Anne of Warwick (1456–1485)

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Anne of Warwick (1456–1485)

Queen of England. Name variations: Anne Neville. Born on June 11, 1456, at Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, England; died of tuberculosis on March 16, 1485, at Westminster, London; daughter of Richard Neville, count of Warwick (the Kingmaker), and Anne Beauchamp (1426–1492); married Edward Plantagenet, prince of Wales (son of Henry VI), on July 25, 1470 (killed 1471); married Richard, duke of Gloucester, later Richard III, king of England, on July 12, 1472; children: (second marriage) Edward of Middleham, prince of Wales (d. 1484).

Anne was the heiress of the titles and extensive estates of Warwick during the turbulent years of the English civil war, the War of the Roses. Given her high rank and wealth, it is not surprising that in her teens she was married to Edward Plantagenet, prince of Wales, the son of the Lancastrian king Henry VI. Anne had been married to Edward only a brief time when both Henry and Edward were killed by partisans of the enemy House of York in 1471.

In the meantime, Anne's father Richard Neville had changed his allegiance from the Lancasters to the Yorks, and, within a year after Anne was widowed, he arranged a second marriage for his daughter to one of the Yorkist leaders, Duke Richard of Gloucester (the future Richard III). It was reported that Anne spent that year working as a maid at a London inn, although the reasons are unclear; possibly, she was resisting her father's marital plans. However, she could not remain in hiding forever, and she and Richard were married at Westminster Abbey in 1472.

Their marriage was a loveless union, evidenced by the popular belief that sprang up after Anne's death that Richard had poisoned her. The duchess of Gloucester finally saw her coronation as queen of England in 1483, when Richard seized the crown on the death of his brother, Edward IV.

Richard's succession was not without bloodshed, as well as the imprisonment and possible murder of his brother's young sons, Edward V and Richard, duke of York. Ruthless and often cruel, Richard was fated to hold the throne for only two years. During this time, Anne attempted to create a court for her royal husband, but the constant intrigues, battles, and unstable conditions made normal royal life impossible. To add to the instability of the realm—and especially of Richard's hold on the throne—their only child Edward died in March 1484, leaving the king without an heir. Richard had not yet been defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 when Queen Anne of Warwick died after a long illness (possibly tuberculosis) and was buried at Westminster Abbey. She was portrayed by Claire Bloom in the 1955 film Richard II.