Life
She was born in Buda (now Budapest).
The death of Vladislaus II on 13 March 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 25 May 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. It was stipulated that Ferdinand should succeed Anne's brother in case he died without male heirs.
Her brother Louis was killed in the Battle of Mohács against Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire on 29 August 1526. This left the thrones of both Bohemia and Hungary vacant. Ferdinand claimed both kingdoms and was elected King of Bohemia on 24 October of the same year, making Anna Queen of Bohemia.
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, all of whom were born in Bohemia or Hungary. Both of these kingdoms had suffered for centuries from premature deaths among heirs and a shortage of succession prospects.
Meanwhile Anna served as queen consort of Bohemia and as one of three living queens 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.
Read more about this topic: Anne Of Bohemia And Hungary
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