Princess Anne of Denmark (née Anne Ferelith Fenella Bowes-Lyon; 4 December 1917 – 26 September 1980), formerly styled as Viscountess Anson, was a member of the Danish royal family by marriage and a first cousin of Elizabeth II. Born into the Bowes-Lyon family, she married Thomas Anson, Viscount Anson, and had two children, Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, and Lady Elizabeth Shakerley, before divorcing Anson in 1948. She became a princess of Denmark by her second marriage to Prince Georg of Denmark in 1950.

Family

Anne Bowes-Lyon was born in Washington, D.C., in 1917. Her father was the Hon. John Herbert Bowes-Lyon and her mother was the Hon. Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, daughter of Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton. Anne's paternal grandfather was Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was a niece of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Anne had three younger sisters, two of whom were Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, who were institutionalized in 1941 for severe intellectual disability. She was second born, but eldest surviving daughter. Apart from early deceased Patricia (1916-1917), Nerissa (1919-1986) and Katherine (1926-2014), Anne also had one younger sister, Diana Cinderella Somervell (1923-1986).

Marriages

Anne married Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas William Arnold Anson (1913–1958) on 28 April 1938. As her husband held the courtesy title of Viscount Anson, Anne was styled Viscountess Anson upon their marriage. They were divorced in 1948. They had two children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren: On 16 September 1950, at Glamis Castle, Anne, Viscountess Anson subsequently married Prince Georg of Denmark, upon which she became Her Highness Princess Anne of Denmark.

Death

Anne died in 1980, aged 62, in London of a heart attack. She is buried alongside her second husband, Prince George of Denmark, at Bernstorffpark, Gentofte, Denmark.

Honours

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: King George VI Coronation Medal 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 🇩🇰 Denmark: Order of the Elephant

Ancestry

Citations