Queen Anne, the Last Stuart Monarch

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Allan Massie, The Unexpected Monarch; Though she was dull and sickly, Queen Anne's reign was one of the most momentous in British history. Wall Street Journal, Nov 29, 2013


online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304243904579195980545934884

(book review on Anne Somerset, Queen Anne; The politics of passion. Knopf, 2013)




Note:

(a) "Queen Anne, who reigned over England from 1702 to 1714, was not the stupidest of the Stuart monarchs—that was her father, James II * * * She had endured at least 15 pregnancies, and perhaps a couple of phantom ones, but only one of her children survived infancy, and he died just after his 11th birthday. * * * The Scottish lawyer and statesman Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, summoned to Kensington Palace, found her * * * foot affected was tied up with a poultice and some nasty bandages"

(i) Anne, Queen of Great Britain

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain

(introduction)

(ii) John Clerk of Pennycuik

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clerk_of_Pennycuik

(John Clerk of Pennycuik (modern Penicuik) (1611–1674) was a Scottish merchant)

(iii) "A poultice * * * is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. * * * The word 'poultice' comes from the Latin puls, pultes, meaning 'porridge.'" Wikipedia




The Wiki page has no photo. Go to images.google.com to see what it looks like.




(b) "her reign was one of the most momentous in English and British history. For the first time since the Middle Ages, English armies were consistently successful on the Continent. The Duke of Marlborough's four great victories—Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet—broke the power of Louis XIV's France."

(i) John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough

(1650-1722; It was not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 that Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune; Becoming de facto leader of Allied forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, his victories on the fields of Blenheim ([in Bavaria] 1704), Ramillies ([in present-dat Belgium] 1706), Oudenarde ([Belgium] 1708), and Malplaquet ([in present-day France] 1709), ensured his place in history as one of Europe's great generals)

Winston "Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough."  Wikipedia


(ii) Charles II of Spain (1661-1700; reign 1665-1700) "died childless. * * * In his will, Charles named as his successor his 16-year old grand-nephew, Philip, Duke of Anjou [who was] grandson of Charles' half-sister Maria Theresa of Spain, the first wife of Louis XIV (and thus grandson of the reigning French king Louis XIV [1638-1715; reign 1643-1715])."  Wikipedia for Charless II of Spain.

(iii) War of the Spanish Succession


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession

(1701–1714; introduction)

Later the review stated "in truth the original war aims, preventing the French prince from inheriting the whole of the Spanish empire (in particular what is now Belgium) and breaking Louis's power, had long been achieved."  View a map ("Map of Europe in 1700") in this Wiki page


(c) Charles II's "ortuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza, proved to be barren. This meant that Anne's father [James] remained the heir."

Charles II (reign 1660-1685) and James II (reign 1685-1688) were the eldest and second sons, respectively, of Charles I (executed in 1949), who in turn was a son of James I.

(d) "So it seemed likely that the Protestant succession was assured through Anne's older sister, Mary, who was married to William [III] of Orange, the ruler of the Dutch United Provinces."

Dutch Republic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Republic
(1581-1795; Alternative names include the United Provinces)

(e) "A boy, James Edward, was indeed born, though Anne believed, or affected to believe, in the rumor that the queen had miscarried and a male infant had been brought into the palace in a warming-pan. He would be raised in France."
(i) James Francis Edward Stuart
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart
(born on June 10, 1688 [date noted, due to rumor of warming pan, which was used in winter)
(ii) affect (vt): "pretend to have or feel (something) <as usual I affected a supreme unconcern> <(with infinitive a book that affects to loathe the modern world>"
www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/affect

(f) Jphn Churchill's "sister, Arabella, had been one of the king's mistresses; they had a son who, as the Duke of Berwick, would become a distinguished general in the French army."

Duke of Berwick
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Berwick
(created in 1687; The title refers to the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England by the border with Scotland; Nevertheless, the titles were recognized in France * * * by King Louis XIV, this to please the exiled King James II)
(g) "Anne and Sarah[, wife of John Churchill,] both detested [King] William, referring to him as 'Mr Caliban' in the intimate letters they exchanged."

Caliban
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliban

(h) "The first years of the war were glorious. The victory at Blenheim (1704), in concert with the Habsburg army commanded by Prince Eugene of Savoy, made Marlborough [John Churchill] a national hero."
(i) Prince Eugene of Savoy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Eugene_of_Savoy
(1663-1736; his father was Prince of Savoy; born in Paris as French; Rejected by Louis XIV for service in the French army, Eugene moved to Austria and transferred his loyalty to the Habsburg Monarchy)
(ii) Savoy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy
(a region of France)

The accent of Savoy is in the second syllable.