Anne of Austria

Anne of Austria
(1601 - 1666)
French Queen Consort (1615 - 1643) and Regent of France (1643 - 1651).

Anne was the daughter of King Philip III of Spain. She was married to King Louis XIII of France.

Louis' reign was dominated by the meteoric rise of power of Cardinal Richelieu who had achieved his fame as the reputed lover of Louis' mother, Queen Marie de Medici.

Following the death of her husband, Anne assumed the regency for her son, Louis XV. However, she allowed power to be taken from her and wielded by her lover (some say husband), Cardinal Mazarin.

Anne was the first known French Queen to have her cause of death documented as breast cancer.

~~~ Melisende (first pub: 2/9/2006)