biography queen anne

Anne, Queen of Great Britain

Server costs fundraiser 2024.

Anne reigned as Queen of England , Scotland , and Ireland from 1702 and then, following the 1707 Act of Union, over a united kingdom as Queen of Great Britain until her death in 1714. The last of the Stuart monarchs, Anne's reign witnessed the Spanish War of Succession which helped Britain establish itself as a major world power.

The Stuart Family

James II of England (r. 1685-1688) took over the throne from his late brother Charles II of England (r. 1660-1685) since the latter had no legitimate heir. James was a Catholic, but part of the deal which allowed him to succeed his Protestant brother in 1685 was that he promise to raise his two daughters as Protestants. James' first wife was Anne Hyde, the daughter of the Earl of Clarendon (m. 1660). The couple had two daughters: Mary (b. 1662) and the younger Anne, born on 6 February 1665 at St. James' Palace . Anne Hyde died of illness in 1671, and King James married again, this time to Mary (d. 1718), the daughter of the Duke of Modena. The royal couple had a son, James Francis Edward, who was born on 10 June 1688. There were rumours that the prince was an outsider brought in for convenience, and Anne herself had her suspicions about his legitimacy. The birth relegated Mary and Anne to second and third in line to the throne respectively. For Anne, in particular, the improbable likelihood of her becoming the monarch meant that she did not receive the education or preparation enjoyed by other future sovereigns.

The arrival of a new heir to the throne, who would surely be brought up a Catholic like both his parents, coupled with the king's pro-Catholic policies and authoritarian manner seriously worried many in Parliament. In order to maintain the integrity of Parliament and the achievements of the English Reformation and the primacy of Protestantism in England, several nobles now looked abroad for an alternative king. The obvious choice was William, Prince of Orange. The Dutchman was a Protestant and, in command of a powerful navy, he would be a very useful ally. Further, William was closely connected to the British royal family. William was, through his mother, the grandson of Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649), and he had married James II's daughter Mary in 1677. William was keen to have England's navy, professional army, and resources to aid him in his ongoing conflict with Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715).

As it turned out, William's invasion of England was remarkably tranquil, and King James, seeing desertions left, right, and centre – including by his daughter Anne – took the prudent action of escaping to France. This was the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Prince of Orange became William III of England and his wife Mary II of England (r. 1689-1694). The two ruled jointly until Mary died of smallpox in December 1694. Anne had an uneasy relationship with William whom she described in letters with derogatory terms such as "the Dutch monster" (Cannon, 308). Largely, the royal in-laws kept their relationship distant and formal.

William and Mary had no surviving children and so the late Mary's sister Anne was declared the official heir in February 1695. William died as the consequence of a riding accident on 8 March 1702. James II, still in exile in France, had died in 1701, but his son James (the Old Pretender) and grandson Charles (the Young Pretender) both carried on the flame of rebellion, especially in the Scottish Highlands. Nevertheless, Anne's throne was secure. The queen was, though, like William and Mary before her, now part of a constitutional monarchy, where Parliament was much more powerful than earlier Stuart times. In the decade or so following the Glorious Revolution, Parliament had gained the ultimate authority in the key areas of passing laws and raising taxes. No monarch could henceforth maintain their own standing army, only Parliament could declare war, and any new monarch had to swear at their coronation to uphold the Protestant Church. The monarch could not now dismiss Parliament on a whim and their accounts were controlled by the Civil List.

Anne was crowned in Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1702; she was 37 years old. She had married Prince George of Denmark (1653-1708), the son of Frederick III of Denmark (r. 1648-70) on 28 July 1683. King William made George the Duke of Cumberland, but he was largely ignored until Anne became queen, and even then his disinterest in political life ensured he remained a marginal figure. The couple had many children, but unfortunately, all but one died very young or were stillborn. The sole heir was William, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1689), but he, too, was a sickly child, and he died aged 12.

Key Reign Events

Personal Companions

Anne took a keen interest in her role as part of the apparatus of a constitutional monarchy. For example, she often sat in on cabinet meetings and even debates in the House of Lords, disguising herself as an ordinary woman. She knew her own mind and resisted pressure from others as seen even before her succession in the Churchill affair. John Churchill (future Duke of Marlborough, 1650-1722) was suspected of plotting a return of James II, and so Princess Anne was advised that Churchill's wife Sarah Jenyns (also spelt Jennings) was no longer a suitable member of her court. Although Anne had approved of William and Mary's Glorious Revolution, the princess refused to dismiss Sarah, causing the displeasure of her sister Queen Mary and resulting in her expulsion from Whitehall Palace. The two Stuart sisters never spoke to each other again. Eventually, Queen Anne tired of Sarah Jenyns' company – the final straw was a public argument outside St. Paul 's Cathedral over costume – and her new favourite became Abigail Masham. The queen's relationships with her closest female confidantes led to gossip and speculation that Anne was a lesbian.

Whigs & Tories

Anne's reign was a turbulent time in terms of politics. This was the period that saw a clearer formation of political parties. There were two main groups in Parliament: the Whigs and the Tories. The Whigs were a mix of wealthy landowners, business owners, and financial speculators. They were staunch defenders of Parliamentary powers and so only wished to see a very limited monarchy. The Tories were more reactionary and largely made up of country gentry who believed in the two great traditions of monarchy and church. Anne was above party politics, as she herself once stated: "All I desire is my liberty in encouraging and employing all those that concur faithfully in my service, whether they are Whigs or Tories" (Dicken, 256). Anne left affairs of state to her key ministers like the Lord Treasurer, Sidney, Baron Godolphin, the Secretary of State Robert Harley, and John Churchill (back in favour) who headed the armed forces and took charge of diplomatic affairs.

War of Spanish Succession

It was rare indeed for a monarch to enjoy an entirely peaceful reign, and Anne was no exception. The War of Spanish Succession of 1701-14 saw most of Europe become embroiled in just who should inherit the Spanish Empire after the death of Charles II of Spain. The conflict saw England gain several important victories, notably the taking of Gibraltar by Admiral Rooke in 1704 and, later in the same year, the great victory at the Battle of Blenheim in Germany which was masterminded by the Duke of Marlborough. In gratitude, Anne ensured public funds went into the building of the Churchill family home, the magnificent Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. More impressive British victories came in Ramillies in 1706 and Oudenarde in 1708. In 1713-15, the Treaty of Utrecht ended the War of Spanish Succession and resulted in an enlargement of the British colonies in North America (Newfoundland and Nova Scotia) and a lucrative monopoly contract to ship slaves from Africa to colonies of the Spanish Empire.

Act of Union

More key events included, in 1705, Britain's first copyright law being passed by Parliament, the Statute of Anne. In 1707, the Act of Union formally joined England and Scotland into a single kingdom now called Great Britain. This came about really in order to limit the possibility of the Scots returning to an independent monarch, such was their dislike of Anne's official heirs, the Hanoverian family, selected as such in the 1701 Act of Settlement. Under the Act of Union, the Scottish and English parliaments became one (with Westminster expanded to include 45 Scottish MPs), the currency of the two realms was made the same, free trade was granted, and a union flag adopted. The Scottish Presbyterian church, judiciary, and education system all remained independent. In order to pass through the act, multiple bribes were paid to Scottish nobles and a lump sum of £400,000 paid to Scotland. These behind-the-scenes efforts failed, though, to prevent riots of protest occurring in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Act of Union was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 16 January 1707 and by the English Parliament on 6 March. The year 1707 also saw the first general elections. 1708 brought the completion of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, built according to a magnificent baroque design by Sir Christopher Wren.

Queen Anne Furniture

Queen Anne gave her name to a style of decorative arts, seen particularly in furniture and driven by the fashion for tea parties where small chairs, side tables, and cabinets were used. The style first appeared in the reign of her predecessor William III, and it continued to be popular after Anne's reign. Queen Anne furniture, still highly collectable today, is frequently made from walnut and includes the use of cabriole (double-curved) legs with a foot made to resemble a claw or paw. A feature of Queen Anne chairs is a back which curves to match the contours of the spine.

Ailing Health & Successor

Anne was a well-liked queen. Cheerful, and with a fine-speaking voice, she was successful in her wars abroad (she frequently headed processions to victory services at St. Paul's cathedral) and was a promotor of good causes. Anne cultivated her Englishness – she had stated in her accession speech that unlike her predecessor William of Orange, "I know my heart to be entirely English" (Cannon, 308). The queen particularly liked to associate herself with Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603) and dressed accordingly. Anne was prone, like her mother, to corpulence, and her weight grew so that she was eventually obliged to use a sedan chair. Other physical ailments included rheumatism, gout, and eye problems. Queen Anne outlived her husband George by six years; she died at the age of 49 on 1 August 1714 at Kensington Palace after suffering two strokes. The queen's outsize coffin was interred in Westminster Abbey. Anne was the last of the Stuart monarchs, which had begun with Robert II of Scotland (r. 1371-1390). She was succeeded by George Ludwig, Elector of Hannover, who became George I of England (r. 1714-1727). George was Anne's nearest relation of the Protestant faith – Parliament had passed a law forbidding a Catholic to take the throne – and the first monarch of the House of Hanover, which was connected to the Stuarts through the descendants of Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England (r. 1603-1625). The change of ruling house was an opportunity not missed by the Jacobites, those who still supported the royal line through James II's son, the Old Pretender. James Francis Edward Stuart refused to renounce his Catholicism to make himself more appealing to his subjects, and a Jacobite rising was quashed in Scotland in 1715. So the Protestant monarchy of Britain continued as Queen Anne would have wished.

Subscribe to topic Related Content Books Cite This Work License

Bibliography

• Anderson, Angela & Scarboro, Dale. Stuart Britain 1603-1760. Hodder Education, 2015.
• Cannon, John & Hargreaves, Anne. The Kings and Queens of Britain . Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Cavendish, Richard. Kings & Queens. David & Charles, 2007.
• Lewis, Brenda Ralph. Dark History of the Kings & Queens of England. Sterling Publishing, 2015.
• Miller, John. Early Modern Britain, 1450–1750 . Cambridge University Press, 2017.
• Phillips, Charles. The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Kings & Queens of Britain. Lorenz Books, 2006.
• Starkey, David. Crown and Country. HarperPress, 2014.

About the Author

Translations

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate this definition into another language!

Questions & Answers

What was queen anne famous for, what did queen anne suffer from, who ruled after queen anne died, what are the features of queen anne furniture, related content.

Anne of Austria

Anne Boleyn

George I of Great Britain

Anne Hutchinson

The Coronation Ceremony of the British Monarchy

George II of Great Britain

Free for the world, supported by you.

World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.

Recommended Books

Cite This Work

Cartwright, M. (2022, September 16). Anne, Queen of Great Britain . World History Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain/

Chicago Style

Cartwright, Mark. " Anne, Queen of Great Britain ." World History Encyclopedia . Last modified September 16, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain/.

Cartwright, Mark. " Anne, Queen of Great Britain ." World History Encyclopedia . World History Encyclopedia, 16 Sep 2022. Web. 15 Aug 2024.

License & Copyright

Submitted by Mark Cartwright , published on 16 September 2022. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike . This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Biography of Queen Anne, Britain's Forgotten Queen Regnant

Successor to William and Mary after the Glorious Revolution

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

• European History Figures & Events
• Wars & Battles
• The Holocaust
• European Revolutions
• Industry and Agriculture History in Europe
• American History
• African American History
• African History
• Ancient History and Culture
• Asian History
• Latin American History
• Medieval & Renaissance History
• Military History
• The 20th Century
• Women's History

• M.F.A, Dramatic Writing, Arizona State University
• B.A., English Literature, Arizona State University
• B.A., Political Science, Arizona State University

Queen Anne (born Lady Anne of York; February 6, 1655 – August 1, 1714) was the last monarch of Great Britain’s Stuart dynasty . Although her reign was marred by her health problems and she left no Stuart heirs, her era included the union of England and Scotland, as well as international events that helped Britain rise to prominence on the world stage.

Fast Facts: Queen Anne

• Full Name : Anne Stuart, Queen of Great Britain
• Occupation : Queen regnant of Great Britain
• Born : February 6, 1665 at St. James's Palace, London, United Kingdom
• Died : August 1, 1714 at Kensington Palace, London, United Kingdom
• Key Accomplishments : Anne confirmed Britain as a power on the world stage and presided over the unification of Scotland with the rest of what is now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• Quote : “I know my own heart to be entirely English."

The Daughter of York's Early Years

Born on February 6, 1655, Anne Stuart was the second daughter and fourth child of James, Duke of York, and his wife Anne Hyde. James was the brother of the king, Charles II.

Although the Duke and Duchess had eight children, only Anne and her older sister Mary survived beyond early childhood. Like many royal children, Anne was sent away from her parents’ household; she grew up in Richmond along with her sister. Despite their parents’ Catholic faith, both girls were raised as Protestants on the orders of Charles II. Anne's education was otherwise quite limited – and was probably not helped by her lifelong poor eyesight. However, she did spend time at the French court as a young girl, which influenced her later in her reign.

King Charles II had no legitimate children, which meant that Anne's father James was his heir presumptive. After Anne Hyde’s death, James remarried, but he and his new wife did not have any children who survived infancy. This left Mary and Anne as his only heirs.

In 1677, Anne's sister Mary wed their Dutch cousin, William of Orange. The match was arranged by the Earl of Danby, who used the marriage to a Protestant nobleman as a way to curry favor with the king. This was in direct conflict with the Duke of York's wishes – he wanted to cultivate a Catholic alliance with France.

Marriage and Relationships

Soon, Anne also married. After years of rumors as to who she would marry – with her cousin and eventual successor Georg of Hanover as the most prominent candidate – Anne ultimately wed a man supported by her father and and her maternal uncle: Prince George of Denmark. The wedding took place in 1680. The marriage pleased Anne’s family, who hoped for an alliance between England and Denmark to contain the Dutch, but it frustrated William of Orange, her Dutch brother-in-law.

Despite an age gap of twelve years, the marriage between George and Anne was reported to be fond, even if George was described by many as deeply boring. Anne became pregnant eighteen times during their marriage, but thirteen of those pregnancies ended in miscarriages and only one child survived infancy. The competition for influence between their husbands continued to strain Anne and Mary’s once-close relationship, but Anne had a close confidante in her childhood friend Sarah Jennings Churchill, later the Duchess of Marlborough. Sarah was Anne’s dearest friend and most influential advisor for much of her life.

Overthrowing her Father in the Glorious Revolution

King Charles II died in 1685, and Anne's father, the Duke of York, succeeded him, becoming James II of England and James VII of Scotland. James quickly moved to restore Catholics to positions of power. This was not a popular move, even amongst his own family: Anne vehemently opposed the Catholic Church, despite her father’s attempts to control or convert her. In June 1688, James’ wife, Queen Mary, gave birth to a son, also named James.

Anne had resumed closer correspondence with her sister, so she was aware of plans being made to overthrow their father. Although Mary distrusted the Churchills, it was their influence that helped Anne finally decide to join with her sister and brother-in-law as they plotted to invade England.

On November 5, 1688, William of Orange landed on English shore. Anne refused to support her father, instead taking the side of her brother-in-law. James fled to France on December 23, and William and Mary were hailed as the new monarchs.

Even after years of marriage, William and Mary had no children to inherit the throne. Instead, they declared in 1689 that Anne and her descendants would reign after both of them died, followed by any children William might have if Mary predeceased him and he remarried.

Heiress to the Throne

Although Anne and Mary were reconciled during the Glorious Revolution, their relationship soured again when William and Mary attempted to deny her several honors and privileges, including housing and her husband’s military status. Anne turned again to Sarah Churchill, but the Churchills were suspected by William of conspiring with the Jacobites (supporters of James II’s infant son). William and Mary dismissed them, but Anne publicly continued to support them, causing a final rift between the sisters.

Mary died in 1694, making Anne the heir apparent to William. Anne and William reconciled to a degree. In 1700, Anne suffered a pair of losses: her final pregnancy ended in miscarriage, and her sole surviving child, Prince William, died at age eleven. Because this left the succession in question – Anne was not well, and she was of an age where more children were all but impossible – Parliament created the Act of Settlement: if Anne and William both died childless, the succession would go to the line of Sophia, Electress of Hanover , who was a descendant of the Stuart line through James I.

Becoming Queen Regnant

William died on March 8, 1702, and Anne became queen regnant of England. She was the first queen regnant who was married but did not share power with her husband (as her distant relative Mary I did). She was quite popular, emphasizing her English roots in contrast to her Dutch brother-in-law, and became an enthusiastic patron of the arts.

Anne was actively involved in affairs of state, although she attempted to sidestep partisan politics. Ironically, her reign saw the gap between the Tories and the Whigs widen even further. The most significant international event of her reign was the War of Spanish Succession, in which England fought alongside Austria and the Dutch Republic against France and Spain. England and its allies supported the (eventually losing) claim of Archduke Charles of Austria to the Spanish throne. Anne supported this war, as did the Whigs, which increased her closeness to their party and distanced her from the Churchills. In Sarah’s place, Anne came to rely on a lady-in-waiting, Abigail Hill, which further alienated her relationship with Sarah.

On May 1, 1707, the Acts of Union were ratified, bringing Scotland into the kingdom and establishing the unified entity of Great Britain. Scotland had resisted, insisting on the continuation of the Stuart dynasty even after Anne, and in 1708, her half-brother James attempted the first Jacobite invasion. The invasion never reached land.

Final Years, Death, and Legacy

Anne’s husband George died in 1708, a loss that devastated the queen. In subsequent years, the Whig government that supported the ongoing War of Spanish Succession grew unpopular, and although the new Tory majority had little interest in continuing to support the claim of Charles (now Holy Roman Emperor), they also wished to halt the ambitions of the French Bourbons. Anne created a dozen new peers in order to get the necessary majority in Parliament to make peace with France in 1711.

Anne’s health continued to decline. Although she vehemently supported the Hanoverian succession, rumors persisted that she secretly favored her half-brother. She had a stroke on July 30, 1714, and died two days later on August 1. She was buried beside her husband and children in Westminster Abbey. Because Electress Sophia had died two months prior, Sophia’s son and Anne’s long-ago suitor George of Hanover took the throne.

As queen regnant, Anne’s reign was relatively short—less than fifteen years. In that time, however, she proved her worth as a queen who maintained her authority even over her own husband, and she participated in some of the defining political moments of the era. Although her dynasty ended with her death, her actions secured the future of Great Britain.

• Gregg, Edward. Queen Anne . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.
• Johnson, Ben “Queen Anne.” Historic UK , https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Queen-Anne/
• “Anne, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica , https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-queen-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland
• Biography of King George VI, Britain’s Unexpected King
• Biography of Mary Boleyn, the Boleyn Survivor
• Biography of Prince Albert, Husband of Queen Victoria
• Biography of Queen Elizabeth I, Virgin Queen of England
• Queen Victoria Trivia
• Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee
• Who's Who in the Royal Family
• Biography of Marie-Antoinette, French Queen Consort
• Benjamin Disraeli: Novelist and British Statesman
• Biography of Queen Charlotte
• Biography of Mary of Teck, Royal British Matriarch
• Biography of Queen Alexandra
• Biography of Edward VII, Britain's Peaceful Playboy King
• Biography of Louis XV, Beloved King of France
• Biography of Margaret of Valois, France’s Slandered Queen
• Biography of Catherine de Medici, Renaissance Queen

• Advertise with us

• History Magazine
• History of Britain

The last of the Stuarts, Queen Anne was shy, conscientious, stout, gouty, shortsighted and very small. During her reign great deeds were done, great battles were fought and the United Kingdom was born…

Ben Johnson

Queen Anne (1665 – 1714) was the last of the Stuarts , the second daughter of James II and his first wife Ann Hyde. She was shy, conscientious, stout, gouty, shortsighted and very small.

Prince George was a gross, rather ridiculous figure, even King James, Anne’s father, remarked “I have tried him drunk and I’ve tried him sober, but there is nothing in him”.

Anne never enjoyed good health, and the almost constant pregnancies that ended in miscarriages did not help. She became pregnant 17 times, but only one child lived, William, who became the Duke of Gloucester. Unfortunately he died aged 11, it is thought of hydrocephalus.

Anne was 37 years old when she became queen in 1702. At her coronation she was suffering from a bad attack of gout and had to be carried to the ceremony in an open sedan chair with a low back, so that her six-yard train could pass to her ladies walking behind.

Her closest friend was Sarah Jennings, who was later to become the Duchess of Marlborough when her husband, John Churchill, was made Duke of Marlborough after his great victories over the French.

The friendship between Anne and Sarah Churchill is well documented. They were inseparable, and when they were apart they corresponded using ‘fanciful’ names. Sarah was Mrs Freeman and Anne, Mrs Morley.

They had been very close friends for many years before Anne became queen. Lady Clarendon, who was Anne’s first Lady of the Bedchamber, said Sarah ‘looked like a mad women and talked like a scholar’.

Later, Sarah was to be supplanted in Anne’s affections by a cousin of hers, Abigail Hill. She had caught the Queen’s attention during Sarah’s frequent absences from Court, and Sarah was never again to be the Queen’s closest confidant.

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough was one of England’s greatest soldiers, a brilliant exponent of the use of mobility and firepower in the field.

The story goes that the queen was playing dominoes at Windsor when a Colonel Parke brought her a momentous message from the Duke of Marlborough.

It was addressed to Sarah, and was written on the back of a tavern bill…it read ‘I have not time to say more, but I beg you will give my duty to the Queen and let her know that her army has had a glorious victory’. The glorious victory was over the French, and the battle was Blenheim.

The Queen with tears running down her cheeks gave Parke a miniature of herself and a thousand guineas in reward.

The year was 1704 and in 1706 there was another great victory at Ramillies, followed by another at Oudenarde in 1708, and at Malplaquet in 1709.

To show the country’s appreciation, Anne and Parliament gave the Duke of Marlborough land at Woodstock in Oxfordshire , and built him a magnificent house, designed by Vanburgh, called Blenheim Palace . Another famous member of the Churchill family, Winston Spencer Churchill was born there in 1874.

In 1704 the English captured Gibraltar and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ensured that England had a permanent foothold on the Spanish mainland.

The reign of Queen Anne was a brilliant one …and one which included many exceptionally talented men: Swift, Pope, Addison and Steele were writing prose and verse, Sir Christopher Wren was finishing the building of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Locke and Newton were propounding their new theories.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain was created during her reign by the Union of England and Scotland .

Anne herself created ‘Queen Anne’s Bounty’ which restored to the Church an increase in the incomes of the poorer clergy, a fund raised from the tithes which Henry VIII had taken for his own use.

Having endured ill health most of her life, Queen Anne died after suffering a stroke on Sunday 1st August 1714 at the age of 49.

Queen Anne does not enjoy the same place in history as some other Queens of England, perhaps because she lacked the charisma of Elizabeth I , Mary I and Victoria , yet in her reign great deeds were done.

During her reign she oversaw the creation of the United Kingdom, Britain became a major military power and the foundations were laid for the 18th century’s Golden Age.

Published: 20th February 2015.

History in your inbox

Sign up for monthly updates

Advertisement

Next article.

Historic Allies and Enemies of Great Britain

Since the Act of Union in 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain has fought in over 120 wars across a total of 170 countries...

Popular searches

• Castle Hotels
• Coastal Cottages
• Cottages with Pools
• Kings and Queens

For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Not sure how to enable it? Please use the following link: http://enable-javascript.com/

Skip to content or footer

The stoical Stuart who, despite ill health and tragedy, was a surprisingly successful monarch

Queen Anne, younger daughter of James II, is often overlooked by historians, yet her time on the throne (1702-14) changed Britain forever. Her reign saw the end of the Stuart dynasty and laid the way for the Georgian era. Queen Anne completed the building of the baroque palace at Hampton Court Palace , and lived and died at Kensington Palace .

Her life story reveals intriguing contradictions:  Anne was a dedicated and conscientious stateswoman who oversaw the lasting union of England and Scotland, she was also  a mother in poor health, who endured 17 pregnancies and outlived all her children. Painfully shy, yet able to assert her authority when needed. Devoted to her kind but dull husband, yet entangled in passionate female friendships.

As fascination grows with her favourites, Lady Sarah Churchill and Lady Abigail Masham, it is time to look more closely at this remarkable queen.

A Stuart princess

Anne was born into the heart of royal and political life on 6 February 1665. The daughter of James, Duke of York (who became King James II), and his first wife, Anne Hyde, her uncle was King Charles II.

When she was born, it was not anticipated that Anne would become queen. While her education was more suitable for a domestic lady than a future queen, it did instill in her a strong loyalty to the Church of England.

Although Anne’s father was a Catholic, on Charles II’s instructions she and her elder sister Mary were raised as Protestants. 

Image: Queen Anne (1665-1714) when a princess c1668-70, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Anne's early life

The course of Anne’s life was defined by the politics of royal succession, and the conflicts between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.

Her mother died when she was only 6 years old, and her father’s second marriage in 1673 to Mary of Modena confirmed his allegiance to the Roman Catholic faith.

Image: James II, when Duke of York with Anne Hyde, Princess Mary, later Mary II and Princess Anne c1668-85, Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

A French childhood

Anne spent part of her childhood in France, being treated for an eye problem. Although she continued to have poor sight throughout her life, her French was excellent, which came in useful when dealing with foreign ambassadors later as queen.

Connections with Europe were strong, and Anne’s sister Mary married William of Orange, Stadholder of Holland in 1677, leaving England to live with her new husband.

Did you know?

When Anne’s father remarried in 1671, his new wife was less than four years older than her sister Mary.

Female friendships

Anne, quiet and lacking confidence by nature, needed passionate, close and loyal human connection. Her female friendships were very important to her.

As young women, she and her sister Mary exchanged passionate letters with other women.

Mary addressed Lady Frances Apsley as her ‘husband’, while Anne begged Lady Sarah Churchill to always be by her side.

Anne’s passionate love for Sarah would change the course of both women’s lives. 

Image: Queen Anne when princess, © National Portrait Gallery, London

The rise of Lady Sarah Churchill

Sarah, the daughter of an impoverished gentry family, first came to court in 1673 as a maid of honour to Mary of Modena. She was five years older than Anne. With her confident character, she must have impressed the young princess.

Sarah met her husband, John Churchill, at court. He was a page to Anne’s father, James. Despite opposition from their families, they married in secret in the winter of 1677-8. A love match, at a time when this wasn’t always the case among noble families, they had a strong marriage.

Their allegiance to Anne, and John’s talent as a military commander, helped the couple climb the social hierarchy, becoming Duke and Duchess of Marlborough in 1702.

Image: Sarah Churchill, after Sir Godfrey Kneller, © National Portrait Gallery, London

Oh come to me tomorrow as soon as you can that I may cleave myself to you.

Anne (pictured) to Sarah Churchill. Queen Anne when Princess of Denmark c1683, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Anne's marriage to Prince George of Denmark

As a princess, Anne needed to make a politically suitable marriage. A match between Anne and Georg Ludwig, the elector of Hanover (and the future King George I ) was briefly suggested when he visited England from 1680-1681. It was not to be.

Instead, in 1683 a political match was made between Anne and Prince George of Denmark (1653-1708). They married on 28 July 1683.

Image: Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland after John Riley, © National Portrait Gallery, London

I have tried him drunk and I have tried him sober and there is nothing in him.

Charles II being cruel about Prince George of Denmark. Painting by the studio of John Riley, © National Portrait Gallery, London

A life of love and tragedy

Despite his reputation for dullness, Anne came to love George very dearly, and unlike many royal couples, they regularly shared a bed.

Their personal life was marked by the tragedy of losing 18 children (including twins) through miscarriage, stillbirth and early death. Two of their daughters, Mary and Anne Sophia, died within days of each other, both aged under two years, of smallpox in 1687.

Anne and George liked Hampton Court Palace for its clean country air, and Anne enjoyed hunting in the palace grounds.

Anne's longed-for heir

The politics of their age meant this was a tragedy not just inside the palace walls, but outside them, as the future of the Stuart dynasty came to depend on Anne’s ability to produce an heir.

Only one of Anne’s children survived beyond infancy. William, Duke of Gloucester was born at Hampton Court Palace on 24 July 1689.

His health was initially weak, but as he grew older he took a keen interest in military affairs. He drilled his own regiment of boys from Kensington, dressed as little soldiers.

Image: Queen Anne and William, Duke of Gloucester, © National Portrait Gallery, London

The 'warming-pan' baby

On 10 June 1688, Anne’s stepmother, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a baby boy, in a beautiful state bed you can now see at Kensington Palace.

Earlier, Anne had alleged that the pregnancy was false. This healthy baby boy displaced Mary and Anne in the royal succession, James II now had a male heir who could be brought up in the Catholic faith.

Anne refused to attend the birth, and rumours soon spread that the baby was an imposter, smuggled into the bedchamber in a warming-pan to replace a still-born baby prince. 

She never accepted that the baby, James Francis Edward Stuart, known as ‘The Old Pretender’, was legitimate.

The 'Mary of Modena' bed at Kensington Palace, © Historic Royal Palaces

The 'Glorious Revolution'

In November 1688, Anne’s brother-in-law William invaded England, at the invitation of a group of English statesmen. Anne supported the revolution, encouraged by Lady Sarah Churchill.

James II was deposed in what became known as the ‘Glorious Revolution’, with no loss of life, and fled to exile.

William III and Mary II became joint sovereigns, and Anne, as Mary’s sister, became heir to the throne should they not produce children.

William, when Prince of Orange, 1685 by Willem Wissing, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mrs Morley and Mrs Freeman

Sarah’s influence over Anne increased, and Anne’s support for her and her husband, Marlborough, caused a rift to grow between the princess and her sister Queen Mary.

Despite this, their relationship deepened. In 1691 Anne suggested that she and Sarah should call each other 'Mrs Morley' and 'Mrs Freeman' in their letters, to create a relationship of equals, not a princess and her lady.

'I had rather live in a cottage with you than reign empress of the world without you.' Queen Anne to Lady Sarah Churchill, 1692

In their letters, Anne and Sarah referred to their husbands as ‘Mr Morley’ and ‘Mr Freeman’.

Death of Anne's sister, Mary II

Anne’s health declined in the 1690s as repeated pregnancies and chronic illnesses took their physical toll. Now in her thirties, she could barely walk. However, she remained forceful in her politics, maintaining a separate court to rival William and Mary’s.

On 28 December 1694 Queen Mary II died of smallpox at Kensington Palace. With no heir of his own, King William III was forced to reconcile with Anne, who had the strongest claim to the throne.

Image: Queen Mary II attributed to Jan van der Vaart, © National Portrait Gallery, London

Death of Anne's son and William III

On 30 July 1700, the Stuart dynasty lost its only Protestant heir. Anne’s beloved son, William, Duke of Gloucester, died of smallpox at Hampton Court Palace. He was 11 years old.

Anne’s personal tragedy changed British history, as the Act of Settlement of 1701 secured the Protestant Hanoverians, descendants of James I, as heirs to the British throne. Georg Ludwig of Hanover, once a contender for Anne’s hand in marriage, would now one day become King George I.

On the 8 March 1702, William III, injured in a riding accident, died at Kensington Palace . Anne was now queen of a country engaged in a bloody war in Europe, with rising factions of Whigs and Tories dominating politics.

William, Duke of Gloucester, attributed to William Wolfgang Claret, © National Portrait Gallery, London

The ascension of Queen Anne

Queen Anne’s first speech to Parliament set the direction of her reign, including her commitment to a Protestant succession.

She emphasised her own Englishness, in a critique of her Dutch predecessor, William III.

Anne was a surprisingly good public speaker, an impressive achievement for somebody normally very shy. 

Image: Queen Anne (1665-1714) in the House of Lords c1708-14, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

She pronounced this, as she did all her other speeches, with great weight and authority.

Bishop Gilbert Burnet on Queen Anne’s first speech to Parliament

What type of queen was Anne?

Even in her own lifetime, Anne was believed to be too weak to be an effective queen. The rise of Lady Sarah and Marlborough after her accession added to the impression that she was ruled over by her favourite. This is wrong. Anne proved to be a hardworking, resolute and popular monarch.

She attended the House of Lords regularly, met daily with her ministers, and successfully navigated rival political views to dominate politics as a parliamentary monarch. 

Anne survived smallpox, a disease that killed three of her children and her sister.

A moderate queen

Anne pursued moderation as a political strategy, a necessary tactic at a time of war, with competing political viewpoints.

The Whig faction, which included Lady Sarah Churchill and the Duke of Marlborough, supported Britain’s involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession.

The Tories gained greater power throughout Anne’s reign, winning control in 1710. The shift in political opinion contributed to the end of the war in 1713.

Image: Detail of Queen Anne's Procession to the Houses of Parliament c.1702-20, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Anne supported the Acts of Union of 1707, which united the crowns of England and Scotland into one country. She also successfully laid the way for George I to succeed her, while never letting him visit England during her reign, in case his presence threatened her power.

Image: Queen Anne receiving the articles of the Acts of Union between England and Scotland by Valentine Green after Johann Gerhard Huck, 1786 © Historic Royal Palaces

Death of Prince George

Queen Anne did all this while disabled by her poor health, and while negotiating an increasingly difficult relationship with Lady Sarah Churchill. 

The death of her beloved husband Prince George at Kensington Palace from severe asthma on 28 October 1708 left her devastated. It was only with great reluctance, after the insistence of Lady Sarah, that she abandoned her vigil by his body.

Anne resented these intrusive actions, yet Sarah continued to try to control and undermine the queen as she mourned, a mistake that further divided this once strong friendship.

As, James Brydges, Duke of Chandos, described it: ‘His death has flung the Queen into an unspeakable grief, She never left him till he was dead, but continued kissing him the moment the breath went out of his body.’

Image: Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Anne's favourites

Sarah had been Anne’s ‘favourite’, her closest friend who was also her political advisor and fixer. Wielding power on the monarch’s behalf, a favourite could accrue money and influence for themselves and their family.

The growing divide between Sarah and Anne during her reign was filled by another woman who gave the queen the support and friendship she needed, Sarah’s cousin, Abigail Hill. 

Anne oversaw Abigail’s rise from bedchamber woman to royal favourite.

Abigail replaces Sarah as favourite

In 1707 Anne was present at Abigail’s advantageous, but secret, marriage to Samuel Masham, who was an army officer who was groom of the bedchamber to Prince George, and gave her £2,000 as a dowry. Anne’s further favour towards Abigail, including a luxurious redecoration of her apartments at Kensington Palace, provoked the volatile Sarah’s fury.

Abigail may have begun her royal service as a close servant, dressing and waiting on the Queen, but she soon wielded great political influence. She was a close ally of the politician Robert Harley, a political rival to the Marlboroughs. Samuel Masham may even have married Abigail because of the influence she now had over the Queen.

Image: Abigail Hill, Lady Masham, © Philip Mould Ltd, London/Bridgeman Images

Anne and Sarah's final argument

Anne and Sarah had their final, terrible, argument on 6 April 1710 at Kensington Palace. Anne refused to answer Sarah’s furious words, insisting that anything she had to say could be put in writing.

Sarah then attempted to blackmail the Queen. While Anne had destroyed the letters from Sarah writing as ‘Mrs Freeman’, Sarah had kept Anne’s letters as ‘Mrs Morley’, and now threatened to publish them.

Sarah’s political allies spread rumours that Anne and Abigail’s relationship was physical, talking of ‘dark deeds at night’. In doing so, Sarah ensured her own notoriety and influenced history’s view of Anne forever.

As sovereign, Anne used the King’s State Apartments at Kensington Palace, not the Queen’s.

Whatever you have to say, you may write it.

Anne’s devastating words, repeated relentlessly to Sarah (pictured) at their final meeting, © National Portrait Gallery, London

The death of Queen Anne

On Friday, 30 July 1714, Anne had a series of severe strokes.

Her doctors treated her with bleeding, blistering, hot irons and garlic on her feet, an appalling treatment that caused the dying Queen great pain.

On Saturday, the Privy Council invited Georg Ludwig of Hanover to come to England as soon as possible as it was obvious the Queen's end was near. 

Anne died at 7:45 am on Sunday, 1 August 1714, aged 49, at Kensington Palace.

The last of the Stuarts, her body lay at the palace for three weeks. Her funeral on 24 August 1714 was held at Westminster Abbey, where she is buried. 

Image: Queen Anne, © National Portrait Gallery, London

A changed country

Queen Anne left no clear will: perhaps her fear of death meant she could not bring herself to sign one, yet she left her country changed forever.

She created the United Kingdom as we know it today and prepared the way for the Hanoverians, the dynasty of the Georgians, who ruled Britain until Queen Victoria.

Queen Anne worked with a new kind of monarchy that we recognise today. No longer would monarchs rule by the divine right of kings, a belief that led her grandfather, Charles I, to the scaffold. Instead, monarchs ruled in conjunction with parliament.

Queen Anne commissioned the huge oak reredos (altar backdrop) in the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court.

Discover Queen Anne's story

Queen Anne's legacy can be seen in her decoration of The Queen's Apartments , her transformation of the Chapel Royal and the East Front gardens at Hampton Court Palace. At Kensington Palace, she built The Orangery, as a greenhouse where she held balls.

Anne’s reign created modern Britain, and today at Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace you can walk in her footsteps in the places where this great queen lived, loved and ruled.

Image: The Queen's Drawing Room painted ceiling at Hampton Court Palace, showing Anne surrounded by a host of personified virtues, © Historic Royal Palaces

Listen to the podcast

Despite ill health and tragedy, Queen Anne was a surprisingly successful monarch. In the first of two archive episodes, historian Dr Anne Somers takes us through the life of Queen Anne and encourages us to rethink her reign.

BROWSE MORE HISTORY AND STORIES

William III and Mary II

England's only joint sovereigns, who transformed Kensington Palace into a royal residence

The story of Kensington Palace

An elegant retreat for Britain's royal family

A history of royal weddings

From Queen Victoria to the modern royals

EXPLORE WHAT'S ON

• Things to see

Untold Lives

A new exhibition at Kensington Palace, uncovering the forgotten stories of those who worked at the royal palaces over 300 years ago.

• Until 27 October 2024
• In line with palace opening hours
• Kensington Palace
• Included in palace admission (members go free)

The Palace Gardens

Walk in the footsteps of royalty in the beautiful Kensington Palace gardens.

• 10:00 - 18:00

The Queen’s State Apartments

Explore the beautiful private rooms at Kensington Palace where Mary II once took her meals, relaxed and entertained.

Shop online

Courtiers: The Secret History of Kensington Palace

Told through the eyes of a courtier, this fascinating book explores the ambitious and talented people who flocked to the Georgian court in search of power and prestige.

£12.99

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

Anne summary

Know about the life and reign of anne, queen of great britain and the last stuart monarch.

Anne , (born Feb. 6, 1665, London, Eng.—died Aug. 1, 1714, London), Queen of Great Britain (1702–14) and the last Stuart monarch. Second daughter of James II , who was overthrown by William III in 1688, Anne became queen on William’s death (1702). Though she wished to rule independently, her intellectual limitations and poor health led her to rely on advisers, including the duke of Marlborough . Her reign was marked by the Act of Union with Scotland (1707) and by bitter rivalries between Whigs and Tories. Because she never gave birth to a successor, the regency passed to the Hanoverian descendants of James I.

Your guide to Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs

Queen Anne (1665–1714) was the last of the Stuart monarchs, remembered for achieving the union of England and Scotland in 1707 and for bringing the War of the Spanish Succession to a conclusion. James Anderson Winn, professor of English at Boston University, explores the life and reign of Queen Anne, bringing you the facts about the royal and her court…

• Share on facebook
• Share on twitter
• Share on whatsapp
• Email to a friend

A quick guide to Queen Anne

Born: 6 February 1665

Died: 1 August 1714

Ruled from: 1702 to 1714

Family: The daughter of James, Duke of York (later James II) and Anne Hyde

Successor: Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, who ruled as George I

More like this

Remembered for: Achieving the Union of England and Scotland and bringing the War of the Spanish Succession to a conclusion

• The Favourite : The real history behind the new Queen Anne film

What was Queen Anne like as a princess?

Anne Stuart and her older sister Mary were the only surviving offspring of James, Duke of York by his first Duchess, Anne Hyde. At the age of three, Anne was sent to France to have her eyes treated (as she suffered from an eye condition). There she stayed more than two years, learning the language perfectly.

In 1671, not long after her return, her mother died, and her father, who had become a Roman Catholic, was soon in search of a duchess. His 15-year-old bride, Maria Beatrice of Modena, was less than four years older than Princess Mary, who would later be married (at 15) to William of Orange.

• How popular was Queen Anne? Tracy Borman explains…

Princess Anne’s own marriage was delayed by politics: fearful of Catholics in the wake of a supposed plot to assassinate the king, a strong party in parliament attempted to pass laws preventing James from succeeding to the throne. Charles sought to defuse the crisis by sending James and Maria to Scotland, where Anne visited them in 1681–82.

• Listen| Amanda Vickery, Hallie Rubenhold and Hannah Greig discuss the acclaimed historical drama The Favourite

In 1683, shortly after Charles had defeated his foes, Anne married Prince George of Denmark. When the king died (on Anne’s 20th birthday), her father succeeded as James II, but his arrogant attitude toward parliament and his aggressive Catholicism alienated the English establishment, and a group of powerful men invited William of Orange to invade.

• How glorious was the Glorious Revolution?

Anne and her husband supported the Revolution of 1688, which replaced James II with William and Mary, though they later had reasons to regret that choice. The princess, who had already suffered several miscarriages and had lost two infant daughters to smallpox in 1687, gave birth to a son in 1689, just months after the coronation. As William, Duke of Gloucester, he would live the longest of her children.

Despite the welcome presence of a Protestant heir, the two sisters quarreled, and when William removed John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, from his court and military posts, Mary insisted that Anne part company with Sarah Churchill, who was her favorite. Refusing to obey this command, Anne left the court and moved into separate lodgings – this was the beginning of estrangement that continued until Mary’s death in 1694. To Anne’s eternal regret, Gloucester died in 1700, a few days after his 11th birthday.

Who were Queen Anne's feuding favourites? 

• The 10 best English queens in history

Queen Anne's reign

When William died (on 8 March 1702), Anne succeeded to the throne. Within a few weeks she had named Marlborough as her Captain-General and her longtime friend Sidney Godolphin as Lord Treasurer. For most of her reign, these two men executed her policies at home and abroad. Forming an alliance with the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, the queen declared war on France in May, and Marlborough won significant victories at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709).

Despite these unprecedented successes, domestic politics were fierce. The Tory party gained a substantial majority in the election of 1702, and withstood an attempt by the ministry to break their power in 1705. The Whigs swept into power in 1708, but were soundly defeated in 1710 and 1713.

Because the party holding a majority in parliament did not automatically gain all the ministerial posts, the queen was subject to relentless partisan pressure from both sides, yet she managed to prevent party passions from erupting into violence, and achieved a major success in forging the Union with Scotland in 1707.

What were the Acts of Union during Queen Anne's reign?

• Why isn't Queen Anne more fondly remembered?

The later years and death of Queen Anne

Anne was left devastated by the death of her beloved George, aged 55, in 1708. At the time when she needed loved ones the most, she couldn’t rely on them. Her relationship with Sarah had soured over politics, as she grew frustrated by her friend’s pro-Whig stance and insistence that the Queen should appoint men against her wishes. Things only intensified with George’s death, and they parted company. Anne found a new favourite in Harley’s cousin Abigail Masham, signalling a shift in who held influence over the Queen. Unsurprisingly, the dismissals of Marlborough and Godolphin followed. All Anne knew had been shaken or removed, and there was little left on this Earth to comfort her.

At 7.30am on 1 August 1714, Anne passed away, worn out physically and mentally. One of her doctors wrote: “Sleep was never more welcome to a weary traveller than death was to her.”

At the time of her death, Anne had grown so vast that she had to be placed in a square-shaped coffin, before being carried (once again) to Westminster Abbey and buried next to her faithful husband. The Stuart line ended, and George I became the first Hanoverian king.

• Everything you wanted to know about the Georgians

The reign of Anne, it could be argued, fulfilled the promise that she made on her coronation. While a nation’s happiness is a subjective matter, England certainly became more prosperous, with gains made in the war, the unification with Scotland and a flourishing in the arts, architecture and culture.

Today, we still talk of Queen Anne furniture. Her unfair assessment as weak-willed and ignorant stems from the pen of the embittered Sarah. In her memoirs, she commented: “She certainly meant well and was not a fool, but nobody can maintain that she was wise, nor entertaining in conversations.”

Anne lived at a time when monarchy gave way to parliamentary authority, but she wielded power when she could, appointed who she thought to be the right people, like any monarch before or after her, and provided the first female royal voice in a century, since Elizabeth, and the last for another century, when Victoria would be crowned. And she did it all facing debilitating illnesses and enduring more heartbreak than most could be.

James Anderson Winn is a professor of English at Boston University and the author of Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts (Oxford University Press, 2014) .

This article was first published by History Extra in July 2014

Subscriber exclusive: 10% off Gloucester History Festival 2024 when try 5 issues for £5

Sign up for the weekly HistoryExtra newsletter

Sign up to receive our newsletter!

By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy . You can unsubscribe at any time.

Summer Sale - 5 issues for £5

+ 10% off Gloucester History Festival event tickets

USA Subscription offer!

Save 76% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $45 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com

HistoryExtra podcast

Listen to the latest episodes now

Queen Anne of Great Britain

Anne (February 6, 1665 – August 1, 1714) became Queen of England , Scotland and Ireland on March 8, 1702, succeeding William III and II . Her Roman Catholic father, James II and VII , was forcibly deposed in 1688; her brother-in-law and her sister then became joint monarchs as William III-II and Mary II , the only such case in British history. After Mary's death in 1694, William continued as sole monarch until his own death in 1702. On May 1, 1707, under the Acts of Union 1707 , England and Scotland were united as a single state , the Kingdom of Great Britain . Anne became its first sovereign, while continuing to hold the separate crown of Queen of Ireland. Anne reigned for 12 years until her death in August of 1714.

• 1.1 Childhood
• 1.2 Accession of James II
• 1.3 The Glorious Revolution
• 1.4 William and Mary
• 1.5 The Act of Settlement
• 2.1 The War of the Spanish Succession
• 2.2 The Act of Union
• 2.3 Two Party politics
• 2.4 Death of husband
• 2.5 Later years
• 3.1 In entertainment
• 3.2 Annapolis
• 3.3 Titles, styles, honors and arms
• 4.1 Ancestors
• 6 References
• 7 External Links

Anne's life was marked by many crises, both personally and relating to succession of the Crown and religious polarization. Because she died without surviving issue, Anne was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. She was succeeded by her second cousin, George I, of the House of Hanover, who was a descendant of the Stuarts through his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, daughter of James I . Anne's reign was marked by an increase in the influence of ministers and a decrease in the influence of the Crown. In 1708, Anne became the last British Sovereign to withhold the Royal Assent from a bill (in this case, a Scots militia bill). Preoccupied with her health, (she suffered from porphyria ), Anne allowed her ministers, most notably Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, as well as her favorite companions (Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough and Abigail Masham) to dominate politics. However, the clock could not be set back in terms of the development of a system of governance which, while not yet a full blown democracy, saw more people participating in the decision-making process.

Anne was born in Saint James's Palace of London , the second daughter of James, Duke of York, (afterwards James II) and his first wife, the Lady Anne Hyde. Her paternal uncle was King Charles II , and her older sister was the future Mary II. Anne and Mary were the only children of the Duke and Duchess of York to survive into adulthood. As a child, Anne suffered from an eye infection, and was sent to France for treatment, where she lived with her grandmother, Henrietta Maria of France. After her aunt's death, Anne lived with Henrietta Anne, Duchess d'Orléans, another aunt, and returned to England in 1670. In about 1673, Anne made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who became her close friend and one of her most influential advisers. Jennings later married John Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough, who became one of Anne's most important generals.

In 1673, Anne's father's conversion to Roman Catholicism became public. On the instructions of her uncle, Charles II , however, Anne and her sister Mary were raised as strict Protestants. On July 28, 1683, Anne married the Protestant Prince George of Denmark, brother of the Danish King Christian V, who was also her third cousin through Frederick II). Although this was not a popular union at the time, it ended up as one of great domestic happiness and friendship. Sarah Churchill became Anne's Lady of the Bedchamber, and, by Anne's desire to mark their mutual intimacy and affection, all deference of their ranks was abandoned, and the two ladies called each other Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman.

Accession of James II

When Charles II died in 1685 (converting to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed), Anne's father ascended the Throne as James II. James was not well-received by the English people. Public alarm increased when James's second wife, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a son (James Francis Edward) on June 10, 1688, and a Roman Catholic dynasty became all the more likely. Anne was not present on the occasion, having gone to Bath, and this gave rise to a belief that the child was spurious. However, it is most probable that James desired to exclude all Protestants from affairs of state, as he was Roman Catholic. "I shall never now be satisfied," Anne wrote to her sister Mary of the event, "whether the child be true or false. It may be it is our brother, but God only knows … one cannot help having a thousand fears and melancholy thoughts, but whatever changes may happen you shall ever find me firm to my religion and faithfully yours." [1] Princess Anne's sister and brother-in-law, Mary and William, subsequently invaded England to dethrone the unpopular and despotic James II in the Glorious Revolution .

The Glorious Revolution

Forbidden by James to pay Mary a projected visit in the spring of 1688, Anne corresponded with her, and was no doubt aware of William's plans to invade England. On the advice of the Churchills - Anne's conduct during this period was probably influenced a great deal by the Churchills - she refused to show any sympathy for James after William landed in November and wrote instead to William, declaring her approval of his action. Churchill abandoned the king on the 24th of that month, with Prince George following his actions on the 25th. When James returned to London on the 26th, he found that Anne and her lady-in-waiting had followed their husbands' examples during the previous night.

Escaping from Whitehall by a back staircase, they put themselves under the care of the bishop of London, spent one night in his house, and subsequently arrived on the 1st of December at Nottingham, where the princess first made herself known and appointed a council. Thence she travelled to Oxford, where she met Prince George, in triumph, escorted by a large company. Like Mary, she was reproached for showing no concern at the news of the king's flight, but her justification was that "she never loved to do anything that looked like an affected constraint." [2] She returned to London on December 19, where she was at once visited by her brother-in-law William .

In 1689, a Convention Parliament assembled and declared that James had abdicated the realm when he attempted to flee, and that the throne was therefore vacant. The Crown was offered to Mary, but accepted jointly by, William and Mary , who thereafter ruled as the only joint monarchs in British history. The Bill of Rights 1689 settled succession to the Throne, with Princess Anne and her descendants in the line of succession after William and Mary. They were to be followed by any descendants of William by a future marriage.

William and Mary

Soon after their accession, William and Mary rewarded Churchill by granting him the Earldom of Marlborough. Their subsequent treatment of the Marlboroughs, however, was not as favorable. In 1692, suspecting that Lord Marlborough was a Jacobite, Mary dismissed him from all of his offices and duties. Lady Marlborough was subsequently removed from the Royal Household, leading Princess Anne to angrily leave her royal residence for Syon House, the Duke of Northumberland's home. Princess Anne was then stripped of her guard of honor, and the guards at the royal palaces were forbidden to salute her husband.

When Mary II died of smallpox in 1694, William III continued to reign alone. Anne then became his heir apparent, since any children he might have by another wife were assigned to a lower place in the line of succession. Seeking to improve his own popularity (which had always been much lower than that of his wife), he restored Princess Anne to her previous honors, allowing her to reside in Saint James's Palace. At the same time, William kept her in the background and refrained from appointing her regent during his absence.

In 1695, William sought to win Princess Anne's favor by restoring Marlborough to all of his offices. In return, Anne gave her support to William's government, though about this time, in 1696—according to James, in consequence of the near prospect of the throne—she wrote to her father asking for his leave to wear the crown at William's death, and promising its restoration at a convenient opportunity. The unfounded rumor that William contemplated settling the succession after his death on James's son, provided he were educated a Protestant in England, may possibly have alarmed her.

The Act of Settlement

During this period, Prince George and Princess Anne suffered great personal misfortune. By 1700, the future Queen had been pregnant at least eighteen times; thirteen of which, she miscarried or gave birth to stillborn children. Of the remaining five children, four died before reaching the age of two years. Her only son to survive infancy, William, Duke of Gloucester, died at the age of eleven on 29 July 1700, precipitating a succession crisis. William and Mary did not have any children; thus, Princess Anne, the heir apparent to the Throne, was the only individual remaining in the line of succession established by the Bill of Rights . If the line of succession were totally extinguished, then it would have been open for the deposed King James or his son James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender") to claim the Throne.

Thus, to preclude a Roman Catholic from obtaining the Crown, Parliament enacted the Act of Settlement 1701, which provided that, failing the issue of Princess Anne and of William III by any future marriage, the Crown would go to Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her descendants, who descended from James I of England through Elizabeth Stuart. Several genealogically senior claimants were disregarded due to their Catholicism, and Anne acquiesced to the new line of succession created by the Act of Settlement.

William III died on March 8, 1702 and Anne was crowned on April 23.

Anne's reign

The war of the spanish succession.

Almost as soon as she succeeded to the throne, Anne became embroiled in the War of the Spanish Succession . This war, in which England supported the claim of Archduke Charles to succeed to the Spanish Throne, would continue until the last years of Anne's reign, and would dominate both foreign and domestic policy.

Soon after her ascension, Anne appointed her husband Lord High Admiral, giving him control of the Royal Navy. Anne gave control of the army to Lord Marlborough, whom she appointed Captain-General. Marlborough also received numerous honors from the Queen; he was created a Knight of the Garter and was elevated to the ducal rank. The Duchess of Marlborough was appointed to the post of Mistress of the Robes, the highest office a lady could attain.

The Act of Union

In passing the Act of Settlement, in 1701, the English Parliament had neglected to consult with the Parliament of Scotland or Estates of Scotland, which, in part, wished to preserve the Stuart dynasty and its right of inheritance to the Throne. The Scottish response to the Settlement was to pass the Act of Security; a bill which stated that - failing the issue of the Queen - the Estates had the power to choose the next Scottish monarch from amongst the numerous descendants of the royal line of Scotland. (The individual chosen by the Estates could not be the same person who came to the English Throne, unless various religious, economic, and political conditions were met). Though it was originally not forthcoming, Royal Assent to the act, was granted when the Scottish Parliament threatened to withdraw Scottish troops from the Duke of Marlborough's army in Europe and refused to impose taxes.

In its turn, the English Parliament—fearing that an independent Scotland would restore the Auld Alliance with France—responded with the Alien Act 1705, which provided that economic sanctions would be imposed and Scottish subjects would be declared aliens putting their right to own property in England into jeopardy, unless Scotland either repealed the Act of Security, or moved to unite with England. Eventually the Estates chose the latter option, and Commissioners were appointed to negotiate the terms of a union between the two countries. Articles of Union were approved by the Commissioners on July 22, 1706, and were agreed to by the Scottish Parliament on January 16, 1707. Under the Act, England and Scotland became one realm called Great Britain on May 1, 1707.

Two Party politics

Anne's reign was further marked by the development of a two-party system as the new era of parliamentary governance unfolded and matured. Anne personally preferred the Tory Party, but "endured" the Whigs. However, she did not openly declare which party she belonged to.

Anne's first ministry was primarily Tory, with Sidney Godolphin, 1st Baron Godolphin at its head. But the Whigs—who were, unlike the Tories, vigorous supporters of the War of the Spanish Succession—became much more influential after the Duke of Marlborough won a great victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. The Whigs rose to power on the strength of Marlborough's victory, and almost all the Tories were removed from the ministry. Lord Godolphin, although a Tory, allied himself with Marlborough to ensure his continuance in office. Although Lord Godolphin was the nominal head of the ministry, actual power was held by the Duke of Marlborough and by the two Secretaries of State (Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland and Robert Harley).

Death of husband

Anne's husband, Prince George of Denmark, died in October 1708. His leadership of the Admiralty was unpopular amongst the Whig leaders, so much so, that as he lay on his deathbed, some Whigs were preparing to make a motion requesting his removal from the office of Lord High Admiral. Anne was forced to appeal to the Duke of Marlborough to ensure that the motion was not made.

Anne was devastated by the loss of her husband, and the event proved a turning point in her relationship with her old friend, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. The Duchess arrived at Windsor shortly after he died, and forced the Queen to leave the castle and move to St. James's Palace against her will. Anne pleaded to be left alone, and resented the Duchess for insisting that the grieving Queen be attended at all times.

The Whigs used the Prince's death to their own advantage, heartlessly using her weakness to disregard the Queen's wishes and form a predominantly Whig government, led by Lord Godolphin. Their power was, however, limited by Anne's insistence to carry out the duties of Lord High Admiral herself, and not appointing a member of the government to take Prince George's place. Undeterred, the Whigs demanded the appointment of the Earl of Orford, one of Prince George's leading critics, as First Lord of the Admiralty. Anne flatly refused, and chose her own candidate, Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke on November 29, 1709.

Pressure mounted on Pembroke, Godolphin, and the Queen from the dissatisfied Junto Whigs, and Pembroke was forced to resign after just a month in office. Another month of arguments followed before the Queen finally consented to put the Admiralty in control of the Earl of Orford in November.

Later years

As the expensive War of the Spanish Succession grew unpopular, so too did the Whig administration. Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer was particularly skillful in using the issue of the cost of the war to motivate the electorate. In the general election of 1710, discontented voters returned a large Tory majority. The new ministry was headed by Robert Harley and began to seek peace in the War of the Spanish Succession. The Tories were ready to compromise by giving Spain to the grandson of the French King, but the Whigs could not bear to see a Bourbon on the Spanish Throne.

The dispute was resolved by outside events: the elder brother of Archduke Charles (whom the Whigs supported) died in 1711, and Charles then inherited Austria, Hungary, and the throne of the Holy Roman Empire . To also give him the Spanish throne to which he had aspired was no longer in Great Britain's interests. But the proposed Treaty of Utrecht submitted to Parliament for ratification did not go as far as the Whigs wanted to curb Bourbon ambitions. In the House of Commons, the Tory majority was unassailable, but the same was not true in the House of Lords. Seeing a need for decisive action - to erase the Whig majority in the House of Lords - Anne created twelve new peers. Such a mass creation of peers was unprecedented; indeed, Elizabeth I had granted fewer peerage dignities in almost fifty years than Anne did in a single day. This allowed for ratification of the Treaty and thus ended Great Britain's involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Anne died of suppressed gout, ending in erysipelas, at approximately seven o'clock on August 1, 1714. Her body was so swollen that it had to be buried in Westminster Abbey in a vast almost-square coffin.

She died shortly after the Electress Sophia (June 8, 1714), so the Electress's son, George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British Crown. Pursuant to the Act of Settlement 1701, the crown was settled on George as Electress Sophia's heir, with the possible Catholic claimants, including James Francis Edward Stuart, ignored. However, the Elector of Hanover's accession was relatively stable: Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1719 both failed.

The reign of Anne was marked by an increase in the influence of ministers and a decrease in the influence of the Crown. In 1708, Anne became the last British Sovereign to withhold the Royal Assent from a bill (in this case, a Scots militia bill).

Preoccupied with her health, (she suffered from porphyria ), Anne allowed her ministers, most notably Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, as well as her favorite companions (Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough and Abigail Masham) to dominate politics.

The shift of power from the Crown to the ministry became even more apparent during the reign of George I, whose chief adviser, Sir Robert Walpole , is often described as the "first Prime Minister .

The age of Anne was also one of artistic, literary, and scientific advancement. In architecture, Sir John Vanbrugh constructed elegant edifices such as Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. Writers such as Daniel Defoe , Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift flourished during Anne's reign as well.

Her name also remains associated with the world's first substantial copyright law, known as the Statute of Anne (1709), which granted exclusive rights to authors rather than printers.

Although Anne and her reign have no direct bearing on the style personally, at the time Queen Anne architecture style became popular in the mid-1900s, as her name connoted a sense of Old World elegance and extravagant, ornate details.

In entertainment

The BBC drama The First Churchills depicts Anne's life from her childhood to her death, focusing on her friendship with Sarah Churchill. Anne was played by the actress Margaret Tyzack.

The American city of Annapolis, Maryland, which previously bore several other names, was given its present name in 1694 by Sir Francis Nicholson, in honor of the then Princess Anne.

Titles, styles, honors and arms

• Princess Anne from February 6, 1665 – July 28, 1683
• Her Royal Highness Princess George of Denmark and Norway from July 28, 1683 – March 8, 1702
• Her Majesty The Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from March 8, 1702 – May 1, 1707
• Her Majesty The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from May 1, 1707 – August 1, 1714

The official style of Anne before 1707 was "Anne, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc." (The claim to France was only nominal, and had been asserted by every English King since Edward III , regardless of the amount of French territory actually controlled.) After the Union, her style was "Anne, by the Grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc."

Anne's arms before the Union were: Quarterly, I and IV Grandquarterly, Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France ) and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England ); II Or a lion rampant within a treasure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland ); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland ). After the Union, the arms of England and Scotland, which had previously been in different quarters, were "impaled," or placed side-by-side, in the same quarter to emphasize that the two countries had become one Kingdom. The new arms were: Quarterly, I and IV Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England) impaling Or a lion rampant within a tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); II Azure three fleurs-de-lys Or (for France); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland). She used the motto Semper eadem (always the same).

Ancestry and descent

• ↑ "Queen Anne," NNDB Queen Anne Retrieved November 17, 2007.
• ↑ "Queen Anne" Queen Anne Retrieved November 17, 2007.

References ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Gregg, Edward. Queen Anne. Hartford, CT: Yale University Press, 2001. ISBN 0300090242 .
• Hume, David. The History of England: From the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688: The Last Stewarts and the Glorious Revolution. Indianapolis, Ind: Liberty Fund, New Ed., October 1985. ISBN 0865970343 .
• Morris, Jean. The Monarchs of England. NY: Charterhouse, 1975. ISBN 0883270439 .
• Trevelyan, George Macaulay and Anthony Gatrell: A Shortened History of England. London: Penguin (Non-Classics), 1988. ISBN 0140233237 .

External Links

All links retrieved December 7, 2022.

• Facts and Biography
• Historical Biography
• Queen Anne of England

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards . This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Queen Anne of Great Britain   history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia :

• History of "Queen Anne of Great Britain"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

• Pages using ISBN magic links

Search The Canadian Encyclopedia

Enter your search term

Why sign up?

Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map.

• MLA 8TH EDITION
• Harris, Carolyn. "Queen Anne". The Canadian Encyclopedia , 01 May 2024, Historica Canada . www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/queen-anne. Accessed 15 August 2024.
• The Canadian Encyclopedia , 01 May 2024, Historica Canada . www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/queen-anne. Accessed 15 August 2024." href="#" class="js-copy-clipboard b b-md b-invert b-modal-copy">Copy
• APA 6TH EDITION
• Harris, C. (2024). Queen Anne. In The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/queen-anne
• The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/queen-anne" href="#" class="js-copy-clipboard b b-md b-invert b-modal-copy">Copy
• CHICAGO 17TH EDITION
• Harris, Carolyn. "Queen Anne." The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada. Article published May 01, 2024; Last Edited May 01, 2024.
• The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada. Article published May 01, 2024; Last Edited May 01, 2024." href="#" class="js-copy-clipboard b b-md b-invert b-modal-copy">Copy
• TURABIAN 8TH EDITION
• The Canadian Encyclopedia , s.v. "Queen Anne," by Carolyn Harris, Accessed August 15, 2024, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/queen-anne
• The Canadian Encyclopedia , s.v. "Queen Anne," by Carolyn Harris, Accessed August 15, 2024, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/queen-anne" href="#" class="js-copy-clipboard b b-md b-invert b-modal-copy">Copy

Thank you for your submission

Our team will be reviewing your submission and get back to you with any further questions.

Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Article by Carolyn Harris

Published Online May 1, 2024

Last Edited May 1, 2024

Anne, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702 to 1707, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1707 to 1714 (born 6 February 1665; died 1 August 1714 in London, United Kingdom). Anne’s reign was dominated by the War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War), which resulted in France ceding the Hudson Bay watershed, Acadia ( New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ) and Newfoundland to Great Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht . In 1710, Anne received Indigenous leaders known as the Four Kings of Canada, setting precedents for the modern relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Crown . The death of Anne’s last surviving child, William, resulted in the passage of the 1701 of Act of Settlement , which determines the royal line of succession in the United Kingdom, Canada and the other 13 Commonwealth realms to the present day.

Early Life and Education

Anne was born at St. James’ Palace, the fourth child of King Charles II’s younger brother James, Duke of York, the future King James II (1633–1701), and Anne Hyde (1637–71). Anne and her elder sister, the future Queen Mary II (1662–94), were the only two of the Duke and Duchess of York’s eight children to survive to adulthood. As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Charles II insisted that his two nieces be raised as Protestants , although their parents were Roman Catholics .

Both Mary and Anne were directly in line to the throne because Charles II did not have any legitimate children. Yet they received little education beyond literacy, basic arithmetic, religion, embroidery, music and dancing. Anne spoke fluent French, since she spent her early childhood with relatives in France while receiving treatment for an eye condition.

Following the death of Anne’s mother in 1673, her father married a 14-year-old Roman Catholic Italian princess, Mary Beatrice of Modena. As a devout Protestant who described Catholic doctrine as “wicked and dangerous,” Anne had a strained relationship with her father and stepmother.

Marriage and Children

In 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark, the younger son of King Frederik III of Denmark. George and Anne lived in London in a suite of rooms near Whitehall Palace. Anne had 17 pregnancies, most of which ended in miscarriages or stillbirths. Her daughters Mary (born 1685) and Anne Sophia (born 1686) died of smallpox within a week of one another in February 1687. Anne’s only child to survive infancy was Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (1689–1700), who suffered from hydrocephalus. William’s death in 1700 prompted the English parliament to pass the 1701 Act of Settlement , which settled the succession after Anne on her father’s cousin, Sophia of Hanover, and Sophia’s Protestant descendants.

Sarah Churchill and Abigail Masham

Anne was very close to the ladies of her household, describing them as her “family.” Sarah Jennings became a maid of honour in 1673, later marrying John Churchill in 1677 or 1678. Anne wrote to Sarah in 1692, “I had rather live in a cottage with you than reign Empress of all the world without you.” After Anne became Queen in 1702, she appointed Sarah to the prestigious positions of Mistress of the Robes, Groom of the Stool and Keeper of the Privy Purse.

The relationship between the two women soured, however, because of their political differences and Sarah’s defiance of Anne’s authority. In 1711, Anne replaced Sarah as Keeper of the Privy Purse with her cousin Abigail Masham. Sarah wrote an angry letter to Anne, accusing her of “having discovered so great a passion for such a woman” and of “having no inclination for any but of one’s own sex.” The turbulent relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill inspired the 2018 film, The Favourite .

The Glorious Revolution

In 1685, Anne’s uncle Charles II died, and her father succeeded to the English throne as King James II and the Scottish throne as King James VII. James was unpopular with Protestants because of his Catholicism and arbitrary rule. The 1677 marriage of Anne’s elder sister Mary to the Protestant Dutch Prince William of Orange appeared to ensure a Protestant succession. In 1688, however, the birth of a son to James’s second wife Mary of Modena changed the line of succession, since younger brothers took precedence over their elder sisters at that time. Anne left London at the time of the birth and helped spread rumours that the baby was not the Queen’s child.

In 1688, William of Orange invaded England at the invitation of leading English nobles. James fled to Ireland, where William eventually defeated his father-in-law at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights, promising to govern on the advice of Parliament, and were crowned jointly as King William III and Queen Mary II at Westminster Abbey in 1689. Anne supported the overthrow of her father, writing to William just before his invasion of England to wish him “your good success in this so just an undertaking.” Anne’s relationship with William and Mary during their reigns, however, was often strained because she did not feel she received the respect and income she deserved.

Accession to the Throne

Anne succeeded to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on the death of her brother-in-law William III in 1702. Although she had lost all her children by the time of her accession, she presented herself as a mother to her people. Anne was an early constitutional monarch whose powers were constrained by the Bill of Rights, but she exercised significant political influence throughout her reign. As party politics developed in the early 18th century, she favoured first the Whig party and then the Tory Party. Anne was the last monarch to refuse royal assent to a piece of legislation passed by Parliament, rejecting the Scottish militia bill of 1708. She feared an armed Scottish militia would support a French invasion intended to place her Catholic half-brother on the throne.

The 1710 Statute of Anne was the first piece of government legislation that provided authors with the copyright to their works instead of publishers. The statute granted authors a copyright term of 14 years with a provision for renewal. The Statute of Anne was supported by prominent authors during Anne’s reign, including Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe.

The Act of Union

Since 1603, England and Scotland had shared a monarch. In 1707, they became a single political entity with the passage of the Act of Union . Anne was therefore the last Queen of England and Scotland and the first British monarch. The Act of Union was precipitated by concerns that Scotland would not accept the Hanoverian succession and instead support Anne’s Catholic half-brother. The Act of Union remains controversial in Scotland to the present day.

Queen Anne’s War

In foreign policy, Anne’s reign was dominated by the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–13), known as Queen Anne’s War in North America. Anne and her government opposed King Louis XIV of France’s efforts to place his grandson Philippe, Duke d’Anjou, on the Spanish throne. The British army, led by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, enjoyed a series of victories in Europe, including the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, the 1706 Battle of Ramillies and the 1708 Battle of Oudenaarde. Anne presided over victory celebrations at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Anne expressed her support for the conquest of French Canada in 1708. The British captured Port Royal , the capital of French Acadia, in 1710. That same year, Anne received four Indigenous leaders at St. James’s Palace. They became known as The Four Kings of Canada. They requested Anne support them in their war with the French and Wendat (Huron) , stating, “Great queen … we have been as a strong wall for [the English settlers’] security even to the lives of our best men.” Anne presented them with many gifts, including communion silver for Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks. On 25 March 1711, the Queen announced an expedition to Canada, and in April a British fleet set sail for New England with the intention of coordinating with troops there to seize Quebec . This expedition was ultimately unsuccessful, since seven British warships were lost at sea. Quebec would not fall to the British until 1759. ( See The Conquest of New France .)

The Treaty of Utrecht that ended Queen Anne’s War in 1713 shaped the development of modern Canada. Philippe became King Felipe V of Spain, but France ceded significant overseas territories to Britain, including the Hudson Bay watershed, Newfoundland and Acadia ( New Brunswick and Nova Scotia except for Cape Breton Island ).

Anne’s husband, George of Denmark, died of dropsy in 1708. Anne mourned his passing, writing to King Frederik IV of Denmark that “the loss of such a husband, who loved me so dearly and so devotedly, is too crushing for me to be able to bear it as I ought.” Anne’s health declined in her widowhood. On 30 June 1714, the anniversary of her son William’s death, Anne suffered a stroke and died two days later. Sophia of Hanover had predeceased Anne by seven weeks. Anne was therefore succeeded by her second cousin, Sophia’s eldest son King George I, who became the first British monarch from the House of Hanover.

Until the late 20th century, Queen Anne was rarely credited with the achievements of her reign and was instead remembered for her obesity, female favourites and 17 pregnancies. The scathing critique of Anne’s intellect in Sarah Churchill’s memoirs influenced generations of historians to underestimate Anne’s abilities. Anne’s reputation improved with the publication of Edward Gregg’s scholarly biography, Queen Anne, in 1980. Subsequent biographies have analyzed previously underexplored aspects of her reign, including her political influence and cultural patronage.

Legacy in Canada

When the British captured Port Royal in 1710, they renamed the town Annapolis Royal in honour of Queen Anne. The Annapolis Valley , Annapolis River and Annapolis County in Nova Scotia are all named in her honour. Le Fort du Port Royal was renamed Fort Anne .

• international relations
• British Empire

Royal Family

Further reading.

Anne Somerset, Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion (2012).

James Anderson Winn, Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts (2014).

Associated Collections

Recommended, war of the spanish succession.

Treaty of Utrecht

History of acadia, the conquest of new france, the british conquest of 1760, acadian history, significant events in canadian history.

Undiscovered Scotland

Anne was born in St James's Palace in London, the second daughter of James, Duke of York (later to be James VII/II and his first wife, Lady Anne Hyde. She and her elder sister Mary (later to be Mary II ) were the only two of eight children to survive into adulthood. In 1673 the conversion to Catholicism of the Duke of York became public knowledge, though her uncle Charles II instructed that both Anne and her sister Mary should be brought up as Protestants.

On 28 July 1683, Anne married the Protestant Prince George of Denmark, brother of the Danish King Christian V. The marriage was not a popular one in England, but was a happy one for Anne and George. Meanwhile, Anne formed a close friendship with Sarah Churchill, who was married to John Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough.

Charles II died in 1685, and Anne's father James became James VII/II. As a Catholic his rule was not popular, and matters came to a head in 1688 when James put seven Bishops on trial for seditious libel. And then on 10 June, James' Catholic second wife, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a son, James Francis Edward Stuart, and Protestants found themselves looking at the prospect of a Catholic dynasty. In response, a group of Protestant lords asked Anne's brother-in-law, William of Orange, to invade England: which he did on 5 November 1688 at the start of the "Glorious Revolution".

James' army switched allegiance to William and Mary. Anne, who had written to William to express her approval of his actions, and her lady-in-waiting, Sarah Churchill, escaped from Whitehall Palace by a back staircase. They stayed a night with the Bishop of London before travelling to Oxford to meet up with Prince George and John Churchill.

William and Mary were subsequently appointed joint Monarchs by Conventions held in London and Edinburgh. One of their first acts was to appoint John Churchill to be the Duke of Marlborough. Mary II subsequently developed a suspicion that the Duke of Marlborough was in fact a Jacobite (ie a supporter of James VII/II ) and dismissed him from all state positions. This caused a rift between Anne and Mary that was not to heal before Mary's death from smallpox in 1694.

William and Mary had no children, and Anne's only surviving son (from 18 pregnancies) William, Duke of Gloucester, had died aged 11 in 1700. In response, the English Parliament passed the Act of Settlement in 1701. This confirmed Anne as heir to the throne after William unless he had legitimate offspring in the meantime. Next in succession would be any children of Anne and George: and after them would come Sophia, Electress of Hanover (a grand-daughter of James VI/I ) and her descendents. The aim was specifically to exclude the Catholics James VII/II and James Francis Edward Stuart from any possibility of succession. The key drawback with the Act of Settlement was that in passing it, the English Parliament had neglected to consult the Scottish Parliament, especially in relation to the succession after Anne.

William died in 1702, and Anne became Queen of England and Ireland and Queen of Scots on 8 March 1702. Through much of her reign, Britain was heavily engaged in the War of the Spanish Succession. Anne appointed the Duke of Marlborough as commander of the Army, and he justified her faith in him with a series of successes, most notably at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. She placed her husband, Prince George of Denmark, in command of the Navy.

On the domestic front, the key issue that had been on the agenda since 1689, and which grew ever larger from 1702, was the question of the future relationship between England and Scotland. Although the crowns had been combined under James VI/I in 1603, England and Scotland remained separate countries with separate currencies, and Scotland was excluded from free trade with England and its colonies. Early moves focussed on bringing the question of succession in Scotland into line with that agreed by the English Parliament under the Act of Succession. The Scots Parliament responded with the 1703 Bill of Security, which allowed Scotland to select its own Protestant monarch if Anne died without heirs. The Bill was initially refused Royal Assent, and this was only given after the Scottish Parliament had threatened to refuse to raise taxes, and to withdraw troops from the Duke of Marlborough's Army, then still heavily engaged on the continent.

The English Parliament hit back with the 1705 Alien Act. This was a draconian piece of legislation which transparently exposed the huge differences in economic strength between England and Scotland at the time. Under its terms, all trade and free movement between the two countries would cease, and all Scottish-owned property in England would be seized: unless negotiations opened leading either to the repeal of the Act of Security, or towards a full Act of Union. The result was what many viewed - and still view - as a shotgun wedding: an Act of Union approved by the Scottish Parliament (in effect voting itself out of existence) on 16 January 1707. It is clear that blackmail, espionage and bribery all played a part in securing the vote in the Scottish Parliament, and very clear that the Parliament's decision was against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people. But perhaps underlying it was an unavoidable sense of Scotland's huge economic problems at the time, and the very real benefits that were on offer under the Act of Union, especially in terms of Scottish access to free trade with England and its overseas dominions, and compensation for the huge losses (arguably caused by William III/II ) that Scotland had suffered in the Darien Scheme. At the same time, a number of the things that made Scotland distinctively Scottish, such as a separate set of laws, a separate education system, and a separate church, were maintained under the Act of Union.

On 1 May 1707, England and Scotland united into a single Kingdom, and Anne became the first sovereign of the Kingdom of Great Britain. On 13 March 1708 a French fleet tried to land James Francis Edward Stuart, "The Old Pretender" on the Fife shore of the Firth of Forth at the head of a 5,000-strong French army. They were prevented from doing so by a squadron of English warships under Admiral Byng. The French admiral in charge of the fleet called off the attempt, refusing James' pleas to be put ashore, alone if necessary. James returned to France.

Anne's later reign was overshadowed by disputes between the Whigs and Tories in what was now the British Parliament, though she increasingly took a back seat, leaving the day to day business of government to her Ministers. Perhaps her last truly enduring move was the introduction of the world's first major copyright law, the Statute of Anne (1709), which granted exclusive rights in written works to authors rather than to printers. She also oversaw the settlement in 1709 of 8,000 Germans displaced by the War of the Spanish Succession in southern Ireland.

Anne died of gout on 1 August 1714. The Electress Sophia of Hanover had died six weeks earlier, so under the terms of the Act of Settlement the Electress's son, George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the Crown of Great Britain. It is said that in this process as many as 50 Roman Catholic family members with better claims to the throne were excluded from the succession. Foremost amongst them was Anne's half brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, "The Old Pretender". James had been approached in 1711 by the new Tory administration and offered the succession if he converted to Protestantism: he declined. It would not dampen his desire to regain the throne on his own terms.

World History Edu

Queen Anne of Great Britain – Biography, Reign & Achievements

by World History Edu · February 3, 2023

Queen Anne of Great Britain’s reign lasted from 1702 to 1714.

Often forgotten or overlooked by historians, Queen Anne’s 12-year rule (from 1702-1714) played a huge role in the transformation of Britain. She was the daughter of James II and Anne Hyde. A last member of the Stuart dynasty, her childless marriage paved the way for the Georgian era.

But Anne’s life was filled with the most fascinating contradictions. While she was dedicated to her duties as ruler of Britain, who witnessed the union of the crowns of England and Scotland into Great Britain, she was also constantly in poor health and often relied on her sister’s support. Anne had 17 children yet still managed to outlive all of them. She was also reported to have been a very shy person, but at the same time was capable of ruling with authority.

What else was Queen Anne of Great Britain known for, how did she rise to throne, and what were some of major feats?

Below, WHE digs into major facts about the history and legacy of Anne, Queen of Great Britain:

Childhood & Marriage

Anne was the second daughter of James, Duke of York, and Lady Anne Hyde. She was the niece of the then-reigning monarch King Charles II . She had an older sister Princes Mary (later Mary II). Both Anne and Mary were the only children of their parents that grew well into adulthood.

Anne (centre) and her sister Mary (left) with their parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, painted by Peter Lely and Benedetto Gennari II

Growing up, Anne moved to France to receive treatment for an eye infection and then returned to England in 1670. Three years later, she befriended Sarah Jennings, who would later become one of her closest confidantes and advisors. Jennings tied the wedding knot with John Churchill, who was the future Duke of Marlborough. Churchill later became one of Anne’s most valuable and important generals during her reign.

When her father, James, converted to Catholicism in 1673, the girls were instructed by their uncle, King Charles II, to remain Protestants. Ten years later in 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark who was Protestant and was the younger brother of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway.

Anne with her husband, Prince George of Denmark, painted by Swedish painter Charles Boit, 1706

Although Anne and George’s union was not immediately welcomed in English society, the marriage proved to be very successful, albeit being plagued by a number of miscarriages, stillbirths, and deaths.

After her marriage, Jennings was appointed her Lady of the Bedchamber, and the two women had an affectionate and intimate relationship, often calling each other Mrs Morley and Mrs Freeman.

Queen Anne had seventeen pregnancies, of which five were stillborns. Sadly none of her children that survived made it to adulthood. Some say that this misfortune was caused by her poor health. Image: Anne with her son Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, in a painting from the school of English painter Sir Godfrey Kneller, circa 1694

Accession of her father, James II

In 1685, King Charles II passed away and Anne’s father ascended the throne as James II . The new king was not well-liked by his English subjects. As a Catholic, James filled most military and administrative offices with other members of the Catholic Church. These appointments were in violation of the Test Acts, which had been created to prevent such appointments happening.

James II of England and VII of Scotland

Anne’s estranged relationship with her father

Like her sister Mary, Anne was in opposition to her father’s plans and continued to follow the Anglican/Protestant faith. After James II had attempted to get her to baptize her daughter in the Catholic faith, she wrote to her older sister Mary about the wickedness of the Church. As a result, Anne’s relationship with her father became estranged.

1687 was a difficult year for both Anne and her husband George. Anne had miscarried twice, and George suffered smallpox, luckily he survived. The couple also lost their two daughters to the same illness. That same year, James II’s second wife, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a son called James Francis Edward Stuart. However, Anne remained suspicious upon hearing the news, as she believed the English Queen had faked her pregnancy to produce a fake heir. Anne wrote to Mary, who had been living outside England, stating that she would never know if their younger half-brother’s birth was true or false.

To put an end to the naysayers, James II invited 40 witnesses to the birth of his new son. Anne declined the invitation; first lying that she was pregnant and then later refusing to read the depositions.

The Glorious Revolution

In 1688, William of Orange, the husband of Princess Mary, invaded England. This invasion, which was made at the request of leading English noblemen, became known as the Glorious Revolution. It was a relatively bloodless revolution and proved to be successful at removing the Catholic-leaning James II from power. Upon the advice of her trusted friends, Sarah and John Churchill, Anne chose not to side with her father and instead wrote to her brother-in-law and sister to declare her unflinching support for the Glorious Revolution.

A few days later, John Churchill and other leading military English figures abandoned the embattled king. Similarly, Prince George cast his lot with the Dutch invader and the English princess. When James II arrived in London shortly after, he realized that Anne and Sarah had also followed their husbands. He ordered Sarah’s capture, but the two women fled and spent a night under the care of a bishop.

Eventually, James fled to France on 23rd December, but Anne showed no care for her father’s circumstances. At the start of the new year in 1689, the Convention Parliament declared that James had abandoned his throne and that William and Anne’s sister, Mary, be declared the co-ruling monarchs, making Anne and her descendants in the line of succession. Later that year, Anne gave birth to Prince William, the Duke of Gloucester. Because William and Mary had no children, it seemed that Anne’s son was set to inherit the Crown.

Reign of William III and Mary II

William III and Mary II were declared co-monarchs after the Glorious Revolution in 1689

Shortly after taking the throne, William and Anne rewarded John Churchill by giving him the Earldom of Marlborough. However, their relationship soured when the couple suspected John of supporting James II. The Churchills were dismissed from their duties, which caused Anne to leave her royal residence. Because of her actions, the king and queen stripped her of her guard of honor, and the guards were not allowed to salute her husband, George.

In 1694, Mary died of smallpox and William continued his reign alone. However, it became apparent that he needed an heir. In a bid to make him more accepted by society, he restored Anne’s honors and allowed her to live at St James’s Palace. Still, he kept her in the background instead of making her queen regent whenever he was absent.

Eventually, he restored the Churchills to their old office. According to the previous king, James II, Anne wrote a letter to him in 1696, seeking permission to succeed William after his death and promising to restore the Crown to her father’s line. However, he reportedly decided against giving his permission. It is believed that Anne wrote the letter in an attempt to secure the throne and prevent her father from making a direct claim.

The Act of Settlement

In 1700, Anne and George suffered yet another blow. Their only surviving son, William, died at age 11. Because William and Mary had no children, Mary had become the heir apparent to the throne. Had Anne not been alive, the throne would have gone back to James II or his son, James Francis Edward. That would mean the establishment of a Catholic dynasty in England.

To prevent a Catholic from ever wearing the English Crown, the British Parliament introduced the Act of Settlement 1701, which stated that the Crown would go to Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who was the granddaughter of James I. Two years prior to that Parliament had introduced the Bill of Rights, which not only limited the monarchy’s power and extended constitutional law, but it also barred Catholics from ascending to the English throne England.

When James II died in 1701, Mary of Modena wrote to Anne to let her know her father had forgiven her and reminded her of her earlier promise to restore the line. But it was too late, as Anne had already agreed to the Act of Settlement.

When William died in 1702, Anne ascended the throne as Queen of England.

The Reign of Queen Anne

After succeeding on the throne, Anne almost immediately found herself involved in the War of the Spanish Succession. England supported Archduke Charles as the rightful heir to the Spanish throne. The conflict lasted for most of Anne’s reign.

She also appointed her husband George as Lord High Admiral, giving him full control of the English Navy. She made John Churchill Captain-General of the English Army. Her best friend, Sarah was made Mistress of the Robes, which was the highest office any lady could reach.

The Birth of Great Britain

During the passage of the Act of Settlement in 1701, the English Parliament had neglected to involve the Parliament of Scotland. As a result, the Scottish Parliament passed the Act of Security, which stated that following Anne’s death, it had the power to choose the next Scottish monarch. Scottish politicians also threatened to withdraw Scottish troops in the English army.

Out of fear that Scotland would form an alliance with France, the English Parliament created the Alien Act of 1705, which threatened to pose economic sanctions on Scotland and also declare Scottish citizens in England as aliens unless the country revoked its initial act or agreed to unite with England. The Scots agreed to the latter option, and on May 1, 1707, England and Scotland united to form Great Britain, with Queen Anne serving as the monarch.

Death of Queen Anne

Queen Anne died in 1714 after suffering from gout. Image: Statue of Anne in front of St Paul’s Cathedral, London

Anne lost her husband George in October 1708 and was deeply affected by his passing. Six years later, Anne died. The cause of death was said to be gout. Her body was reportedly so swollen that she had to buried in a big coffin. After her death, George I, the son of Electress Sophia, succeeded the throne.

Legacy & Achievements

Anne ruled during a period of developments in arts, science, and literature. During her time, many structures and edifices like the Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard were constructed. Many writers like Daniel Dafoe and Alexander Pope found great success under her rule. The Statute of Anne was passed to give exclusive rights to writers and not printers.

In entertainment, Anne’s life was portrayed in the BBC drama “The First Churchills.” It focused on her close bond with her bestfriend Sarah.

Annapolis, Maryland

The American city of Annapolis, which is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland, was named by famous British Army general Sir Francis Nicholson (1655-1728) in honor of Queen Anne when she was a princess. A devout Anglican, Nicholson served as the Governor of Maryland from 1694 to 1698.

The official flag of the city of Annapolis in Maryland is styled after the personal royal badge of Queen Anne. Image: Flag of Annapolis, Maryland

FACT CHECK : At worldhistoryedu.com, we strive for utmost accuracy and objectivity. But if you come across something that doesn’t look right, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

Tags: Glorious Revolution James II Queen Anne William III and Mary II William III of England

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Next story  Life and Major Achievements of Alexander Twilight, the first Black man to obtain a college degree
• Previous story  10 Greatest African Queens of All Time
• Popular Posts
• Recent Posts

Alien and Sedition Acts: Definition, Origin Story, & Significance

The Pergamon Altar

Life and Political Career of Konrad Adenauer, the First Chancellor of West Germany

What was the source of the Conflict between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung?

Why did Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr duel?

Greatest African Leaders of all Time

Queen Elizabeth II: 10 Major Achievements

Donald Trump’s Educational Background

Donald Trump: 10 Most Significant Achievements

8 Most Important Achievements of John F. Kennedy

Odin in Norse Mythology: Origin Story, Meaning and Symbols

Ragnar Lothbrok – History, Facts & Legendary Achievements

9 Great Achievements of Queen Victoria

Most Ruthless African Dictators of All Time

12 Most Influential Presidents of the United States

Greek God Hermes: Myths, Powers and Early Portrayals

Kamala Harris: 10 Major Achievements

Kwame Nkrumah: History, Major Facts & 10 Memorable Achievements

8 Major Achievements of Rosa Parks

How did Captain James Cook die?

Trail of Tears: Story, Death Count & Facts

5 Great Accomplishments of Ancient Greece

10 Most Famous Pharaohs of Egypt

The Exact Relationship between Elizabeth II and Elizabeth I

How and when was Morse Code Invented?

• Adolf Hitler Alexander the Great American Civil War Ancient Egyptian gods Ancient Egyptian religion Apollo Athena Athens Black history Carthage China Civil Rights Movement Cold War Constantine the Great Constantinople Egypt England France Hera Horus India Isis John Adams Julius Caesar Loki Medieval History Military Generals Military History Napoleon Bonaparte Nobel Peace Prize Odin Osiris Ottoman Empire Pan-Africanism Queen Elizabeth I Religion Set (Seth) Soviet Union Thor Timeline Turkey Women’s History World War I World War II Zeus

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Biography

Birthday: February 6 , 1665 ( Aquarius )

Born In: St James's Palace, Westminster, England

Recommended For You

British Celebrities Born In February

Died At Age: 49

Spouse/Ex-: Prince George of Denmark (m. 1683; d. 1708)

father: James VII and II

mother: Anne Hyde

siblings: 1st Duke of Berwick, Charles Stuart, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Kendal, Edgar Stuart, Henrietta FitzJames, Henry FitzJames, Isabel Stuart, James FitzJames, James Francis Edward Stuart , James Stuart, Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart, Mary II of England

children: Anne Sophia, Duke of Gloucester, George, Mary, Prince William

Empresses & Queens British Women

Died on: August 1 , 1714

place of death: Kensington Palace, Middlesex, England

City: Westminster, England

You wanted to know

Was queen anne the last monarch of the house of stuart.

Yes, Queen Anne was the last monarch of the House of Stuart.

What major war occurred during Queen Anne's reign?

The War of the Spanish Succession occurred during Queen Anne's reign.

Did Queen Anne have any children who survived infancy?

No, Queen Anne's 17 pregnancies resulted in no surviving children.

What architectural style is associated with Queen Anne's reign?

Queen Anne architecture is associated with the architectural style of the early 18th century.

Did Queen Anne have any notable accomplishments during her reign?

Queen Anne's reign saw the Acts of Union 1707, uniting England and Scotland to form Great Britain.

Recommended Lists:

Queen Anne was an avid collector of art and books, amassing an impressive personal collection during her reign.

Despite her royal status, Queen Anne was known to have a down-to-earth personality and was often seen engaging in casual conversations with her subjects.

Queen Anne had a close relationship with her husband, Prince George of Denmark, and they were known to be deeply devoted to each other.

Anne suffered from poor health throughout her life, which included debilitating bouts of gout and other chronic conditions.

Queen Anne was the last monarch of the Stuart dynasty, marking the end of a significant era in British history.

See the events in life of Anne, Queen Of Great Britain in Chronological Order

How To Cite

People Also Viewed

Also Listed In

© Famous People All Rights Reserved

Sign Up Today

Start your 14 day free trial today

The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

• Early Modern

10 Facts About Queen Anne

Quinn Marriott

11 apr 2023.

The critically-acclaimed film ‘The Favourite’ hit our cinema screens in 2018, telling the story of Queen Anne, an 18th century monarch who ruled Britain from 1702 to 1714. Here are 10 facts about the real Queen Anne.

1. She wasn’t Dutch

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 saw the overthrow of the Catholic King James II and the ascension of the Dutch Protestant ruler William of Orange, who took the name William III. Following his death in 1702, Anne took over as queen.

Born on 6 February 1665, Anne was the daughter of James II and therefore one of the only remaining Stuarts following the Dutch takeover. Upon reaching the throne, she disassociated herself from her Dutch predecessor and made it clear that England would have an English ruler, a policy with popular support.

King William III – who preceded Queen Anne on the throne.

2. Her husband was Danish

Before James II became king, his brother Charles II was in charge and with the aim of preserving the Stuart line, organised Anne’s marriage.

His criteria required someone who his Protestant subjects would find acceptable and one approved by King Louis XIV of France, Charles’ Catholic ally. The marriage treaty was ultimately settled between Anne and Prince George of Denmark.

This union was beneficial for all parties as the Danes were fellow Protestants, as well as allies of Louis XIV. Furthermore, this would confirm an alliance against a common enemy: the Dutch, led by William of Orange. The wedding took place on 28 July 1683. Whilst it was arranged, both Anne and George were devoted to each other.

3. Sickness consumed most of her life

From as early as 1698, Queen Anne suffered severely from gout, a joint infection which physically strained her. Eventually, in 1713, it stopped her from walking altogether, from which point she used a wheelchair to get around. This as well as her many failed pregnancies and the death of her husband, brought about a life of suffering – physically and mentally.

4. She had two favourites

Like many other monarchs, Queen Anne had favourites, two in particular: Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Abigail Masham. Sarah Churchill was close friends with Anne before she became Queen and her influence over the monarch was common knowledge in court.

By the time she ascended the throne, Sarah acted as Anne’s agent, using her influence to advise the queen on political decisions, especially in favour of the Whigs, who she supported.

Abigail Masham, originally Abigail Hill, cousin to Sarah Churchill, served as the bedchamber woman to the Anne and progressively got closer to the queen. She would eventually allow Abigail to marry the gentleman Samuel Masham in 1707, promoting her to Lady Abigail Masham.

The favourites: Sarah Churchill (left) and Abigail Masham (right).

In the film “The Favourite” these relationships are in part portrayed as sexual ones and while both these women were close to the queen, it is uncertain whether those relationships were of that nature. Probably, they were a source of gossip at the time.

5. Favourite turned into enemy

Despite being a favourite of the queen, Sarah Churchill is known for having many disagreements and falling outs with Anne, mostly due to political differences: since Sarah was a Whig and Anne was a Tory. This love-hate relationship continued until 1711, when Sarah and her husband were dismissed from court.

In 1742, near the end of her life, Sarah released memoirs of her relationship with Queen Anne. Modern scholars claim that Churchill’s recollections were prejudiced, potentially as a form of revenge for her dismissal. Referring to Anne as a “weak and irresolute woman,” these memoirs initially giving historians a wrongful image of what Anne was like during her reign.

6. She was enthusiastic about political affairs

In the 18th-century, the monarch had a more active role in the politics of the nation, running parliament and having to cooperate with its political parties, the Tories and the Whigs, in order to effectively govern the country. The Tories supported the Stuart dynasty, nostalgic of the Catholic rule of James II, while the Whigs were opposed to them, fearful of a return to Catholicism.

Queen Anne was very enthusiastic about her political role, never missing a cabinet meeting and initially favouring the Tories, but she later followed the example of her predecessor William III and worked with both parties to ensure stability.

It was this stability that allowed England to become a major military and economic power and advance into the country it is today.

7. She played a role in unifying England and Scotland

The idea of uniting England and Scotland had been around for at least a hundred years prior but was yet to take place by the time of Queen Anne’s reign. Anne was particularly enthusiastic about making this union happen to preserve the Stuart dynasty and its place on the throne, advocating its necessity in her first speech to Parliament.

While the negotiations themselves were done by the country’s respective parliaments, Anne took part by appointing commissioners to negotiate the union in 1706. On 1 May 1707, the Acts of Union were passed between England and Scotland, fulfilling Anne’s dream of a single realm, a kingdom by the name of Great Britain.

The Exemplification of the Act of Union – a copy of the act sent to Scotland in 1707 with a portrait of Queen Anne in top left.

8. She faced tragic pregnancies

While Queen Anne was successfully married, she was unable to birth an heir. Throughout her reign, she went through 17 pregnancies, 7 of which miscarried, 5 stillborn and the rest died at an early age, the oldest at 11.

The exact cause of these failed pregnancies hasn’t been clearly identified but it was accepted by her last pregnancy in 1700 that she probably wouldn’t give an heir to the nation.

9. She was the last of the Stuarts

In reaction to the queen’s infertility, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement in 1701, choosing a successor to inherit the throne upon Anne’s death. The only seemingly good choice was the line of Sophia of Hanover, the youngest legitimate descendants of Charles I amongst the Stuarts. Crucially, they were Protestants.

Unfortunately Sophia died on 8 June 1714, just before Queen Anne’s death on 1 August. This shifted the choice of successor to Sophia’s son, George, who became King George I and brought a new dynasty to Britain: the Hanoverians.

10. Her coffin needed to be carried by 14 men

Following a stroke less than a month before, Queen Anne died in the early morning of 1 August 1714. It was said that she had become so obese that her coffin needed to be carried by 14 men, highlighting how immobile her gout had rendered her.

This may have been a mercy as one of her doctors, John Arbuthnot, described her life as one of ill-health and tragedy because of her gout and her numerous failed pregnancies, even writing in a letter: “I believe sleep was never more welcome to a weary traveller than death was to her”. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on 24 August by her husband’s side.

You May Also Like

3 Things We Learned from Meet the Normans with Eleanor Janega

Reintroducing ‘Dan Snow’s History Hit’ Podcast with a Rebrand and Refresh

Don’t Try This Tudor Health Hack: Bathing in Distilled Puppy Juice

Coming to History Hit in August

Coming to History Hit in September

Coming to History Hit in October

The Plimsoll Line: How Samuel Plimsoll Made Sailing Safer

How Polluting Shipwrecks Imperil the Oceans

How Cutty Sark Became the Fastest Sail-Powered Cargo Ship Ever Built

Why Did Elizabethan Merchants Start Weighing Their Coins?

‘Old Coppernose’: Henry VIII and the Great Debasement

The Royal Mint: Isaac Newton and the Trial of the Pyx Plate

• American History
• European History
• World History

Queen Anne: The First Monarch of Great Britain

Queen Anne of Great Britain was the last monarch of the House of Stuart, reigning as Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702-1707 and Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1707-1714. During her reign, the kingdoms England and Scotland merged as one to become Great Britain under the Acts of Union on May 1, 1707. Throughout her life, Anne suffered from terrible health and of all her seventeen pregnancies with husband Prince George of Denmark, not one lived to be past eleven years old.

On February 6, 1665, Anne was born at St. James’s Place, London to James, Duke of York and Anne Hyde as their fourth child and second daughter. Her elder sister Mary would be the only one of her siblings to live to adulthood. Anne’s uncle—her father’s older brother—was King Charles II. She had an Anglican baptism at the Chapel Royal in St. James’s with her sister Mary and the Duchess of Monmouth as her godmothers and Archbishop of Canterbury, Gilbert Sheldon as her godfather.

For some time, Anne lived in France with Queen Henrietta Maria, her paternal grandmother, near Paris to get treated for a bad eye condition she developed as a child. When her grandmother died in 1669, Anne lived with her aunt Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orléans until she died in 1670. From there, Anne returned to England, but her mother died on March 31, 1671. Around that same year, she also met Sarah Jennings, future wife of Anne’s most important general John Churchill. The two continued their friendship throughout their lives.

Mary (left) and Anne (center) with their parents. Source: wikipedia.org

Anne and Mary were brought up at Richmond, London and were kept separated from their Father, as per tradition in the royal family. Their uncle Charles II instructed them to be raised as Protestants. Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers, their caretakers, educated them mainly in the Anglican church and Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was Anne’s preceptor. In 1673, their father married Mary of Modena who would give birth to many children, but none of them would survive infancy. So, Anne stayed third in line to the throne after her father and sister Mary. Anne and Mary of Modena most likely got along very well and that she had a healthy relationship with her father as well.

When Mary married William of Orange, their Dutch first cousin, in November of 1677, Anne was kept confined in her room due to smallpox. Once Anne recovered though, her sister had moved to the Netherlands with her husband. Shortly after, Lady Frances Villiers died of the disease and Lady Henrietta Hyde, her aunt, became her governess instead. The next year, Anne went with her stepmother Mary of Modena to visit her sister Mary in the Netherlands. The two of them stayed with Mary for two weeks before returning to England. In August of 1679, Anne also visited her father and stepmother in Brussels and then returned in October. From July of 1681 to May of 1682, she also visited them in Edinburgh at Holyrood Palace. Meanwhile, King Charles was searching for a suitable prince to marry Anne that Louis XIV of France would also accept. With the Danes and French being strong allies, Charles looked towards marrying her to a Danish prince. So, her uncle Laurence Hyde along with a few others negotiated a marriage treaty between Anne and King Christian V’s younger brother Prince George of Denmark.

1684 portrait. source: wikipedia.org

On July 28, 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark in the Chapel Royal. The two stayed very devoted and faithful to each other, unlike many arranged marriages of the time. They were given buildings in London to serve as their residence called the Cockpit at the Palace of Whitehall. Not long after the marriage, Anne was pregnant, but the baby girl was born stillborn the next May. Over the course of the following two years, Anne gave birth to daughters Mary and Anne Sophia. Soon George and their daughters came in contact with smallpox. George recovered, but their daughters did not and died February of 1867. Mary was not quite two years old and Anne Sophia was not even a year. The deaths were very hard for them, as they would often be seen just sitting beside each other holding hands in mourning. Throughout the course of the next thirteen years, Anne went through fourteen more pregnancies, many of them stillborn or miscarried. Only one survived a day: Prince William, Duke of Gloucester born in 1689. However, he died in 1700 at age eleven after suffering through poor health his whole life. Anne and George outlived all their children and despite her many pregnancies, most of them did not live past a day.

Charles II died in 1685 and was then succeeded by Anne’s father who became James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland. Her father, a catholic, began appointing catholic man to his council and high military positions. At this point, Anne and her family were the only remaining members of the royal family still of Protestant faith while her sister Mary was living in the Netherlands. James even asked Anne to give her daughter a Catholic baptism, but she refused and told her sister that “The Church of Rome is wicked and dangerous”. Anne continued to have troubles with her pregnancies though, miscarrying yet again then going through another stillbirth after her daughters died from smallpox. Mary of Modena gave birth to a son not long after in June of 1688. named James Francis Edward. Anne was in Bath after writing to her sister saying that she believed Mary was not actually pregnant and then suffering through another miscarriage that April. At the time of James Francis Edward’s birth Anne was not present either because she believed the pregnancy was fake or had become ill.

William of Orange, Anne’s brother-in-law, invaded England on November 5, 1688, which later became known as the “Glorious Revolution”. He was able to depose of King James and take the throne with Mary. All along, Anne had known of these plans from constant correspondence with her sister even though James had forbade them to visit. Anne approved of William’s plan as well and refused to help her father. Sarah Churchill, one of the most influential woman in England during her time and a very close friend of Anne’s, sided with William as well, was ordered to be arrested but fled with Anne from Whitehall. They spent a night with Bishop Compton then arrived in Nottingham on December 1 were they would stay for two weeks. The two were then escorted out of Nottingham, and Anne was reunited with her husband in Oxford. She returned to London on December 19 and met with William upon her arrival. James fled to France four days later. Soon after, it was declared that James had abdicated by running away to France and that William and Mary would take the throne. Then on July 24, 1689 Anne gave birth to Prince William, Duke of Gloucester who would be her only child to survive infancy, though he was often ill from the time he was born until his death eleven years later. Because William and Mary did not have any children, Prince William was a possible heir.

Anne with son William, Duke of Gloucester. Source: wikipedia.org

Anne became angry with William and Mary first when they refused to allow her to use Richmond Palace and give her a parliamentary allowance. When William refused to let George served in the military, Anne’s anger worsened and her close relationship with her sister became strained. William and Mary were worried though that if Anne was more financially independent, their influence over her would become weaker. John Churchill, who was given the Earldom of Marlborough, was dismissed from William’s offices when rumors of him conspiring with James’s followers surfaced. The public was still in support of the Marlboroughs, so Anne refused to dismiss Sarah from her household and continued to take her to social events. Lord Chamberlain removed Sarah, or Lady Marlborough, from the royal household, causing Anne to leave her royal home and move to Syon House in London where the Duke of Somerset was living. Soon, Anne was stripped of her guard of honour and was forbidden to be seen by courtiers and ignored by civic authorities. Anne gave birth to a son that April who died right after being born and was visited by Mary, who did not comfort her sister but instead got made at her for her friendship with Sarah. Anne moved to Berkeley House in Piccadilly shortly after and was never to speak to or see her sister again. In March of 1693, she gave birth again, but sadly to a stillborn daughter.

In 1694, Anne became William’s heir apparent after Mary died that year due to smallpox. After, the two rekindled their friendship and Anne was given back her previous titles and was from then on allowed to live in St. James’s Palace. Marlborough was also given his offices back and Berkeley House became a place for social events and activities for courtiers. Six years later, Anne had gone through many miscarried and stillborn pregnancies. When she miscarried a son, her final pregnancy ended on January 25, 1700, not long before her only surviving child William died. Throughout her life, she had at least twelve miscarriages and stillbirths and of her four living children, only one lived past two, and two died the day they were born. There are many diseases or reasons historians have suggested as to why she suffered through so many stillbirths and miscarriages, though it is unknown as to what the actual cause was.

From 1698 onwards, Anne also suffered through gout. For the rest of her life, she was unable to walk because of it and was carried around in what is called a sedan chair or she just used a wheelchair. A one-horse chaise was used around her estate. Because she could no longer walk, Anne started gaining weight, and according to close friend Sarah “she grew exceeding gross and corpulent.”

William, Duke of Gloucester died on July 30, 1700 at eleven years old. Anne and George were grieved for their child overwhelmingly. She ordered for her household to observe a mourning day every year on the date of his death. This left Anne as the only person in the line of succession that had been earlier established in the Bill of Rights 1689. By the Act of Settlement 1701, Sophia, Electress of Hanover would be given the crown if Anne and George failed to have any more children.

On March 8, 1702, William III died, and Anne became Queen. Right away, she was a very popular queen. Three days later, she made her first speech to Parliament and spoke of how she wanted only for England to be happy and distanced herself away from the Dutch William. George was given the title of Lord High Admiral, which ultimately put him in charge of the Royal Navy. marlborough was then put in control of the army when appointed Captain-General and later created a Knight of the Garter and duke. The now Duchess of Marlborough, still a very close friend of Anne’s, became Groom of the Stole, Mistress of the Robes, and Keeper of the Privy Purse. Because of her gout affliction, Anne was carried to Westminster Abbey during her coronation on April 23, 1702 sitting on an open sedan chair that had a low back so her train followed behind. It was not long after that England began fighting with Austria and the Dutch Republic against France and Spain in the War of Spanish Succession.

1705 portrait of Anne. Source: wikipedia.org

Early on in her reign, Anne declared that it was necessary England and Scotland combine to become one kingdom after Ireland and England already had. In October of 1702, a group of English and Scottish officials met to discuss these terms, but they were unable to reach an agreement and broke up in February of 1703. Not long after, the Act of Security in Scotland was passed. It gave power to the Estates to choose the next monarch of Scotland if Anne did not have any more children. She did not give the act royal assent until the next year when the Estates threatened to withhold their supply from England. English Parliament in return passed the Alien Act 1705. This act declared Scottish subjects aliens among other things unless they repealed the Act of Security or united with England.  The Scottish Estates then decided to unite with England, who repealed the Alien Act. Anne appointed new commissioners to negotiate a union between England and Scotland in 1706.  It was ratified in January and March of 1707 and the two kingdoms became Great Britain under the Acts of Union. Anne was a great supporter of the two kingdoms coming together to form one union throughout her life prior to the Acts of Union.

During her reign, the two-party system also began to develop. Anne was much more in favor of the Tories as they were supportive of the Anglican church, which she was a member of, than the Whigs. Her relationship with Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough began to deteriorate when Sarah suggested Anne appoint more Whigs, as she was not in favor of the Tories. Anne began appointing more Whigs under influence from friends and others around her, but that worsened many of her friendships and strengthened those with other Tories. Abigail Hill, one of the women of the bedchamber, became closer with Anne, which angered Sarah. Even more so, Sarah was angry when Abigail moved into her rooms at Kensington Palace. Sarah even came to court implying that Anne and Abigail had a lesbian relationship, though that was most likely untrue and Abigail was just a good friend and servant to Anne. Sarah and Anne got in a terrible argument at a thanksgiving dinner after the Battle of Oudenarde when Anne did not wear jewels selected by Sarah, who then yelled at her to be quiet.

source: pintrest.com

On October 28, 1708, Anne suffered through the death of her beloved husband, George. “His death has flung the Queen into an unspeakable grief. She never left him till he was dead, but continued kissing him the very moment his breath went out of his body, and ’twas with a great deal of difficulty my Lady Marlborough prevailed upon her to leave him,” a letter to General Cadogan from James Brydges said. Anne then wrote soon afterwards to Frederick IV of Denmark, her nephew, “the loss of such a husband, who loved me so dearly and so devotedly, is too crushing for me to be able to bear it as I ought.” She so desperately wanted to stay with his body at Kensington, but Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough pressured her to leave Kensington for St James’s Place, so she did. Sarah then removed George’s portrait from Anne’s bedroom, which angered Anne, and their relationship only became worse. On November 13 George was buried privately. Anne was so distraught over her husband’s death that she was forced to accept Whigs into her cabinet. The Whigs used George’s death as an advantage. Sarah refused to stop criticizing the friendship between Anne and Abigail such that Anne wrote to her husband asking him to make her stop. After April 6, 1710 on Maundy Thursday, the two of them never saw each other again.

That same year, Anne began dismissing the Whigs from her office, but kept Marlborough in his position as commander of the army. Abigail soon took over Sarah’s post as Keeper of the Privy in January of 1711. Her husband, Samuel Masham, was then made a baron, and the Duke of Marlborough was dismissed from office. A peace treaty was ratified afterwards that ended England’s involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Between January-July of 1713, Anne had lost the ability to walk entirely. That Christmas she had a terrible fever and stayed in bed unconscious for hours on end. This began to spread rumors of her possible death, but she was able to recover. However, Anne was ill once more that March. She dismissed her Lord Treasurer, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer from office after he had served many posts during her reign because she lost trust in him. Her doctors began blaming state matters on her straining health and constant stress as her health was worsening and worsening. Anne became so ill she was no longer able to attend cabinet meetings. On July 30, 1714, her ability to speak was rendered by a stroke. On August 1, 1714 Queen Anne of great Britain died at around 7:30 a.m at forty-nine years old at Kensington Palace, Middlesex. She was buried at Henry VII Chapel besides George and her children on August 24. George, Elector of hanover succeeded her as King.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Queen Anne: A Biography Hardcover – January 1, 2012

• Print length 416 pages
• Language English
• Publisher HarperPress
• Publication date January 1, 2012
• Dimensions 6.26 x 2.05 x 9.45 inches
• ISBN-10 0007203756
• ISBN-13 978-0007203758
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperPress; First Edition (January 1, 2012)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0007203756
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007203758
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.17 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.26 x 2.05 x 9.45 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #6,018,818 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

About the author

Anne somerset.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 48% 25% 17% 6% 3% 48%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 48% 25% 17% 6% 3% 25%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 48% 25% 17% 6% 3% 17%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 48% 25% 17% 6% 3% 6%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 48% 25% 17% 6% 3% 3%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book well-researched with detailed information and a rich biography. They also say the book is a political study and not a biography. However, some readers find the complexity disappointing and time consuming. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it well-written and others saying it's poorly written. Customers also differ on the plot, with others finding it good history and others boring and drawn out.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book well researched, with detailed information. They also say it's an engaging biography, with an exhaustive account of the complex politics of Queen Anne's reign. Readers also say the book is illuminating, and provides a more truthful picture of the subject.

"...However, she was hardworking, conscientious , and dedicated to safeguarding the rights of the monarchy in the governance of the kingdom...." Read more

"...I found the book to be quite easy reading and very informative ...." Read more

"...The book is very thorough, very well documented and footnoted, and beautifully written." Read more

"...Although the subject of this book is fascinating , I found the "cast of characters" too voluminous for me to follow...." Read more

Customers find the book compelling, interesting, and enlightening. They also say it gives them the full and truthful picture.

"...Somerset has written a rich , detailed biography and political study...." Read more

"...This book gives you the full , and much more truthful, picture...." Read more

"A really well written account of Queen Anne of England. Compelling , interesting and enlightening. Fantastic price for such a big history book...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style. Some find it well written, while others say it's poorly written and too detailed.

"...I found the book to be quite easy reading and very informative...." Read more

"...book is very thorough, very well documented and footnoted, and beautifully written ." Read more

"...the detail of Anne's personal life is perhaps too detailed and makes for slow reading ...." Read more

"...It is not a lyrical book but it is fairly easy to read . I would recommend to learn more about Anne a d the politics of the time." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot. Some find the history of a little known queen of England interesting and beautiful, while others say it's boring and drawn out.

"...It is a monumental biography and should be read by anyone interested in European and British history." Read more

"...Because it was a little boring in places , I rate it four stars, but I esteem it as a very good book." Read more

" Really good history of a little known queen of England. Her life was full of hearbreak but she did the best she could for her country." Read more

"...is ok, but it was a chore to get through, probably because Anne was not very interesting ...." Read more

Customers find the book complex and time consuming. They also say the second half really bogged down and the cast of characters is too voluminous for them to follow.

"...is fascinating, I found the "cast of characters" too voluminous for me to follow ...." Read more

"...The reason for four stars is that the second half really bogged me down ...." Read more

"...and I was looking forward to this one, however, I found it to be quite a slow read ...." Read more

"...The writing is ok, but it was a chore to get through , probably because Anne was not very interesting...." Read more

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

41 Queen Anne Facts: Biography, Achievements, And Achievements!

Queen Anne was one of the most beloved British monarchs in history, known for her wit, intelligence, and compassion.

On February 6, 1665, Queen Anne was born and died on August 1, 1714. She was the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1702 t0 1714.

Anne aimed to rule England independently; however, her chronic ill health and intellectual limitations made her rely on her ministers. As a result, some rivalries led to succession to her throne. Here are 41 Queen Anne facts that will give you a better understanding of this fascinating Queen.

The Early Life Of Queen Anne

Queen Anne's upbringing shaped her into the compassionate Queen she became known as. Learn with us Queen Anne's life, daughter of James II and VII and Anne Hyde. Her father was the younger brother of King Charles II, who ruled England, Scotland, and Ireland; her mother was the daughter of Lord Chancellor Edward Hyde.

• On February 6, 1665, Queen Anne was born at St. James's Palace, Westminster, Middlesex, England.
• She was born as the fourth child and second daughter of Duke of Yoke (afterward James II and VII) and his first wife. Her parents were Duke James II and VII and Anne Hyde.
• Queen Anne had her Anglican baptism at Chapel Royal St. James. Anne's older sister, Maryl, along with Duchess of Monmouth, and Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, are her godparents .
• The Duke and Duchess have eight children, and among them, Mary and Anne were the only ones who survived into adulthood.
• George of Denmark and Princess Anne of Denmark. Queen Anne had a difficult childhood. She lost her mother when she was just two years old and her father when she was six. As an only child, she was raised by her grandparents, King Charles II and Queen Henrietta Maria of France.
• In 1668, Queen Anne suffered from 'Defluxion.' Defluxion is an eye condition that leads to excessive watering in the eye. She was later sent to France for medical treatment, where Anne lived with her paternal grandmother, Henrietta Maria of France.
• After the death of Anne's grandmother in 1669, Anne lived with her aunt, Henrietta Anne (wife of Laurence Hyde), Duchess of Orleans. Unfortunately, after the sudden death of Anne's aunt in 1670, she was sent to England.
• Queen Anne's mother died the following year, in 1671. After their mother's death, Anne and Mary were sent away from their father as a part of royal family tradition and placed under the care of Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers. 
• Though Anne's father was a Roman Catholic, Anne and her elder sister Mary were raised Protestants under the instructions of King Charles II. Their education was focused on Anglican Church, where Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was made their preceptor.
• Anne developed a good friendship with Sarah Jennings Churchill (wife of John Churchill) from childhood. Jennings was an important member of Anne's ministries.

Family Of Queen Anne

Anne ruled England for 12 years till her death, and her personal life and succession of the crown is marked with various crises. Learn unknown facts about Queen Anne's family and children.

• Anne's elder sister married William of Orange; however, Anne was forbidden to meet them in the Netherlands upon their father's order.
• In 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark. Although it was an arranged marriage, Prince George was devoted to Anne, and they were faithful to each other.
• Bishop Compton officiated Anne and Prince George's wedding at Chapel Royal St. James's Palace. The couple was gifted with the building in the 'Palace of Whitehall,' known as 'The Cockpit.' The Cockpit was their London residence.
• Sarah Churchill was one of Anne's ladies of the bed-chamber. 
• Anne was pregnant within the months of marriage, but the baby was stillborn in May. Anne recovered at Tunbridge Wells' SPA town, and in the next two years, she gave birth to two daughters, Anne Sophia and her elder sister Mary. 
• Between 1683 and 1700, Anne was pregnant 18 times; only five children were born alive. And out of five children, only one survived infancy. He was born on July 24, 1689, and Anne and George named him Prince William, Duke of Gloucester. He died in 1700 due to unclear causes.

A Succession Of Queen Anne

In 1673, after James Francis Edward Stuart, Duke of York's conversion to Catholicism, became public, Duke married Catholic Princess Mary of Modena. She was only six and half years older than Anne.

Since King Charles II had no legitimate children, the Duke of York was placed in the line of succession. After his two surviving daughters from the first marriage, the Duchess of York had ten children, none long-lived over the next ten years.

It made Anne and her sister Mary second and third in the line of succession. Learn the brief succession of Queen Anne.

• After Anne's son died in 1700 due to unknown causes, she led the three kingdoms herself without a successor. She accepted the 1701 Act of Settlement, which designated Anne as a successor of the Hanoverian descendants of King James I of England.
• When William of Orange landed on the throne to England in 1688, Anne sided with the Protestant ruler William III of Orange; when he overthrew the Catholic King James II in 1688. Anne sided with William under the instructions of Sarah Churchill. Sarah Jennings Churchill was Anne's childhood friend who had a princess in her power.
• By 1689, William and his wife, Princess Mary (Anne's elder sister), were made Duke and Duchess of England. William took the name King William III, and Anne was placed in line for succession to the throne after King William III. Finally, Anne succeeded the throne after Queen Mary died in 1694, and King William also died in 1702.
• Anne was looked at as the potential successor of Britain by King Charles, and Louis XIV of France accepted it. Anne was crowned Queen in 1702 in the Westminster Abbey at the age of 37 years. She remained close friends with Sarah Churchill, whom she called 'Mrs. Freeman' and Sarah Churchill called Anne 'Mrs. Morley'.
• John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (Sarah's husband), commanded the War of Spanish Succession and won a series of victories over French at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709).
• Anne's first ministry was headed by Sidney Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough. And from 1703, Sarah Churchill's influence over Anne was slight, and it declined after a violent quarrel in 1710. Sarah Churchill was dismissed from the court; however, the Duke remained commander of British forces.
• Anne's husband, Prince George, was appointed Lord High Admiral, giving him control over the Royal Navy.
• Lord Marlborough was appointed Captain General; he also received many honors from the Queen. Besides, he was also awarded 'Knight of the Garter Title' and promoted to Duke's rank.
• Queen Anne of Great Britain suffered from various health problems. Some of them are the joints' inflammatory disease, causing sudden severe pains and attacks of gouts.
• After Queen Anne died, family loyalty was convinced that Anne's father's son must inherit the crown by his second wife, Mary of Modena (Anne's stepmother). The son was named James Edward Stuart, also known as Old Pretender. However, as per the 1701 Act of Settlement, succession to the throne was succeeded by Protestant George I (King George I, 1714-1727), great-grandson of James I.

Legacy Of Queen Anne

Queen Anne's reign created modern Great Britain, the United Kingdom. Despite being very shy, she was a good public speaker with impressive achievements. She emphasized her own language. Learn more of her legacy and her transformation from Royal Chapel and Hampton Court Palace.

• Queen Anne was the last from the Stuart dynasty who ruled England for 45 years. She was remembered for supporting and achieving the Acts of Union of 1707. The act united the crowns of England and Scotland into a single nation.
• She is also remembered for concluding the War of Spanish Succession.
• Anne proved to be an ardent advocate of union, and Queen Anne's first parliament speech set a clear direction for reign. It includes her commitment to protestant succession.
• Queen Anne's reign played a primary role in aiding Britain's democratization process into a constitutional Monarchy.
• Queen Anne's name was associated with the cultural history of English, including the artistic, architectural, literary, and scientific advancements.
• Anne is referred to as 'Good Queen Anne,' as she was generous for donating to the war budget and compensating soldiers who lost their assets and horses in battles.
• Queen Anne also regarded herself as the mother of all subjects, bringing various feminine qualities to the task of being for her nation's sovereign.
• Queen Anne's biography was released as BBC TV drama series, and it was named 'The First Churchhills.'
• Anne was rewarded with different honor titles. Some of them are 'Her Highness The Lady Anne (February 6, 1665-July 28, 1683),' 'Her Royal Highness Princess Geroge of Denmark and Norway (July 28, 1683-March 8, 1702),' 'Her Majesty The Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (March 8, 1702-May 1, 1707),' and 'Her Majesty The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (May 1, 1707-August 1, 1714).'

Administration By Queen Anne

Queen Anne's political strategy was moderate with competing political views, with necessary tactics at the time of war. Read more to know Queen Anne's administration.

• The first half of Anne's reign was characterized under the instructions of others. Significant among them is Sarah Churchill, Anne's childhood friend.
• The first halve politics was primarily focused on the nation's pride and wisdom of land wars. It led to overconfidence in the military success that adopted fruitless policy 'No peace with Spain.'
• Though Anne had always been a strong supporter of the UK, she also supported the War of Spanish Succession, a Whig war. However, Anne had always included supporting the war under the instruction of Churchill.
• After the decline of Sarah from the courtroom, Anne's political influences had a significant change with Abigail Hill, Sarah's cousin. Historians' statements show that they believed Anne manipulated her ministers to enact the policies. Still, others see her as a monarch manipulated by her ministers.
• The 1701 Settlement of Act that united England and Scotland pushed for the Act of Union. In 1707, Anne supported the Settlement of Act.
• During Anne's reign, there were nine general elections between 1695 and 1713. All the elections structured the UK party issues and party leaders.

How many pregnancies did Queen Anne have?

A: Between 1683-1700, Queen Anne was pregnant 18 times. However, only five children were born alive, and among them, only one son survived infancy.

How long was Anne Boleyn Queen?

A: Anne ruled England for 12 years, from 1702 to 1714; it changed Great Britain forever.

What did Queen Anne die of?

A: On August 1, 1714, Queen Anne died of severe strokes. She was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Who succeeded Queen Anne?

A: George I, great-grandson of James I suceeded Queen Anne.

How many children did Queen Anne have?

A: Among 18 pregnancies, Queen Anne gave birth to five children, and only one son survived infancy. And by 1700, the Queen's son and the crown prince of England died due to unclear causes.

We Want Your Photos!

More for you, 36 illinois facts: history, geography, and more, reconstruction era facts: history, transition, and much more, 1955 facts: social reforms, economic growth, nobel prizes.

Bachelor of Engineering specializing in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Keerthana Ramasamy Bachelor of Engineering specializing in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

With a background in electrical and electronics engineering from Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Keerthana brings a unique blend of technical expertise and creative flair to her role as a content writer. Her natural curiosity and passion for exploring new career paths led her to the exciting world of content marketing, where she has honed her content optimization, SEO, and Google Analytics skills. Keerthana's experience as a Content Marketing Specialist at GetMyUni has provided her with hands-on experience in digital marketing and editing, allowing her to create engaging and impactful content.

Bachelor of Arts specializing in Economics

Gowri Rao Bachelor of Arts specializing in Economics

With a bachelor's degree in Economics from Krea University, Gowri is a highly skilled data analyst and an expert in regression and causation modeling. Her interests in economic trends, finance, and investment research complement her professional expertise. In addition to her professional pursuits, Gowri enjoys swimming, running, and playing the drums, and she is also a talented tutor.

1) Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the Buy Now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published but we cannot guarantee that on the time of reading. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.

2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.

3) Because we are an educational resource, we have quotes and facts about a range of historical and modern figures. We do not endorse the actions of or rhetoric of all the people included in these collections, but we think they are important for growing minds to learn about under the guidance of parents or guardians.

google form TBD

Kidadl is supported by you, the reader. When you buy through the links on our site we may earn a commission.

As an Amazon Associate, Kidadl earns from qualifying purchases.

Anne of Great Britain (Q119702)

• Lady Anne Stuart
• Lady Anne of England
• Anne, Lord of Ireland
• The Lady Anne of England
• Queen Anne of Great Britain
• Anne, Queen of England
• Anne Stuart
• The Lady Anne Stuart
• Anne, Queen of Ireland
• Anne, Queen of Scotland

Wikisource (1 entry)

• enwikisource Author:Anne

Wikiversity (0 entries)

Wikivoyage (0 entries), wiktionary (0 entries), multilingual sites (1 entry).

• commonswiki Anne of Great Britain

Navigation menu

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

This Classic Cruise Ship Has Everything From Black-tie Galas to Fjord Kayaking Excursions – Read Our Review

Cunard's new Queen Anne is based out of Southampton, with plans to sail much of Europe — including the fjords of Norway.

Paul Brady is the news director at Travel + Leisure and the brand's expert on cruise travel. He has been covering the travel industry for more than 15 years for outlets including Condé Nast Traveler , Skift , and The Huffington Post .

The Staterooms

Bars and restaurants, where queen anne sails, shore excursions, amenities and entertainment, family-friendly offerings, accessibility.

Christopher Ison/Courtesy of Cunard

From the damp seat of my sea kayak, the specks falling from the edge of the fjord were nearly imperceptible. There goes one, then another, then another. Suddenly, their parachutes opened. What I thought were leaves or maybe stones knocked loose by a hiker turned out to be wingsuit flyers careening down the rock face at nearly 100 miles an hour. As I paddled back to the beach, more jumpers flew over the edge before gracefully gliding to a safe landing.

I’d come to one of Norway’s adventure capitals thinking that a couple of hours paddling through a fjord would be quite the adventure. It turns out that adrenaline can always go higher.

Of course, that’s why people head to Norway’s fjordlands in the middle of summer, to soak up the sun and get the blood pumping. I’d only just arrived in Flåm aboard the Queen Anne, the newest cruise ship from the storied line Cunard, a favorite of Travel + Leisure readers.

Flåm is the sort of place where you might see, like I did, a hitchhiker carrying a sign that reads “next town” or two dozen souped-up #vanlife rigs parked along the edge of the fjord. It’s filled with kayak outfitters and bike-tour operators and serves as an adventure hub. While it’s possible to road trip yourself — the drive from Oslo takes around five hours — it’s almost certainly more comfortable and convenient to get here by ship. And, if you come by ship, you’re guaranteed a hot shower, a nice meal, and a bit of evening entertainment after a hard day of paddling.

The Queen Anne has 1,498 cabins that accommodate nearly 3,000 guests — bigger than the kinds of ships I tend to enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised by all the space available on board during my week-long trip.

I’d met the ship in Southampton, England, and after a day crossing the North Sea, we landed in Bergen for a bit of sightseeing around Norway’s second-biggest city. Then, the drama really picked up as Captain David Hudson and their team charted a course through the fjords to Flåm. The dizzying cliffs that hemmed in our course were like nothing I’d ever seen — and, indeed, were all the more stunning from the sundeck.

“Norway is a very popular cruise destination,” said Captain Hudson as we departed. “But sailing along a World Heritage fjord on a sunny, clear evening very close to the summer solstice is an experience few people get to have.”

In these far-northern reaches, the sun would shine for 18 or 19 hours a day, and as the ship sailed away from Flåm, several dozen passengers and I enjoyed the twinkle of the piano in the Commodore Club, with a view of the rocky islets of the Sognefjord. By breakfast the next day, we’d reached the village of Olden, where e-biking, paddling, and hiking were among the adventure activities on offer.

Another scheduled stop, Haugesund, was skipped due to heavy winds. Our resourceful crew instead charted a course into the Hardangerfjord, where we spent the day slowly cruising past salmon farms, waterfalls, and villages that, from the ship, appeared to be delightfully charming bases for glacier hikes.

All the while, back on board, my fellow passengers and I could count on the sort of big-ship amenities many cruise passengers expect. The pool deck, spa, fitness center, and Golden Lion pub seemed to hum at all hours, and a series of variety shows (including a popular murder mystery called Noir ) were well attended by many. The bars and lounges were often full but not overly so, and a general sense of stately calm seemed to permeate the ship, as you might expect from a line that channels British heritage — and had a sizable number of U.K. guests on board.

Like all Cunard ships, Queen Anne retains one maritime tradition in the form of a class system. There are four main categories of travel, in ascending order of opulence: Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill, and Queens Grill. Each class of service has a corresponding dining room; the top two tiers also have their own lounges and outdoor terrace spaces. While all passengers are welcome in most areas of the ship — including its alternative restaurants, many of which come at extra cost — guests in lower-category classes can’t access the high-end amenities. The “ship within a ship” setup is roughly equivalent to what’s available in premium areas on other lines — the Yacht Club of MSC, the Haven on Norwegian — though, on Cunard, the premium passengers have fewer just-for-us amenities than top-class guests on those competing lines.

I was traveling as an entry-level Britannia guest, but I still felt plenty pampered on several occasions, particularly at Sir Samuel’s, an at-extra-cost steakhouse. Yet there were other moments where I must admit, I felt a bit like guest number 2,756 on board, whether trying to flag somebody down for a cappuccino at Carinthia Lounge or when the Wellness Café, which makes a point of having cold-pressed juice, was out of several menu options.

Still, the thrills off the ship made up for many of these minor flubs, some of which might have to do with how new the Queen Anne still is. After all, Cunard carries the weight of 180 years of seagoing tradition, and its ships still host black-tie gala evenings twice a week. Being the crew aboard the newest vessel in that line must be as intimidating as, well, wingsuit flying.

Here’s a closer look at the new Cunard cruise ship Queen Anne 's amenities, restaurants, staterooms, and services.

• Queen Anne is a well-appointed, 1,498-cabin ship with endless options for things to do, plentiful dining choices, and comfortable public spaces.
• Interesting itineraries travel to places like the fjords of Norway or sailing the coast of Spain — and would be hard to replicate any other way.
• There are some high-end dining choices, including Sir Samuel’s, and a stacked wine cellar with many impressive a la carte bottles.

Courtesy of Cunard

With 1,498 cabins, Queen Anne has a wide variety of choices. The entry-level rooms inside cabins without so much as a window are hyper-efficient and aggressively priced. By contrast, high-end Princess and Queens Grill suites come with butler service, balconies, and all sorts of extras. (A half-dozen Queens Grill Grand and Master suites are among the finest in Cunard’s fleet.)

About half of the rooms on board, though, were like mine, a Britannia Balcony cabin with a touch of art deco in the design. Besides the balcony, my favorite feature of room 8156 was the bathroom, which had a spacious-for-a-ship shower stall and plenty of storage and light. The rest of the room, including hanging storage and a small desk that also housed a petite minibar, was functional and clean, if not exactly breathtaking in terms of the overall vibe. One additional note: I found the onboard Wi-Fi to be pretty fast and reliable, even in the middle of the North Sea, though I did have to reload a sign-in splash page every morning.

Bring an appetite because Queen Anne is filled with fantastic dining venues and several excellent bars. Each category of travel — Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill, and Queens Grill — has its own main dining room with a corresponding name, with either set dining times or open seating, depending on guest preference. While the menus in each are ever-changing — and, at the high end, are stuffed with decadent dishes such as lobster thermidor — the overall tenor of the cuisine is continental, with heavy British influence. On my trip, meals in Britannia were multi-course affairs, served with an old-school flourish by a capable, pleasant team. An extensive buffet called Artisans’ Foodhall seemed to have almost anything you could want at virtually any hour.

Elsewhere on board, several specialty restaurants were available at an extra charge. Among my standouts were Golden Lion, a traditionally styled pub open for lunch and pints, and Sir Samuel’s, an elevated steakhouse with extraordinary raw-bar platters. Other options include Aranya, an Indian restaurant; Tramonto, a pan-Mediterannean spot; and Aji Wa, for sushi and other Japanese fare. While I loved the concept of the Wellness Café, which overlooks the pool and has a long menu of pressed juices, smoothies, and bowls, I found the execution of dishes a bit lackluster over several visits.

The cocktail bars and lounges, however, were consistently on point, with a variety of themes, whether the classic Chart Room, with Champagne and martinis; the casino bar, which specializes in Negronis; or Cabana, a rum joint with dozens of selections but, to my disappointment, limited hours. Throughout the ship, non-alcoholic options were also widely available, with NA cocktails listed on many menus.

For the time being, Southampton, England, is Queen Anne 's home port. Weeklong trips to places such as Norway, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Canary Islands are among the routes available. A couple of particularly compelling itineraries for 2025 include a two-week sail from Southampton that travels around the British Isles and a 12-day itinerary that explores the fjords of Norway, which will be pretty similar to the route I traveled.

The ship is scheduled to sail a 111-day world cruise in the upcoming winter months, departing Hamburg, Germany, in January 2025. It will cross the Atlantic Ocean, transit the Panama Canal, sail the Pacific, and visit ports in Asia and the Middle East before traveling through the Suez Canal and back to Hamburg.

For all the amenities on board, Queen Anne is also a compelling way to explore interesting destinations: On my sail to Norway, Cunard had arranged numerous activities in every port, ranging from simple city-center walks to full-day active adventures to splurge-worthy excursions like a helicopter flight over a glacier. While shore excursions on Cunard come at extra cost, I found the process of choosing and booking them online very easy; compared to other cruise lines, Cunard did an excellent job of describing the tours, the activity level, and the value prop of every activity.

During my trip, I was particularly thrilled with the experience of e-biking in Olden with a local guide who took our group of 12 to his own family’s lakeside farm, where we ate wild strawberries and heard stories about rural life. Then, there was the excellent morning of kayaking alongside several paddling guides, who steered a group of about 20 passengers to a secluded beach before we turned back and saw those wingsuit fliers. Truly high-end adventures, such as an overflight of the Briksdal Glacier, are, predictably, expensive, but most of my tours were priced competitively compared to third-party options.

Cunard excels at keeping guests entertained. At any hour, there are countless things to do, whether card games, trivia competitions, archery lessons (seriously), dancing, live music, shopping, high tea, lectures, fitness classes, pickleball, minigolf, and so on. One daily program from my trip listed at least 69 different activities during a sea day when we had no stop in port scheduled. Among the highlights for me were the competitive rounds of trivia held in the Golden Lion and the sounds of live piano that filled the ship’s many bars and lounges every evening. Of course, this being a Cunard ship, there were also big band–style tunes at the Queens Room, particularly on the black-tie Gala Nights, of which there are two on week-long itineraries. Live performances in the Royal Court Theater included several musical reviews and stage shows that, as is common on ships, had brief runtimes.

The ship’s spa and fitness area were very popular on my sailing, and most passengers I spoke with were satisfied with the treatments and amenities. The wellness areas, most of which are on a lower deck, forward, didn’t have much in the way of views — but that didn’t make them any less popular. One exception is a Wellness Studio, located under a pergola near the pool, that hosted yoga and other movement classes in the fresh air. Nice.

Queen Anne has a fantastic main pool deck called the Pavilion, with tons of loungers, an excellent array of food and drinks, and a glass roof that allows for all-weather enjoyment. The outdoor Panorama Pool Club is an alternate swimming pool with views over the stern of the ship. (Princess and Queens Grill guests have their own terrace, with twin whirlpools, which I was sadly unable to visit.) As is becoming standard on new vessels, there’s also a pickleball court, along with other more traditional sun-deck sports, including minigolf, shuffleboard, and table tennis.

Cunard may have a buttoned-up, black-tie reputation, but I saw many families and groups traveling on my sailing. It makes sense: This ship offers so much that anybody can dial in what they’re looking for. (And despite the formality sometimes required in the restaurants and entertainment venues in the evenings, several spots on board are casual around the clock.)

A few kid-specific, age-appropriate hangouts are on board: the Play Zone is for those 2 to 7; the Kids’ Zone is meant for tweens; and the Teen Zone welcomes older children. Depending on the day, they’re staffed for several hours, with activities and games. Cunard also offers a Night Nursery service for very young ones, 6 months up to 2 years of age, so that parents can have an evening “out.” The main pool also welcomes all ages. Suites, in particular, have plenty of room to accommodate families, and there are 100 connecting staterooms on board.

Cunard is well-suited to individuals with limited mobility, and I noticed that many guests on my sailing used mobility aids. The line keeps a detailed guide to its many accessibility policies and procedures online. On Queen Anne, there are 33 cabins and suites designated as accessible.

On my sailing, many announcements were made over a public address system, and it wasn’t immediately apparent what alternative accommodations may have been available.

Related Articles