Anne of Bohemia
| Anne of Bohemia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Queen consort of England | |
| Tenure | 20 January 1382 – 7 June 1394 |
| Coronation | 22 January 1382 |
| Born |
11 May 1366 Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia |
| Died | 7 June 1394 (aged 28) Sheen Palace |
| Burial | Westminster Abbey, London |
| Spouse | Richard II of England |
| House | House of Luxembourg |
| Father | Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Elizabeth of Pomerania |
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 King of Bohemia, and Elizabeth of Pomerania. She died at 28 after 12 years of marriage; she was childless, and greatly mourned by her husband.
The marriage was initially unpopular in England inasmuch as, even though Anne's father was perhaps the most powerful monarch in Europe, his relatively distant area of influence could give little trade or political advantage to England, and Anne brought no dowry; instead Richard had to pay her brother a sum. But Anne appears to have won many English people over with her personality, and her efforts to help obtain royal pardons.
Her father's court, based in Prague, was a centre of the International Gothic style, then at its height, and her arrival seems to coincide with, and probably caused, new influences on English art. The Crown of Princess Blanche, now in Munich, may have been made for Anne, either in Prague or Paris.
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. Anne is buried in Westminster Abbey beside her husband.
Richard II married Anne of Bohemia as a result of the Western 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.
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