‘El Ajuar de Ana de Austria, Infanta de Espana, Reina de Francia’: An Introduction to Anne of Austria's Trousseau

Abstract

In October 1615, the fourteen-year-old Infanta Anne of Austria began a journey that brought her from her native Spain to the court of France where she would become the wife of the French King Louis XIII and later the mother of Louis XIV, the Sun King. According to royal tradition, Anne's father, King Philip III of Spain, bestowed her with a wedding trousseau which included magnificent garments, jewellery, furniture, silverware and perfumes. The transcription of the trousseau was published in Spanish in 1949 and translated into English by this author. This article looks at the gowns, accessories, and linens listed in the royal inventory and refers to portraits of the young princess and other members of the Spanish Royal family. It examines an understudied archival source and contributes to the existing studies of dress as a marker of royal identity and as a tool in the political alliances through royal marriages.