Anna De Souza and Matthew King are two fictional characters in ITV's Soap Emmerdale and are played by Emma Davies and Matt Healy. Whilst Matthew King has been a character in the show for about 5 years, Anna only recently appeared, arriving back in July for her estranged father's birthday. She was introduced to her own father by Carl King who had initially thought she was just another woman but she soon made an impact on the village and the fans of the show. For the most part, a lot of die hard fans didn't take well to Anna, perhaps seeing her as a replacement for Kim Tate or Sadie King, however, Anna trumps both of these in that not only is she a super bitch, but she is also a person with a heart and emotions.

Anna being Donald De Souza's daughter, was at first, the King's biggest enemy but despite a small fling with Carl, it was clear that Matthew King was far more interested in her romantically than his younger brother and after a heart attack brought on by Carl's betrayal, Donald decided to use Matthew's feelings for his daughter as a way of bringing the King empire down for what they did. Initially the plan seemed to work but what Donald didn't count on was that after spending so much time with Anna, she would develop feelings for Matthew that went far beyond lust and it was on the 6th November, after a trip to Warsaw with Matthew, that she let slip her feelings for him, in an argument. Whilst Matthew seemed stunned, he soon confided in Katie Sugden that he felt the same way, to which she urged he tell her. After admitting to Anna, that he 'loved her more than he could ever imagine possible' the pair embarked on a full relationship - much to the disgust of Carl and Donald.

However behind the scenes, Donald was brewing a plot to bring the Kings down regardless of whether Anna would help or not and he poached their biggest contract - the one that was keeping them afloat. Shortly before the downfall, Anna proposed to Matthew, after divulging the real reason she had relented in getting close to him. Matthew thought that she never really cared so she proposed to show him that only he mattered to her and she chose him over her father and his money. Matthew, pleased to see how much she loved him, agreed and then reproposed to her with an engagement ring the next day in on the biggest Anna/Matthew episodes.

November 18th marked the downfall of Matthew King. After an engagement party for the couple was crashed by Donald who decided that that would be the right time to tell everyone of the plan (despite Anna's truthful pleas that she had fallen in love with Matthew as a consequence), Matthew payed Donald a little visit in which he insisted the old man would make Anna happy by attending their wedding and keeping quiet. Donald however, suffers a heart attack whilst Matthew is shouting at him and desperately pleads with him to give him his medication. Matthew insists he will as soon as Donald promises to make Anna happy. However Donald dies without promising and Matthew is quite literally up shit creek. Exasperated, he cries at the body 'What am I supposed to tell Anna now?'. Choosing to pretend he was never there, Matthew wipes his prints and goes home to his sleeping fiancee, waking her up to tell her that everything would be okay.

For fans of Emmerdale who have seen Matthew King's character develop over the years, it was quite easy to see in the following episodes, this is the guiltiest we have ever seen him and I am putting this down to proving how much he really loves Anna. Once the body has been discovered, Anna is understandably devestated, having not been able to tell her father all the things she wanted to say. Matthew has to comfort his grieving fiancee whilst suffering inside, until he stupidly decides to confide in Carl; who from day one insists Matthew tell Anna despite Matt's pleas that if he does that, he will lose Anna and a life without Anna, is not a life he wishes to live. Carl backs off a little but never fully drops the issue as the funeral comes and goes.

Whilst the wedding looms closer, Anna is horrified to discover that De Souza Enterprises now owns Polek Haulage Company (or something like that, I never really did understand the business of it all) and Matthew is so horrified that he throws her out of the house and calls off the wedding but eventually she manages to persuade him that she wanted no part in it and all she wanted was him. After deciding that she is sincere, Matthew happily declares the wedding is back on and the couple share a kiss.

December the 16th was what should have been the happiest day for Anna and Matthew but instead turned into a day that was disaster for the couple, and their fans.
After discovering bailiffs nicking all their stuff, Matthew demands for Anna  to get to homefarm promptly whilst he and his brothers try and stall. Afraid the wedding would be ruined if they were not paid off, Anna gives the bailiff her car in return for an extra day since 'Today is all she cares about'. Unfortunately this is NOT the only part of tragedy to happen that day :(.

In what is quite possibly, one of the BIGGEST shocks of the Century, Matthew and Anna's wedding is a no go!! Especially since Carl discovers what has happened with Polek and believing that since Anna and Matthew didn't tell them, that the pair were going to shaft the remaining King Brothers (despite this NOT being the case) and inadvertantly, reveals to Anna that Matthew was present whilst her father died believing she already knew. Horrified to discover this, Anna takes off crying with Katie in tow, leaving Matthew and Carl to battle out their differences once and for all. After a huge fight breaks out, Matthew decides to deal with his brother at last and gets in a van, intending to kill Carl but as he jumps out the way at the last minute, Matthew realises he is about to hit Anna and swerves, hitting the gate pillar instead which sends him flying through the windscreen onto the grass. Anna, forgetting everything that has happened, falls to her knees, clutching him in her arms and asks whether he meant any of it to which he replies 'I do, I love you,'. Anna, in hysterics, pleads with him to keep his eyes open and kisses him in perhaps one of the most heartbreaking scenes I've ever seen as he dies in her arms whilst she sobs loudly.

Anyway this is the heartbreaking story of Matthew and Anna :( :( :(

(All Views expressed are mine and mine only. Banner is credited to KirstenElaineX)