Queen Anne of England

Anne
Portrait by Michael Dahl, 1705
Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (more...)
Reign	8 March 1702 – 1 May 1707
Coronation	23 April 1702
Predecessor	William III & II
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (more...)
Reign	1 May 1707 – 1 August 1714
Successor	George I
Born	(1665-02-06)6 February 1665 St James's Palace, Westminster
Died	1 August 1714(1714-08-01) (aged 49) Kensington Palace, Middlesex
Burial	24 August 1714 Westminster Abbey
Spouse	Prince George of Denmark
Issue more...	Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
House	Stuart
Father	James II & VII
Mother	Anne Hyde
Religion	Church of England
Signature

Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death.

Anne was born in the reign of her uncle Charles II, who had no legitimate children. Her father, James, was first in line to the throne. His suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England, and on Charles's instructions Anne was raised as an Anglican. Three years after he succeeded Charles, James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Anne's Dutch Protestant brother-in-law and cousin William III became joint monarch with his wife, Anne's elder sister Mary II. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Anne's finances, status and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Mary's accession and they became estranged. William and Mary had no children. After Mary's death in 1694, William continued as sole monarch until he was succeeded by Anne upon his death in 1702.

As queen, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession, until in 1710 Anne dismissed many of them from office. Her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, turned sour as the result of political differences. The Duchess had her revenge in an unflattering description of the Queen in her memoirs, that was widely adopted by historians until Anne was re-assessed in the late 20th-century.