Anne I of Great Britain (Blooming Roses)

Anne I (25 January 1678 - 19 September 1684) was the only child of Alexander IV of England and his wife, Helena Amalie of Saxony. She was the penultimate monarch of the main branch of the House of Tudor.

Early Life
Anne was born Anne Victoria at Hampton Court Palace at six o'clock in the morning of 25 January 1678, the eldest child of Queen Helena Amalie and King Alexander IV of England. She was to be their only child. When she was two years old, her father died of smallpox, leaving her mother a widow and she was now Queen Regnant of England. Her mother arranged for her education and a regency council was made of her cousins, the Dukes of Lincoln, York, Glocester, Exeter, and Cambridge and her mother. Her coronation was held on 12 April 1682.

Marriage Prospects
The council refused to allow England to be absorbed by the Empire or France and determined that Anne would marry locally. By the time of her birth, there were several cadet branches of the House of Tudor available for her to marry into or the distant Vasas, descended from Elizabeth of England. The sons of the Duke of Surrey or Duke of Buckingham were considered the best options for marriage. By 1683 she was betrothed to Robert, the future 9th Duke of Buckingham, who was nine years old at the time.

Death
The future of England was seeming bright in Anne, and when she went on progress in the summer of 1684 she was greeted by cheering peasants in the countryside. However, her reign was tragically cut short by her death at the age of six. She caught diphtheria on 15 September and was dead by 19 September. Her mother was distraught at her death, although she later remarried to the Duke of York.

Legacy
Although Anne had not accomplished much, her death caused a dynastic crisis. It was the first time since the Wars of the Roses that there was not a direct-line descendant to the throne and as there were many cadet branches of the House of Tudor, war broke out attempting to name a successor. She was ultimately succeeded by her former betrothed, the Duke of Buckingham.