Anne of Great Britain – England’s Forgotten Queen

/ historicallywoman

Queen Anne had a tragic life. Of her seventeen known pregnancies, only one child survived past infancy – her son, William, Duke of Gloucester – only to die days after his eleventh birthday. She was also forced to endure the loss of her beloved husband, George, and the estrangement of her best friend and confidant, Sarah Churchill. She was often ill and suffered near constant pain, having to be carried into her coronation. As such, it is small wonder that, upon her death in 1714, Anne’s doctors declared that, “Sleep was never more welcome to a weary traveller than death was to her”.

A combination of her poor health, tragedy, and a vindictive book by Sarah Churchill have led historians to dismiss Anne as a weak monarch, trapped under the influence of her ministers, politically and militarily naive. 

This could not be farther from the truth.

Even before she became queen, Anne involved herself in politics, supporting her sister and brother-in-law, Mary II and William of Orange, in the ‘Glorious Revolution’. They seized the throne from Anne and Mary’s Catholic father (the sisters had been raised Protestant at Charles II’s request) and put in place the 1701 Act of Succession, ensuring that only a Protestant could inherit the throne from then on. 

William and Mary ruled jointly until Mary’s death in 1694. The two sisters had not seen each other for two years, becoming estranged over Anne’s friendship with Sarah Churchill and her claims that William was unkind to her. William and Anne somewhat reconciled after Mary’s death, but he kept her at a distance from power until his own death and Anne’s ascension in 1702. 

Queen Anne, painted by Michael Dahl, 1705

Expectations were low for Anne’s coronation. Already suffering from what we now understand to be lupus, a disease that causes inflammation to the joints, skin, and organs, and the last of her pregnancies resulting in a stillborn son, Anne was described as ‘too unwieldy and lame’ to be an effective ruler. Gout prevented her from walking into parliament; Sarah Churchill arranged for her to be carried in. 

Nevertheless, Anne defied all expectations. She declared, “As I know myself to be entirely English, I can very sincerely assure you there is not anything you can expect or desire of me, which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England.”

This was a lightly veiled dig at her predecessor. William III had been Dutch, and unpopular with both parliament and the people. The assurance that she was, in fact, ‘entirely English’, resonated across the country and won Anne great support. Her seemingly unwavering dedication to maintaining the nation led to her becoming a popular and well-loved queen, something which lasted until her death.

Anne presided over a period of great change in Britain, no fewer than ten parliaments being elected between 1695 and 1715 – five of them under Anne’s twelve year reign. She attended more cabinet meetings than any of her predecessors, deftly managing the two increasingly warring parties – the Tories and the Whigs – and made her voice heard, an incredible feat for a woman in a world of men. 

There were two events that defined Queen Anne’s reign – and, indeed, the future of the entire country. The first was the War of the Spanish Succession, in which several European countries vied for the Spanish throne. Anne knew the war would be unpopular, and sought a quick victory for England. She placed John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (and husband to her ‘favourite’, Sarah) in charge of her armies – a wise decision, as Marlborough was a skilled soldier. He achieved many victories, most notably at the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, for which Anne awarded him and his wife with land and a grand house. 

Marlborough’s skill was such that England was in a strong position when the time came to negotiate peace. Again, Anne displayed her political aptitude by ensuring favourable terms; the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht granted Britain Gibraltar and Menorca, ensuring British naval supremacy in the Mediterranean, and the right to controlled trade with the Spanish New World.

The second great achievement for Anne was the creation of Great Britain. Whilst England and Scotland had shared a monarch since the ascension of James VI and I, the two held separate parliaments. Tensions had been high for years, and Anne was worried that France would make an alliance with Scotland to crush England. She pushed for the union, knowing it was the best solution to avoid war, and the best way to ensure Protestant succession to the throne.

I know my own heart to be entirely English.

Queen Anne, in her first speech to Parliament, 1702

There was opposition from both sides of the border, but Anne persisted, eventually resorting to bribery to get Scotland to agree to the union. Her plan worked and, on 1st May 1707, the Acts of Union came into effect. Anne had forever made her mark upon Britain, and one observer at a thanksgiving service remarked that: “Nobody on this occasion appeared more sincerely devout and thankful than the Queen herself.”

Unfortunately, despite her international successes, Anne’s personal tragedies continued to haunt her. The losses of their children greatly affected her and her husband, Anne believing it was her punishment from God for abandoning her father. In 1704, Prince George died, plunging Anne into severe grief, as the two had enjoyed a loving marriage. Furthermore, as if to add insult to injury, her friendship with Sarah Churchill was fraying, with Sarah chastising Anne for mourning her husband. It eventually broke down for good when Sarah introduced Anne to her cousin, Abigail Masham, unwittingly giving Anne a new ‘favourite’.

Anne’s statue outside St Paul’s Cathedral, London

Sarah and her husband were removed from favour, and Sarah began a propaganda campaign against Anne, implying that she and Abigail were having a lesbian love affair. It is unlikely that this was true, as most of the evidence comes from Sarah’s bitter biography of Anne, but it nevertheless tarnished Anne’s legacy for centuries. The release of The Favourite in 2018 condemned Anne to these rumours, painting her as weak, easily manipulated, and caught up in the scandal of her affairs with Sarah and Abigail. 

Exhausted and increasingly ill, Anne suffered a stroke on the anniversary of her son William’s death and died herself two days later. She attended cabinet meetings up until her final days, and it is likely that the stresses of running the state after so many losses were the final blow. She was 49 at the time of her death on 1st August 1714, and, with no living heir, became the last of the Stuarts. The throne passed to the House of Hanover, but not to Anne’s chosen successor, Sophia, who had predeceased her. She is buried beside her beloved George in Westminster Abbey.

Both history and Hollywood have dismissed Anne in favour of Sarah’s bitter words. Modern assessments paint her as a strong queen, loyal to her country, and popular with her people, yet still Anne continues to be forgotten, an unfair fate for a woman whose legacy still lives on to this very day.

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