The name of Queen Anne Neville is one of the most famous in the history of England in the 15th century. She is known as the wife of Richard III, who lasted on the throne for only two years. The life of this couple was filled with intrigues and conflicts associated with the final stage of the war of the Scarlet and White Roses.
Childhood
Anna was born on June 11, 1456. Her family was one of the most influential in England. The girl's father, Richard Neville, had the title of Earl of Warwick. In those days, royal power was weakened, and the feudal lords remained a significant force on the political stage. Richard was no exception. Like other counts, he had to choose a side in the outbreak of conflict between the two dynasties that claimed the royal throne - Lancaster and York. Neville supported the latter. He was considered the main pillar of the dynasty among the nobility.
Thanks to her father’s ties, Anna met Richard, the future king of England, who was 4 years older than her, in childhood. He was the son of the Duke of York, who wanted to seize power in the country. Richard's father was killed in 1460. Nevertheless, a few months later, thanks to the efforts of Count Warwick, the eldest son of his deceased comrade-in-arms, Edward IV, was seated on the throne.
Riot father
However, the friendship between the king and Neville was short-lived. The Earl did not like the fact that the wife of Edward Elizabeth exalted her own Woodville family, while depriving Richard of influence. Neville attempted another coup d'etat. In 1469, he pressed parliament, wanting the representative body to make George Plantagenet king (he was married to Anna's sister, Isabella).
However, the attempt to overthrow the existing government failed, and Count Warwick had to flee the country to France, taking his daughter with him. There, the indefatigable Richard made an alliance with the exiled Lancaster. To convince this dynasty of his benevolence, he passed off his daughter as Edward of Westminster, who was the heir to the ousted Henry VI.
Marriage with Edward
Anna Neville played a wedding in the winter of 1470. Thanks to her new husband, she received the title of Princess of Wales. A month before the wedding, Anna's father managed to return the throne to the ousted Henry VI in England. However, this success was short-lived. Edward IV defeated Neville at the Battle of Barnet, where the rebellious Earl died in the thick of the battle. Anna's father-in-law was captured and soon died in prison. There is still debate about what caused the departure of Henry VI. He could have been killed by secret orders from Edward, but it is also possible that he died due to his unbalanced state and mental illness, which has plagued Lancaster over the past years.
However, the ousted dynasty did not give up. She was led by the wife of Henry VI and the mother-in-law of Anna Margarita of Anjou. She brought another army to England, defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury in May 1471. Anna Neville lost in her husband Edward, who was killed in battle. The girl herself was captured by the Yorks. Soon she was released, but she was under the watchful control of the London court.
Marriage with Richard
Attention to Anna was also explained by the fact that she became the heiress to the huge estates of her rich father. Because of this, many influential feudal lords wanted to marry the countess, longing for the possession of the Neville. A similar fate was with the sister of Anna Isabella, who became the Duchess of Clarence.
In the end, the hands of Anna were made by the Duke of Gloucester Richard, who knew her from early childhood. He was one of the younger brothers to King Edward IV. In order to obtain the consent of the guardian of the bride, the Duke of Clarence, Richard York renounced the numerous titles of Richard Neville.
The newlyweds tied each other in marriage in 1472. The ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey, which emphasized the high position of the couple. The couple had an only child. This was the son of Edward, born in 1473. His life was short-lived - he died at the age of ten, already being the heir to the royal throne.
Duke and Duchess
Anna Neville and Richard lived ten relatively quiet years. In 1483, the elder brother of the Duke of Gloucester, Edward IV, died. The throne passed to his young son. Due to the early age of Edward V, Richard was proclaimed Lord Protector, or, in other words, Regent until the King came of age.
However, after a few months, all the children of the recently deceased ruler were recognized as illegitimate. Thanks to this, the throne passed to Richard as the younger brother of Edward IV. In July 1483, the coronation took place, in which Neville Anna also participated. The biography of the duchess says that her life was full of amazing twists and contradictions, but in the end this woman became the ruler of all of England.
King and queen
The couple’s happiness was short-lived. In the spring of 1484, the infant son and heir Edward suddenly died. He was in the family estate - Middlegam Castle, while his parents were in Nottingham. This was the only child in the family. His death resumed the dynastic crisis that shook England for almost thirty years.
Anna Neville and Richard 3, of course, could still have a baby (they were quite young). However, having lost his son, the mother was seriously ill from a mental shock. She not only could not conceive, but eventually faded more and more, and smallpox undermined the already poor health of the woman.
In order to somehow solve the issue of succession to the throne, the couple decided to make the Prince of Wales their common nephew Edward. It was the son of George Plantagenet (brother of Richard III) and Isabella Neville (sister of Anna). The child was taken under the guardianship of the king. Anna Neville and Richard Gloucester did not want to give other pretenders to the throne a reason to start another civil war.
Death of spouses
However, the Queen of England briefly outlived her early deceased son. On March 16, 1485, she died of smallpox. Shortly before her death, the inhabitants of the country witnessed a solar eclipse. This was interpreted as a bad sign. The death of the queen has become a nationwide grief. By tradition, the monarchs were buried in Westminster Abbey. Among the many rulers of England lies Anna Neville. Photos of her posthumous monument often appear on the pages of textbooks on the history of Great Britain.
Richard III cried at the funeral, but rumors circulated around London that he had poisoned his young wife in order to be able to marry another woman. Slanderers, among others, called the name of the niece of King Elizabeth of York. When these rumors reached Richard, he ordered the girl to be expelled from the capital so that no one could suspect him of treason to his wife.
But soon the king was not up to the London scandals. In the same 1485, another contender for the English throne, Henry Tudor, landed in Wales. He was a distant descendant of the Plantagenets on the female side and was popular among some representatives of the nobility. The tudor with his army defeated the army of King Richard III on August 22 at the Battle of Bosworth. Last York died in battle. With his death, the long war of the Scarlet and White Rose ended. As a result, it was not the Lancaster or Yorkie that came to power, but the Tudors.