Nguyen Thi Anh

Who was Nguyen Thi Anh?

Nguyễn Thị Anh was a queen consort of Vietnam, mother of the Vietnamese King Le Nhan Tong, and effective head of state of Vietnam from 1451 until she allowed a servant to kill her in 1459 to avoid being captured or killed in a coup.

Anh was a beautiful woman of noble birth. In 1440 she became a consort of the young king Le Thai Tong at the same time as Nguyen Thị Dao. They both attracted the King's attention and both gave birth to sons shortly before the king, Lê Thái Tông, died in 1442. Although the king had an older son, Nghi Dân, that boy's mother was not from a noble family and he was passed over, instead the kingship was given to Nguyễn Thị Anh's son, now called Lê Nhân Tong.

At the time of his elevation to the kingship of Vietnam, Lê Nhân Tong was just an infant. By tradition, the infant king's mother had great power and she was also officially named the regent on behalf of her son. In reality, the real power behind the throne was Trinh Kha, a close friend and senior advisor to Lê Lợi.

Together, Trinh Kha and Nguyen Thi Anh managed to rule Vietnam reasonably well, though there was some friction. This friction grew as they clashed over how the king should be educated and who really got to make decisions in the government. In 1451 Nguyễn Thị Anh ordered the execution of Trinh Kha and his eldest son. The reason for this is lost and just two years later, Trịnh Khả was officially pardoned and his family was given new lands.