Editing Anne, Queen of Great Britain (section)

== Reign ==

[[File:Queen Anne of Great Britain.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait by [[Charles Jervas]]]]
Anne became queen upon the death of King William III on 8 March 1702, and was immediately popular.<ref>Green, p. 90; Waller, p. 312</ref> In her first speech to the English Parliament, on 11 March, she distanced herself from her late Dutch brother-in-law and said, "As I know my heart to be entirely English, I can very sincerely assure you there is not anything you can expect or desire from me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England."<ref>Green, p. 91; Waller, p. 313</ref>

Soon after her accession, Anne appointed her husband [[Lord High Admiral of Great Britain|Lord High Admiral]], giving him nominal control of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>Green, p. 94; Gregg, p. 160</ref> Anne gave control of the army to Lord Marlborough, whom she appointed [[Captain-General]].<ref>Green, p. 94; Somerset, p. 174; Waller, p. 315; Ward, p. 460</ref> Marlborough also received numerous honours from the Queen; he was created a [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]] and was elevated to the rank of duke. The Duchess of Marlborough was appointed [[Groom of the Stool]], [[Mistress of the Robes]], and [[Keeper of the Privy Purse]].<ref>Green, p. 95; Waller, p. 314</ref>

Anne was [[Coronation of the British monarch|crowned]] on [[St George's Day]], 23 April 1702.<ref>Curtis, p. 97; Green, pp. 95–96; Gregg, p. 154; Somerset, p. 187</ref> Affected by gout, she was carried to [[Westminster Abbey]] in an open sedan chair, with a low back to permit her train to flow out behind her.<ref>Curtis, p. 97; Green, p. 96</ref> On 4 May, England became embroiled in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], in which England, Austria, and the Dutch Republic fought against France and [[Bourbon Spain]].<ref>Green, p. 97; Gregg, p. 158</ref> [[Charles II of Spain]] had died childless in 1700, and the succession was disputed by two claimants: the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Archduke Charles of Austria]] and the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] [[Philip, Duke of Anjou]].<ref>Curtis, p. 101; Green, pp. 85–86; Gregg, p. 125</ref>

She took a lively interest in affairs of state, and was a patron of theatre, poetry and music. She subsidised [[George Frideric Handel]] with £200 a year.<ref>Somerset, pp. 229–230</ref> She sponsored high-quality medals as rewards for political or military achievements. They were produced at the Mint by [[Isaac Newton]] and [[John Croker (engraver)|John Croker]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hone |first=Joseph |year=2016 |title=Isaac Newton and the Medals for Queen Anne |url=https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/fulltext.aspx?url=260608/A3923200-53FB-4641-B035-80F2015E86E7.pdf&pub_id=260608 |journal=Huntington Library Quarterly |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=119–148 |doi=10.1353/hlq.2016.0003 |s2cid=155499114}}</ref> She knighted Newton when she visited Cambridge in 1705.<ref>Gregg, p. 197</ref>

=== Acts of Union ===
{{Main|Acts of Union 1707}}
While Ireland was subordinate to the English Crown and Wales formed part of the kingdom of England, Scotland remained an independent sovereign state with its own parliament and laws. The [[Act of Settlement 1701]], passed by the English Parliament, applied in the kingdoms of England and Ireland but not Scotland, where a strong minority wished to preserve the Stuart dynasty and its right of inheritance to the throne.<ref>Gregg, pp. 130–131</ref> Anne had declared it "very necessary" to conclude a union of England and Scotland in her first speech to the English Parliament,<ref>Somerset, p. 212</ref> and a joint Anglo-Scots commission met at her former residence, the Cockpit, to discuss terms in October 1702. The negotiations broke up in early February 1703 having failed to reach an agreement.<ref>Somerset, p. 214</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Negotiations for Union 1702–03 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/act-of-union-1707/overview/negotiations-for-union-1702---03/ |access-date=9 March 2013 |website=UK Parliament}}</ref> The Estates of Scotland responded to the Act of Settlement by passing the [[Act of Security 1704|Act of Security]], which gave the Estates the power, if the Queen had no further children, to choose the next Scottish monarch from among the Protestant descendants of the royal line of Scotland.<ref>Curtis, p. 145; Somerset, p. 257</ref> The individual chosen by the Estates could not be the same person who came to the English throne, unless England granted full freedom of trade to Scottish merchants.<ref>Green, p. 133</ref> At first, Anne withheld [[royal assent]] to the act, but she granted it the following year when the Estates threatened to withhold supply, endangering Scottish support for England's wars.<ref>Somerset, pp. 269–270</ref>

[[File:Peter Tillemans (c. 1684-1734) - Queen Anne (1665-1714) in the House of Lords - RCIN 405301 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Queen Anne addressing the [[House of Lords]] ({{Circa|after 1708}}) painted by [[Peter Tillemans]])]] 
In its turn, the English Parliament responded with the [[Alien Act 1705]], which threatened to impose economic sanctions and declare Scottish subjects [[alien (law)|aliens]] in England, unless Scotland either repealed the Act of Security or moved to unite with England.<ref>Green, p. 134; Somerset, pp. 277–278</ref> The Estates chose the latter option; the English Parliament agreed to repeal the Alien Act,<ref>Somerset, p. 296</ref> and new commissioners were appointed by Queen Anne in early 1706 to negotiate the terms of a union.<ref>Gregg, pp. 202, 214</ref> The articles of union approved by the commissioners were presented to Anne on 23 July 1706<ref>Somerset, p. 297</ref> and ratified by the Scottish and English Parliaments on 16 January and 6 March 1707, respectively.<ref>Gregg, p. 239; Somerset, pp. 315–316</ref> Under the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]], England and Scotland were united into a single kingdom called Great Britain, with one parliament, on 1 May 1707.<ref>Gregg, p. 240</ref> A consistent and ardent supporter of union despite opposition on both sides of the border, Anne attended a thanksgiving service in [[St Paul's Cathedral]]. The Scot [[Sir John Clerk, 1st Baronet]], who also attended, wrote, "nobody on this occasion appeared more sincerely devout and thankful than the Queen herself".<ref>Clerk's memoirs, quoted in Gregg, p. 240, and Somerset, pp. 316–317</ref>

=== Two-party politics ===
[[File:Queen Anne by John Closterman.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait from the school of [[John Closterman]], ''circa'' 1702]]
Anne's reign was marked by the further development of a two-party system. In general, the [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]] were supportive of the [[Anglicanism|Anglican church]] and favoured the landed interest of the country gentry, while the [[Whiggism|Whigs]] were aligned with commercial interests and Protestant [[Dissenter]]s. As a committed Anglican, Anne was inclined to favour the Tories.<ref>Curtis, pp. 102–104; Gregg, pp. 133–134; Somerset, pp. 189–199</ref> [[Godolphin–Marlborough ministry|Her first ministry]] was predominantly Tory, and contained such [[High Tories]] as [[Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham]], and her uncle [[Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester]].<ref>Somerset, pp. 201–203; Waller, p. 318</ref> It was headed by Lord Treasurer [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Lord Godolphin]] and Anne's favourite the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]], who were considered moderate Tories, along with the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]], [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer|Robert Harley]].<ref>Gregg, p. 135</ref>

Anne supported the [[Occasional Conformity Bill]] of 1702, which was promoted by the Tories and opposed by the Whigs. The bill aimed to disqualify Protestant Dissenters from public office by closing a loophole in the [[Test Act]]s, legislation that restricted public office to Anglican [[conformist]]s. The existing law permitted [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist]]s to take office if they took Anglican [[Eucharist|communion]] once a year. Anne's husband was placed in an unfortunate position when Anne forced him to vote for the bill, even though, being a [[Lutheran]], he was an occasional conformist himself. The Whigs successfully blocked the bill for the duration of the parliamentary session.<ref>Curtis, p. 107; Green, pp. 108–109; Gregg, pp. 162–163</ref> Anne reinstituted the traditional religious practice of [[touching for the king's evil]] that had been eschewed by William as papist superstition.<ref>Green, p. 105; Somerset, p. 226; Waller, pp. 316–317</ref> After the [[Great Storm of 1703]], Anne declared a general fast to implore God "to pardon the crying sins of this nation which had drawn down this sad judgement".<ref>Green, p. 121</ref> The Occasional Conformity Bill was revived in the wake of the storm,<ref>Green, p. 122</ref> but Anne withheld support, fearing its reintroduction was a ruse to cause a political quarrel. Once again it failed.<ref>Curtis, p. 116; Green, p. 122; Gregg, p. 177</ref> A third attempt to introduce the bill as an amendment to a [[money bill]] in November 1704 was also thwarted.<ref>Gregg, pp. 192–194; Somerset, pp. 275–276</ref>

The Whigs vigorously supported the War of the Spanish Succession and became even more influential after the Duke of Marlborough won a great victory at the [[Battle of Blenheim]] in 1704. Many of the High Tories, who opposed British involvement in the land war against France, were removed from office.<ref>Gregg, p. 196</ref> Godolphin, Marlborough, and Harley, who had replaced Nottingham as [[Secretary of State for the Northern Department]], formed a ruling "triumvirate".<ref>Green, p. 129</ref> They were forced to rely more and more on support from the Whigs, and particularly from the [[Whig Junto]]—Lords [[John Somers, 1st Baron Somers|Somers]], [[Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford|Orford]], [[Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton|Wharton]] and [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland|Sunderland]]—whom Anne disliked.<ref>Curtis, pp. 134, 138–139; Green, pp. 117, 155, 172; Gregg, pp. 134, 218–219</ref> Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough, incessantly badgered the Queen to appoint more Whigs and reduce the power of the Tories, whom she considered little better than Jacobites, and the Queen became increasingly discontented with her.<ref>Gregg, pp. 174–175, 188–193; Somerset, pp. 245–246, 258, 272–274</ref>

In 1706, Godolphin and the Marlboroughs forced Anne to accept Lord Sunderland, a Junto Whig and the Marlboroughs' son-in-law, as Harley's colleague as [[Secretary of State for the Southern Department]].<ref>Green, p. 155; Gregg, pp. 219–230; Somerset, pp. 301–311</ref> Although this strengthened the ministry's position in Parliament, it weakened the ministry's position with the Queen, as Anne became increasingly irritated with Godolphin and with her former favourite, the Duchess of Marlborough, for supporting Sunderland and other Whig candidates for vacant government and church positions.<ref>Green, p. 156; Gregg, pp. 230–231, 241–246; Somerset, pp. 318–321</ref> The Queen turned for private advice to Harley, who was uncomfortable with Marlborough and Godolphin's turn towards the Whigs. She also turned to [[Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham|Abigail Hill]], a [[woman of the bedchamber]] whose influence grew as Anne's relationship with Sarah deteriorated.<ref>Curtis, p. 152; Green, pp. 166–168; Waller, p. 324</ref> Abigail was related to both Harley and the Duchess, but was politically closer to Harley, and acted as an intermediary between him and the Queen.<ref>Gregg, p. 236–237; Somerset, p. 324</ref>
[[File:Half-crown of Anne.jpg|thumb|right|[[British half crown coin|Half-crown coin]] of Queen Anne, 1708. The inscription reads in {{langx|la|ANNA DEI GRATIA}} (Anne [[by the Grace of God]]).]]
The division within the ministry came to a head on 8 February 1708, when Godolphin and the Marlboroughs insisted that the Queen had to either dismiss Harley or do without their services. When the Queen seemed to hesitate, Marlborough and Godolphin refused to attend a cabinet meeting. Harley attempted to lead business without his former colleagues, and several of those present including [[Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset|Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset]] refused to participate until they returned.<ref>Green, pp. 182–183; Gregg, pp. 258–259; Somerset, pp. 340–341</ref> Her hand forced, the Queen dismissed Harley.<ref>Green, p. 183; Gregg, p. 259; Somerset, p. 341</ref>

The following month, Anne's Catholic half-brother, [[James Francis Edward Stuart]], attempted to land in Scotland with French assistance in an attempt to establish himself as king.<ref>Curtis, p. 157; Green, p. 186; Gregg, pp. 261–262; Somerset, p. 343</ref> Anne withheld royal assent from the [[Scottish Militia Bill 1708]] in case the militia raised in Scotland was disloyal and sided with the Jacobites.<ref>Curtis, p. 157</ref> She was the last British sovereign to veto a parliamentary bill, although her action was barely commented upon at the time.<ref>Curtis, p. 157; Gregg, p. 144</ref> The invasion fleet never landed and was chased away by British ships commanded by [[George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington|Sir George Byng]].<ref>Curtis, p. 158; Green, p. 186; Gregg, p. 262; Somerset, p. 345</ref> As a result of the Jacobite invasion scare, support for the Tories fell and the Whigs were able to secure a majority in the [[1708 British general election]].<ref>Gregg, p. 263</ref>

The Duchess of Marlborough was angered when Abigail moved into rooms at [[Kensington Palace]] that Sarah considered her own, though she rarely if ever used them.<ref>Gregg, pp. 273–274; Somerset, pp. 347–348</ref> In July 1708, she came to court with a bawdy poem written by a Whig propagandist, probably [[Arthur Maynwaring]],<ref>Gregg, p. 275; Somerset, p. 361</ref> that implied a [[lesbian]] relationship between Anne and Abigail.<ref>Gregg, pp. 275–276; Somerset, pp. 360–361; Waller, pp. 324–325</ref> The Duchess wrote to Anne telling her she had damaged her reputation by conceiving "a great passion for such a woman&nbsp;... strange and unaccountable".<ref>Gregg, pp. 275–276; Somerset, p. 362; Waller, pp. 324–325</ref> Sarah thought Abigail had risen above her station, writing "I never thought her education was such as to make her fit company for a great queen. Many people have liked the humour of their chambermaids and have been very kind to them, but 'tis very uncommon to hold a private correspondence with them and put them upon the foot of a friend."<ref>Somerset, pp. 353–354</ref> While some modern commentators have concluded Anne was a lesbian,<ref>e.g. Kendall, pp. 165–176</ref> most have rejected this analysis.{{efn|Professor Valerie Traub writes, "Although this scandal features prominently in biographies of the Queen, the charges generally are dismissed as the hysterical vindictiveness of a power-hungry Duchess".<ref>Traub, p. 157</ref>}} In the opinion of Anne's biographers, she considered Abigail nothing more than a trusted servant<ref>Gregg, p. 237; Somerset, p. 363</ref> and was a woman of strong traditional beliefs who was devoted to her husband.<ref>Somerset, pp. 363–364</ref>

At a thanksgiving service for a victory at the [[Battle of Oudenarde]], Anne did not wear the jewels that Sarah had selected for her. At the door of St Paul's Cathedral, they had an argument that culminated in Sarah offending the Queen by telling her to be quiet.<ref>Curtis, pp. 162–163; Green, pp. 195–196; Gregg, p. 276; Somerset, pp. 364–365</ref> Anne was dismayed.<ref>Curtis, pp. 163–164; Green, p. 196; Gregg, p. 277; Somerset, p. 365</ref> When Sarah forwarded an unrelated letter from her husband to Anne, with a covering note continuing the argument, Anne wrote back pointedly, "After the commands you gave me on the thanksgiving day of not answering you, I should not have troubled you with these lines, but to return the Duke of Marlborough's letter safe into your hands, and for the same reason do not say anything to that, nor to yours which enclosed it."<ref>Curtis, pp. 163–164; Green, p. 196; Gregg, p. 277</ref>

=== Death of Prince George ===
[[File:Charles Boit, Queen Anne and Prince George crop.jpg|thumb|left|Anne and George, painted by [[Charles Boit]], 1706]]
Anne was devastated by Prince George's death in October 1708,<ref>Curtis, pp. 165–168; Green, p. 198; Gregg, p. 280; Somerset, pp. 372–374</ref> and it proved a turning point in her relationship with the Duchess of Marlborough. The Duchess arrived at [[Kensington Palace]] shortly before George died, and after his death insisted that Anne leave Kensington for St James's Palace against her wishes.<ref>Green, p. 199; Somerset, p. 370</ref> Anne resented the Duchess's intrusive actions, which included removing a portrait of George from the Queen's bedchamber and then refusing to return it in the belief that it was natural "to avoid seeing of papers or anything that belonged to one that one loved when they were just dead".<ref>Green, p. 202</ref>

The Whigs used George's death to their own advantage. The leadership of the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] was unpopular among the Whig leaders, who had blamed Prince George and his deputy [[George Churchill (Royal Navy officer)|George Churchill]] (who was Marlborough's brother) for mismanagement of the navy.<ref>Green, pp. 175–176; Gregg, pp. 254, 266</ref> With Whigs now dominant in Parliament, and Anne distraught at the loss of her husband, they forced her to accept the Junto leaders Lords Somers and Wharton into the cabinet. Anne, however, insisted on carrying out the duties of Lord High Admiral herself, without appointing a member of the government to take George's place. Undeterred, the Junto demanded the appointment of the Earl of Orford, another member of the Junto and one of the prince's leading critics, as [[First Lord of the Admiralty]]. Anne appointed the moderate [[Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke|Earl of Pembroke]], on 29 November 1708. Pressure mounted on Pembroke, Godolphin and the Queen from the dissatisfied Junto Whigs, and Pembroke resigned after less than a year in office. Another month of arguments followed before the Queen finally consented to put Orford in control of the Admiralty as First Lord in November 1709.<ref>Gregg, p. 284</ref>

Sarah continued to berate Anne for her friendship with Abigail and, in October 1709, Anne wrote to the Duke of Marlborough asking that his wife "leave off teasing & tormenting me & behave herself with the decency she ought both to her friend and Queen".<ref>Green, pp. 210–214; Gregg, pp. 292–294; Somerset, pp. 389–390; Waller, p. 325</ref> On [[Maundy Thursday]] 6 April 1710, Anne and Sarah saw each other for the last time. According to Sarah, the Queen was taciturn and formal, repeating the same phrases—"Whatever you have to say you may put in writing" and "You said you desired no answer, and I shall give you none"—over and over.<ref>Curtis, p. 173; Green, pp. 307–308; Gregg, pp. 221–222</ref>

=== War of the Spanish Succession ===
[[File:Allegory of the Victory of the Grand Alliance over the French in the Year 1704.png|thumb|upright=1.4|right|Allegory of the victory of the [[Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg)|Grand Alliance]] at [[Battle of Schellenberg|Schellenberg]] in 1704. The bust of Queen Anne at the top is surrounded by Allied leaders.]]
As the expensive [[War of the Spanish Succession]] grew unpopular, so did the Whig administration.<ref>Gregg, p. 298</ref> The [[Impeachment in the United Kingdom|impeachment]] of [[Henry Sacheverell]], a [[high church]] Tory Anglican who had preached anti-Whig sermons, led to further public discontent. Anne thought Sacheverell ought to be punished for questioning the Glorious Revolution, but that his punishment should only be a mild one to prevent further public commotion.<ref>Green, pp. 217–218; Gregg, pp. 305–306</ref> In London, riots broke out in support of Sacheverell, but the only troops available to quell the disturbances were Anne's guards, and Secretary of State Sunderland was reluctant to use them and leave the Queen less protected. Anne declared God would be her guard and ordered Sunderland to redeploy her troops.<ref name=sacheverell /> In line with Anne's views, Sacheverell was convicted, but his sentence—suspension of preaching for three years—was so light as to render the trial a mockery.<ref name="sacheverell">Green, p. 220; Gregg, p. 306; Somerset, pp. 403–404</ref>

The Queen, increasingly disdainful of the Marlboroughs and her ministry, finally took the opportunity to dismiss Sunderland in June 1710.<ref>Curtis, p. 176; Gregg, pp. 313–314; Somerset, pp. 414–415</ref> Godolphin followed in August. The Junto Whigs were removed from office, although Marlborough, for the moment, remained as commander of the army. In their place, she appointed a [[Harley ministry|new ministry headed by Harley]], which began to seek peace with France. Unlike the Whigs, Harley and his ministry were ready to compromise by giving Spain to the Bourbon claimant, Philip of Anjou, in return for commercial concessions.<ref>Gregg, p. 335</ref> In the [[1710 British general election|parliamentary elections]] that soon followed his appointment, Harley, aided by government patronage, secured a large Tory majority.<ref>Gregg, pp. 322–324</ref> In January 1711, Anne forced Sarah to resign her court offices, and Abigail took over as Keeper of the Privy Purse.<ref>Green, pp. 238–241; Gregg, pp. 328–331; Somerset, pp. 435–437</ref> Harley was stabbed by a disgruntled French refugee, the [[Antoine de Guiscard|Marquis de Guiscard]], in March, and Anne wept at the thought he would die. He recovered slowly.<ref>Green, p. 244; Gregg, p. 337; Somerset, pp. 439–440</ref> Godolphin's death from natural causes in September 1712 reduced Anne to tears; she blamed their estrangement on the Marlboroughs.<ref>Green, p. 274</ref>
[[File:Queen Anne.jpg|thumb|left|Tinted engraving of Anne from an atlas commissioned by [[Augustus the Strong]], 1707]]
The elder brother of Archduke Charles, [[Emperor Joseph I]], died in April 1711 and Charles succeeded him in Austria, Hungary and the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. To also give him the Spanish throne was no longer in Britain's interests, but the proposed [[Peace of Utrecht]] submitted to Parliament for ratification did not go as far as the Whigs wanted to curb Bourbon ambitions.<ref>Gregg, pp. 337–343</ref> In the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]], the Tory majority was unassailable, but the same was not true in the [[House of Lords]]. The Whigs secured the support of the Earl of Nottingham against the treaty by promising to support [[Occasional Conformity Act 1711|his Occasional Conformity bill]].<ref>Curtis, p. 189; Green, p. 258; Gregg, p. 343; Somerset, pp. 458–460</ref> Seeing a need for decisive action to erase the anti-peace majority in the House of Lords, and seeing no alternative, Anne reluctantly [[Harley's Dozen|created twelve new peers]],<ref>Curtis, p. 190; Green, p. 263; Gregg, pp. 349–351; Somerset, pp. 463–465</ref> even though such a mass creation of peers was unprecedented.<ref>Green, p. 263; Somerset, p. 465</ref> Abigail's husband, [[Samuel Masham, 1st Baron Masham|Samuel Masham]], was made a baron, although Anne protested to Harley that she "never had any design to make a great lady of [Abigail], and should lose a useful servant".<ref>Gregg, pp. 349–351; Somerset, pp. 464–465</ref> On the same day, Marlborough was dismissed as commander of the army.<ref>Green, p. 263; Gregg, p. 350</ref> The peace treaty was ratified and Britain's military involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession ended.<ref>Gregg, pp. 358, 361</ref>

By signing the Treaty of Utrecht, [[Louis XIV of France]] recognised the Hanoverian succession in Britain.<ref>Gregg, p. 361</ref> Nevertheless, gossip that Anne and her ministers favoured the succession of her half-brother rather than the Hanoverians continued, despite Anne's denials in public and in private.<ref>Green, pp. 272–284; Gregg, pp. 363–366</ref> The rumours were fed by her consistent refusals to permit any of the Hanoverians to visit or move to England,<ref>Curtis, p. 193</ref> and by the intrigues of Harley and the Tory Secretary of State [[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke|Lord Bolingbroke]], who were in separate and secret discussions with her half-brother about a possible Stuart restoration until early 1714.<ref>Gregg, pp. 375–377; Somerset, pp. 505–507</ref>

=== Death ===
Anne was unable to walk between January and July 1713.<ref>Curtis, p. 193; Green, p. 282</ref> At Christmas, she was feverish, and lay unconscious for hours,<ref>Curtis, p. 193; Green, pp. 294–295</ref> leading to rumours of her impending death.<ref>Green, p. 296; Gregg, p. 374; Somerset, p. 502</ref> She recovered, but was seriously ill again in March 1714.<ref>Green, p. 300; Gregg, p. 378</ref> By July, Anne had lost confidence in Harley; his secretary recorded that Anne told the cabinet "that he neglected all business; that he was seldom to be understood; that when he did explain himself, she could not depend upon the truth of what he said; that he never came to her at the time she appointed; that he often came drunk; [and] last, to crown all, he behaved himself towards her with ill manner, indecency and disrespect."<ref>Harley's secretary Erasmus Lewis writing to [[Jonathan Swift]], quoted in Gregg, p. 391 and Somerset, p. 524</ref> On 27 July 1714, during Parliament's summer [[Recess (motion)|recess]], she dismissed Harley as Lord Treasurer.<ref>Green, p. 318; Gregg, pp. 390–391</ref> Despite failing health, which her doctors blamed on the emotional strain of matters of state, she attended two late-night cabinet meetings that failed to determine Harley's successor. A third meeting was cancelled when she became too ill to attend.<ref>Gregg, pp. 391–392; Somerset, pp. 525–526</ref> She was rendered unable to speak by a [[stroke]] on 30 July 1714, the anniversary of Gloucester's death, and on the advice of the Privy Council handed the treasurer's staff of office to Whig grandee [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury]].<ref>Green, pp. 321–322; Somerset, p. 527; Waller, p. 328</ref>

Anne died around 7:30&nbsp;a.m. on 1 August 1714.<ref>Gregg, pp. 392–394; Somerset, p. 528</ref> [[John Arbuthnot]], one of her doctors, thought her death was a release from a life of ill-health and tragedy; he wrote to [[Jonathan Swift]], "I believe sleep was never more welcome to a weary traveller than death was to her."<ref>Quoted in Gregg, p. 394</ref> She was buried beside her husband and children in the [[Henry VII Chapel]] on the South Aisle of Westminster Abbey on 24 August.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=5254|page=1|date=24 August 1714}}</ref>