Editing Anne of Denmark (section)

==Court and politics==
[[File:Portrait of Anne of Danemark.jpg|thumb|upright|Anne of Denmark, c. 1617, by [[Paul van Somer]]]]
[[File:Anne of Denmark Gheeraerts.jpg|thumb|upright|Anne of Denmark, c. 1611–1614, attributed to [[Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger]].]]
In Scotland, Anne sometimes exploited court factionalism for her own ends, in particular by supporting the enemies of the [[Earl of Mar]].{{Sfnp|Williams|1970|p=53}} As a result, James did not trust her with secrets of state. [[Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton|Henry Howard]], active in the [[Secret correspondence of James VI|highly secret diplomacy]] concerning the English succession, subtly reminded James that though Anne possessed every virtue, [[Eve#Eve in Christianity|Eve]] was corrupted by the [[Serpent (Bible)|serpent]].{{Sfnp|Willson|1963|pp=156–157}} Another of James's secret correspondents, [[Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury|Robert Cecil]], believed that "the Queen was weak and a tool in the hands of clever and unscrupulous persons."{{Sfnp|Williams|1970|p=93}} In practice, Anne seems to have been little interested in high politics unless they touched on the fate of her children or friends, and later told Secretary of State Robert Cecil that "she was more contented with her pictures than he with his great employments."{{Sfnp|Williams|1970|p=93}} However, in November 1600 Robert Cecil had been anxious to find out about correspondence she had with [[Albert VII, Archduke of Austria|Archduke Albert]], Governor of the [[Spanish Netherlands]].{{Sfnp|Calendar of State Papers Scotland vol. 13|p=728 (part 2)}}

In England, Anne largely turned from political to social and artistic activities.{{Sfnp|Barroll|2001|p=35}} Though she participated fully in the life of James's court and maintained a court of her own, often attracting those not welcomed by James, she rarely took political sides against her husband. Whatever her private difficulties with James, she proved a diplomatic asset to him in England, conducting herself with discretion and graciousness in public. Anne played a crucial role, for example, in conveying to ambassadors and foreign visitors the prestige of the [[Stuart dynasty]] and its [[House of Oldenburg|Danish connections]].{{Sfnp|Croft|2003|p=25}}

The [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] envoy, [[Nicolò Molin]], wrote this description of Anne in 1606:

{{cquote|She is intelligent and prudent; and knows the disorders of the government, in which she has no part, though many hold that as the King is most devoted to her, she might play as large a role as she wished. But she is young and averse to trouble; she sees that those who govern desire to be left alone, and so she professes indifference. All she ever does is to beg a favour for someone. She is full of kindness for those who support her, but on the other hand she is terrible, proud, unendurable to those she dislikes.{{Sfnp|Stewart|2003|p=182|loc='conversing together' in the now obsolete sense of ''living together''}}}}

Anne's comments did attract attention and were reported by diplomats. In May 1612 the [[Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon|Duke of Bouillon]] came to London as the ambassador of [[Marie de' Medici]], dowager of France. According to the Venetian ambassador, [[Antonio Foscarini]], his instructions included a proposal of marriage between [[Christine of France|Princess Christine]], the second Princess of France, and Prince Henry. Anne told one of his senior companions that she would prefer Prince Henry married a French princess without a dowry than a Florentine princess with any amount of gold.{{Sfnp|Calendar of State Papers Venice vol. 12|page=[https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/venice/vol12/pp358-366 358–366] (May 1612, 16–31)}}

===Reputation===
Anne has traditionally been regarded with condescension by historians, who have emphasised her triviality and extravagance.{{Sfnp|Croft|2003|p=55}} Along with James, she tended to be dismissed by a historical tradition, beginning with the anti-Stuart historians of the mid-17th century, which saw in the self-indulgence and vanity of the Jacobean court the origins of the [[English Civil War]]. Historian [[David Harris Willson]], in his 1956 biography of James, delivered this damning verdict: "Anne had little influence over her husband. She could not share his intellectual interests, and she confirmed the foolish contempt with which he regarded women. Alas! The king had married a stupid wife."{{Sfnp|Willson|1963|p=95}} The 19th-century biographer [[Agnes Strickland]] condemned Anne's actions to regain custody of Prince Henry as irresponsible: "It must lower the character of Anne of Denmark in the eyes of everyone, both as a woman and queen, that she&nbsp;... preferred to indulge the mere instincts of maternity at the risk of involving her husband, her infant, and their kingdom, in the strife and misery of unnatural warfare."{{Sfnp|Strickland|1848|p=276}}

However, the reassessment of James in the past two decades, as an able ruler who extended royal power in Scotland and preserved his kingdoms from war throughout his reign,{{Efn|Croft summarizes the elements of this reappraisal in her introduction to ''King James''{{Sfnp|Croft|2003}}}} has been accompanied by a re-evaluation of Anne as an influential political figure and assertive mother, at least for as long as the royal marriage remained a reality.{{Sfnmp|1a1=Croft|1y=2003|1p=55|1loc="Queen Anne has traditionally been regarded with condescension by male historians who emphasized her extravagance and triviality. Recent studies have pointed instead to her influence, certainly as long as her marriage (despite its obvious frictions) remained alive."|2a1=McManus|2y=2002|2p=82|2loc="...&nbsp;the power of Anna's politicised maternity."}} John Leeds Barroll argues in his cultural biography of Anne that her political interventions in Scotland were more significant, and certainly more troublesome, than previously noticed; and Clare McManus, among other cultural historians, has highlighted Anne's influential role in the Jacobean cultural flowering, not only as a patron of writers and artists but as a performer herself.<ref>See: {{Harvp|Barroll|2001}} and {{Harvp|McManus|2002}}.</ref>