# Anne of Austria — Twenty Years After character guide > Anne of Austria in Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Anne, Queen Anne **First appearance:** 0003-iv-anne-of-austria-at-the-age-of-forty-six ## Snapshot Queen of France and regent, proud and weary, caught between Mazarin's humiliations and the Fronde's insults, still haunted by the men she once loved and exiled. ## Who they are Anne endures Mazarin's sly reminders of Buckingham, Chevreuse, and Beaufort as wounds reopened at will, her pride flaring even as she yields to his counsel. She is a sovereign who has learned to temporize, to imprison, and to wait, yet the rebels' taunts and the musketeers' imprisonment weigh on her conscience. Her uneasy partnership with the cardinal shapes the political chessboard on which d'Artagnan and his friends must move. ## Relationships ### [Mazarin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/mazarin) _professional_ Anne relies on Mazarin as her chief minister and secret lover, but their relationship is one of political convenience and mutual dependence. ### [Madame de Chevreuse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/madame_de_chevreuse) _friendship_ Anne and Madame de Chevreuse were once close friends and co-conspirators, but their relationship has cooled due to political shifts. ### [Athos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/athos) _professional_ Anne respects Athos as a noble and loyal servant of the crown, but their relationship is formal and distant. ### [Charles Stuart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/charles_stuart) _professional_ Anne has a formal, diplomatic relationship with King Charles I, offering him little real support despite their royal kinship. ### [Madame de Chevreuse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/madame_de_chevreuse) _friendship_ Anne and Madame de Chevreuse were once close friends and co-conspirators, but their relationship has cooled due to political shifts. ### [Mazarin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/mazarin) _professional_ Anne relies on Mazarin as her chief minister and secret lover, but their relationship is one of political convenience and mutual dependence. ### [Athos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/athos) _professional_ Anne respects Athos as a noble and loyal servant of the crown, but their relationship is formal and distant. ### [Charles Stuart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/charles_stuart) _professional_ Anne has a formal, diplomatic relationship with King Charles I, offering him little real support despite their royal kinship. ### [Mazarin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/mazarin) _professional_ Anne relies on Mazarin as her chief minister and secret lover, but their relationship is one of political convenience and mutual dependence. ### [Athos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/athos) _professional_ Anne respects Athos as a noble and loyal servant of the crown, but their relationship is formal and distant. ### [Charles Stuart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/charles_stuart) _professional_ Anne has a formal, diplomatic relationship with King Charles I, offering him little real support despite their royal kinship. ### [Madame de Chevreuse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/madame_de_chevreuse) _friendship_ Anne and Madame de Chevreuse were once close friends and co-conspirators, but their relationship has cooled due to political shifts. ## In the story ### [Anne of Austria at the Age of Forty-Six](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/iv-anne-of-austria-at-the-age-of-forty-six) Defends her honor by showing Mazarin the relics of Buckingham, including letters and the assassination knife, and recalls d'Artagnan's service. ### [The Duc de Beaufort](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/xvi-the-duc-de-beaufort) The queen is mentioned as sharing Mazarin's fear of Beaufort and is told about La Ramée's deputy, Grimaud. ### [The Beggar of St. Eustache](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/xlv-the-beggar-of-st-eustache) Publicly thanks d'Artagnan and Porthos for their service. ### [XLVIII: The Riot Becomes a Revolution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/xlviii-the-riot-becomes-a-revolution) Queen of France, initially defiant but forced to sign the order under threat of mob violence. ### [XLIX: Misfortune Refreshes the Memory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/xlix-misfortune-refreshes-the-memory) Furious at the uprising for Broussel, she plots with Mazarin and Condé to escape Paris and besiege the city, recalling d'Artagnan for aid. ### [The Interview](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/l-the-interview) Queen of France; privately meets d'Artagnan in the oratory, recalling his past devotion. ### [The Flight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/li-the-flight) Hosts the banquet and play; confirms the escape plan with d'Artagnan, smiling graciously. ### [The Carriage of Monsieur le Coadjuteur](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/lii-the-carriage-of-monsieur-le-coadjuteur) Queen mother who orchestrates the escape with d'Artagnan's help; initially hesitant but ultimately agrees. ### [How d’Artagnan and Porthos Earned by Selling Straw, the One Two Hundred and Nineteen, and the Other Two Hundred and Fifteen Louis d’Or](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/liii-how-d-artagnan-and-porthos-earned-by-selling-straw-the-one-two-hundred-and-nineteen-and-the-other-two-hundred-and-fifteen-louis-d-or) Declares she will wait for appointed people, observes the absence of Madame de Longueville, and leads the flight to Saint Germain. ### [LXXX: The Gratitude of Anne of Austria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/lxxx-the-gratitude-of-anne-of-austria) Queen regent who reluctantly agrees to Athos's request but immediately orders his arrest. ### [Cardinal Mazarin as King](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/lxxxi-cardinal-mazarin-as-king) Anne is humiliated by Mazarin's reminders of her past loves and her powerlessness, yet she reluctantly agrees to let him decide his own course. ### [LXXXVIII: Shows How with Threat and Pen More Is Effected Than by the Sword](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/lxxxviii-shows-how-with-threat-and-pen-more-is-effected-than-by-the-sword) Queen who conceals her unease about Mazarin's disappearance; receives D'Artagnan and listens to his demands and threats. ### [In Which It Is Shown That It Is Sometimes More Difficult for Kings to Return to the Capitals of Their Kingdoms, Than to Make an Exit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/lxxxix-in-which-it-is-shown-that-it-is-sometimes-more-difficult-for-kings-to-return-to-the-capitals-of-their-kingdoms-than-to-make-an-exit) Anxious for the king's safety, she instructs d'Artagnan to stay close and later prompts the young king to thank him. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/chapters/endnotes) Referenced in the endnote about her secret marriage to Mazarin. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters/anne_of_austria - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twenty_years_after_se/characters