One of the more enigmatic queens of England, we know precious little
about her and her personal feelings. Was she a pawn in the strategies of
her father and her husband? Or was she ambitious and a schemer? Did she
know of her husband’s plans for taking the throne of England?
Anne Neville was born on June 11, 1456 at Warwick Castle. She was the
younger of two daughters of Richard Neville, sixteenth Earl of Warwick
and sixth earl of Salisbury who would later become known as the
Kingmaker. Her mother was Anne Beauchamp, heiress to both the earldom of
Warwick and to the Despenser properties, a vast inheritance. Anne and
her sister Isabel were the paramount heiresses of their day.
Anne probably had her own establishment growing up, possibly as an
extension of her sister’s household. The two girls would have been
taught the essentials of becoming a medieval wife and mother such as
etiquette, how to read, accounting, how to handle servants, how to weave
and sew. During Anne’s first year, her father was appointed to the
position of Captain of Calais and moved there. The rest of his family
may have also moved to Calais or Anne and her sister possibly stayed in
England. If they lived in England, they would have lived primarily at
Warwick Castle with occasional stays in their father’s northern castles.
We don’t know what Anne looked like but the chronicler Rous who knew
her personally described her as beautiful, amiable, virtuous and
gracious.
