Personal Relationships of James VI and I - Anne of Denmark

Anne of Denmark

See also Relationship between James I and Anne of Denmark.

Following Esme's death James married Anne of Denmark in 1589 to establish a strong Protestant alliance in Continental Europe, a policy he continued by marrying his daughter to the future King of Bohemia. James was initially said to be infatuated with his wife, even though he cheated on her (during her pregnancy with the Prince of Wales) with Anne Murray, but the relationship later cooled and there were marital frictions, as Anne had held Catholic sympathies, which caused James grief in that those religious issues were the death of his own parents. The two had 8 children with the last being born during 1607. By then James had lost interest in his wife and it was said that she led a sad, reclusive life, appearing at court functions on occasion. Despite his neglect of Anne, James was affected by her death, and was moved to compose a poem in her memory.