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Anna Jagiellon (, ; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587.
Daughter of Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old and Italian duchess Bona Sforza, Anna received multiple proposals, but remained unmarried until the age of 52. After the death of King Sigismund II Augustus, her brother and the last male member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, her hand was sought by pretenders to the Polish-Lithuanian throne to maintain the dynastic tradition. Along with her then-fiancé Stephen Báthory, Anna was elected as co-ruler in the 1576 royal election of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Their marriage was a formal arrangement and distant.
While Báthory was preoccupied with the Livonian War, Anna spent her time on local administrative matters and several construction projects, including the city wall Stara Prochownia to protect Sigismund Augustus Bridge. After her husband's death in December 1586, Anna had the opportunity to remain on the throne as the sole ruler, but instead promoted her nephew Sigismund III Vasa, whose reign established the House of Vasa on the Polish-Lithuanian throne for the next eighty years (1587–1668).
Like all her siblings, Anna received a good education. She was well-versed in architecture and finances, as well as fluent in Italian language and Latin. In her free time, she embroidered and sewed beautiful tapestries (many of which survive), played chess and dice, and was involved in works of charity.
After about a year, Sigismund II Augustus brought his sisters to Vilnius where they became close to his third wife, Catherine of Austria. Even though Anna was already in her mid-thirties, Sigismund investigated marriage proposals. Widowed Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, did not want to remarry; his unmarried son Charles II (born 1540) was too young; Tsar Ivan the Terrible was not deemed beneficial for Poland–Lithuania; and John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania did not want an alliance with Poland and Lithuania as it would have drawn the Duchy of Pomerania into the Livonian War. King Eric XIV of Sweden was personally more interested in pursuing marriage with Queen Elizabeth I of England, but sought an alliance with Poland–Lithuania and suggested his half-brother John, Duke of Finland. John agreed, but asked for Catherine. It was against custom for a younger sister to marry first, therefore their wedding was postponed. Three more grooms were proposed for Anna: Danish prince Magnus was supposed to become a Lutheran bishop which would be an unacceptable marriage for the Kingdom's Catholic majority; the last Master of the Livonian Order Gotthard Kettler was not of royal blood and his control of Livonia was tenuous; and John's younger brother, Magnus, Duke of Östergötland. Sigismund II Augustus agreed to the double Polish–Swedish alliance, but only John arrived to the wedding in Vilnius. The court demanded that John marry Anna, but he insisted on Catherine. Needing Swedish troops and money in the Livonian War, Sigismund II Augustus relented if Anna did not protest. Though it must have been humiliating, Anna agreed and Catherine married John on 4 October 1562.
As Vilnius wasn't safe due to the Livonian War, Anna moved to the Royal Castle in Warsaw and lived there for about ten years with a court of about 70 people. She spent her time playing games, embroidering, praying, and corresponding with her sisters. Her brother visited her annually when he attended sessions of the general sejm ("Parliament") in Warsaw. Even though Anna was already in her forties, marriage proposals continued to come in. In 1564, Reichard, Count Palatine of Simmern-Sponheim, proposed but perhaps was deterred by her relatively small dowry of 32,000 Polish red złoty. In 1568, her sister Sophia proposed to Eberhard, eldest son of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg, but he died the same year. In 1569, a project emerged to marry Anna to Barnim X, Duke of Pomerania, who demanded that she would bring eight border territories as her dowry, which was unacceptable to Poland. In 1572, Sophia proposed Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, but Sigismund II Augustus refused.
Jean de Monluc, Bishop of Valence, offered the French Prince Henry de Valois to the electors of the Commonwealth as the next King and Grand Duke. Among other things, Montluc promised the electors that Henry would marry the heiress of the Jagiellons to maintain the dynastic tradition. Although Polish-Lithuanian nobles sought to keep her out of the political arena, Anna learned of Henry's offer in spring 1573 and became his strong supporter, flattered that he "cared for her and not only for the Kingdom". With her support, he was elected as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania on 11 May 1573 and officially crowned on 21 February 1574. However, due to an oversight (whether intentional or unintentional), Henrician Articles (Henry's pre-election treaty) did not include the promise to marry the Jagiellon heiress and so he tarried. When it became apparent that Henry would not marry her, Anna was humiliated. In June 1574, he left Poland to assume his new duties as King of France and by May 1575 the Parliament of the Commonwealth had removed him as their monarch.
During the second interregnum, Anna assumed the unprecedented but politically important title of Infanta, mirroring the Spanish custom and highlighting her dynastic status. Poland did not recognize the status of crown prince since, technically, the monarchy was not hereditary but elective between the native noble families and foreign royalty. Despite this, she still referred to herself as "Anna, by the Grace of God,
Infanta of the Kingdom of Poland" (Latin: "Anna Dei Gratia Infans Regni Poloniae").Paweł Jasienica (1984). 830700697X, Czytelnik. 830700697X She wanted to marry and become Queen of Poland, but deceived by the French, she was a lot more careful and did not voice her support publicly. She was skeptical of marriage proposals by Archduke Ernest of Austria, Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and Frederick IV of Liegnitz. In December 1575, diplomat Jan Zamoyski proposed to elect Anna. As ancient laws did not allow an unmarried woman to rule, Stephen Báthory, Voivode of Transylvania, was proposed as her husband. On 15 December 1575, in Wola near Warsaw, Anna and Báthory were elected as co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, the Lithuanian delegation did not participate in the election and did not recognize its results. Only on 29 June 1576, already after the coronation ceremony, Lithuanian nobility agreed to recognize the couple.
Receiving substantial income, Anna sponsored and supervised several construction projects. She completed the reconstruction of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Ujazdów Castle, and the Sigismund Augustus Bridge over Vistula River, the longest wooden bridge in Europe at the time at 500 in length. She built the city wall Stara Prochownia, known as the Bridge Gate, to protect the wooden bridge from fire; the tomb monument of her brother in the Sigismund's Chapel from to 1574 to 1575 and 1584 with the help of architect Santi Gucci; and the tomb of her mother in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari from 1589 to 1595. Around the same time, she built her own tomb in the Sigismund's Chapel.
After his father's death in November 1592, Sigismund Vasa spent about a year in Sweden. During that time, his newborn daughter was entrusted to the Polish Infanta's care. In July 1595, she was the godmother of Władysław Vasa, the future King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. A happier Anna died in Warsaw on 9 September 1596 at the age of 72 as the last Jagiellon.
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