Anna Neville: photo, biography. Anna Neville and Richard Gloucester

The name of Queen Anne Neville is one of the most famous in the history of England XV century. She is known as the wife of Richard III, who lasted only two years on the throne. The life of this couple was filled with intrigues and conflicts related to the final stage of the Wars of the 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, the royal power was weakened, and the feudal lords remained an essential 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 - the Lancasters and the Yorks. Neville supported the latter. He was considered the main support of the dynasty among the nobility.

Thanks to her father's connections, Anna met as a child with Richard, the future King of England, who was four years older than she. 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 companion, Edward IV, was placed on the throne.

Father's rebellion

However, the friendship between the king and Neville was short-lived. The Earl did not like that the wife of Edward Elizabeth raised her own family of Woodville, while depriving Richard of his influence. Neville tried another coup d'état. In 1469, he pressed the parliament, wishing that the representative body made King George Plantagenet (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 in his benevolence, he gave his daughter for Edward Westminster, who was heir to the deposed Henry VI.

Marriage with Edward

Anna Neville played a wedding in the winter of 1470. Thanks to her new wife, she received the title of Princess of Wales. A month before the wedding, Anna's father managed to return the throne to the deposed Henry VI in England. However, this success was short-lived. Edward IV defeated Neville at the battle of Barnet, where the rebellious Count died in the thick of the battle. Anna's father-in-law was taken prisoner and soon died in prison. Till now disputes that have served as the reason of departure from a life of Henry VI are conducted. He could have been killed by Edward's secret order, but it is also possible that he died because of his unbalanced condition and mental illness that has haunted Lancaster over the past few years.

Nevertheless, the overthrown dynasty did not give up. She was led by Henry VI's wife and Anna Marguerite Anjouska's mother-in-law . She brought to England another army, defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury in May 1471. Anna Neville lost her husband Edward, who was killed in battle. The girl herself was taken prisoner by the Yorkers. Soon she was released, but she was under the watchful control of the London court.

Marriage with Richard

Attention to Anna also was explained by the fact that she became the heir to the immense estates of her rich father. Because of this, the countess wanted to marry numerous influential feudal lords, who were eager to obtain possession of the Nevilles. A similar fate was in the sister of Anna Isabella, who became the Duchess of Clarence.

In the end, Anna's hands were made by Richard the Duke of Gloucesters, who knew her from an early age. He was one of the younger brothers to King Edward IV. In order to obtain the consent of the guardian of the bride, Duke of Clarence, Richard of York refused the numerous titles of Richard Neville.

The newlyweds tied each other in bonds of marriage in 1472. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey, which emphasized the high position of the couple. The couple had a single child. This was Edward's son, 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. Throne passed to his young son. Because of the early age of Edward V, Richard was proclaimed Lord Protector, or, in other words, regent until the king's majority.

However, within a few months all the children of the recently deceased ruler were declared 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 participated. The biography of the duchess says that her life was full of surprising twists and turns, but in the end this woman became the ruler of all England.

King and queen

The happiness of the couple was short-lived. In the spring of 1484, a young son and heir Edward suddenly died. He was in the family estate - Middle Castle, while his parents were in Nottingham. It 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 child (they were young enough). However, having lost his son, the mother was seriously ill from the emotional shock. She not only could not conceive, but eventually wilt more and more, and smallpox undermined the already weak health of a woman.

To somehow solve the issue of succession to the throne, the couple decided to make the Prince of Wales his common tribe Edward. It was the son of George Plantagenet (brother of Richard III) and Isabella Neville (Anna's sister). The child was taken under the care of the king. Anna Neville and Richard Gloucester did not want to give other pretenders to the throne an excuse to start another civil war.

Death of spouses

However, the Queen of England briefly survived her early dead son. On March 16, 1485, she died of smallpox. Shortly before her death, residents of the country witnessed a solar eclipse. This was interpreted as a bad sign. The death of the queen became a national grief. Traditionally, the monarchs were buried in Westminster Abbey. Among the numerous rulers of England rest and Anna Neville. Photo of her posthumous monument is often found on the pages of textbooks on the history of Great Britain.

Richard III cried at the funeral, but rumors circulated in London that he himself had poisoned a young wife in order to be able to marry another woman. The slanderers, among others, called the name of the niece of King Elizabeth of York. When these rumors reached Richard, he ordered to send the girl 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 year, 1485, another challenger to the English throne, Henry Tudor, landed in Wales. He was a distant descendant of Plantagenet in the female line and was popular with some representatives of the nobility. Tudor with his army defeated the army of King Richard III on August 22 at the battle of Bosworth. The last York died in battle. With his death the long war of the Scarlet and White Rose ended. As a result, not Lancasters or Yorkies came to power, but Tudors.