Queen Anne had to be carried to her coronation ceremony on a specially designed sedan chair. At just 37, she was too unwell and overweight to walk the traditional processional route from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey – about 400ft – by herself. When she died in 1714, aged 49, she was placed in a coffin described by one onlooker as so wide it was “almost square”, and “bigger than that of the prince, her husband, who was known to be a fat, bulky man”. It was taken to Westminster Abbey by a chariot with particularly “large, strong wheels”, drawn by eight horses draped in purple, where it was then carried inside by no less than 14 men. Some even claim the coffin didn’t fit inside the vault and that other royal coffins had to be moved to accommodate it.
Queen Anne is one of Britain’s lesser known monarchs. Many only know the briefest details of her life; many more are surprised to hear she existed at all. She is studied, discussed and depicted significantly less than any other British queen. But stories of her reign habitually start and end the same way, bookended with these two images. If you only know one thing about Queen Anne, it’s probably that she was fat.
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