The Stuarts in England : V Trivia Quiz

Answer: 37

And not in the best of health, either - eighteen pregnancies had left her obese, and she was crippled with gout and rheumatism. Nevertheless, she was determined to do her duty, and she made her first appearance before parliament on 11 March 1702. Anne could be forgiven for feeling a certain sense of triumph - she had been born, after all, the mere second daughter of a second son, and now she was queen of three realms - England (including Wales, united with England by Henry VIII), Ireland and Scotland. For years she had never been treated seriously - after all, people found it difficult to take an overweight, tedious, plain princess seriously. Now, however, she had a chance to prove that she could be just as competent a monarch as her sister and brother-in-law had both been.

Answer: English

She continued: 'I can very sincerely assure you that there is not one thing that you can expect or desire of me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness or prosperity of England.' Although this struck the right note with her English subjects, it scarcely endeared her to her Scottish ones, who hadn't been treated very kindly by the Stuarts, notwithstanding the fact that the Stuarts were a Scottish dynasty. Anne, alas, possessed none of the charm or easy manners that her uncle Charles II or her sister Mary had had, but the court had been eight years without a queen, and Anne was praised for her dignity and sweet speaking voice.

Answer: War of Spanish Succession

The origins of the conflict were slightly complicated. The Spanish king, Carlos II, was childless. His elder half-sister, Maria Teresa, had married Louis XIV of France and Louis was determined that his younger grandson, Philippe, should be king of Spain (and its colonial empire) when Carlos died. On the other hand, Carlos' full sister, Margarita Teresa, had married Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire (the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs).

The Austrians argued that Maria Teresa had given up her succession rights when she married Louis, who retorted that since her dowry had never been paid, such a renunciation was now void. William III had brokered a settlement which would have given the throne to Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, Leopold's grandson by Margarita Teresa.

But the boy died before he could become king. The Austrians renewed their claim. Leopold's mother had been Carlos II's aunt, and Carlos' father Felipe IV had given the Austrian branch priority in his will. Leopold put forward his younger son, Archduke Charles, against Louis's grandson, the Duc d'Anjou (Philippe). Carlos II was dying, and bequeathed Spain to Anjou, but stipulated that should Anjou refuse it or inherit the throne of France, his brother the Duc de Berry should become king. Failing Berry's candidature, the Spanish Empire would go to Archduke Charles. Carlos died in 1700 and Anjou was declared Felipe V of Spain. William III reluctantly acknowledged him, since he didn't have the support of other powers.

Many were worried about Louis exercising influence over his grandson (who was only 17) and this, combined with Louis XIV's recognition of James II's son as 'James III and VIII' caused Britain to declare war on France. Holland and most German states joined England in support of Austria, but Bavaria, Cologne, Portugal and Savoy sided with France and Spain.

Answer: Blenheim

This, of course, served to increase the Churchills' power at court. Sarah, who was now Mistress of the Robes, dominated Anne as much as she ever had. She had introduced a poor young cousin, Abigail Hill, to Anne's household in 1703. Anne soon took to Abigail's demure, quiet ways, in stark contrast to the domineering Sarah. As it was however, Sarah still reigned supreme.

Answer: Her aunt

The aunt in question was Charles II's queen, Catherine of Braganza. She had, you may remember from the last quiz, remained in England during James II's reign, acting as godmother to James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales. Unsurprisingly, she found the Protestant-driven court of William and Mary less to her liking, and returned to Portugal in 1692.

In her homeland, which she had left some thirty-one years earlier, Catherine was greeted as a heroine. Her brother, Pedro, was king at the time, and allowed her to set up home at Bemposta.

In 1705, however, King Pedro feel seriously ill and since his son was still a minor, Catherine was appointed regent of Portugal. Remarkably, she rose to the occasion, and was highly successful, before being stricken with a 'colic' in November.

She died on 30 November. She is an often forgotten Queen of Britain, unjustly, since she was a gentle, kind but strong woman, equally as interesting as any of her Stuart in-laws.

Answer: Act of Security

During William III's reign, the English parliament had passed the Act of Settlement, declaring that Anne would be followed on the throne by her Protestant cousin Sophie of Hanover and Sophie's heirs. The Scots were dissatisfied with this. Besides, it was becoming increasingly cumbersome that the two countries had one monarch but different interests. The Scots proposed the Act of Security in 1703, which stated they could choose their own monarch after Anne's death. The implication, of course, was that said monarch would be Anne's estranged half-brother, James Francis Edward, and not Sophie. Anne, not unnaturally, was distressed and angry, and refused the bill her royal assent. In 1704 it was revived however, and this time Anne agreed to it, since she was worried that the Scots would withdraw their troops from the War of the Spanish Succession.
The English response to the Act of Security was the Alien Act, which heavily curtailed the rights of Scottish people to own or inherit property in England. After the victory at Blenheim, they didn't have to worry so much about Scotland's threats about withdrawing troops. After some bribery, the Scots repealed the Act of Security and the English repealed the Alien Act. Commissioners were appointed to draw up plans for an Act of Union.
Queen Anne gave the bill her assent, and the Act of Union became law on 6 March 1707. Anne had finally achieved what her great-grandfather James I had wanted so much. She was now Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, as well as Queen of Ireland. She had pushed hard for the union, and considered it a personal triumph. She said: 'I desire and expect from all my subjects of both nations that from hence forth they act with all possible respect and kindness to one another, that so it may appear to all the world they have hearts disposed to become one people. That will be a great pleasure to me.'

Answer: Lord Godolphin

Sunderland was the Duke of Marlborough's son-in-law. Anne detested him, ever since he had opposed granting her husband George an official income. She stalwartly refused to accept him in the government, and was supported by Harley, but put under concerted pressure from others. Godolphin, the Lord Treasurer, threatened resignation, saying 'I cannot struggle against all the difficulties of Your Majesty's business and yourself at the same time.' Sarah Churchill added her voice to Godolphin's, continually pestering Anne. The Queen, who hated confrontation, gave way, and Sunderland duly joined the government. The government now mostly comprised of Whigs, except Godolphin, a Tory, who remained allied with Marlborough to remain in power, and Harley.
The power that the Duchess of Marlborough exerted over the Queen was a great advantage for her husband's ministry, but it was clearly on the wane. In 1707 Abigail Hill secretly married Samuel Masham. The Queen knew about the marriage, but didn't tell Sarah. When she found out, Sarah was furious, alarmed at Abigail's level of intimacy with the Queen and considering her a dangerous upstart. Furthermore, Abigail was a cousin of Robert Harley, and a firm supporter of his, which annoyed Sarah and her husband.
Godolphin and Marlborough, increasingly jealous of Harley, forced Anne to accept his resignation in 1708. Abigail, however, was instrumental in helping Harley retain influence with Anne as a private adviser.

Answer: 1708

George died on 28 October 1708, much to Anne's distress. George, who had loved 'news, his bottle and the Queen' was regarded by many as a dull, indolent man, but Anne had been utterly devoted to him and was distraught at his death. Earlier that year, Anne had been seriously alarmed by the prospect of an invasion by the Jacobites, supporters of her brother James Francis Edward.

The French-funded attempt was a disaster, however, and James returned without having set foot on British soil. Anne had attempted to shore up the idea of the Hanoverians as her successors by naturalising Sophie's son, George, and his son, also called George, as British subjects in 1705.

The younger George was made Duke of Cambridge.

Answer: Lesbianism

Sarah was by now positively deranged with jealousy about the Queen's closeness to Abigail, and declared that Anne had 'no inclination for any but of one's own sex'. She also circulated a scurrilous poem, which said (among other things):
'When as Queen Anne of Great Renown
Great Britain's sceptre sway'd,
Besides the Church, she dearly lov'd
A Dirty Chamber Maid [Abigail]'.
After writing several times, Sarah demanded an audience with Anne and got it on 6 April 1710. She lambasted Anne for hours about the various injustices she had suffered. But the Queen had finally resolved to stand up for herself. Anne had more than her share of Stuart stubbornness. She merely said 'I shall make no answer to anything you say.'
Meanwhile, the momentum behind the War of the Spanish Succession was flagging. Archduke Charles had become Emperor Charles VI in 1711, and the idea of him uniting Austria and Spain was suddenly quite unattractive. Marlborough, the war hero, was now ridiculed at home for keeping Britain in the costly foreign war. Godolphin had been removed from power in 1710; Harley and Henry St John headed the new ministry. The Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the war in 1713, had to be ratified by parliament. The Whigs, however, opposed it, and had a large majority in the House of Lords. To counter this, Anne dismissed Marlborough from his command and created 12 new peers (including Samuel Masham) in a single day; this was more than Elizabeth I had created in her entire reign. Under the terms, Felipe V remained King of Spain but it was declared that Spain and France could never unite. Britain also gained Minorca and Gibraltar.
In person terms, these last years weren't very happy for Anne, in increasingly bad health. In France, her half-sister Louise-Marie, who had enchanted the French court, died of smallpox in her twentieth year. Anne had outlived almost all her family now.

Answer: 1st August 1714

As her health deteriorated throughout the year, an approach was made to her half-brother. James Francis Edward was told that he could ascend the throne of Britain after Anne's death if he would become a Protestant. He refused, saying 'to my last breath, by the grace of God I will maintain my religion.' He had missed his opportunity. The Jacobites would never be so close to the throne again.
Anne's last days were coloured by more political intrigue. There was increasing demand for a member of the Hanoverian family to be allowed live in England. Anne was firmly opposed to this idea, and sent such a peremptory letter to the Electress Sophie that it was said to have hastened the eighty-four year old woman's demise. Meanwhile, in England, Harley, who had become rivals with Henry St John (now Lord Bolingbroke) was dismissed in July. Anne's last act was to appoint Lord Shrewsbury as Lord Treasurer. Hugely overweight, tortured by gout and erysipelas, Anne's doctor said: 'Sleep was never more welcome to a weary traveller than death was to her.' Anne had acted badly in the past, especially in her relations with her father and stepmother, but she had always striven to do her duty, and was essentially a decent woman. She was only forty-nine at her death, and was buried with Prince George and all their tiny children. Her reign had seen great changes - the union of the crowns, the decline of the monarch's power (she was the last monarch to veto a government bill) and the rise of Britain's international prestige. Perhaps remembering her younger days, when she was sent to France, to the household of her aunt Minette to help her eye problems, Anne bequeathed her jewels to her cousin, Minette's daughter Anne-Marie, Duchess of Savoy, Anne's closest surviving female relative, and now the only surviving grandchild of Charles I. George I, Anne's successor, did not honour this bequest.
So it seemed the Stuart Age was over. There was, however, one woman, living in France, who was the last survivor of the Glorious Revolution Drama of 1688. Queen Mary Beatrice had lived to see the death of her daughter Louise-Marie, and even the admiration and respect of Louis XIV was scant comfort to her. She even outlived him, the Sun King - he died in 1715 after an amazing seventy-two year reign. Mary Beatrice lived on, finally dying of breast cancer in 1718, aged fifty-nine. Her son, James Francis Edward, had made an abortive attempt to regain his lost crown in 1715. A further attempt would be made under his son, Bonnie Prince Charlie, in 1745, but it failed as well. Several relics of the past lived on; the Duchess of Marlborough died in 1744; Anna, Duchess of Monmouth (widow of Charles II's ill-fated eldest son) died in 1732; Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth in 1734 and the Old Pretender, as James Francis Edward became known, in 1766. The Age of the Stuarts was over - by 1745, the Georgian Age was in full swing.

I hope you enjoyed these Stuart quizzes! Any feedback is much appreciated!