Editing Anne, Queen of Great Britain (section)

=== 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to impose economic sanctions and declare Scottish subjects [[alien (law)|aliens]] in England, unless Scotland either repealed the Act of Security or moved to unite with England.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>