Before 1603, the
Kingdom of England and the
Kingdom of Scotland were independent states with different monarchs. Upon
James VI of Scotland inheriting the monarchy of England from his cousin
Elizabeth I, however, the two independent countries began sharing a monarch in a
personal union known as the
Union of the Crowns. Between November 1606 and July 1607 unification between the two countries was discussed in Parliament. While the English Parliament agreed to certain concessions to the Scots, it refused union. In October 1604, James VI and I declared himself to be the 'King of Great Britain'. The
style was used on coins, stamps, and elsewhere, but the
Parliament of England did not use it officially, nor did they consider him the King of a single unified country.
Anne ascended both thrones on 8 March 1702, upon the death of her
brother-in-law and cousin
William III, becoming Queen of England and Queen of Scotland. In November that year, Anne began negotiations with the
Parliament of Scotland about a possible union of the two countries, but by 1704 they had ended without a deal. In 1706, a new proposal was debated that involved the merger of Scotland and England into a new country called 'Great Britain'. A final version of the proposal was presented to Anne in July that year. In January and March 1707, the
Treaty of Union was passed by the Scottish and English parliaments respectively, with the union beginning from May. Despite having eighteen pregnancies, Anne did not produce an heir that survived her or to adulthood. Before union, England had passed the
Act of Settlement 1701 which defined Anne's cousin
Sophia of Hanover and her heirs as Anne's successor in England and Ireland and disqualified
Catholics from becoming monarch. However, Scotland had passed its own law, the
Act of Security 1704, which allowed its parliament to choose an heir upon Anne's death. On union, Great Britain adopted the English succession and the Act of Security was repealed. When Anne died in 1714, she was succeeded by
George I, Sophia of Hanover's eldest son. == Statistics ==