Royal Ann cherry

The Royal Ann or Royal Anne is a variety of cherry, similar in appearance and taste to the Rainier cherry. It belongs to the firm-fleshed sweet cherries, also known by the French name bigarreaux. Its fruits are large and will not get mushy quickly during cooking, making it a prime variety for conserves and pickling. While it is also excellent to eat fresh, its fruit are yellow-skinned and -fleshed, with a red hue only present wherever the skin was directly exposed to the sun. Unless they are grown on small trees in full sunlight, they easily become visibly bruised and less appetizing during handling, and are thus rarely available in markets.

This cherry variety originates in Europe north of the Alps, spreading widely across that continent and to the British Isles due to its firm and (at that time) huge fruit at the start of the 19th century. At that time, Napoleon Bonaparte was at the height of his power; hence, this cherry is also called Napoleon cherry, bigarreau Napoleon or similar in many European languages. Other common names refer to royalty: Queen Anne (hence "Royal Ann", by which name it spread across North America), Große Prinzessin/Grote Prinses, Kaiser Franz/Emperor Francis, Königskirsche, or the more generic Wienerin/Dunajka, Lauermanns Kirsche and Herites.