Anna of Bohemia and Hungary

Anna, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, also sometimes known as "Anna Jagellonica" (Buda (now Budapest), Hungary, July 23, 1503 – Prague, Bohemia, January 27, 1547) was, by marriage to Ferdinand I, King of the Romans and later Holy Roman Emperor, Queen of the Romans, and heiress presumptive of the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia.

She was the elder child and only daughter of king Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (1456-1516) and his third wife Anna of Foix-Candale. She was an older sister of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, and his eventual heiress.

Her paternal grandparents were King Casimir IV of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, of the Jagiellon dynasty, and Elisabeth of Austria, one of the heiresses of Bohemia, duchy of Luxembourg and duchy of Kujavia. Her maternal grandparents were Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale and Catherine de Foix, Infanta of the Kingdom of Navarre.

Life

She was born in Buda (now Budapest) and for the first three years of her life was the heiress presumptive to the thrones of Bohemia and the Kingdom of Hungary. The birth of her younger brother Louis on July 1, 1506, demoted her to second-in-line. Her mother died on July 26 of the same year.

The death of Vladislaus II on March 13, 1516 left both siblings in the care of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. It was arranged that Anna marry his grandson Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, second son of Queen regnant Joanna of Castile and her late husband and co-ruler Philip I of Castile.

Anna married Ferdinand on May 25, 1521 in Linz, Austria. At the time Ferdinand was governing the Habsburg hereditary lands on behalf of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Her brother Louis was killed in the Battle of Mohács against Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire on August 29, 1526. This left the thrones of both Bohemia and Hungary vacant, and Anna being the closest living relative of Louis, Ferdinand claimed both kingdoms in her right and was elected King of Bohemia on October 24 of the same year.

Hungary was a more difficult case. Suleiman had annexed much of its lands. Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Hungary by a group of nobles, but another faction of Hungarian nobles refused to allow a foreign ruler to hold that title and elected John Zápolya as an alternative king. The resulting conflict between the two rivals and their successors lasted until 1571.

In 1531 Ferdinand's older brother Charles V recognised Ferdinand as his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, and Ferdinand was elevated to the title King of the Romans.

Anna and Ferdinand had fifteen children, which was a boon to Bohemia and Hungary, both of which kingdoms had suffered for centuries from premature deaths among heirs and from a shortage of succession prospects.

Meanwhile Anna served as queen consort of Bohemia and as one of three existing queen consorts of Hungary until her death. She died in Prague.

In 1556 Charles V abdicated and Ferdinand succeeded as emperor, nine years after Anna's death.

Children

{| class="wikitable" ! Name || Birth || Death || Notes
-
Elisabeth of Austria || July 9, 1526 || June 15, 1545 || In 1543 she was married to future King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland and Lithuania.
-
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor || July 31, 1527 || October 12, 1576 || Married to his first cousin Maria of Spain and had issue.
-
Anna of Austria || July 7 1528 || October 16/October 17, 1590 || Married Albert V, Duke of Bavaria.
-
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria || June 14, 1529 || January 24, 1595 || Married to Philippine Welser and then married his niece Anne Juliana Gonzaga.
-
Maria of Austria || May 15 1531 || December 11 1581 || Consort of Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.
-
Magdalena of Austria || August 14, 1532 || September 10, 1590 || A nun.
-
Catharine of Austria || September 15, 1533 February 28, 1572 || In 1553 she was married to king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.
-
Eleonora of Austria || November 2, 1534 || August 5, 1594 || Married William I, Duke of Mantua.
-
Margaret of Austria || February 16, 1536 || March 12, 1567 || A nun.
-
Johann of Austria ||April 10, 1538 || March 20, 1539 || Died in childhood.
-
Barbara of Austria || April 30, 1539 || September 19, 1572 || Married Alfonso II d'Este.
-
Charles II, Archduke of Austria June 3, 1540 || July 10, 1590 || father of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.
-
Ursula of Austria || July 24, 1541 || April 30, 1543 || Died in childhood.
-
Helen of Austria || January 7, 1543 || March 5, 1574 || A nun.
-
Johanna of Austria || January 24, 1547 || April 10, 1578 || Married Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ancestors of Charles II of England and Louis XIII of France.

Ancestors

Anna's ancestors in three generations

Ahnentafel4
1 = Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
2 = Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
3 = Anne de Foix
4 = Casimir IV Jagiellon
5 = Elisabeth of Austria
6 = Gaston de Foix
7 = Infanta Catherine of Navarre
8 = Jogaila
9 = Sophia of Halshany
10 = Albert II of Germany
11 = Elisabeth II of Bohemia
12 = Jean de Foix
13 = Margaret de la Pole
14 = Gaston IV, Count of Foix
15 = Eleanor of Navarre