Warwick
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 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
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sources

  1. ↑ Paul Murray Kendall, Richard The Third, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1955, p.108
  2. ↑ Boutell, Charles (1863), A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular, London: Winsor & Newton, pp. 277 

References

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
Princess of Wales

Camilla Shand (2005 – present)

Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1981–1996) · Mary of Teck (1901–1910) · Alexandra of Denmark (1863–1901) · Caroline of Brunswick (1795–1820) · Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1736–1751) · Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1714–1727)  · Catherine of Aragon (1501–1502) · Anne Neville (1470–1471) · Joan of Kent (1361–1376) · Eleanor de Montfort (pre-conquest) (c. 1252–1282)
English Royal Consorts
George of Denmark (1702–1707) · Mary of Modena (1685–1688) · Catherine of Braganza (1662–1685) · Henrietta Maria of France (1625–1649) · Anne of Denmark (1603–1619) · (Lord Guilford Dudley?) (1553) · Catherine Parr (1543–1547) · Catherine Howard (1540–1542) · Anne of Cleves (1540) · Jane Seymour (1536–1537) · Anne Boleyn (1533–1536) · Catherine of Aragon (1509–1533) · Elizabeth of York (1486–1503) · Anne Neville (1483–1485) · Elizabeth Woodville (1464–1483) · Margaret of Anjou (1445–1471) · Catherine of Valois (1420–1422) · Joanna of Navarre (1403–1413) · Isabella of Valois (1396–1399) · Anne of Bohemia (1383–1394) · Philippa of Hainault (1328–1369) · Isabella of France (1308–1327) · Margaret of France (1299–1307) · Eleanor of Castile (1272–1290) · Eleanor of Provence (1236–1272) · Isabella of Angoulême (1200–1216) · Berengaria of Navarre (1191–1199) · Margaret of France (1170–1183) · Eleanor of Aquitaine (1154–1189) · Matilda I of Boulogne (1135–1152) · (Geoffrey V of Anjou?) (1141) · Adeliza of Louvain (1121–1135) · Matilda of Scotland (1100–1118) · Matilda of Flanders (1066–1083)
Wars of the Roses
Red Rose of Lancaster · White Rose of York · Tudor Rose
Key figures
Lancastrian
Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England · Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland · Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland · Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick · Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset · Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset · Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset · George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
Yorkist
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York · Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick · Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury · John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu · William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent · Thomas Neville
Battles
Lancastrian victories
Battle of Ludford Bridge · Battle of Wakefield · Second Battle of St Albans · Battle of Ferrybridge (Indecisive) · Battle of Edgecote Moor · Battle of Bosworth Field · Battle of Stoke Field
Yorkist victories
First Battle of St Albans · Battle of Blore Heath · Battle of Sandwich · Battle of Northampton · Battle of Mortimer's Cross · Battle of Ferrybridge (Indecisive) · Battle of Towton · Battle of Hedgeley Moor · Battle of Hexham · Battle of Lose-coat Field · Battle of Barnet · Battle of Tewkesbury
See also
Act of Accord · Percy-Neville feud · Issue of Edward III of England
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