The young queen was fond of pleasure, and pursuits such as riding and hunting, and had no liking for the dour miseries of contemporary calvinism, so she was assailed by rebukes on account of her religion, her 'vanity', her non-attendance at church, her dancing and the like, from those sanctimonious worthies who had been equally ill-disposed to the activities of James's mother.

James thought of himself as an intellectual and academic and it is said that he found Anne, who was about a decade younger than he, frivolous and less than academic, which is perhaps why the heir to the throne was taken away from her shortly after his birth in 1594 to be fostered by the earl and countess of Mar at Stirling Castle.

When Elizabeth I died in march 1603, James left for London to take up the throne of England. Anne took advantage of this and tried demanding possession of her young son, the heir to the throne. On the refusal of the countess of Mar to allow this, she had a temper tantrum, the result of which was a miscarriage. In june she followed the king to England with the prince, and the coffin containing the body of her dead infant, reaching Windsor on the 2nd of july, where she came into possession of her inheritance of Elizabeth's dresses and the pearls, which can be seen at her neck on this medallet.

On the 24th of july the king and Anna were crowned. Her refusal to take the sacrament according to the anglican fashion caused some concern. She did, however, take communion subsequently and also attended anglican services from time to time; but she continued to hear mass, with the connivance of the king, and, although she was said to be a convert to the church of Rome, she died, according to the archbishop of Canterbury, an anglican, but then he would say that, wouldn't he ?

She spent much of her married life, certainly in the later years, apart from the king, who, some said, neglected her, although he was said to have loved and esteemed her, and enjoyed her playfulness and love of gaiety, which he praised in sonnets and the poetry he wrote for her. Nevertheless, he preferred the company of his male favourites.

It was said by some that she was inclined towards intrigue, and that the king had cause to be jealous. But given the way that James treated her it would have been wholly understandable if she had sought a real man instead of a slobbering old fool with weak legs and an inclination towards men. Perhaps it was merely coquetry, and that by flirting with others she sought to make the king jealous. Anyhow, the king never complained, and the queen was never publicly, at least, accused, so the chances are that she kept to her motto: Astutia Fallax Tutior Innocentia, which translates as ’ÄúCunning is fallacious, innocence is safer’Äù. However, there was a contemporary ballad that runs:

O the bonny Earl of Murray,

He was the queen's love.

So perhaps she did get lucky.

She showed little interest in the affairs of state, being pre-occupied with court festivities, masques, progresses, dresses and fine clothes, and jewels. James always ensured that Anna lived a magnificent lifestyle as befitted his queen. Her expenditure was extravagant and throughout her life greatly exceeded her income. Hunting and riding were among her passions; indeed, her fondness for riding was such that she carried on riding even whilst pregnant, which annoyed the king, who complained, though she took no notice of him and continued, wilfully, to ride. Presumably by this time she had his measure and he had his match.

She died on the 2nd of march 1619 after a long illness and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Eulogies, as they always do, avowed that she was good, intelligent and tactful, a faithful wife, a devoted mother and a good friend. It was further said that her character that would stand the most prying investigation, so if she had had any affairs, they were well-hidden.

Besides Charles, who succeeded James as king of England in 1625, and Elizabeth, who was to become queen of Bohemia, Anna bore six other children, five of whom died in infancy. Her first child was baptised Henry Frederick. He was granted the titles of Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick and Lord of the Isles on his birth, in 1594, at Stirling Castle. On his father's accession to the throne of England in 1603, he was made Duke of Cornwall. He became the first Stuart Prince of Wales on 4 June, 1610, aged 16, at Westminster. Two years later he died of typhoid and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

The piece illustrated here is something of a puzzle. Medallic Illustrations says that it is generally considered to be the coronation medal of the queen, but that it was not struck before 1604, for James did not assume the title of king of Great Britain, at least on his coins, until the 20th october 1604. Sir George Hill describes it as a 'pretty little medallet... generally supposed to be her coronation medal’' and ascribes it to the hand of Charles Anthony, then chief graver at the mint. However, there can be little doubt that the design of this piece owes much to the portrait of Anna by John de Critz, now in the Maritime Museum, Greenwich, which is dated to ca 1605. So, is it her coronation medal ? Certainly it closely matches the piece that was struck for distribution at the coronation of James, the first one issued in England for that purpose. Whatever, it is certainly a charming piece and one of the few medallic illustrations of this enigmatic woman.