Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway (b 1556) was the wife of English playwright William Shakespeare. In 1582 she became pregnant with Shakespeare's child, and the two were married. In 1583 she gave birth to that child, Susanna. She later gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith in 1585.

In 1588, Shakespeare left their home in Stratford-Upon-Avon and relocated to London. He would never live with Anne permanently again, though he did return in 1597 to bury the deceased Hamnet.

Shakespeare did not love Anne; he much preferred Kate, the proprietress of an eatery he frequented in London. Shakespeare had an affair with Kate during the period of Spanish occupation, 1588-1598, and after Queen Elizabeth was restored to the throne in 1598, Shakespeare, who had earned the Queen's gratitude by his role in William and Robert Cecil's plot to restore her, petitioned and received from the Queen a divorce from Anne.