Born into the royal family of Germany in 1366, Anne of Bohemia was the firstborn daughter of Emperor Charles IV. Anne was taught the Scriptures from an early age by servants who had been influenced by Peter Waldo’s teachings. Anne devoted many long hours to eagerly studying the Word of God and asked questions of all that she read. The Lord richly blessed her studies, and Anne learned much about God’s Word and the errors of the Roman Catholic Church.

One day, King Richard II heard about Anne of Bohemia. When he was only thirteen years old, the king decided to marry Anne. Although she had never met King Richard, Anne agreed to his proposal. She had heard that the writings of John Wycliffe had started a revival in England and Anne was eager to meet John. Anne took some of her friends and servants with her as she traveled to England. King Richard and Anne were married at St. Stephen’s Chapel in January of 1382, when they were only fifteen years old!

The people of England fell in love with Queen Anne immediately. Anne was gentle, kind, and did many kind deeds to help the poor. Do you know how many poor people Anne invited to the royal table each day? About six thousand! Anne wanted to help others in every way she could. It is no wonder that the people called her “Good Queen Anne.” King Richard was greatly pleased with his kind and gracious queen. He loved her very much and she had profound influence with him as the King.

Queen Anne loved and treasured the Scriptures so much that she owned three copies of the New Testament Gospels. During this time in history, owning just one page of the Bible was precious and valuable. The printing press had not yet been invented so any books written had to be copied by hand. Most people had never even seen a page of the Bible, and even fewer had seen a copy of the Gospels. Queen Anne owned, read, and understood the Scriptures in three languages – Bohemian, English, and Latin.

Anne was not afraid to speak and tell others the Good News of the Bible. In fact, she once conversed with Arundel, the Archbishop of York, about the scriptures and how she loved to read them. Most bishops of the Roman Catholic church did not like people reading the Bible for themselves, and this was also true of Arundel. He was utterly alarmed the queen was reading the Bible independently and not letting a bishop interpret the Scriptures for her. Normally, Arundel could put people in prison for reading the Scriptures on their own, but he could not do this to Anne because she was the queen.

The Lord used Anne of Bohemia to help protect John Wycliffe, a man who risked his life translating God’s Word into the English language. Anne gave her protection to John since he had many enemies. She would often go to her husband, King Richard, and gently plead on Wycliffe’s behalf. Anne would read parts of the Scriptures such as Matthew 23:34-35, “Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the alter.” Richard did not desire to be guilty of killing one of God’s prophets, so he listened to the words of his loving wife and ordered that John Wycliffe’s life be spared. With Queen Anne’s protection, Wycliffe was now able to continue his translation work.

In 1393, Queen Anne became sick with the plague and weakened rapidly. In June of 1394, she died. King Richard and the people mourned deeply for their beloved queen. Richard destroyed Sheen Palace, the place where Anne died. He also delayed her funeral for two months so he could plan a big ceremony in honor of Queen Anne. Though the great queen was greatly missed, the Lord used Anne to provide protection for His servants and further the great work of the Reformation.

(See also: Anne of Bohemia: Queen of Gospel Love and Loyalty)