Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion
Often derided as weak-willed and insecure, Queen Anne was in fact one of Britain’s most remarkable monarchs. In many ways a stolid, conventional woman, she nevertheless presided over some of the most momentous events in British history and led a personal life riven by passion, illness and intrigue.In 1702, fourteen years after she helped oust her father from his throne and deprived her newborn half-brother of his birthright, Queen Anne inherited the crowns of England and Scotland. Childless, despite seventeen pregnancies that had either ended in failure or produced heartrendingly short-lived offspring, in some respects she was a pitiable figure. But against all expectation she proved Britain’s most successful Stuart ruler.Her reign was marked by many triumphs, including union with Scotland and glorious victories in war against France. Yet while her great general, the Duke of Marlborough, was performing feats of military genius, Anne’s relationship with his outspoken wife Sarah was becoming ever more rancorous. Political differences partly explained why the Queen’s earlier adoration for Sarah transformed to loathing, but the final rupture was precipitated by Sarah’s startling claim that it was the Queen’s lesbian infatuation with another lady-in-waiting, Abigail Masham, that had destroyed their friendship.Having lost the will to continue an expensive war that the Marlboroughs and their political allies favoured, the Queen embarked upon a peace process that some condemned as a betrayal of the national interest. And, as it became clear that Anne did not have long to live, the nation became polarised by fears that she intended to bequeath her crown to her Catholic half brother, rather than the German Protestant cousin whom Parliament had designated her heir.Drawing widely on unpublished sources, Anne Somerset vividly depicts the clashes of personality and party rivalries that aroused such strong feelings at the time. Traditionally depicted as a weak ruler dominated by female favourites and haunted by remorse at having deposed her father, Queen Anne emerges as a woman whose unshakeable commitment to duty enabled her to overcome private tragedy and painful disabilities, setting her kingdom on the path to greatness.
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Queen Anne
The Politics of Passion
A Biography
Anne Somerset
OTHER BOOKS BY ANNE SOMERSET
The Life and Times of King William IV
Elizabeth I
Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I
The Affair of the Poisons
Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day
For Dad, with love
The book is also dedicated to the memory of my husband, Matthew Carr. He was always the first person to be shown the typescript of my books and although he died before he could read it all, he delighted me with his enthusiasm for the sections he did see. It is one of many ways in which he is greatly missed.
Contents
Title Page
Other Books by Anne Somerset
Dedication
The House of Stuart
List of Illustrations
Author’s Note
1 But a Daughter
2 Religion Before Her Father
3 Sure Never Anybody Was Used So
4 We Are Now in a New World
5 These Fatal Distinctions of Whig and Tory
6 The Weight and Charge of a Kingdom
7 Nothing But Uneasiness
8 Entire and Perfect Union
9 Guided by Other Hands
10 Passions Between Women
11 Making the Breach Wider
12 The Heat and Ferment that is in This Poor Nation
13 I Do Not Like War
14 The Great Work of Peace
15 The Last Troublesome Scene of Contention
16 Not Equal to the Weight of a Crown?
Picture Section
Acknowledgements
Endnotes
Bibliography
Searchable Terms
Copyright
About the Publisher
THE HOUSE OF STUART
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
James II, when Duke of York, with Anne Hyde and their two daughters, Princess Mary and Princess Anne c. 1674–80. By Sir Peter Lely and Benedetto Gennari. (The Royal Collection © 2011)
The Lady Anne as a child. Artist Unknown. (Royal Collection © 2011)
Queen Anne when Princess of Denmark. By Willem Wissing and Jan van der Vaardt. (© Scottish National Portrait Gallery)
Sarah Churchill (later the Duchess of Marlborough) with Lady Fitzharding, 1691. By Sir Godfrey Kneller. (© Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library)
Prince George of Denmark on horseback, 1704. By Michael Dahl. (Royal Collection © 2011)
Princess Anne of Denmark with the Duke of Gloucester, c. 1694. After Kneller (© The National Portrait Gallery, London)
Queen Mary II. After Willem Wissing. (© The National Portrait Gallery, London)
William, the Duke of Gloucester, with his friend, Benjamin Bathurst. After Thomas Murray © The National Portrait Gallery, London)
Queen Anne, 1703. By Edmund Lilly. (© Queen Anne, 1703, Lilly, Edmund (fl.1702–d.1716)/Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library)
Sidney Godolphin. After Sir Godfrey Kneller. (© The National Portrait Gallery, London)
The Duke of Marlborough. By Sir Godfrey Kneller. (© The National Portrait Gallery, London)
Queen Anne with Prince George of Denmark. By Charles Boit, 1706. (Royal Collection © 2011)
Print of ‘Her Majesties Royal Palace at Kensington’. (© British Museum)
Tapestry showing the French Marshal Tallard surrendering his baton to the Duke of Marlborough after the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704. (Image reproduced by kind permission of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace Image Library)
Robert Harley Earl of Oxford. By Jonathan Richardson. (© Private Collection/Photo © Philip Mould Ltd, London/The Bridgeman Art Library)
Sophia Electress of Hanover. (Royal Collection © 2011)
Portrait believed to be of Abigail Masham. (© Philip Mould Ltd London/The Bridgeman Art Library)
Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke. By George White, after Thomas Murray. (© The National Portrait Gallery, London)
Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (the Pretender). Studio of Alexis Simon Belle. (© The National Portrait Gallery, London)
Anne in the House of Lords. By Peter Tillemanns. (Royal Collection © 2011)
The Battle of Malplaquet, 11 September 1709, c. 1713. By Louise Laguerre. (© National Army Museum, London/The Bridgeman Art Library)
Satirical print of Bolingbroke dictating business relating to the Treaty of Utrecht. (© British Museum)
Queen Anne and the Knights of the Garter. By Peter Angelis. (© The National Portrait Gallery)
AUTHOR’S NOTE
For the sake of clarity I have updated spelling and punctuation used in original documents. Furthermore, in almost all cases when Anne or her contemporaries used the abbreviations ‘ye’ and ‘yt’ in their letters, I have modernised the archaic usage by substituting ‘the’ and ‘that’. Very often Anne and her ministers ciphered their letters by substituting numbers for names. In such cases I have omitted the numbers and replaced them with the relevant name in square brackets.
Throughout Anne’s lifetime, England used the Julian Calendar, while continental Europe followed the Gregorian system. During the seventeenth century, the date in Europe was ten days ahead of England’s; with the start of the eighteenth century the gap between England and Europe widened to a difference of eleven days. When dealing with events that took place in England, I give dates according to the Julian Calendar. However, when describing events that occurred on the Continent, or when quoting letters sent from abroad, I generally give a composite date, separated by a forward slash, indicating the date according to both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Whereas in Stuart England, the calendar year started on 25 March, I have simplified things by taking it to begin on 1 January.
