QUEEN ANNE: From England to Britan

Queen Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1702.  The thrones of Scotland and England had been been merged almost a century before when James the VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I in 1603.  However, these two thrones and countries had been kept relatively separate in terms of country (if not by ruler).  One of the first things Queen Anne did was pass the Act of Union in 1707.  This act merged the two kingdoms together into one and created the Kingdom of Great Britain.  Thus, she was the first monarch to rule over the country as it would be called for quite sometime (Great Britain).  Anne's travel to the throne, however, was not easy.

Her father, who became Supreme Head of the Church of England when he got to the throne, had decided that he was, at heart, a Catholic.  Thus, it was unclear whether or not a Catholic could rule England (where Protestantism was so entrenched in the Church of England).  Thus, her father was deposed and replaced with Anne's sister Mary and Mary's husband William.  They ruled as joint monarchs until they both died by 1702.  Anne then took the throne.

Anne became immediately popular.  While her sister and bother-in-law enjoyed high popularity at the beginning of their reign because they deposed a Catholic, Mary died in 1694.  William continued to rule in her stead despite the fact that he was a Dutch prince.  People in England didn't like a foreigner on their throne, and Anne distanced herself from the Dutchman.  She was an English woman in heart and breeding, so she was popular.

She was also the first monarch to deal heavily with the two-party system that would develop in England.  This was between the Tories (Anglicans) and Whigs (Capitalist Protestants who were not Anglican).  Because the Anne was an Anglican, she tended to favor Tories.  In the end, the two-party system was only furthered developed during her reign and the reigns of those after her.

In the end, Anne suffered many health issues in the early 1710's.  She was almost constantly ill, had gout and strokes.  She was rendered unable to speak in 1714.  She was unable to walk at times and was often feverish.  She died in 1714 and was buried next to her husband in an almost square coffin.

While little of it was actually attributed directly to her (Parliament had take most royal power away by this time), Anne presided over a time of change in England (or Britain).  She was the first monarch to rule over Scotland and England as "Great Britain."  She was also the first monarch to really deal with the two-party system that would develop further in the reigns and centuries after her death.  In the end, she was a a sickly queen whose power had been eroded by Parliament and the constitutional monarchy (she was not the first to deal with Parliament, but she was shackled by it).  However, her reign over such monumental changes is significant in the grand scheme of history.

Her Wikipedia Page

King's College Page about Queen Anne

Next Time We Will Discuss...