Anne Neville - Princess of Wales

Princess of Wales

Warwick was already at odds with Edward. In 1470, he allied himself with the ousted House of Lancaster. King Henry VI being demented, the real Lancastrian leader was his consort, Margaret of Anjou, who was suspicious of Warwick's motives. To quell these suspicions, Anne was formally betrothed to Henry and Margaret's son, Edward of Westminster at the Château d'Amboise in France. They were married in Angers Cathedral, probably on 13 December 1470.

Warwick had restored King Henry to the throne in October 1470. Anne was now Princess of Wales. But Warwick was defeated and killed by King Edward in the Battle of Barnet in April 1471.

Margaret had just returned to England with Anne and Prince Edward, bringing additional troops. At the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, King Edward crushed this last Lancastrian army. Prince Edward was killed on the field, and Anne was taken prisoner.

She was taken first to Coventry and then to the Duke of Clarence's house in London. She became the subject of some dispute between Clarence and Richard (now Duke of Gloucester), who still wanted to marry her. Anne and her sister Isabel (Clarence's wife) were heiresses to their father's Neville estates. Clarence, anxious to secure the whole Neville inheritance, treated her as his ward and opposed her getting married, which would strengthen her position to claim a share. King Edward refused her safe conduct to plead her case and she wrote to Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth of York and several others to no avail.

There are various accounts of what happened subsequently, including the story that she escaped from Clarence's custody and sought refuge in a London cookshop disguised as a servant. Richard is said to have tracked her down and escorted her to sanctuary at the Church of St Martin le Grand.