Annis

File:Annis nameplate.png
Also known as:	Queen Annis
Biographical Information
Race:	Human
Gender:	Female
Family:	King Caerleon (husband) † Caerleon's Father (father-in-law) †
Statistics
Affiliation:	Caerleon Arthur Pendragon † Gorlois † Derían King Caerleon (husband) † Camelot
Enemies:	Arthur Pendragon(formerly) Morgana Pendragon †
Behind the Scenes
Portrayer:	Lindsay Duncan
List of Appearances:	His Father's Son Arthur's Bane: Part One

“Arthur will pay for this, by God! The whole of Camelot will pay for this!”

— Annis on Arthur killing her husband^[src]

Queen Annis is the widow of King Caerleon and the Queen of Caerleon.

History

As Arthur's Enemy

At some point Queen Annis befriended Gorlois.

When her husband King Caerleon is killed in cold blood by Arthur Pendragon, a grief-stricken Queen Annis declares war on Camelot. Annis soon enters into a pact to gain revenge on Arthur with Morgana, who comes to the queen in Gorlois' name.

When Arthur comes to Annis and requests to fight single-combat to avoid a full-scale war, the queen agrees. When Annis finds out the next day Arthur is to be Camelot's champion, the queen fears it is a trick. Morgana assures her it is "no trick" and comments it is simply Arthur's nature to risk his own life instead of others'. As a result, Annis agrees to let a champion from Caerleon fight Arthur. Morgana promises Annis that Arthur will lose, informing the queen she enchanted Arthur's sword.

Annis watching the fight.

During the fight, Morgana triggers the enchantment on Arthur's sword, making the weapon bear the weight of a thousand ages.  Queen Annis’ champion, Derian, immediately gains the upper hand but Merlin's intervention saves Arthur, giving him the victory. In the end, Arthur spares Annis' champion; when Annis questions why, Arthur explains that it isn't victory he is after, but peace.

Morgana later returns to Annis and swears Arthur will not be as fortunate next time. Annis refuses any further cooperation with Morgana, commenting she was blinded by grief which allowed Morgana to manipulate her. Angrily, Morgana calls Annis weak.

Annis, however, shocks Morgana by being the first to openly chastise her for her bitterness and hate. The Queen stuns her further when she reminds her Morgana came to her in Gorlois' name, yet it is Uther, Morgana resembles more. A speechless Morgana leaves Annis, who returned to Caerleon and leaves Camelot in peace (His Father's Son).

As Arthur's Ally

Arthur and Annis discuss the disappearance of his men.

Three years later, Arthur needs to search for his men and goes to seek help from Queen Annis, who now says she is an ally of Arthur. When she tells him that many men are gather in Ismere, Arthur decides to go there and save his knights. Annis, however, insists that they have a feast first, where she questions Merlin's abilities as the "king's fool". Merlin entertains the court as a juggler. Later, when Arthur leaves, Annis tells him to be very careful as Morgana has been devoured by hate, and that good allies are hard to find and that she would hate to lose one (Arthur's Bane).

Personality

Queen Annis is a fierce, strong and courageous woman who, while grieving her husband's death, immediately rose up in defiance to declare war on Caerleon's killer, Arthur Pendragon. She was quick to seek vengeance in her grief and had a strong sense of justice since she responded vehemently to what she saw as a crime on Arthur's part.

However, Annis has also shown herself to be reasonable, rational and wise. When Arthur came to her unarmed, she allowed him, despite her grief, to negotiate a single-combat match and leave her camp unharmed, thus sparing many lives on both sides. In addition, Annis is a fair and compassionate queen, sparing Merlin's life despite catching him spying, and quickly forgiving Arthur his errors.

Queen Annis proved to be an adept judge of character once she saw past her grief. She came to acknowledge Arthur's sense of justice and mercy, despite his crime against Caerleon. She seemed to see Arthur in a good light and even glorified him by commenting that he brought hope for all of them.

Annis also saw Morgana for what she was far more astutely than most. She was also the only character to openly criticise Morgana's behaviour when she believed that there were similarities between her and Uther. Annis is ultimately a very just and fair woman, but also spontaneous and extreme in her actions, forgiving Arthur his misjudgement and homicide unusually quickly, withdrawing her army and restoring the peace contract that Uther had with her father-in-law and refused to cooperate further with Morgana.

Physical Appearance

Annis, is a middle aged woman, with long, straight, light brown hair and green eyes. She has a few wrinkles in her face. She is usually dressed in extravagant dresses, indicating her status as queen of Caerleon.

Appearances

Series 4

His Father's Son

Series 5

Arthur's Bane: Part One

Trivia

• Queen Annis made an appearance in the first episode of Series 5. At this time, she is an ally of Camelot. Previously she appeared in His Father's Son as an ally of Morgana who eventually turns against her and helps Arthur.

Gallery

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