Anne of Great Britain

Anne was the second daughter of King James II of England from his first, Protestant, wife. At the time of her birth her parents were Duke and Duchess of York, the monarchy had only recently been restored, and there was still every prospect of King Charles II of England, Anne's uncle, producing a male heir.

Anne
Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland until 1707
Queen of Great Britain, Ireland from 1707

In 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark (another Protestant state) in 1683, and the couple had 17 children, most of whom were still-born. None survived long enough to ascend to the throne, the longest-lived being William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who died in 1700 at the age of eleven. When Anne's father, James II, took as his second wife the Catholic Mary of Modena, concern grew that they would produce a son and that James would attempt to restore Roman Catholicism as the prevalent faith within Britain. James was deposed in 1688, in favour of his elder daughter, Mary (who became Mary II of England), and her husband, William of Orange. However, they were childless, and the succession passed to Anne in 1702. Unfortunately, her surviving son, William, had died two years earlier, and she failed to produce another heir.

Anne's reign is remembered in part for the influence of the Churchills. John Churchill, an outstanding military commander, was created Duke of Marlborough following his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. He owed his favour with the queen partly to her long-standing friendship with his wife, Sarah. When, in about 1711, the two women fell out, the Duke and Duchess both lost preferment.

There were some significant changes to the system of government in Britain during Anne's reign. In 1707 the Act of Union between England and Scotland was passed, uniting the two countries (which had been reigned over by one monarch since 1603 but retained separate parliaments and governments) into the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Anne was thus the last monarch of England, and the last monarch of Scotland, titles which had existed for 900 years. She retained the separate title of Queen of Ireland.

Since Anne was preoccupied much of the time with her many pregnancies and poor health, the business of government increasingly passed into the hands of ministers who, while appointed by Anne, were more and more responsible to the House of Commons rather than to her personally. Although the title of Prime Minister did not come into general use until the subsequent reign (Sir Robert Walpole is usually regarded as the first Prime Minister), her ministers, such as Robert Harley (Lord Oxford) and Henry St. John (Lord Bolingbroke) effectively ran the country. Anne was the last British monarch to refuse her assent to an Act of Parliament (a militia bill in 1707).

Queen Anne died in 1714 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. The Act of Settlement, which was passed in 1701, saw the succession of the throne pass to the Electress Sophia of Hanover. However, she died a few weeks before Anne. Sophia's eldest son succeeded to the throne as King George I of Great Britain.

The term, Queen Anne, when applied to a style of furniture or architecture, refers to this monarch.

From 1702 to 1712, Queen Anne’s War -- the second of the French and Indian Wars was fought mostly in New England.

External link

• A short profile of Anne alongside other influential women of her time

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