Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III. of Spain, was born in 1601, and in 1615 became the wife of Louis XIII. of France. The marriage was so far from being a happy one, that the royal pair lived for twenty-three years in a state of virtual separation—a result due chiefly to the influence of
Cardinal Richelieu, whose fixed determination to humble the House of Anstria led him to spare no means for alienating the affection of Louis from his queen. On the death of the king in 1643, Anne became queen-regent, but disappointed the parliament and the nobility, who had hoped to secure again their ancient authority, by choosing as her minister Cardinal Mazarin, under whose strong and skilful management the young king (Louis XIV.) came, on attaining his majority, into possession of a throne firmly established on the ruins of contending parties. The character of Anne had much influence in moulding that of her son. She had, however, no capacity for actually managing affairs, and on the death of Mazarin, retired to the convent of Val de Grace, where she died in 1666.