Anne was born at the Chateau of Genappe in Brabant on 3 April 1461, the eldest surviving daughter of King Louis XI of France and Charlotte of Savoy.

Anne was originally betrothed to Nicholas, Duke of Lorraine,[3] and was created Viscountess of Thouars in 1468 in anticipation of the marriage.

However, Nicholas broke the engagement to instead pursue Mary of Burgundy, and then died unexpectedly in 1473, prompting Louis to take back the fiefdom.

Together Peter and Anne maintained the royal authority and the unity of the kingdom against the Orléans party, which was in open revolt during the "Mad War", which lasted from 1483 until 1488.

[1] As regent of France, Anne was one of the most powerful women in the late fifteenth century, and she was referred to as "Madame la Grande".

[5] Anne was responsible for housing and educating many of the aristocracy's children, including Diane de Poitiers and Louise of Savoy.

When Charles ended the regency in 1491, both Anne and Peter fell victim to the wrath of the new queen, whose duchy's independence had been compromised.

[9] The reason is theorized to have been her own wish to secure a personal domain for herself and her daughter because her brother the king was twenty and she realized he would not accept her guardianship over him much longer.

Anne had an earlier pregnancy in 1476, but there were contradictory accounts about this: some said the baby was miscarried or stillborn,[10] but others reported that a living son was born, Charles, styled Count of Clermont in 1488 as was customary for the heir of the Duchy of Bourbon, who died aged 22 in 1498 and was buried in the Abbey of Souvigny, Auvergne.

[10] Anne, however, had always been the more dominant member in her marriage and remained the administrator of the Bourbon lands after his death, protecting them from royal encroachment.

[11] A highly fictitious account of her life and her supposed romance with Louis XII was written in 1947 by Muriel Roy Bolton called The Golden Porcupine.