Transition: From the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover

Prince James: An Impolitic Heir Apparent: Years 1660 - 1673

To understand how Anne, the second holder of the title Princess Royal, came to be, one must first understand the transition of the English monarchy from the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover.

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York; King James II by Peter Lely

James Stuart, the younger brother of the first Princess Royal, Mary, and of Charles II, had two surviving daughters by his first wife, a commoner, Anne Hyde, who he had controversially married in 1660. Both daughters, Princess Mary and Princess Anne (not to be confused with Anne, Princess Royal), had been raised Protestant, on the orders of Charles II, James's elder brother and the successor of their father, Charles I. Before Anne Hyde's death in 1671, James had converted to Catholicism, in opposition to Charles II's wishes. In 1673, James's conversion became public when he refused to follow the Test Act, to the dismay of Parliament and the English public.

Mary of Modena by Simon Pietersz

Then, in 1673, James married a beautiful, 15-year-old, Italian, Catholic princess, Mary of Modena. The notoriously xenophobic English public feared Mary of Modena could be an agent of the Pope. The public was even more concerned about the unpopular marriage of the brother of the king, given that Charles II and his wife, Catherine of Braganza, were unable to have children. What if James one day succeeded Charles II? Not only would Britain have a Catholic ruler (horrors!), but could even end up with a Catholic dynasty!

Mary's Marriage and the Succession of James II: Years 1677 - 1688

In 1677, James reluctantly consented to the marriage of his daughter, Mary Stuart, to the Protestant William of Orange, and Mary left for the Dutch Republic, leaving her younger sister, Anne Stuart, behind in England. In 1685, Charles II died, ironically after having converted to Catholicism on his deathbed.  He was succeeded by his impolitic younger brother, James II. Tensions rose further when Mary of Modena gave birth in 1688 to a healthy heir, James Francis, in effect, placing Mary and Anne after James Francis in the line of succession. English law allowed women to inherit the throne only if they had no brother. England was actually more liberal than many other European nations/provinces, such as Hanover, which did not allow women to inherit territory, or crowns, at all.

In case you're wondering why James II's daughter, Mary Stuart, was never created Princess Royal, the reason is this: She married William of Orange in 1677, becoming Princess of Orange, eight years before her father's succession to the throne of England. She already had her title.

Family Tree of James II, including his children, Mary, Anne, James Francis, and Louisa Maria (Ancestry.com):

The Glorious Revolution and "Succession" of William III and Mary II: Years 1688 - 1689

Prominent Protestants, including Princess Anne herself, claimed the new heir was "suppositious", alleging he had been smuggled into the birth chamber in a warming pan (a highly unlikely scenario). Within seven weeks, a group of seven Protestant nobles invited William of Orange, Mary's husband, to invade England, which he subsequently did with Mary's support four months later.

Detail of William and Mary from the ceiling of the Painted Hall
by Sir James Thornhill; photo by James Brittain

Bewailing the disloyalty of his daughters, James II fled England, taking up residence in France, the country where he had lived during his exile following the deposition of his father, Charles I, and where he eventually died in 1701. Parliament pronounced James II to have abdicated his throne and declared Mary II and William III joint rulers of England. Bowing to many of William III's initial demands, Parliament agreed he could reign singly, in the event Mary predeceased him, thus delaying Princess Anne's eventual succession (and making her royally angry in the process). Parliament also passed the  Bill of Rights of 1689, which declared no Catholic could ever ascend the throne of England and that no English monarch could ever marry a Catholic.

The Succession of Queen Anne and the End of the House of Stuart: Years 1702 - 1714

Queen Anne and William, Duke of Gloucestor 

by studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller

Whether one views this change of monarchs as an abdication followed by a succession or as a usurpation, the fact is, it eventually led to the end of the House of Stuart. Princess Anne, James II's younger daughter, had married George of Denmark, in 1683. During her marriage, Anne had 17 pregnancies, but only five surviving children. Four of these died before the age of two. Anne's remaining son, William, lived to be 11, dying in 1700, likely of hydrocephalus. Anne's elder sister, Mary II, had died childless in 1694. William III continued to rule after Mary II's death, but never remarried. Therefore, upon William III's death in 1702, Anne was the only person remaining in the line of succession established by the Bill of Rights
of 1689. By the time of Anne's husband's death in 1708, she had no living
children. By the time of her own death in 1714, and thanks to the Bill of Rights of 1689, there was no one from the House of Stuart, at least no Protestants, left to inherit the English throne.

The Succession of George I and the Beginning of the House of Hanover: Year 1714

Family tree of Elizabeth, 

Queen of Bohemia (Ancestry.com):

However, Parliament had seen this coming. In 1701, Parliament had further tested the flexibility of the laws governing succession, while safeguarding England from any dreaded Catholic restoration. In the Act of Settlement of 1701, Parliament bypassed over 50 Catholic claimants more closely related to Anne (including Anne's probable half-brother, James Francis), stating the throne would go to the Protestant descendants of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and elder sister of Charles I (please see first post). Elizabeth's daughter, Sophia, married the Elector of Hanover in 1658. Sophia's eldest son, George, became heir to England's throne when his mother predeceased him. Although Sophia had famously quipped, "What Parliament does one day, it undoes the next", George I did ascend the throne in 1714 at the age of 54, founding the royal House of Hanover.

Sophia Dorothea, Princess of Hanover with her children,  
George and Sophia Dorothea by Jacques Valiant

By the time of his succession, George I had already had a pretty eventful life. He had entered into a loveless, arranged marriage with his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, in 1682 (not to be confused with his mother, Sophia). He had had two children by Sophia, George Augustus and Sophia of Hanover (yes, a third Sophia), in 1683 and 1687, respectively. He had had three children by his royal mistress, as well. He and his wife, to whom he was physically abusive on at least one occasion, had become estranged. George probably had conspired to have his wife's lover, a Swedish count, murdered and sent to sleep with the fishes in 1694. George had then had his marriage dissolved that same year on the grounds that Sophia had abandoned the relationship. Sophia was imprisoned in Ahlden House in her native Celle until her death over 30 years later. George ensured she never saw her children again.

King George I by Sir Godfrey Kneller

Through some creative wrangling of Salic law and the principle of primogeniture, George's father, Ernest, had left all of his Hanoverian territories (but one) to George upon Ernest's death in 1698. George thereby became the absolute monarch of Hanover. He didn't even have to share any of the territories with his younger brothers. During Queen Anne's reign, England and Scotland had been united into a single, sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain, by the Act of Union of 1707. Upon his succession in 1714, George I joined England, Scotland, Ireland and Hanover under one crown. Oh, and a few German territories he had picked up by the death of one of his uncles. Oh, and also the Swedish territories that were ceded to Hanover in 1719.

In case you're wondering why George I's daughter, Sophia of Hanover, was never titled Princess Royal, the reason is this: She married the King of Prussia in 1706, eight years before her father's succession to the throne of England, becoming Crown Princess and later, Queen of Prussia. She already had her title.