Anne of Denmark, Queen of Scots, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Anne of Denmark (Anna in Danish) was born at Skanderborg Castle on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark on December 12, 1574. She was the second of the eight children of King Frederik II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Anne had seven siblings:

Anne spent the first part of her childhood with her sister Elisabeth and her brother Christian in Güstrow with her maternal grandparents Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg- Güstrow and
Elisabeth of Denmark, sister of King Christian III of Denmark, the children’s paternal grandfather. In 1588, Anne’s father died and her 11-year-old brother became King Christian IV, and the three children returned to Denmark. King Christian IV reigned for 59 years and is the longest-reigning Danish monarch.

Anne was 14-years-old when she returned to Denmark and candidates for her hand in marriage were numerous as the Danish court was considered wealthy and a high dowry was expected. Anne’s mother opted for the Scottish King James VI, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. On August 20, 1589, Anne was married by proxy to James VI, King of Scots at Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark. Ten days after the proxy wedding, Anne set sail for Scotland, but severe storms forced her to land in Norway. Upon hearing this, James set sail to personally bring Anne to Scotland. On November 23, 1589, the couple was formally married at the Bishop’s Palace in Oslo, Norway. After a prolonged visit to Denmark, James and Anne landed in Scotland on May 1, 1590. On May 5, 1590, Anne made her state entry into Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. She was crowned Queen of Scots on May 17, 1590, at the Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

James and Anne had seven children and at least three miscarriages. Only three of their children survived childhood:

by Charles Turner, published by Samuel Woodburn, after Willem de Passe, mezzotint, published 1814

‘James I and his royal progeny’ by Charles Turner, published by Samuel Woodburn, after Willem de Passe mezzotint, published 1814 NPG D9808 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Although Anne and James were close at the beginning of their marriage, their relationship deteriorated over the years. Their first major argument was over the transfer of the custody of their firstborn Henry, Prince of Wales to John Erskine, Earl of Mar at Stirling Castle, in keeping with Scottish royal tradition, which led to estrangement and a competition for the custody of the Prince of Wales. Courtiers noticed a number of incidents of marital discord including a three-year rift when Anne refused to dismiss two of her ladies-in-waiting after their brothers were killed by James’ attendants for a supposed assault on the king, and a confrontation when Anne shot and killed James’ favorite dog during a hunting session.

On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died and James became King James I of England. Since none of the children of King Henry VIII had children, James was the senior heir of King Henry VII through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor. (King Henry VII → Margaret Tudor married King James IV of Scotland → King James V of Scotland → Mary, Queen of Scots → King James VI of Scotland). Anne was pregnant when Queen Elizabeth died, so James set out for England without her. Anne miscarried the child in May 1603 and joined James in England when she had recovered. James and Anne were crowned King and Queen of England at Westminster Abbey on July 25, 1603. Religion provided another conflict. Although Anne was raised a Lutheran, she refused to take Communion during the Church of England coronation at Westminster Abbey. There were suspicions that Anne secretly converted to Roman Catholicism which put James in an awkward situation as King of England.

Anne’s expensive tastes in clothing and jewels contributed much to the English court’s costs and this hurt James’ reputation. After 1606, Anne and James lived mostly apart, with Anne residing largely at Somerset House, renamed Denmark House.  In 1612, 18-year-old Henry, Prince of Wales died from typhoid fever, which was a great tragedy for Anne and the entire nation. Anne could not bear to have Henry’s death mentioned and people were advised not to give her condolences. After her son’s death, Anne’s health began to deteriorate and she withdrew from social activities.

Anne in mourning for her son Henry, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1616, the Queen’s House, designed by the famed architect Inigo Jones, was commissioned for Anne at Greenwich, London, but work on the house stopped in April 1618 when Anne became quite ill. Work did not restart again until 1629 when the house was given to Henrietta Maria of France by her husband King Charles I, and the house was completed in 1635.

The Queen’s House at Greenwich, Credit – Wikipedia, © Bill Bertram 2006, CC-BY-2.5 — Attribution

By 1617, Anne’s condition became debilitating. James visited Anne only three times during her last years, but her surviving son Charles was often with her and was at her bedside when Anne died at the age of 44 from dropsy (edema) at Hampton Court Palace on March 2, 1619. Also with Anne at her deathbed was her personal maid Anna Roos who came with Anne from Denmark in 1590. On May 13, 1619, Anne was buried at Westminster Abbey in a vault beneath the monument to the Dukes of Buckingham in the Henry VII Chapel. Her grave is marked by the inscription on the floor: “ANNE OF DENMARK QUEEN OF KING JAMES 1st 1619.” It had taken James twelve weeks to raise the money for proper funeral rites of his wife. James survived his wife by six years, dying on March 27, 1625, and was succeeded by his son King Charles I who was beheaded during the English Civil War.

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