1 Aug 2025

The often-forgotten story of Queen Anne

Written by Lucien Winton-Bonas

Queen Anne: studio of John Closterman, oil on canvas, circa 1702, based on a work of circa 1702 (NPG 215) © National Portrait Gallery, London

During Pride Month, Visitor Services Assistant Lucien Winton-Bonas took a dip into the private life of the last Stuart monarch – Queen Anne – and examines her links to Culloden.

Whilst walking through the first gallery corridor at Culloden, a small object in one of the cases may not immediately catch your eye. However, the early 18th-century silver coin featuring the face of Queen Anne hints at many fascinating stories about both the period and the monarch herself.

Anne was the last of the Stuart monarchs and reigned Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 until her death in 1714. Anne’s private life has interested many historians, and it has long been debated as to whether or not Anne may have identified as queer. Although her reign fell into quasi-obscurity during the ensuing political instability of the 18th century, we can now look at Anne’s life and actions through a much clearer lens.

Medal commemorating the Acts of Union | Image: National Trust for Scotland; presented by Mr Stanley John, 2007

Path to the throne

Born in St James’s Palace on 6 February 1665, during the reign of her uncle Charles II, Anne was the middle of three surviving children of Charles’s younger brother, James, Duke of York (later King James VII & II). Her mother, Anne Hyde, met James during their exile in the Netherlands, and they had eight children, six of whom died in infancy. The two surviving daughters, Mary and Anne, would both become future monarchs. Due to Charles’s throng of illegitimate children not being recognised, James had a direct line of sight to the throne. As heirs presumptive, Anne and her elder sister Mary were also in line – and with their resolute Protestant inclinations, royal blood and solid political marriages, there was very little to stand in their way after their father was deposed.

James had had a short and tumultuous reign. A Catholic-convert himself, having Protestant daughters was ideal – that was, until his son James Francis was born in 1688 to his second wife, Mary of Modena. He raised James Francis as a Catholic but this was the final straw for the British Court, and James VII was forced to abdicate and was exiled along with his wife and young son in 1689. James still considered himself king, but his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange took the throne and reigned until 1702, when William died childless (Mary had died in 1694).

In 1702 – with her father and sister deceased, and James Francis growing up on the Continent – Anne inherited the throne alongside her husband, George of Denmark.

A view of the long facade of the red stone St James's Palace.

A painting of a very young child, sitting on a terracotta-coloured drape and holding her hands out towards a swallow-like bird flying past.

The favourites

The more salacious aspects of Anne’s private life have been recently portrayed in the 2018 film The Favourite. Anne, played by Olivia Coleman, was depicted as a petulant woman, embroiled in romantic and sexual relations with two of her ‘favourites’: the royal advisor Sarah Churchill and Abigail Masham. Is this depiction the result of Hollywood media, contemporary rumours, or evidenced truth?

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, was the guiding hand behind Anne’s early reign and one of the queen’s favourites – a person at Court deemed the most beloved by the monarch. Upon Anne’s accession in 1702, Sarah was certainly given prestigious titles: Keeper of the Privy Purse, Groom of the Stole and Lady of the Bedchamber – the position that afforded a person the most intimate contact with the queen.

Although it was not uncommon for women in the 18th century to use passionate vocabulary in letters between friends, Sarah and Anne exchanged extremely intimate communications, with Anne expressing her desire in outright terms, such as, ‘Oh come to me tomorrow as soon as you can so that I may cleave myself to you’. [1] In this sense, it would seem that ‘cleave’ means to be strongly attached, as used in the Bible in the context of marriage. They also adopted equalising nicknames: Mrs Freeman and Mrs Morley.

A painting of a 17th-century young woman, reclining against a studio backdrop of clouds. She wears a long red dress with lace cuffs.

Sarah Churchill, painted by Charles Jervas, c1700

The Duchess was a force to be reckoned with. Queen Mary had found Sarah’s influence to be concerning. It was widely believed that she had manipulated the Court to achieve her own ends, under the guise of helping Anne live more comfortably at the hand of William and Mary. Mary’s insistence on Anne ridding herself of Sarah’s company ultimately broke the bond between the sisters, a rift that would never heal.

Anne’s relationship with Sarah eventually soured. A growing closeness between Anne and her chambermaid Abigail Masham (coincidentally Sarah’s cousin) may have been the catalyst. Abigail was less political than Sarah, something Anne might have found to be refreshing after a number of tumultuous years. As she dropped out of favour, Sarah threatened Anne and even sponsored a lewd publication insinuating that Anne and Abigail were in a sexual relationship:
’When as Queen Anne of great renown Great Britain’s sceptre swayed,
Besides the Church she dearly loved a dirty chambermaid ...’ [2]
Anne dismissed Sarah, and the fallout culminated in an argument between the pair on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1708. By 1711, Sarah had been stripped of her titles and removed from Hampton Court Palace.

After 17 pregnancies, Anne died in 1714 without any surviving children. Sarah published her memoirs in 1742 [3] – without doubt a biased reminiscence – which perhaps guiltily inspired her to commission a statue of Anne in Blenheim Palace.

To avoid the return of the Catholic Stuarts, Parliament relied on the Act of Settlement, which had been passed in 1701. This Act ensured a Protestant succession on the throne of Britain, effectively legally ruling out any Stuart claim to the throne. Through this Act, Anne’s second cousin, George, Prince Electorate of Hanover, came to rule Britain in August 1714. Two Jacobite Risings would take place against the Hanoverian monarchs – George I and his son George II – in 1715 and 1745.

To find out more about the ill-fated Jacobite Rising in 1745 and the plight of Anne’s nephew Charles Edward Stuart, Culloden is a must-see on your next visit to the Highlands.

Footnotes

[1] Queen Anne, Historic Royal Palaces

[2] Queen Anne’s love life, University of Cambridge Museums

[3] Sarah Marlborough, Private correspondence of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough

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