Anne de Mortimer

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Anne Mortimer (December 27, 1390 – September, 1411) was the daughter of Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1373-1398) and Alianore de Holland.

Her paternal grandparents were Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa Plantagenet. Her maternal grandparents were Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice Fitzalan. Alice was a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancaster.

Her paternal grandmother Philippa was daughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence and Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster.

Lionel of Antwerp was in turn one of the older sons of King Edward III of England, which gave Anne a claim on the throne after the death of her father and siblings. It was through her that the House of York claimed the throne of England; however, little is known of her life.

In about 1406, she married Richard, Earl of Cambridge, who was also descended from Edward III through a younger son. They had two children, Isabel Plantagenet and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, who later laid claim on the throne, beginning the Wars of the Roses. It is believed that Anne died giving birth to him.

Anne's husband plotted with Hotspur to raise her brother, Edmund, 5th Earl of March to the throne thereby reinforcing the claim of their descendants to the English crown at the expense of Henry V. Anne herself was the heiress to the Earldom of March and the earl was not involved in the plot which, despite its failure, successfully promoted the claim of her descendants to the throne.