The Coronation of Anne Neville

Anne Neville, daughter of a kingmaker, was crowned as Queen of England on July 6th 1483. 

The Coronation of Anne came after a tumultuous period which had seen her go from discreet duchess to queen consort in just under three months. Her husband, Richard III, had taken the throne from his nephew, Edward V, who had inherited it on April 9th 1483 on the unexpected death of Edward IV, his father and Richard's older brother. A swirl of intrigue and drama had led to Richard taking Edward V into protective custody before declaring him, and all his siblings illegitimate on June 25th 1483. Just eleven days later, Richard and Anne were crowned at Westminster Abbey.

Anne Neville, Queen of England

1483 - 1485

Anne and Richard were the first queen and king to be crowned together for almost two centuries but their glory wouldn't last long. Anne died less than two years later, on March 16th 1485, and her husband's reign by then was beginning to crumble as others called him an illegal ruler. On August 22nd that year, Richard would lose his crown and his life at the Battle of Bosworth where victory went to Henry Tudor. The seeds of that destruction were already on show at their coronation where Anne's train was carried by Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, who was convinced her own line should rule. It's a chilling image to think of Margaret faithfully following her queen into the Abbey, all the while believing that her own son should reign instead. The drama of the coronation of Anne Neville as Queen of England still resonates, five centuries on.