Anne of Bohemia LG (1366 - 1394)

Born 11 May 1366 in Prague, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire

Ancestors

Wife of Richard (Plantagenet) England — married 20 Jan 1382 in St. Stephen's, Palace of Westminster, London

Died 7 Jun 1394 at age 28 in Sheen (Richmond) Palace, Surrey, England

Profile manager: Luiz Sergio Heinzelmann [send private message]

Biography

Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elizabeth of Pomerania.

She had four brothers, including Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, and one younger sister, Margaret of Bohemia, Burgravine of Nuremberg. She also had five half-siblings from her father's previous marriages.

Marriage to King Richard II of England

Richard II married Anne of Bohemia as a result of the Great Schism in the Papacy that had resulted in two rival popes. According to Eduard Perroy, Pope Urban VI actually sanctioned the marriage between Richard and Anne, in an attempt to create an alliance on his behalf, particularly so that he might be stronger against the French and their preferred pope, Clement. Anne's father was the most powerful monarch in Europe at the time, ruling over about half of Europe's population and territory.

The marriage was against the wishes of many members of his nobility and members of parliament, and occurred primarily at the instigation of Richard's intimate, Michael de la Pole. Although Richard had been offered Caterina Visconti, one of the daughters of Bernabò Visconti of Milan, who would have brought a great deal of money with her as dowry, Anne was chosen – bringing no direct financial benefits to England. She brought with her no dowry, and in return for her hand in marriage, Richard gave 20,000 florins (around £4,000,000 in today's value) in payment to her brother Wenceslas. There were also only a few diplomatic benefits – although English merchants were now allowed to trade freely within both Bohemian lands, and lands of the Holy Roman Empire, this was not much when compared to the usual diplomatic benefits from marriages made as a result of the war with France. It is therefore no surprise that the marriage was unpopular.

On her arrival in December 1381, Anne was severely criticised by contemporary chroniclers, probably as a result of the financial arrangements of the marriage, although it was quite typical for queens to be viewed in critical terms. The Westminster Chronicler called her "a tiny scrap of humanity", and Thomas Walsingham related a disastrous omen upon her arrival, where her ships smashed to pieces as soon as she had disembarked. Nevertheless, Anne and King Richard II were married in Westminster Abbey on 22 January 1382. Tournaments were held for several days after the ceremony, in celebration. They then went on an itinerary of the realm, staying at many major abbeys along the way. In 1383 Anne of Bohemia visited the city of Norwich, where at the Great Hospital a ceiling comprising 252 black eagles was made in her honour.

Anne's wedding to Richard II was the fifth royal wedding in Westminster Abbey and was not followed by any other royal wedding in Westminster Abbey for another 537 years.

They were married for 12 years, but had no children. Anne's death from plague in 1394 at Sheen Manor was a devastating blow to Richard, whose subsequent unwise conduct lost him his throne.

Death and burial of Anne of Bohemia

^[1] Anne died at Sheen (Richmond) Palace in Surrey 7 June 1394 and according to a contemporary Westminster chronicle, was buried at Westminster Abbey 3 August 1394. But on 3 June, however, Richard instructed the shipping from London to Sheen of an image 'made in the likeness of Anne, late queen of England'. The image may well have been the queen's professional effigy, or a model for it. Anne's coffin and effigy proceeded from Sheen to Westminster via Wandsworth, Clerkenwell, and St. Paul's, where separate hearses had been installed by the waxchandler Roger Elys. Anne was interred in the Confessor's Chapel on 3 August, an occasion marred by an exchange between the king and Thomas Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, who arrived late and requested to be excused on other business. Apparently quite angry, the king struck Fitzalan with a crozier and had him confined to the Tower of London. The funeral, delayed by the purification of the chapel from the earl's blood, was not completed until nightfall. The incident may explain the payment made to the Westminster monks the following December of 100 marks 'for the pains which the said monks had undergone and sustained in performing the exequies of Anne, late Queen of England'. But it was not until 1395 that Richard commissioned his wife's tomb. Unlike earlier English regal monuments, it was to be a joint tomb for Anne and himself. London coppersmiths were commissioned to produce bronze effigies. The tomb and effigies were not completed until 1398. And although Richard died in 1400, he was not buried with Anne at Westminster until 1413.

Richard married his second wife, Isabella of Valois, on 31 October 1396. ^[2]

Notes Anne's arms were those of her father, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, impaled with the royal coat of arms of the England.

Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th aregent, an eagle displayed, with two heads, sable; 2nd and 3rd gules, a lion rampant, queue fourchee, argent, crowned or. She impaled these arms with the shield of Richard II, upon which the arms of the Confessor were marshalled per pale with France and England; consequently the complete shield would be "per pale of three".[2]

Research Notes

Pictures:

File: http://photos.geni.com/p3/9992/7357/534448360095149b/zux39ziy_large.jpg

File: http://photos.geni.com/p13/b3/fa/19/e7/53444838deb7385a/anne_of_bohemia_queen_of_england_large.jpg

File: http://photos.geni.com/p10/4423/0942/53444837fb82c2e1/Anna_Lucemburska_1__large.jpg

File: http://photos.geni.com/p10/3238/6005/53444837e682e83b/Anne-of-bohemia-by-bouvier-in-Strickland-1904_large.jpg

File: http://photos.geni.com/p9/9214/9105/534448379b91b9c8/Anne_of_Bohemia_large.jpg

File: http://photos.geni.com/p6/4047/4802/53444836accc9ecf/AnneofBohemia_large.jpg

Sources

1. ↑ (Royal Ancestry & Royal Tombs of Medieval England)
2. ↑ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Royal Ancestry 2013 D. Richardson Vol. I p. 103-105

• Royal Ancestry D. Richardson 2013 Vol III p. 433

• Royal Tombs of Medieval England M. Duffy 2003 p. 163-173

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Of Bohemia-49 created through the import of export-BloodTree.ged on Aug 19, 2011 by Luiz Sergio Heinzelmann. See the Bohemia-49 Changes page for the details of edits by Luiz Sergio and others.

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