nne Neville was the daughter of Richard Neville, known also as Warwick the Kingmaker, and his wife Anne. They had two daughters, Isabel the eldest and Anne who born in June 1456 at Warwick Castle. As was normal in the Middle Ages, the daughters of important barons were married to princes to gain political advantages and allies. In this case Anne's marriage to Edward of Lancaster , the Prince of Wales, formed part of the agreement between Richard Neville (Warwick the Kingmaker) and Queen Margaret to put her husband Henry VI back on the English throne. Warwick had originally fought with Edward IV against Henry VI, but events led to his exile in France where he was reconciled with the Queen. The marriage of the Queen's only son to Anne would go ahead if Warwick assisted in the successful return of King Henry to the throne. The young couple were betrothed at the Cathedral of Angers on July 25th, 1470. In September Warwick landed on the south coast of England and the fortunes of Edward IV turned and he was forced to flee the country. In October King Henry VI had been released from the Tower of London and crowned King of England for a second time. With the conditions met, Anne and Prince Edward were married in mid December at the Chateau d'Amboise in France.In 1471 King Edward IV returned from exile with the help of the Duke of Burgundy and at the battle of Barnet the Earl of Warwick was killed. Three weeks later Anne's husband, Prince Edward was killed at the battle of Tewkesbury. Queen Margaret was taken prisoner and sent to the Tower of London.
After the battle Anne was taken by George Duke of Clarence to live with his wife Isabel, Anne's sister. Anne was kept virtually a prisoner as George knew of his brother Richard's intentions to marry Anne. If that happened the inheritance of the Earl of Warwick would have to be divided between George and Richard.
