THE RESULTS OF QUEEN ANNE’S DEVOTION TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
__________
A Research Essay
Presented to
Mrs. Lee of the Faculty of
Bishop McDevitt High School
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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
British Studies English
__________ by
Elizabeth Kealey
May 28, 2013

Introduction
The thesis statement is: Queen Anne’s devotion to the Church of England had a lasting effect on her reign as queen. Queen Anne was born to James, Duke of York, later James II, and
Anne Hyde. When her mother died, Charles II sent Anne and her sister, Mary, to live with
Colonel Edward Villiers. He was a devout protestant. At this time James and his wife Anne had accepted the Roman Catholic faith. James, however would not allow his daughters to make the same decision. “.... Anne could not escape the general public anxiety during her father’s short and stormy reign. She loved him and he preferred her to Mary, but as a devout member of the
Church of England herself, she was alarmed by his policy and afraid that he might try to begin the conversion of the heretic England with herself” (Trease 160). As Anne matured, she thought she would make as a better sovereign if she was a Roman Catholic. However, she decided to always remain faithful and defend her faith towards the Church of England. “This is why Anne and Mary found themselves as children constantly in the company of Anglican bishops and chaplains whose business it was to see that both princesses were soundly saved. Nothing in
Anne’s youth was more important than this. When she came to the throne she would change in many ways but never in her devotion to the Church of England”(Green 23-24).
Strong Interest in Church Matters
As a devout member to the Church of England, Anne expressed a strong interest in
Church matters. She declared she would keep Church appointments in her own hand. She had a strong hatred toward Roman Catholics and dissenters. Thus, she favored the high-church party.
In 1704, she announced to the Commons that she would give the crown revenues to the Church, amounting to about £16,000 or £17,000 a year. These revenues were her gift to aid the less

fortunate. It was her appreciation for their gifts of first fruits and tenths of benefices denoted in order to help the upkeep of pensioners. This was known as “Queen Anne’s Bounty”. As
Delderfield states “Her creation of ‘Queen Anne’s Bounty’ restored to the Church, for the increase of the incomes of the poorer clergy, a fund raised from tithes which Henry VII had taken for his own use (99).
Attitude Towards Two Great Parties in State
Anne’s devotion to the Church of England dictated her attitude towards the two great parties in the state. These two parties were known as the Tories and the Whigs.
Tories have been associated with High Church sentiments. Lord Strafford once wrote to
Electress Sophia, “…I am sure you know what is called Tory are those which are for the Church of England, which is all or almost all the clergy of England, a great majority in the Parliament and nation and almost all the landed men in the kingdom” (Green 83). This quote is stating that many men in England, especially those belonging to the Church of England were in the Tory party. They also supported Catholic Stuarts. For these reasons, Anne was on the Tory side. She saw the Tories as the Church Party.
Whigs are associated with latitudinarianism and Protestant Dissent. Latitudinarianism is
“Of or relating to a school of thought within the Church of England in the 17th century that minimized the importance of divine authority in matters of doctrine and stressed the importance of reason and personal judgment” (“latitudinarian”).
During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Whigs had rights over Stuart monarchs. They saw themselves as anti-Catholic defenders of the Protestant religion.

Anne was guided by Sarah Jennings and her husband, John Churchill throughout her reign as queen. These people, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, were highly in favor of the
Whigs. At this time, Anne was only leaning towards the Tory party. This was a difficult time for her because her ministers, whom she relied on, were in the opposing party. In an election in
1775, there was a Whig victory. This caused more Tories to leave the government, and Anne relied less on her advisors. Anne now thought of Sarah as becoming “tyrannical and overbearing” (Great Lives From History 64). Sarah began to lose support and affection from her friend, the queen.
On November 5, 1709, the Tories made a glorious attack on the government, which resulted in them gaining power. For the last four years on Anne’s reign, until 1714, she had been surrounded by people who shared the same political views on church and state as she did.
Acts During Reign
Anne accomplished many beneficial acts throughout her reign. In 1707, she sealed the
Act of Union. “The most important constitutional act for the reign was the sealing in 1707 of the
Act of Union between England and Scotland, thus forming Great Britain” (Delderfield 98). She also denoted money towards public purposes and soldiers. For this reason, she is called “Good
Queen Anne”.
Conclusion
Many of Anne’s decisions and judgments were based on her devotion to the Church of
England. She had been tempted by her advisors to follow the Whigs. She chose not to follow them through her moral decisions. Also, with Anne’s devotion to the Church of England she

contributed money to many valuable sources. As a Christian, she was always concerned how to benefit the well-beings of others.