Queen Anna of Denmark, Prince Henry Stuart, and an Education in Masquing

This essay argues that Queen Anna of Denmark did not cease masquing in 1611 simply due to political marginalization or grief, but strategically to pass a powerful propaganda tool to her son, Prince Henry. It contends that Anna educated Henry in using masques as she had: to grow his political influence and fashion an oppositional image to that of King James. It further demonstrates that the King came to covet this power, and that poets like Ben Jonson and Thomas Campion helped him seize the masquing platform. Yet evidence suggests that they, too, learned their techniques from Queen Anna.