Evelynn of Anglyn, Queen of Arendaal

Evelynn of Anglyn ("Evelynn the Tragic") (1731 - 1763) was the first wife of King Edvard IV of Arendaal, the Musical King and thus the Queen Consort of Arendaal between 1762 and her abrupt death in 1763. Her youth and tragic premature death transformed her into a favourite tragic heroine in Aren literature, especially during the Romantic era of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Evelynn was a daughter of King Alfred III of Anglyn and his wife, Elinora of Devonshire. A year after her death, Edvard IV married Victoria of Breotonia and had issue.

Evelynn and Edvard IV were both very young when they married in 1746, the groom 16 and the bride a year younger. The marriage took place while Edvard IV was still Crown Prince. Evelynn would later be crowned as Queen Consort alongisde her husband in 1762. Despite their near sixteen year marriage, the couple had no surviving children. Evelynn would die as a result of poor health execerbated by numerous miscarriages.

King Edvard IV was handsome and extroverted, complimenting the temperament soft-spoken and amiable personality of his pretty wife. The marriage was generally a happy one, although Queen Evelynn was ofted distressed by Edvard IV's many casual affairs. Edvard IV, who was vigorous, lusty, and accustomed to having his own way, took many mistresses after the first six or seven years of the couple's wedding. His penchant for doing so would only decrease after he had children by his second wife Victoria of Breotonia in the late 1760s.

King Edvard IV was an imposing but likeable and out-going personality, so devoted to music that he was nicknamed the Musical King. Evelynn shared his interest in music and his patronage of the great Aren composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the famous Wieser composer Joseph Haydn. King Edvard IV's court is also remembered for its spectacular fashions.

Fashion reached heights of fantasy and abundant ornamentation, with wigs, powder, huge elaborate gowns and immense hairstyles which were made popular through Europe by the prominent members of the Aren court, especially by Evelynn and later by Victoria of Breotonia.

After a series of miscarriages during the last five years of her life, Evelynn became increasingly weak and prone to bouts of illness. Her state of health was by no means considered particularly dangerous, however, and so it came as a shock when one such bout claimed her life in 1763. Edvard IV grieved deeply, ordering his court to go into mourning. Mourning was not lifted until the eve of the King's marriage to Princess Victoria of Bretonia in 1764. After Evelynn died, Edvard IV reportedly said: "I could not be more saddened by a death. It seems ridiculous that a beautiful woman, in the midst of a splendid life, should fade away so suddenly."

Family, Marriage and Children
Princess Evelynn of Anglyn married King Edvard IV of Arendaal in 1746. Although Evelynn was repeatedly pregnant she suffered many miscarriages and had no surviving issue.

Siblings

 * Alfred IV of Anglyn - Evelynn's brother, married Edvard IV's sister, Adelaide

Other Royal Relations

 * Adelaide of Arendaal, Queen of Anglyn - sister-in-law (Edvard IV's sister and her brother's wife). Consort to Alfred IV of Anglyn, Evelynn's brother
 * Queen Beatrix I of Arendaal - mother-in-law
 * Thomas of Franken, Prince Consort of Arendaal - father-in-law
 * Hathor III of Arendaal - brother-in-law (Edvard IV's brother)
 * Trigve, Prince of Arendaal - brother-in-law (Edvard IV's brother. Father of Karl V
 * Evelina of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire - sister-in-law (Edvard IV's sister). Consort to Stefano Emanuelle IV of the Talemantine Empire
 * Klara of Arendaal, Queen of Cambria - sister-in-law (Edvard IV's sister). Consort of Owain I of Cambria
 * Elisabeth of Lorraine, Queen of Arendaal - husband's sister-in-law (wife of Hathor III)
 * Francoise of Montelimar, Princess of Arendaal - husband's sister-in-law (wife of Prince Trigve)
 * Karl V of Arendaal - nephew by marriage (Edvard IV's nephew)
 * Rurik, Prince of Arendaal - nephew by marriage (Edvard IV's nephew)
 * Victoria of Breotonia, Queen of Arendaal - husband's second wife
 * Helene I of Arendaal - husband's daughter by his second marriage
 * Viktoria of Arendaal, Queen of Franken - husband's daughter by his second marriage

Ancestors
's ancestors in four generations: