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Anne Neville was a young English woman who belonged to one of the most important families in England in the fifteenth century AD. Throughout her short life, Ella Anne was a pawn in the struggle of the York and Lancaster families vying for the throne, until she finally married Richard of Gloucester, becoming queen consort.
origin and family
Anne Neville (1456-1485), was an English noblewoman who was born on June 11, 1456 in Middleham Castle and lived on the various properties belonging to her family. She later became the Princess of Wales and subsequently the Queen of England.
Anne was the younger of two daughters. Her older sister was named Isabel (Elizabeth) Neville. Her mother was Anne de Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick and her father was Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. In fact, Ricardo Neville was better known as Warwick. This gentleman obtained the title of count and a great fortune by marrying his wife. Warwick later received the nickname “Kingmaker” for his support of different heirs to the throne.
Anne and her sister Elizabeth were the sole heirs to their family’s property and wealth, as they had no male siblings. They both grew up close to George and Richard, two of Richard of York’s younger children, and Cecilia Neville, Warwick’s aunt.
The War of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses was a civil war between the Royal House of York and the Royal House of Lancaster, two families who fought for the right to the throne of England. This conflict lasted from 1455 to 1487, and received its name in reference to the emblems of the two houses: the white rose of the Yorks and the red rose of the Lancasters.
Warwick and his two daughters played important roles in the War of the Roses. As Warwick was related to the Yorks, he supported this royal house when Richard of York decided to aspire to the throne, to which he was entitled because he was a descendant of Richard II, who had been assassinated by the Lancastrian family and replaced by Henry IV.
In 1460 Warwick, along with York’s army, captured King Edward VI of the Lancastrian family at the Battle of Northampton and brought him to London. This king was considered weak and was accompanied by inept advisers. In addition, he suffered from a mental illness, probably dementia. Until then, power had rested with her wife, Marguerite of Anjou, who, given the inefficiency of her husband, became a strong and increasingly popular figure.
In London, Richard of York demonstrated his legitimacy as heir and announced his intention to obtain the throne. However, he received the title of Lord Protector from his son Edward, heir to the throne of Henry VI.
Queen Margaret of Anjou and her son Edward of Westminster went into exile in Scotland and gained support from several English cities. In 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield, the Lancastrians defeated York’s army and killed Richard of York, his son Edmund, and Warwick’s father, the Earl of Salisbury. Richard of York’s son, Edward, inherited the title of Duke of York and was later crowned king in 1461 and given the name Edward IV. Warkwick inherited his father and became the most powerful landowner in England.
first marriage
Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville in 1464, a fact that displeased Warwick, who had planned a more advantageous marriage for him. From there, the relationship between the two began to deteriorate.
In 1469, Warwick changed sides and decided to fight against Edward IV and the Yorkists to promote the return of Henry VI, of the Lancastrian family, under the leadership of Queen Margaret of Anjou, who wanted her husband back and her son to inherit the throne.
The Warwick family went into exile in France. Warwick’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married George, Duke of Clarence and brother of Edward IV, who was also interested in obtaining the throne.
Warwick formed an alliance with Margaret of Anjou, and to show her trustworthiness after supporting the Yorks, he married her 14-year-old daughter Anne to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales in 1470. Their wedding took place in the French town of Bayeux. In this way, Anne became the Princess of Wales.
Queen Margaret of Anjou, together with Warwick and their allies, returned to London and recaptured the city. Edward IV fled.
Anne’s marriage to Edward of Westminster convinced Clarence that Warwick had no intention of supporting him in his claim to the throne. So, he returned to the Yorkist side and supported his brothers Eduardo IV and Jorge.
A year later, Warwick and Edward of Westminster were killed at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, respectively. Later, the Yorkists also killed Henry VI. These victories allowed Eduardo IV to return to power.
After the death of her father and her husband, Anne was left in the care of her brother-in-law, Jorge de Clarence.
Second matrimony
Before going over to the Lancastrian side, Warwick had intended to marry his daughter Anne to Richard, the brother of King Edward IV. However, he and Jorge de Clarence had opposed such a union. It is likely that George of Clarence took in his sister-in-law to gain control of the Warwick sisters’ inheritance.
Somehow, Anne escaped the control of George of Clarence and married Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in 1472. Richard came into control of Anne’s vast fortune. In 1473, this couple had a son, whom they named Edward Plantagenet, also known as Edward of Middleham.
Anne’s sister Elizabeth died in 1476 and George, Duke of Clarence, was executed in 1478 for conspiring against Edward IV. Anne took it upon herself to raise her orphaned nephews.
Coronation
After a few years of peace, Edward IV died suddenly in 1483. His younger son Edward became Edward V, but he was not crowned, instead being left to the care of Richard of Gloucester, who was crowned King of England in June. of that same year. From then on, he was known as Richard III.
Later, Prince Edward V and his younger brother were declared illegitimate children and therefore unworthy of the throne. They were locked up in the Tower of London and never heard from again. It is likely that Richard III assassinated them to strengthen his power and claim to the throne.
Anne was crowned Queen Consort and her son Edward Prince of Wales. However, Eduardo died the following year.
Richard III named Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of Anne’s sister, as his heir.
Death
Anne, who had apparently never been in very good health, died on March 16, 1485 in the Palace of Westminster, London, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Some versions suggest that she died of tuberculosis. Her grave, which had not been marked, was not discovered until 1960.
Other fun facts
In addition to a life intertwined with the struggle for power, there are other interesting facts related to Anne Neville. Some of them are:
- Richard III and Anne founded King’s College and Queens’ College , embryos of what is now the University of Cambridge.
- After Anne’s death, Richard III changed heirs, naming his other nephew, Elizabeth Neville’s eldest son, Earl of Lincoln. Rumors also arose about a supposed romance of Ricardo III with his niece Elizabeth of York, daughter of Eduardo IV.
- Richard III died in 1485, when he was defeated by Henry Tudor, an illegitimate Lancastrian descendant, at the Battle of Bosworth. He became Henry VII and married Elizabeth of York, ending the War of the Roses and reunifying the two royal houses: York and Lancaster.
- Shakespeare revived the story of Anne Neville in his historical play Richard III . This work also served as inspiration for the name of the War of the Roses, since some characters used white or red roses to show their support for each royal house.
- Anne Neville also appears in Sandra Worth’s historical novel The Two Roses: Twilight of the Lancastrians , which was published in 2003.
- In 2011, the hit HBO series Game of Thrones premiered , based, in turn, on George RR Martin’s novels, which are loosely inspired by the War of the Roses.
- In 2013, the TV series The White Queen was made , whose main person was Anne Neville. This series was based on the novel of the same name published by Philippa Gregory in 2009.
Bibliography
- Chesterton, GK A Brief History of England . (2005). Spain. Cliff.
- Captivating History. The Wars of the Two Roses. (2021). Sweden. Captivating History.
- Dougherty, MJ The War of the Roses: The Conflict That Inspired Game of Thrones. (2017). CreateSpace.
