Ann of Kiev

Anne of Kiev
Anne of Kiev (Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev)
Queen consort of the Franks
Tenure	1051–1060
Born	between 1024 and 1032 Kievan Rus'
Died	5 September 1075
Burial	Villiers Abbey, La Ferté-Alais, Essonne, France
Spouse	Henry I of France Ralph IV of Valois
Issue	Philip I of France Emma Robert Hugh I, Count of Vermandois
Dynasty	Rurik
Father	Yaroslav the Wise
Mother	Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden
Signature

Anne of Kiev (c. 1030 – 1075), Anna Yaroslavna, Anna of Rus also called Agnes, in France known initially as Anne de Russie or Agnes de Russie, was the queen consort of Henry I of France, and regent of France during the minority of her son, Philip I of France, from 1060 until 1065.

Anne founded St. Vincent Abbey in Senlis.

Anne was born between 1024 and 1032. Her parents were Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev and Prince of Novgorod, and Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden, his second wife. There is not much information about her childhood, but she was evidently given a careful education, and could read and write (in the Cyrillic alphabet), which was rare even among royal princesses at the time.

In 1043–44, Anne was suggested to marry Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (already a widower), but the plan was never brought to fruition. After the death of his first wife, Matilda of Frisia, King Henry I searched the courts of Europe for a suitable bride, but could not locate a princess who was not related in blood by the papal laws against consanguinity. In 1049, the King of France sent an embassy to distant Kiev, which returned with Anne (also called Agnes). Politically, there was not much gain as Kiev was too far away for any territorial gain for France, but the marriage was considered suitable in France because of the rank of Anne, because she was not related to Henry I, and because she came from a fertile family and had herself many siblings. But she did bring wealth to the match, including a jacinth which Suger later mounted in the reliquary of St Denis.

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