to feel sorry for Queen Anne?

[64BooLane]

I’m reading something that mentions her in passing quite a bit.

Didn’t know a lot about her but apparently she had 17 - SEVENTEEN - pregnancies, and none of the children lived to grow up. And then she was widowed and became alcoholic, gouty and obese, for which she was widely mocked. Added to all of this, it sounds as if she really didn’t enjoy being Queen and felt a lot of guilt about the end of the Stuarts. Then she died at forty-nine.

I mean, that really just sucks so much that I can’t get it out of my head. I’m not well versed in English history though, so I’m not very clear on her other qualities, such as whether she was astute/intelligent/thoughtful etc.

Should I read more about her? Any MN historians around? Any recommendations for books about that period?

[MissionItsPossible]

I was reading this like thinking how could I not know any of this and poor her and I’d likely turn to alcohol too and thought she never seemed drunk at official royal events and how she must have lost weight again because she looked slim the last time I saw her on TV... until I got to the part about dying at 49 and realised I was thinking of Princess Anne

[64BooLane]

Oh god, sorry - I should have been clearer

[64BooLane]

Fun fact: I once saw Princess Anne buying cheese

[MissionItsPossible]

You can’t get clearer than putting Queen Anne in the title. I think I saw the word Queen and the word Anne and had her in mind as I read the thread

[liz70]

" realised I was thinking of Princess Anne"

I thought, fuck me, that's some jump in succession - has there been a bomb at the palace killing everyone in line up to Anne?

[IMightMentionGriddlebone]

YANBU. I've always felt sorry for her too. So sorry that I clicked on this, expecting a discussion of Queen Anne's sad life.

It's awful. No wonder she sought solace in the bottle. She was hardly going to leap up and invent Zumba classes 300 years early, was she?

[AnneLovesGilbert]

I saw a fantastic play about her last year. Painted quite a picture of a woman who was manipulative, mean, petty, complicated, agonised, frustrated, disappointed, heartbroken, hilarious and impressive in her resilience.

I've had a handful of miscarriages and am lucky to have a wonderful husband, kind friends and supportive relatives, I also have a normal job and no country to run! It boggles the mind how she got through every day, but the play would have you believe it was by making those around suffer as well.

[IMightMentionGriddlebone]

I can't imagine she would have been fun to be around, but I can't blame her.

I've just reminded myself of the details on wikipedia, and it is agonising to read.

In 1987, within the space of 15 days, she suffered her first miscarriage (pregnancy 4), and then lost both her two living children. One was an eight month old baby and the other was a toddler. Smallpox outbreak in the palace, I think?

In 15 days.

[MissEliza]

I love MN for random discussions like this! I never knew that about Queen Anne. It would have been bad enough for a 'normal' woman but her whole raison d'etre would have been to breed. Thank god for modern medicine.

[OhCalamity]

5 still births and 7 miscarriages?? bloody hell!!

[hellowembley]

Erm i’m not sure it was in 1987

[OhCalamity]

Actually it sounds like 19 lost babies - two of the miscarriages were sets of twins.

[IMightMentionGriddlebone]

Er, no. No it wasn't. 16-87. Sorry, folks.

[JAMMFYesPlease]

Yes my heart always goes out to her when I read something or it comes up to a day in history connected to her. She also didn't speak to her sister for the last two years of her sister's life. Mary died of smallpox and Anne was pregnant at the time. Mary wouldn't allow her to risk the baby's life just to say goodbye.

[LadyinCement]

Apparently she was as wide as she was high - her coffin had to be square.

Was her husband syphallitic? I think that is one reason for a woman to have so many miscarriages and stillbirths.

[liz70]

1987? Is this in an alternative universe?

But seriously, I knew about her problems; it's all very sad, but I just find her a bit dull to read about tbh. I find Princess Alice ( I know, jumping a fair few generations now) far more interesting, but with a tragic family history too.

[IMightMentionGriddlebone]

It's a doofus who can't type and just hit 19- as usual, liz.

[liz70]

I know, I was just joshing but crossposted with you.

[PutUpWithRain]

I'm not a mad fan of Queen Anne, but I can't imagine what it was like to live that life.

OP, this is a really good book on the sisters and the glorious revolution. Anne does not come out of it well though...

[liz70]

I fucking hate onscreen keyboards myself. If I didn't constantly correct and preview and correct and preview and… etc., my posts would be a mixture of Hungarian, Welsh and Portuguese.

[GaspodeWonderCat]

Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion: A Biography Paperback – 2012
by Anne Somerset (Author). Found this on Amazon. Looks good.

[bruffin]

I saw the play as well Annelovesgilbert It was very good.
I dont think it was syphalis because.
I got to meat Princess Anne a few times as i worked for one of her charites. Couldnt believe how petite she is.

[x2boys]

I'm just wishing I knew more about the more interesting periods of history , insight have got more than a grade c in history GCSE if we had learnt about Queen Anne etc rather than the industrial and agricultural revolution. anyway off to have a read.

[x2boys]

I might*

[GreyGardens88]

She still lived a life of luxury though and wasn't outside in the street in the cold or some doss house dying of syphillis at 21