The lesbian Queen Anne Stuart of the House of Tudor

Queen Anne Stuart was part of the lineage of the House of Tudor that was overshadowed by the colorful reign of Henry VIII, who had excommunicated a Pope and had six wives.

But though Queen Anne had a quiet role in history– she was married to Prince George of Denmark and only ruled for 12 years– she was the queen who helped England transition to Protestantism and was the last Stuart to hold the throne.

She also had a number of relationships with other women.

Queen Anne Stuart’s quiet reign

Not much is known about Queen Anne because her reign was, for lack of a better word, dull. There was no juicy gossip about her and she lacked the wild escapades of her predecessors.

Queen Anne was the least possible candidate for a queen. She was shy, chronically ill with an auto-immune disease, and most of her heirs died, with one son living up to the age of 11.

But behind that quietness and relative calm, she had a lot of secrets.

Coming to light because of the world’s fascination with royalty, it’s been discovered that Queen Anne had relationships with a lot of women.

Letters– a regular font of knowledge for secret affairs— written to and by Queen Anne show affections that went past typical women friendships.

Queen Anne Stuart and Sarah Churchill

One of the most prominent lesbian relationships Queen Anne had was with the aristocrat Sarah Churchill.

Sarah– married to John Churchill, later the Duke of Marlborough– was an ancestor to Winston Churchill and had a 25-year friendship with the queen.

How deep was their friendship? Queen Anne, writing to Sarah, said “I hope I shall get a moment or two to be with my dear…that I may have one embrace, which I long for more than I can express.”

While the queen was timid and poorly educated, Sarah was glamorous and beautiful. Queen Anne was said to have worshiped the older, worldlier woman and look up to her for guidance.

Moreover, before she became queen, Anne defended her relationship with Sarah against her older sister, Queen Mary, despite the latter’s moves to isolate her.

Their romantic friendship ended bitterly when the queen started feeling Sarah’s manipulation– especially after the death of Queen Anne’s husband.

The queen had deep friendships with other women that bordered on passion. This included Sarah’s replacement and, ironically, cousin, Abigail Masham.

Queen Anne Stuart’s reign ended when she died at the age of 49.