Anne
QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, was born at Twickenham, near London, Feb. 6, 1664; the second daughter of James II., then Duke of York, and Anne Hyde, his first wife, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon. In 1683 she was married to Prince George, Prince George , brother to King Christian V. of Denmark. On the arrival of the Prince of Orange in 1688, Anne wished to remain with her father; but she was prevailed upon by Lord Churchill (afterward Duke of Marlborough) and his wife to join the triumphant party. After the death of William III., in 1702, she ascended the English throne. Her character was essentially weak, and she was governed first by Marlborough and his wife, and afterward by Mrs. Masham.
Most of the principal events of her reign are connected with the War of the Spanish Succession. The only important acquisition that England made by it was Gibraltar, captured in 1704. Another very important event was the union of England and Scotland, under the name of Great Britain, in 1707. She died in 1714. The reign of Anne was distinguished for the number of admirable writers who flourished at this time, such as Pope, Swift, and Addison.