Anne of Denmark
| Anne of Denmark | |
|---|---|
Portrait by John de Critz, 1605 | |
| Queen consort of England and Ireland | |
| Tenure | 24 March 1603 – 2 March 1619 |
| Coronation | 25 July 1603 |
| Queen consort of Scotland | |
| Tenure | 20 August 1589 – 2 March 1619 |
| Coronation | 17 May 1590 |
| Born | 12 December 1574 Skanderborg Castle, Skanderborg, Denmark |
| Died | 2 March 1619 (aged 44) Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex, England |
| Burial | 13 May 1619 Westminster Abbey, London, England |
| Spouse | |
| Issue Detail |
|
| House | Oldenburg |
| Father | Frederick II of Denmark |
| Mother | Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow |
| Signature | |
| Danish Royalty |
| House of Oldenburg Main Line |
|---|
| Frederick II |
|
Anne of Denmark (Danish: Anna; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was Queen of Scotland from her marriage to James VI and I on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619.[1][2]
The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Anne married James at age 14. They had three children who survived infancy: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who predeceased his parents; Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen of Bohemia; and James's future successor, Charles I. Anne demonstrated an independent streak and a willingness to use factional Scottish politics in her conflicts with James over the custody of Prince Henry and his treatment of her friend Beatrix Ruthven. Anne appears to have loved James at first, but the couple gradually drifted and eventually lived apart, though mutual respect and a degree of affection survived.[3]
In England, Anne shifted her energies from factional politics to patronage of the arts and constructed her own magnificent court, hosting one of the richest cultural salons in Europe.[4][5] After 1612, she had sustained bouts of ill health and gradually withdrew from the centre of court life. Though she was reported to have been a Protestant at the time of her death, she may have converted to Catholicism at some point in her life.[a]
Some historians have dismissed Anne as a lightweight queen, frivolous and self-indulgent.[8][9][10] However, 18th-century writers including Thomas Birch and William Guthrie considered her a woman of "boundless intrigue".[11] Recent reappraisals acknowledge Anne's assertive independence and, in particular, her dynamic significance as a patron of the arts during the Jacobean age.[b]
- ^ Williams (1970), pp. 1, 201.
- ^ Willson (1963), p. 403.
- ^ Stewart (2003), pp. 182, 300–301.
- ^ Barroll (2001), pp. 15, 35, 109.
- ^ Stewart (2003), p. 183, "Although Anna had considerable personal freedom and her own court, she does not appear to have intervened so visibly against her husband in factional politics as she did in Scotland, and her support was not often sought. Where the Queen's court came into its own was as an artistic salon.".
- ^ Barroll (2001), p. 172.
- ^ McManus (2002), p. 93.
- ^ Akrigg, George Philip Vernon (1978) [1962]. Jacobean Pageant: or the Court of King James I. New York: Athenaeum. p. 21. ISBN 0-689-70003-2.
Anne had proved to be both dull and indolent, though showing a certain tolerant amiability so long as her whims were satisfied. She was interested in little that was more serious than matters of dress.
; Barroll (2001), p. 27, "Her traditionally flaccid court image ..."; Strickland, Agnes (1848). Anne of Denmark. Philadelphia: G. Barrie & son. p. 233. - ^ Croft (2003), p. 55.
- ^ Willson (1963), p. 95.
- ^ Guthrie, William (1768). History of Scotland. Vol. 10. London. p. 6.; Birch, Thomas (1754). Memoirs of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Vol. 1. London. p. 242.
- ^ Barroll (2001), p. 17.
- ^ Sharpe (1996), p. 244.
- ^ Barroll (2001), pp. 1–2.
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