Anne St Leger (later Baroness de Ros; 14 January 1476 – 21 April 1526) was a niece of two kings of England,

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

and

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

. Before she was 8, she had inherited a vast fortune and been disinherited of it. Married at 14, she had 11 children and is a link in the maternal line that was used to identify the remains of Richard III.

Inheritance

Anne St Leger was born on 14 January 1476, during the reign of her maternal uncle King Edward IV. Her mother,

Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in t ...

, died the same day of complications surrounding the birth. Her father was the Duchess of Exeter's second husband, Sir

Thomas St. Leger Sir Thomas St Leger KB (c. 1440 – executed 13 November 1483) was the second son of Sir John St Leger (d.1441) of Ulcombe, Kent, and his wife, Margery Donnet. He was also the second husband of Anne of York (10 August 1439 – 1 February 147 ...

. Lady Anne Holland, her maternal half-sister fathered by

Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, 3rd Earl of Huntington (27 June 1430 – September 1475) was a Lancastrian leader during the English Wars of the Roses. He was the only son of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, and his first wife, Anne Staff ...

, died before she was born. According to the 1467 grant, the Duchess of Exeter inherited the estate which her elder daughter had inherited from her father, the Duke of Exeter. The grant stipulated that most of the Exeter inheritance was to pass to the Duchess'

heirs of the body In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such ...

, even if fathered by a subsequent husband. Anne inherited the enormous estate at birth, as it coincided with her mother's death. A greatly desirable bride since her birth, Anne was contracted to marry Lord Ferrers of Groby. He was the eldest son of

Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, (145520 September 1501) was an English nobleman, courtier and the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby. Her secon ...

, who had been married to her older half-sister and whose mother was her aunt, King Edward IV's wife

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...

. Queen Elizabeth was determined to secure the Exeter inheritance for her descendants by her first marriage, and in 1483, St Leger was declared heir to the entire estate of her father by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

. The arrangement, detrimental to the interests of the surviving descendants of the Holland family, resulted in a growing unpopularity of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth. Anne was disinherited and her father executed by another maternal uncle,

King Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Batt ...

, immediately after his accession in 1483. Following the

Battle of Bosworth Field The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...

, in which Richard III was killed, the match between St Leger and Ferrers was discarded.

Marriage and descendants

Anne St Leger eventually married about 1490 or about 1495

George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, who fought on behalf of Henry VII in Scotland and for Henry VIII in France, by whom she had eleven children: five sons –

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, Oliver, Anthony, Richard and John Manners – and six daughters – Anne Capell, Eleanor Bourchier, Elizabeth Sandys, Catherine Constable, Cecily Manners and Margaret Heneage. George Manners became

Baron de Ros Baron de Ros (; ) of Helmsley is the premier baron in the Peerage of England, created in 1288/89 for William de Ros, with precedence to 24 December 1264. (The spelling of the title and of the surname of the original holders has been rendered dif ...

in about 1512, making Anne Baroness de Ros. She was widowed the following year, and died in 1526, during the reign of her first cousin once removed,

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

. She is buried at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...

References

External links

The Roos Monument at Rutland Chantry Chapel
accessed 31 March 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Ros, Anne St Leger, Baroness 1476 births 1526 deaths English baronesses

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Richard III of England Place of birth missing Place of death missing