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      Religion Before Her Father

      On 6 February 1685 King Charles II died. For his niece Princess Anne, the sudden snuffing out of her apparently healthy uncle – which coincided with her twentieth birthday – was a grim reminder of the precariousness of life. When Prince George became afflicted a few months later by ‘a giddiness in the head’, she was needlessly alarmed, confessing ‘I cannot help being frighted at the least thing ever since the late king’s death’.¹

      The Duke of York now ascended the throne as King James II. At the outset of his reign he appeared to be in an exceptionally strong position. A Whig politician noted gloomily, ‘all the former heats and animosities against him … seemed to be now quite forgot amidst the loud acclamations’.²

      For Anne, as for other sincere Protestants, the fact that James was a Catholic was, of course, disturbing. James refused to be discreet about his faith. ‘He went publicly to mass’, and work started on building a sumptuous new Catholic chapel at Whitehall, which eventually came into use at Christmas 1686. However, concerns about this were to some extent stilled by the King’s apparent respect for the Church of England. He ‘ordered the [Anglican] chapel at Whitehall to be kept in the same order as formerly, where the Princess of Denmark went daily’. Anne reported ‘Ever since the late King died, I have sat in the closet that was his in the chapel’. During the services the officiating clergy performed ‘the same bowing and ceremonies … to the place where she was as if his Majesty had been there in person’.³

      The statement that James made at his first meeting with the Privy Council was also reassuring. He announced that although ‘I have been reported to be a man for arbitrary power’, he would nevertheless ‘make it my endeavour to preserve the government in Church and State as it is by law established’. He added that since he was aware that ‘the principles of the Church of England are for monarchy … I shall always take care to defend and support it’.⁴ His words were printed and circulated to widespread acclaim.

      The outlook for Anne’s friends, the Churchills, appeared excellent as John Churchill was given an English barony and visibly enjoyed ‘a large share of his master’s good graces’. Her uncles on her mother’s side were both awarded important appointments, with Clarendon being made Lord Privy Seal, and Rochester becoming Lord Treasurer. Although Anne was not personally close to them, both men were looked on as devoted to ‘the interest of the King’s daughters and united to the Church party’, so it was heartening that they were in positions of trust.⁵

      Prince George was made a member of the Privy Council by his father-in-law. However, it was a less significant advancement than it seemed, for most important decisions were made in the King’s chamber by an inner ring of royal advisers. In June 1687 a French diplomat reported that so little account was taken of George ‘he might as well not exist’.⁶

      On 19 May 1685 Anne was present at the opening of Parliament. She heard her father make a speech that was slightly menacing, despite the fact that he reaffirmed his determination to protect the Church of England. He warned the Commons that they must not presume to keep him short of cash, and ‘to use him well’. His words went down surprisingly favourably, for very few members had been elected who were not well disposed towards the Crown. The only hint of trouble occurred on 26 May, when a parliamentary committee petitioned James to enforce the laws against religious nonconformists, including Catholics. However, when James summoned its members and rebuked them, they backed down.

      Anne’s first child – a daughter, christened Mary – was born on 1 June 1685, and proved to be ‘always very sickly’.⁷ The Princess did not breastfeed the infant herself, for this would have been considered eccentric or even irresponsible. Instead, the baby was cared for by a full complement of servants, including a wet nurse, dry nurse, and rockers. The nursery was in the Cockpit, and Anne would later come to believe that London air had undermined the child’s health.

      Mrs Barbara Berkeley, whose husband Colonel John Berkeley was Anne’s Master of the Horse, was appointed the child’s governess. Described by another member of the household as ‘as witty and pleasant a lady as any in England’ Mrs Berkeley had known the Princess since childhood and had also long been on very close terms with Sarah Churchill. Anne manifested surprisingly little faith in Mrs Berkeley’s childcare skills, telling Sarah, ‘Though she be Lady Governess, yet I rely more upon your goodness and sincerity to me than I could ever do upon her for anything’.⁸

      Ten days after Anne had given birth, her father’s regime came under threat when the late King’s exiled illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, landed at Lyme Regis, intent on overthrowing James. In happier days the Duke had been one of the most glamorous figures at Charles II’s court, and as a child Anne had greatly admired his dancing. However, since Monmouth had allied himself with the exclusionists he had represented a threat to her as well as her father. This only became more explicit when he issued a proclamation on 20 June assuming the title of King for himself, but Anne’s main concern was for Sarah, whose husband was with the royal army sent to crush the insurrection. On 7 July ‘ye good news’ arrived not only that the rebels had been defeated at Sedgemoor but that Lord Churchill was unharmed.⁹ After being captured hiding in a ditch, Monmouth was brought to London and executed on 15 July.

      Towards the end of July, Anne paid her second visit to Tunbridge Wells, leaving her daughter in London. The necessity of producing another child took priority over other maternal duties, and in hopes of promoting her fertility Anne took the waters for the customary six-week course. Prince George joined her for part of the

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