On 16 March 1485 Anne Neville, Queen Consort of England, died. Anne Neville was Queen Consort of England, wife of King Richard III. That she would marry somebody of high status was never in doubt, and she played an important diplomatic role during her life.
Anne was the daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Anne Beauchamp. The Earl of Warwick was one of England’s leading magnates. Her great aunt, Cecily, had married Richard, Duke of York, meaning that she was related to the royal house of York by marriage.
The rich lineage of Anne Neville made her marriage one of significance diplomatically. Her father realised this, and the potential benefits for the family, and arranged for Anne to marry the Lancastrian Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster, in 1470. It was a short marriage due to Edward’s death the following year in the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Her husband and father both killed in the battles of 1471, Anne was courted by Richard, then Duke of Gloucester. The couple married in spring of 1472, a union resulting in the birth of one child, Edward of Middleham.
Anne was crowned alongside her husband in 1483. In April 1484 Edward of Middleham suddenly died. Shortly afterwards, Anne fell ill herself and died, possibly of tuberculosis, on this day in 1485.