„Cardinals of the antipope focused their hopes on negotiations led by the royal French family in 1380 with the goal to engage king Charles VI (then minor) and Anne, young and kind sister of Wenceslas. Cardinal Pileus on the other hand worked hard to frustrate such intentions and, on the contrary, supported Richard II, king of England, who also waited on this princess.“

Anne of Luxembourg, better known as Anne of Bohemia (b. 11 May 1366 – c. 7 June 1394), the eldest daughter of Charles IV, the Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor, and his fourth wife Elizabeth of Pomerania, married Richard II Plantagenet and became the queen of England. Anne was half-sister of the Czech and Roman king Wenceslas IV, and sister of the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg.

The Great Schism in the Papacy which occurred in 1378 influenced the marriage policy of Charles IV.  In this year, Italian Bartolomeo di Prignano was elected a new pope, taking the name of Urban VI. French cardinals, however, did not recognize him as pope and elected to the papacy Robert of Geneva who chose the name Clement VII and decided to reside in Avignon. In addition to Italians, Urban VI was supported by Charles IV and Richard II. In this situation, Charles IV considered establishment of closer ties with England a wise move and therefore decided to marry his daughter Anne with the king of England.

The wedlock indeed resulted in the strengthening of mutual ties of both coutries. Their marriage was a happy one and lasted twelve years. One of consequences of the new alliance was publication of teaching of the English church reformer Wycliff in the Czech kingdom. Anne was known to have been a very kind person and was popular with the people of England, despite the fact that she did not bear children and did not give Richard a heir and descendent. Anne’s premature death from plague in 1394 was a devastating blow for Richard II. After her death his mental illness broke up in full and lost him his throne.

The obverse side of the coin bears a motif of Queen’s Anne coat-of-arms, in the lower part there is the effigy of Queen Elizabeth, name of the country (New Zealand), in circumscription the denomination of the coin (10,000 NZD) and the year of issue (2011). The motif is framed by border beads, also called astragal.

The main motif on the reverse side is the picture of Queen Anne – sitting – based on an illustration of the period, and the Luxembourg’s coat-of-arms. The edge inscription reads “Good Queen Anne". Around the rim, the reverse side is also decorated with border beads.

Limited edition 150 pcs.