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| Illustration in the Beauchamp Pageant (c. 1485) |
- Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (m. 1470 - 1471)
- King Richard III of England (m. 1472 - 1485)
- With King Richard III of England
- Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (c. 1473 - 1484)
Appearance:
She may have been fair-skinned, slender, and had blonde hair. Not many reliable accounts or portraits survive detailing her physical appearance.
Character:
Anne was possibly fairly quiet and submissive, as there is not much record of any notable achievements. She was often seemingly viewed as a meek political pawn, whose connections, titles and fortune often attracted people to her.
She does appear to have been a loving and devoted wife to King Richard III, and was very close with her son, Edward. Despite often being used as a pawn, she got along with most of her family, especially her mother-in-law, the Duchess of York.
She possessed an interest in religion and enjoyed Benedictine writings.
Biography:
Anne was born in Warwick, England, in the year 1456, and was the youngest child of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and his wife, Anne Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick. Both of her parents were powerful nobles within England, to a point where her father became known as 'the kingmaker', due to his powerful influence. Anne was one of two children, and had an older sister, Lady Isabel, as well as a paternal half-sister, Margaret, who was illegitimate.
Most of Anne's childhood was spent in Yorkshire, where she grew up alongside her sister, Isabel, and the future husbands of the two girls, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester - the younger brothers of the future King Edward IV of England. It's possible that both Anne and Richard were childhood sweethearts, and had a secret relationship during their teenage years. It's likely that the two of them were considered a good political match as well by their parents.
Isabel would indeed go straight on to marry George, Duke of Clarence. However, in Anne's case, she was instead betrothed to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of the current King Henry VI of England, after tensions had grown between her father and Edward IV. Due to this, Edward blocked the marriage between Richard and Anne, and Anne's father switched sides in the Wars of the Roses, aiding in Edward IV's deposition, and reinstating Henry VI to the throne.
Anne and Edward were married in 1470, making her the Princess of Wales. But this was not to last long, however, since Henry VI was once again easily overthrown by Edward IV. Both her father and her husband were killed in battle, while Anne herself was taken prisoner, and placed in the custody of George, Duke of Clarence.
Meanwhile, Richard still expressed interest in marrying her, but George was hesitant to let this happen because he wanted to keep the Neville inheritance for himself. He purposefully hid her from Richard, and may have even disguised her as a servant until Richard was able to find and rescue her. In order to finally be allowed to marry, Richard renounced any claim he may have on Anne's inheritance, and the two were finally able to marry in 1472.
Richard and Anne moved back to Yorkshire, where they would go on to have one child together, Prince Edward. During this time, Richard also took in Anne's mother after she had been imprisoned in sanctuary by Edward IV after the death of her husband. The lands and titles that Richard had renounced on his marriage to Anne would be given to him anyway, after George was arrested and purposefully drowned in a vat of wine on the orders of Edward IV for his fickle loyalty.
In 1483, her brother-in-law, Edward IV died, meaning her nephew was now King Edward V of England. Her husband was appointed as his Lord Protector, and he left to fulfil his duties and escort the new king to London. However, rumours emerged about a pre-contract between Edward IV and another woman, thus making his marriage to Queen Elizabeth Woodville invalid and their children illegitimate. Many people began petitioning for Richard to take the crown, to which he agreed. This now made Anne the Queen Consort of England, and her husband became King Richard III of England. Their son, Edward, was also made the Prince of Wales upon their ascension to the throne. In the meantime, Edward V remained in the Tower of London with his brother until the two of them eventually disappeared. It is more than likely that they were murdered on the orders of her husband.
During her time as queen consort, Anne mainly dedicated herself to religious work, but tragedy would soon strike in 1484 when her son suddenly died, aged no older than 10. This absolutely devastated both Anne and Richard, and Anne would never get over his death. Her grief and stress would frequently make herself ill. She would end up latching onto, and adopting her nephew, Edward, Earl of Warwick (her sister's son) as her own.
In 1485, Anne contracted tuberculosis, and this would eventually kill her.
Rule:
Because she only reigned for two years, it is not known what kind of consort Anne could have become.
The later portion of her reign was marked with grief due to the death of her son, with most of the time being spent mourning or inconsolable.
- During her death, there was a solar eclipse, which was interpreted as a bad omen and that her husband had lost God's favour.
- There were rumours that she was poisoned by her husband, but this was likely untrue.
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