“Queen Anne as Princess of Denmark”
“Queen Anne as Princess of Denmark” is an oil on canvas painting from circa 1685. It was painted by the Dutch portrait artist, Willem Wissing, and his assistant, Jan van der Vaart, also Dutch. In this painting, Anne is depicted at around 20 years old before her reign as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Wissing used the same formula for many of his portraits, including the pose, clothing, and background. “Queen Anne, when Princess of Denmark” is nearly identical to his portrait of “Frances Thynne, Lady Worsley”. Both portraits were painted with his assistant, van der Vaart in around 1685.
Between 1702 and 1714, Anne reigned as the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, later known as the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. She was the last of the famed Stuart dynasty to serve in that role. Her father was James II, the last Catholic monarch and her mother was Anne Hyde, his first wife.
As a child, Anne and her sister, Mary (of William and Mary fame), were converted to Anglicism under order from Charles II, her uncle and then King of England. He was a converted Protestant and wanted to only allow succession of the throne to Protestant heirs.
As a queen, Anne’s reign was plagued by constant war with the French, as well as dealing with the War of Spanish Succession. She is probably most remembered for the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain through the union of England and Scotland in 1707.
Anne was married to Prince George of Denmark. Despite 17 pregnancies, Anne was unable to produce an heir to the throne. Only one of her children made it past infancy, and he died at 11 years old, possibly from pneumonia.
The reign of the House of Stuart ended with Anne’s death. Her father, James II, was remarried to Mary of Modena. It was their union that provided the grandson, Charles Stuart, or “Bonnie Prince Charlie”, who unsuccessfully led a Scottish rebellion which was defeated in 1746 at Culloden.
Though history remembers Anne for her poor health and constant state of pregnancy, she was a woman ruler in a society dominated by men. Under her reign, England flourished economically as well as artistically.
“Queen Anne as Princess of Denmark” is currently in the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland, in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland.
For more on Willem Wissing, please visit his short biography here.
For more on Jan van der Vaart, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
