Anna Kaas was a Danish lady in waiting or

chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The names of t ...

serving

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

, queen consort of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

Career

She was a member of the Danish Kaas family and a relation of the politician

Niels Kaas Niels Kaas (1535 – 29 June 1594) was a Danish politician who served as Chancellor of Denmark from 1573 until his death. He was influential in the negotiation of the Treaty of Stettin (1570), Peace of Stettin and in the upbringing of Christian ...

. She came to Scotland in May 1590 in the household of Anne of Denmark. She may been the queen's personal maid and a lifetime servant of the queen. In 1603, when Anne of Denmmark came to England at the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

, it was said that she had only brought two aristocratic Scottish women with her. Dudley Carleton wrote that the queen said she not been allowed more than two Danish attendants when she came to Scotland in 1590, to refuse various aristocrats who wished to join her. The remark refers to Anna and Sophie Kaas and Cathrina Schinkel, her principal attendants in 1590. At first, in Scotland, Anna Kass was accompanied by Sophie Kaas, perhaps her sister, who was a connection of

Breide Rantzau Breide Rantzau (13 October 1556 10 January 1618) was a German nobleman in Danish-Norwegian service. He served as ''stadtholder'' of Copenhagen from 1602. Early life He was born on 13 October 1556 at Segeberg, the son of Heinrich Rantzau, and the ...

. Sophie was listed in a roll of the queen's household in 1591. She is identified as Sophie Eriksdatter Kaas, a daughter of Erik Kaas of Gjelskov and Anna Emmiksen, and a maid of honour to Anne of Denmark. Sophie Kaas intended to marry a Scottish courtier but he died before the wedding, and she returned to Denmark. Some older genealogies state that Sophie Kaas married the diplomat

Andrew Sinclair Andrew Annandale Sinclair FRSL FRSA (21 January 1935 – 30 May 2019) was a British novelist, historian, biographer, critic, filmmaker, and a publisher of classic and modern film scripts. He has been described as a "writer of extraordinary flu ...

, but his bride was her sister, Kirsten Eriksdatter Kaas. A description of the coronation of Anne of Denmark on 17 May 1590 mentions that Anna Kaas and Cathrina Schinkel entered

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

in procession following the Scottish countesses attending the queen. It also mentions that Sophie Kaas and Cathrina Schinkel rode into Edinburgh in procession with the queen during her formal entry to Edinburgh on 19 May. Sophie Kaas was unmarried, described as a "Jomfru" and Cathrina or Karen Schinkel as a married woman, a "Fru". Sophie Kaas and Cathrina Schinkel were called "her majesty's two Dutch gentlewomen" in the wardrobe account of 1590. They wore similar gowns, and their outfits reflected the queen's costume, with matching hats and taffeta hoods or caps made by another member of the household Elizabeth Gibb. In May 1593 Anna Kaas, described as "her majesty's maiden Anna", with Anna Meuteris and Christene Berie, the maidens or damsels of the queen's chamber, were given summer gowns of silk chamlet. The matching clothes highlighted group identity in the household. The English ambassador Robert Bowes mentioned in a letter of July 1591 that the Danish diplomat Paul Knibbe arrived in Scotland with some Danish gentlemen who came to escort two of the queen's gentlewomen home. They brought another courtier, possibly

Margaret Vinstarr Margaret Vinstarr ( fl. 1590–1600), was a Danish or German courtier in Scotland to Anne of Denmark commemorated by the ballad "The Laird o Logie" for rescuing her imprisoned lover. A gentlewoman at the Scottish court of Anne of Denmark Margare ...

. Possibly, Sophie Kaas and Cathrina Schinkel left Scotland at this time. Anna Kaas is thought to have remained with Anne of Denmark until the queen's death in 1619 and there are references to Danish or "Dutch" Anna which appear to refer to her. There were other women in the household called Anne or Anna, including Anna Meuteris, Danish "Little Anna" who married the preacher John Sering, the German Anna Rumler who married Piero Hugon, and for a time, the young Scottish courtiers Anne Hay and

Anne Livingstone Anne Livingstone, Countess of Eglinton (died 1632) was a Scottish courtier and aristocrat, and lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth and Anne of Denmark. Anne Livingstone was a daughter of Alexander Livingstone, 1st Earl of Linlithgow and Heleno ...

. A "Dutch woman", usually thought to be Anna Kaas, attended the queen's deathbed at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

in 1619, accompanied by the French servant, Piero Hugon. "Mistress Anna" was said to have been given the queen's valuable linen at her death, despite being "so mean a gentlewoman". Soon after, "Dutch Anna" and Hugon were arrested for stealing some of the queen's jewels.Ethel Carleton Williams, ''Anne of Denmark'' (Longman: London, 1970), p. 203. The date of the death of Anna Kaas is unknown.

References

External links

"Anna Kaas" or "Kroas", SSNE database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaas, Anna 16th-century Danish women 17th-century Danish women Kaas family Jewel thieves Household of Anne of Denmark