Queen of Britain Anne

British royalty, the second daughter of James, duke of York and Anne Hyde; (King James II, 1685-88), and was Queen of Great Britain from 1702 to 1714 and the last Stuart monarch. She was thrust into her destined position despite her brother's challenge to her right of succession. She became the first queen of the joint kingdoms of England and Ireland on 8 March 1702; they were termed Great Britain in 1707. She showed an interest in state and church and the welfare of the people. Under her 12-year-rule, Britain prospered and stabilized.

Although her father was a Roman Catholic, Anne was brought up as a Protestant at the insistence of her uncle, King Charles II. Her elder sister, Mary, married William, Prince of Orange, in 1677. Anne married George, Prince of Denmark, in 1683, and he became her devoted companion.

When Protestant ruler William III of Orange, stadholder of The Netherlands, overthrew her father, James II, in 1688, Anne sided with William. William and Mary, Anne’s elder sister, became king and queen of England, and Anne was placed in line for succession to the throne. Anne and Mary had a bitter parting of the ways before Mary died in 1694. Anne became Queen upon William’s death in 1702.

Although she was pregnant 18 times between 1683 and 1700, only five children were born alive and only one of those survived infancy. When this son died in 1700, her hopes of providing an heir were dashed and she acquiesced to the Act of Settlement of 1701 that designated her successors as the descendants of King James I of England. Anne’s husband, Prince George, died in 1708.

Throughout her reign, Anne was motivated by an intense devotion to the Anglican Church. In 1704 she granted the crown revenues from tenths and first fruits to form a fund known as "Queen Anne’s Bounty" for the benefit of the church. Upon her recommendation, an act was passed in 1711 to build 50 churches in London. She detested Roman Catholics and sympathized with High Church Tories.