Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What did William Shakespeare leave to Anne Hathaway in his will?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, detail of an oil painting attributed to John Taylor, c. 1610. The portrait is called the “Chandos Shakespeare” because it once belonged to the duke of Chandos.
In his will, dated March 25, 1616, William Shakespeare famously bequeathed his "second-best bed" to his wife, Anne Hathaway.123
While this specific legacy has historically been interpreted by some as evidence of a strained marriage, modern scholars generally offer a more pragmatic perspective. Historians have noted that the "second-best bed" was likely the couple's marital bed, and such a bequest was not considered unusual at the time. The remainder of Shakespeare's property was largely entailed to the male heirs of his elder daughter, Susanna.132