nne of Austria (1601-66), daughter of Philip III of
Spain, married Louis XIII of France (1615). After his death (1643)
she was regent for her son, Louis XIV, until he was proclaimed
king at 13 (1651), but the actual management of the affairs of
the kingdom she entrusted to the strong hand of Mazarin. Consult
Freer’s Regency of Anne of Austria; Matteville’s
Memoirs. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]
Anne of Austria, 1601-66, queen of France, daughter of Philip III of Spain. Married to Louis XIII (1615), she was neglected by her husband and sought the society of Mme de Chevreuse. She injured her reputation by unwise frivolties, especially by her flirtation with the duke of Buckingham; she was accused by Cardinal Richelieu of treasonable correspondence with Spain but was pardoned (1637). In spite of the express wish of her husband, she assumed (1643) full powers as regent for her son Louis XIV. She entrusted the government to Mazarin, and her administration was disturbed by the wars of the Fronde. After Mazarin’s death (1661), her son excluded her from participation in affairs of state. Anne of Austria is a central figure of Dumas’s Three Musketeers. [The Illustrated Columbia Encyclopedia, 1969]
Anne of Austria (1601-1666), queen of France. She was born in Madrid, the daughter of Philip III, king of Spain, and Margaret of Austria, both descendants of the Habsburg family. In 1615 she married Louis XIII of France. The marriage was unhappy, and from 1620 until the death of Louis in 1643, the couple lived in virtual separation. The king's chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, doubted Anne's loyalty to France because of her Spanish origin. He accused her of complicity in several treasonable conspiracies against Louis, but her guilt was never proved. After Louis died, Anne assumed the regency for her five-year-old son, King Louis XIV, but entrusted the government to the prime minister, Jules Mazarin. Together, they upheld the authority of the Crown during the civil wars of the Fronde from 1648 to 1653. In 1661, when Louis XIV assumed power, Anne retired to a convent. Queen Anne is the central figure of Alexandre Dumas's Three Musketeers (1844; translated 1846). [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]
