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You are here: UK History > Royal History > House of Stuart > Queen Anne | The first queen of Great Britain and
Though Queen Anne’s reign is most known for the style of furniture and decoration that came out of it, it was actually an important era in British history. It was during her reign that England and Scotland united to become Great Britain and that the House of Stuart ended, bringing in the next royal era, the House of Hanover.
Born: 6th February 1665, St James Palace, London
Died: 1st August 1714 (aged 49) at Kensington Palace, London
Reign: 8th March 1702 – 1st May 1707 (as Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland) and then 1st May 1707-24th August 1714 (as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland)
Parents: James II/VII and Anne Hyde
Predecessor: William...Read More
Though Queen Anne’s reign is most known for the style of furniture and decoration that came out of it, it was actually an important era in British history. It was during her reign that England and Scotland united to become Great Britain and that the House of Stuart ended, bringing in the next royal era, the House of Hanover.
Born: 6th February 1665, St James Palace, London
Died: 1st August 1714 (aged 49) at Kensington Palace, London
Reign: 8th March 1702 – 1st May 1707 (as Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland) and then 1st May 1707-24th August 1714 (as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland)
Parents: James II/VII and Anne Hyde
Predecessor: William III/II (brother in law)
Successor: George I (cousin)
Spouse: Prince George of Denmark (married between 1683-1708)
Children: 17, none survived childhood.
Royal House: Stuart
Anne was born during the reign of her uncle Charles II. At the time, her father was the Duke of York and heir presumptive, though as a catholic, was an unpopular choice for parliament and the public. Anne in contrast was a much-liked queen, though her memory was tarnished by disparaging comments made by Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough after their falling out.
Image: Queen Anne
Anne was born on 6th February 1665 at St James’ Palace in London, the official residence of the Duke of York and his wife, Anne Hyde. Anne was the Duke’s fourth child and second daughter. As the niece of the king and the granddaughter of the Earl of Clarendon, Anne had a privileged upbringing alongside her older sister Mary.
Her parents would go on to have eight children, but only Mary and Anne would survive into childhood. To many it was surprising that Anne would outlive her sister thanks to lifelong ill health in comparison to Mary, who until she became ill and passed away in her thirties, was known to have had a robust consititution. As a child, Anne had defluxion, an eye condition which left her with excessive watering of the eyes. In order to help her recuperate, she was sent to live with relatives in France.
On her return to England, Anne joined her sister Mary in their own household in Richmond, where, under the instruction of the king, they were raised as protestants to assuage parliament’s fears of a new catholic royal dynasty. Their father had recently publicly announced his Catholicism, which was controversial considering that he was heir apparent. Despite this, three years after his wife’s death, he was allowed to remarry, choosing Mary of Modena, a catholic princess just six years older than Anne. At this time, it was believed that both Mary and Anne had a good relationship with their father and their stepmother, with Anne in particular holidaying with both her parents and moving with them to Edinburgh when her father was installed at Holyrood Palace.
Her sister was married to their cousin, William III of Orange under the instructions of the king to guarantee a protestant succession. It was thought that though James remained heir, the country’s return to Catholicism would be temporary, with the protestant Mary and her children being next in line. Mary was said to have been distraught at being married off and cried throughout the ceremony. Anne was not present because she had contracted smallpox and was confined to her room, the two sisters wouldn’t see each other again for a year, as by the time Anne was released from quarantine, Mary had already left for the Netherlands.
Anne herself was married to another relative not long after Mary. Her uncle Charles II wanted another advantageous match and eventually settled on Prince George of Denmark. Like Mary and William, Anne and George were also second cousins. The pair were married on 28th July at St James’ Palace and although it was an arranged marriage, were believed to have been faithful and devoted to each other.
Shortly after their wedding, Anne and George announced they were expecting, but sadly, the baby was stillborn. Over the next 17 years, the pair would go on to lose all their children, either in birth, in childhood, or in pregnancy.
Anne and Sarah first met in 1671 and quickly became close friends. Over the years, Sarah would be a huge influence over Anne and much of what we know of Anne’s demeanour comes from her memoirs. Their relationship turned sour as Sarah attempted to exert more power over Anne and Anne became increasingly frustrated with the change in her politics.
Sarah married John Churchill, the future Earl of Marlborough. His sister, Arabella Churchill was the mistress of Anne’s father and both he and Sarah would become two of the most influential people in William, Mary and Anne’s reigns. Churchill would go on to become Anne’s most important general and would play a major role in the war around the Spanish Succession.
Anne’s relationship with Sarah was one of the reasons why she and her sister ultimately fell out.
Charles II died without a legitimate heir and Anne’s father James ascended the throne as James II/VII. Although the public tolerated his personal Catholicism, they were not tolerant of catholics in general and James’ popularity waned due to his religious policy.
Initially, historians say that Anne had a good relationship with her parents, but this soured during James’ reign. She had given birth to two daughters in quick succession and James tried to have the youngest baptised into the catholic faith. The pair became estranged and the tensions in their relationship became exacerbated by Anne suffering another miscarriage in 1687. Within a few weeks of her recovery, both her daughters, who were still toddlers, died of smallpox. She lost another baby later in the year, around the same time that her father and Mary of Modena announced their own pregnancy. At the time, Anne was one of several notable people claiming that her stepmother was faking her pregnancy, though whether she truly believed this to be the case or was still grieving her own recent losses, remains to be seen. Her half-brother was born on 10th June 1688, a few months after Anne suffered another miscarriage. At the time of her brother’s birth, Anne was recuperating in Bath and was not present at the birth, as would have been custom. The fact that she wasn’t there to witness the new heir further fuelled rumours that King James had faked the birth in order to secure a Catholic succession.
As a result, parliament began negotiating with William of Orange, Anne’s cousin and brother-in-law, inviting him to England to depose James.
William’s invasion became known as the Glorious Revolution, on his arrival, many of James’ supporters swapped sides and Anne, on the advice of her friends, the Churchills, also sided with William rather than her father. When hearing that Anne had met with her brother-in-law, James is said to have cried: “Even my children have forsaken me.”
After James left for France, William created a Convention Parliament which declared that James had abdicated and that it was only right that he be succeeded by his daughter Mary. Mary and William were made co-monarchs and a new Bill of Rights was introduced settling the issue of succession and giving parliament the right to choose the next monarch.
In the summer of 1689, Anne gave birth to a son, Prince William the Duke of Gloucester, who though unwell, survived infancy. As William and Mary had no children, he was made heir apparent.
One of the first things William and Mary did as monarchs was hand out certain titles and peerages, Anne’s husband was made the Duke of Cumberland and John Churchill, husband of Anne’s close friend Sarah, was made the Earl of Marlborough. It was during the early days of the reign that Mary and Anne’s relationship started to fracture. Anne requested the use of Richmond Palace, which Mary and William refused, and a parliamentary allowance, which they openly opposed, but were unsuccessful in stopping. Anne’s resentment of her sister and brother-in-law grew when William refused to allow her husband to serve in the military in an active capacity. The new monarchs were concerned that Anne’s financial independence would weaken their influence over her and allow her to organise a rival political faction, however, it was mostly her closeness to the Churchill’s that caused concern.
John Churchill was suspected of conspiring with the Jacobites and was dismissed from office. Anne was enraged, especially when Mary also demanded that Sarah be removed from her household and sent the Lord Chamberlain to forcibly remove her. Anne, in a fit of rage, left her lodgings, resulting in William and Mary to strip her of her guard of honour. Courtiers were forbidden to visit her and civic authorities were instructed to ignore her. The fact that Anne was pregnant at this time likely exacerbated the situation and may have led to her baby dying within hours of birth. Mary visited her, but instead of it being a comforting experience, the pair just argued over Sarah Churchill. It would be the last time the sisters would see each other.
Mary died of smallpox in 1694, leaving William to continue to reign alone. Anne became his heir apparent and the pair publicly reconciled, with Anne being restored to her previous honours. William however refused her involvement in government and she was not appointed regent while he was away on the continent. With William childless and Anne’s only surviving child, Prince William passing away at the age of eleven, Anne was the only person remaining in the line of succession. To address a possible succession crisis and preclude a catholic restoration, the Act of Settlement was enacted in 1701. This bill stated that failing the issue of Anne or William III by any future marriage, the crown would go to the descendants of Sophia, the Electress of Hanover. Sophia was Anne and Mary’s great aunt and wasn’t their closest living relative, the bill excluded over 50 catholics with a stronger claim.
Anne became queen on the death of William on 8th March 1702 and was immediately popular with the public. In her first speech as monarch, she distanced herself from William and Mary and played on anti-Dutch sentiment that was prevalent at the time.
Anne was crowned on St George’s Day 1702.
Throughout her life, she had been plagued with ill health and was so unwell on the day of the coronation, that she had to be carried to Westminster Abbey in an open chair with a low back to permit her train to flow out behind her. She was known to have suffered from gout from at least 1698 onwards and this would render her lame for much of her later life. To combat this, she was carried to state events in a chair or would use a wheelchair while in her private residence. She was also known to have used a one-horse chaise, which she would ride around her country estates. Because of her poor mobility, she gained weight and by the end of her life, was morbidly obese.
Anne’s ill health wasn’t just confined to gout and historians have speculated that several different conditions could have contributed to her many traumatic pregnancies. Her final pregnancy ended in January 1700 with a stillbirth. She had been pregnant seventeen times in as many years and had miscarried or given birth to stillborn children at least twelve times. Of the five children that lived through the birth, four died before reaching the age of two, her son Prince William was her oldest surviving child, he died of unknown causes at the age of eleven and every year on the anniversary of his death, Anne ordered the household to observe a day of mourning.
One of Anne’s first acts as monarch was to promote her husband to the role of Lord High Admiral, giving him control of the Royal Navy and John Churchill to Lord Marlborough, giving him control of the army. Churchill would also be knighted and receive a number of other titles and Sarah Churchill would be appointed Groom of the Stool, Mistress of the Robes and Keeper of the Privy Purse. These appointments were strategic, as less than a month after her coronation, England became embroiled in the War of the Spanish Succession. As the expensive War of the Spanish Succession grew unpopular, parliaments two factions split further, leading to the Whigs becoming unpopular and a prominent Tory being impeached. Riots broke out in London and Anne had to deploy her personal guard to restore order. Britain’s involvement in The War of Spanish Succession, ended during her reign.
Unlike those of her predecessors, Anne’s reign wasn’t beset with conflict between the monarch and parliament, with tensions being between the two parliamentary factions instead. After a two-party political system emerged during the reigns of Charles and James, it further developed during Anne’s, with her favouring the Tories over the Whigs.
Anne was very interested in the affairs of the state and attended more cabinet meetings than her predecessors or successors. She also got to know members of parliament personally and would be actively engaged in matters of state.
The Whigs were the main driving force behind the War of Spanish Succession and became much more influential on the subject after Churchill led a victory at the Battle of Blenheim. Many of the High Tories who opposed British involvement ended up being removed from office and Sarah Churchill began convincing the queen to appoint more Whigs and reduce the power of the Tories, leading to tensions between the pair.
Anne was a keen supporter of Robert Harley, the Speaker of the House of Commons, who was more politically aligned with her.
Around this time, Anne began to turn to one of the women of her bedchamber, Abigail Hill, a relation of Sarah’s who had a personal connection to Robert Harley. Hill became an intermediary of sorts and this new close relationship sparked the beginning of the end of Anne and Sarah Churchill’s friendship.
John Churchill and his allies insisted that the queen dismiss Harley and when she hesitated, they refused to attend important cabinet meetings. Harley attempted to continue as usual, but those present didn’t feel it was right to continue without the whole cabinet causing immense disruption and leading to Anne having to give in to Churchill’s demands.
The Churchill’s influence continued, particularly after the death of Anne’s husband George. Anne was devastated by his death, but despite this, Sarah removed a portrait of George from the queen’s bedchamber and refused to return it, stating that it wasn’t healthy to keep a likeness of a deceased person. It wasn’t just Sarah who behaved in an inconsiderate way towards the grieving Anne. In parliament, the Whigs used it to their advantage, as the majority of them had disliked George and considered him to have mismanaged the navy. While she was mourning, they forced her to accept people she did not approve of into the government and pressured her to replace him as leader of the Navy. For a time, Anne refused, carrying out George’s duties herself, however after months of arguments, she finally consented to allow a man of Churchill’s choosing to control the Admiralty.
Sarah Churchill became enraged when Anne moved Abigail Hill into her rooms at Kensington Palace. Sarah believed the rooms to be her own, even though she never used them. Consumed with jealousy, she read a bawdy poem aloud in court that implied a lesbian relationship between the queen and Abigail. While there is some evidence to suggest that Anne, like her sister Mary, had romantic attachments to women, it is unlikely that her relationship with either Abigail or Sarah was romantic. It is widely believed that her traditional views and devotion to her husband would have stopped her from acting on any feelings she may have had. The general consensus is that she viewed Abigail as nothing more than a trusted servant. This falling out spelled the end of Anne and Sarah’s friendship. They had an argument on the doorstep of St Paul’s Cathedral which resulted in Sarah yelling at Anne to be quiet – something seen as hugely disrespectful. The pair saw each other for the last time in 1710. Abigail was later made Keeper of the Privy Purse, relieving Sarah of the role.
As monarch, Anne had declared that it was a necessity to conclude a union of England and Scotland. Negotiations were difficult, but eventually the Act of Union was ratified in 1707, creating Great Britain, with one parliament and one monarch.
At the beginning of Anne’s reign, Ireland was subordinate to the English crown and Wales was deemed to be part of the Kingdom of England. Scotland was its own sovereign state and had its own parliament, laws and legislature. The Act of Union meant that Anne’s previous title of Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland were now void, so she was retitled as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.
Prior to the Act of Union going through, Anne’s half-brother attempted to take the throne with French assistance, leading to Anne vetoing a parliamentary bill to retain Scottish loyalty, it would be the last time a British Sovereign vetoed a parliamentary bill. The invasion never landed and as a result of the Jacobite scare, the Tories lost the following election.
Anne was unable to walk between January and July 1713 and fears for her health increased. Despite suffering a stroke, she continued to attend meetings with her government right up until her death in August 1714. She was buried alongside her husband and children at Westminster Abbey.
The line of succession after Anne was to go to the Electress Sophia and her protestant heirs, however, Sophia predeceased Anne, dying two months before her, so the crown passed instead to her son, George, the Elector of Hanover. Possible Catholic claimants, including Anne’s half brother, were ignored and despite, a continuing Jacobite threat, George’s accession was relatively stable.
Much of what we know about Anne’s personality is from the memoirs of Sarah Churchill, which painted her in an unfair light. Historians have since viewed her more favourably, noting that she was involved in matters of the state and presided over an age of artistic, literary, scientific, economic and political advancement, as well as the Union between England and Scotland.
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Kensington Palace, London
The orangery here was built for Anne
Kimpton Fitzroy, London
A statue of Anne, along with other queens Elizabeth I, Mary II and Victoria can be found here.
Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh
St James' Palace, London
Anne's place of birth
St Paul's Cathedral, London
A statue of Anne can be seen here.
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