Hear 'Queen Anne' describe her situation in connection with succession to the monarchy not long before her death in 1714:
I have enjoyed the support and loyalty of my people throughout my reign.
Now, as my health fails, it is my deepest grief and regret that I do not leave a child of my own to succeed me. Seventeen pregnancies I have endured, and not one of my children has survived. My dear son, William Duke of Gloucester, was cruelly taken from this world by smallpox aged just eleven.
And so, who should succeed me? My heir must be of the Protestant faith. It was my uncle, King Charles II, who insisted that my sister Mary and I should be brought up within the Protestant Church. I thank God I was not brought up in the Catholic communion of my father, but am of a Church that is pious and sincere, and conformable in all its principles to the Scriptures. The Church of England is, without all doubt, the only true Church.
The Jacobites support the exiled James Stuart who claims to be my half-brother, although I have never believed he is the true son of my father. This Catholic Pretender must never inherit the throne. No, after my death the crown will pass to the Protestant Electress Sophia of Hanover and her heirs. There are those in my kingdoms who would invite Sophia and her son to take up residence here in England, but that is something I will never allow. She may succeed me, but I will have no rival court established in this land during my lifetime.