LAUSR

ABSTRACT Based on untapped archival material, this article analyses the political significance of the expenditure, display, and ceremonial of the funeral of the queen consort, Anna of Denmark (1574–1619), wife of James VI and I (1566–1625). Contextualised within the wider framework of Stuart dynastic and diplomatic policy at the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War, it argues that James harnessed the funeral as an opportunity to further his bid for a Stuart–Habsburg marriage that he believed would secure European peace. It shows how care was taken to emphasise the wealth, power, and international Protestant connections of the House of the Stuart, and to highlight the prominence and legitimacy of the marriageable heir, Prince Charles (1600–1649). This article thereby demonstrates the strength and value of material and visual culture as a political tool, and reaffirms the political, dynastic, and socio-cultural significance of the figure of the queen consort.