rewind.
If you visit Warwick Castle, you will find countless placards and performances chronicling its history – chief among them, its significance in the Wars of the Roses. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, also known as the ‘Kingmaker’, even has his own exhibition. Yet, on my visits, one figure has struck me as markedly absent from the Castle’s narrative: Anne Neville, daughter of the Kingmaker, wife to Edward, Prince of Wales, then King Richard III, and Queen of England from June 1483 until her death in 1485.
Despite her claim to royalty, being born within the Castle’s walls, Anne’s name is not featured in the history presented by Warwick – a curious oversight, considering her political significance in what was arguably the most formative conflict in English history.
Born in June 1456, Anne was the second of two daughters born to Richard, Earl of Warwick, and Anne de Beauchamp. She was the second cousin of King Edward IV, as well as her eventual husband, the future King Richard III. With her sister Isabel also married to George, Duke of Clarence, the third Plantagenet brother, it would seem the Neville family was stubbornly aligned with the House of York.
Nevertheless, Anne’s father was an opportunistic man, and his ambition would push her to become an important political pawn. Despite his role in usurping the throne for King Edward, the Earl of Warwick chose to defect only eight years later, sensing growing discontent among the people. Alongside the Duke of Clarence, the Nevilles travelled to France, where the exiled former queen, Margaret of Anjou, was based. It was here that Anne became essential.
Margaret of Anjou, the wife of Henry VI – the King who had been deposed through Warwick’s efforts – had no reason to trust the Neville family. However, recognising the value of such powerful allies, the King of France pressed their union, and a marriage agreement was made between Anne and Edward, Prince of Wales, the only son of King Henry VI, who would be crowned in turn should the House of Lancaster regain power. At the time of their wedding in December 1470, Anne Neville was only fourteen, but she had become a Lancastrian princess and the hopeful future Queen of England.
However, the next few months would permanently alter the course of Anne’s life. Just four months after her wedding, in April 1471, the Earl of Warwick was killed at the Battle of Barnet. Less than three weeks later, her husband, the seventeen-year-old Prince of Wales, was also slain at Tewkesbury.
All at once, Anne found herself estranged from her family and a fugitive from the crown. Her mother, fearful of her status as both a widow and a traitor, sought refuge in an abbey. Her sister Isabel could offer no assistance, as she remained married to the Duke of Clarence, who had defected from the Kingmaker’s side and rejoined the House of York. With her father and husband dead, Margaret of Anjou imprisoned, and Henry VI likely murdered in the Tower of London, Anne was alone and vulnerable – all while still shy of her fifteenth birthday.
Anne was forced to live under the supervision of Clarence and her sister as penance for her perceived betrayal – until, that is, Richard Plantagenet removed her from their household as he sought arrangements for their marriage. Despite disagreements between the brothers, Richard and Anne were married in the summer of 1472, settling in Anne’s own childhood home at Middleham. Sometime in the mid-1470s – precisely when is uncertain – she gave birth to her first and only son, Edward.
There is no way to say for certain whether Anne was involved in the usurpation of the infamous ‘Princes in the Tower’. But it is reasonable to suspect that, if Richard did indeed have the boys killed, as many historians still suspect, Anne may have been privy to this information, given their close relationship. Either way, on 26 June 1483, Richard became King of England, making Anne’s son Edward the heir apparent.
This would, however, be tragically short-lived for both of them, as Edward passed away in 1484, followed closely by his mother. Anne had reportedly been in poor health for years, unable to have another child after Edward, with her son’s death seemingly worsening her condition.
When Queen Anne died on 16 March 1485, rumours swirled that she had been killed by her husband, who was allegedly making plans to seek out a younger, more fertile wife. However, this accusation may be unfair. Anne had been ailing for a long time, and the death of their son left Richard without an heir. In a time of such conflict and uncertainty, it is not surprising that he would have been anxious about his succession – but this does not mean he would have murdered his wife to secure it, a woman he had defied his own brothers to marry.
Anne’s absence from popular history strikes me as unjust. Twice heir to the throne, Queen of England, and the wife of one of England’s most infamous monarchs, she deserves recognition for her significance in the Wars of the Roses as both a political pawn and a ruler in her own right. And, if she is to be denied a spot in our memories, she should at least find one in Warwick Castle – the place of her birth, which celebrates the life of her father and yet overlooks its very own Queen.
Bibliography
Hickey, Julia A., The Kingmaker’s Women: Anne Beauchamp and Her Daughters, Isabel and Anne Neville(Yorkshire: Pen & Sword, 2023)
Hicks, Michael, Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III (Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2007)
Licence, Amy, Anne Neville: Richard III’s Tragic Queen (Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, 2013)