Anne of Kiev or Anna Yaroslavna was a princess of Kievan Rus who became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I. She ruled the kingdom as regent during the minority of their son Philip I from Henry's death in 1060 until her controversial marriage to Count Ralph IV of Valois. Anne founded the Abbey of St. Vincent at Senlis.
Anne of Kiev
Art historian Victor Lazarev presumed that the left-most figure on this fresco at Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv, represented Anne. According to historian Robert-Henri Bautier, it depicts one of her brothers.
Statue of Anne at the Abbey of Saint-Vincent (2011)
Statue of Anne at the Abbey of Saint-Vincent before renovation with change of inscription in 1996
Henry I was King of the Franks from 1031 to 1060. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. This is not entirely agreed upon, however, as other historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.
Effigy of Henry from his seal