Princess Anne
As a young princess in England, Princess Anne was not expected to ever become queen. Her Catholic father, James II, was deposed during the Glorious Revolution, and as a result, her sister, Mary II, and brother-in-law, William III, became joint monarchs. Mary died in 1694, and William would continue as monarch until his death in 1702.
Anne's reign as queen of England began March 8, 1702, when she was thirty-seven years old. There are many opinions about her successes and failures as queen, but all agree she tried to govern wisely. During her reign the two party system developed in England. The Whigs, aligned with commercial interests, and the Tories, who were supportive of the church and country gentry. Anne tended to support the Tories. She attended more cabinet meetings than any of her predecessors, and presided over an age of artistic, literary, economic, and political advancement.
Despite seventeen pregnancies, none of her children survived her. One child, the Duke of Gloucester, for whom the main street in Colonial Williamsburg is named, lived the longest of any of her children. He died one week after his eleventh birthday.
Following Anne's death in 1714, the crown fell to a German cousin, George I. She was the last monarch of the House of Stuart.
Princess Anne County, Virginia, was named after her prior to her ascension as queen, as was Annapolis, Maryland.
On November 17, 1951, the Princess Anne County Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, was confirmed with fifteen members and six papers pending.