Queen Anne: A Biography

684 Pages·2012·9.83 MB·English

by  Anne Somerset

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
Cover
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
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.
It is notoriously difficult to compare the value of money in the past with
modern monetary values. However, as a very rough guide it should be noted that
the National Archives’ Currency Converter Service calculates that £1 in 1710
would have a spending worth of £76.59 in 2005.