Research Paper on:
Sarah Churchill and Queen Anne

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
appreciate the way in which the relationship between Queen Anne, the last of the house of Stuart, and Sarah Churchill developed, it is useful to look briefly at the circumstances  surrounding Annes ascension to the throne, the personal difficulties which Anne herself suffered throughout her life, and the political implications of her close association with Sarah.  Despite the fact that much has been written about the friendship between the two, and the  level of influence which Sarah evidently exerted on the queen until she was deposed in favour of Abigail Masham, it must be remembered that it was not considered particularly unusual  for monarchs to have close advisers and favourites: perhaps it was the fact that in this instance it was a female monarch and a female adviser which has attracted so  much attention. A Queen ruling alone was in itself a rarity, and Annes predecessors, such as Elizabeth I, had kept an entourage of male councillors and advisers.  It is apparent, also, that Anne had never expected to take the throne. The daughter of James II, a  Catholic, Anne herself had been brought up as a Protestant despite her fathers and stepmothers wishes at a time when not only was there still antagonism between Protestant and Catholic,  but England was moving more closely towards the development of a limited constitutional monarchy. When James II not only attempted to restore royal privilege but attempted to leave behind a  Catholic heir to the throne, the Protestant parliament deposed him and set his Protestant daughter Mary on the throne instead. James was exiled, and William and Mary reigned as constitutional