Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts, 1589–1619, by Jemma Field

Abstract

Anna of Denmark, wife of James VI and I from 1590 until her death in 1619, was one of the most notable European queens of her time, particularly after James’s succession to the English throne in 1603. She was politically adroit, determined and well-connected. Raised in the rich surroundings of the Danish court, daughter of Christian IV and his sophisticated queen, Sofie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, she was a prominent member of the extensive Oldenburg dynasty, her numerous siblings populating multiple courts in northern Europe. Anna brought the strengths of that upbringing and connections to her role as royal consort, an active player in the febrile politics of the Scottish and then the English courts, and in their cultural worlds too. She is an excellent exemplar of early modern practices in the politics of diplomatic marriage-making, and, in her myriad royal relations, of the connectivity of early modern Europe which involved Scotland...