Anne was born at 11:39 p.m. on 6 February 1665 at St James's Palace, London, the fourth child and second daughter of James, Duke of York (afterwards James II and VII), and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Her father's brother was King Charles II, who ruled the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, and her mother was the daughter of Lord Chancellor Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. She was baptised into the Anglican faith at the Chapel Royal at St James's. Her older sister, Mary, was one of her godparents, along with Archbishop of Canterbury Gilbert Sheldon and Anne Scott, Duchess of Monmouth. The Duke and Duchess of York had eight children, but Anne and Mary were the only ones to survive into adulthood.[4] As a child, Anne suffered from an eye condition, which manifested as excessive watering known as "defluxion". For medical treatment, she was sent to France, where she lived with her paternal grandmother, Queen Dowager Henrietta Maria, at the Château de Colombes near Paris.[5] Following her grandmother's death in 1669, Anne lived with an aunt, Henriette Anne, Duchess of Orléans. On the sudden death of her aunt in 1670, Anne returned to England. Her mother died the following year.[6] As was traditional in the royal family, Anne and her sister were brought up separated from their father in their own establishment at Richmond, London.[7] On the instructions of Charles II, they were raised as Protestants.[8] They were placed in the care of Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers,[9] and their education was focused on the teachings of the Anglican church.[10] Around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisors.[11] Jennings married John Churchill (the future Duke of Marlborough) in about 1678. He was the brother of the Duke of York's mistress, Arabella Churchill, and was to be Anne's most important general.[12] In 1673, the Duke of York's conversion to Roman Catholicism became public. He married a Catholic princess, Mary of Modena, who was only six and a half years older than Anne. Charles II had no surviving legitimate children, and so the Duke of York was next in the line of succession, followed by his two surviving daughters from his first marriage, Mary and Anne. Over the next ten years, the new Duchess of York had ten children, but all were either stillborn or died in infancy, leaving Mary and Anne second and third in the line of succession after their father.[13]

In November 1677, Anne's elder sister married a Dutch prince, William of Orange, but Anne could not attend the wedding, as she was confined to her room with smallpox.[14] By the time she recovered, Mary had already left for her new life in the Netherlands. Lady Frances Villiers contracted the disease, and died. Anne's aunt Lady Clarendon (the wife of Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon) was appointed as her new governess.[15] A year later, Anne and her stepmother visited Mary in Holland.[16] Anne's father and stepmother retired to Brussels in March 1679 in the wake of anti-Catholic hysteria fed by the Popish Plot, and Anne visited them from the end of August.[16] In October, they returned to Britain, the Duke and Duchess to Scotland and Anne to England.[17] She visited her father and stepmother in Scotland from July 1681 until May 1682.[18] It was her last journey outside England.[19] Anne's second cousin George of Hanover (her eventual successor) visited London for three months from December 1680, sparking rumours of a potential marriage between them.[20] Historian Edward Gregg dismissed the rumours as ungrounded, as her father was essentially exiled from court, and the Hanoverians planned to marry Prince George to his first cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle as part of a scheme to unite the Hanoverian inheritance.[21] Other rumours claimed she was courted by Lord Mulgrave (later made Duke of Buckingham), although he denied it. Nevertheless, as a result of the gossip, he was temporarily dismissed from court and despatched to Tangier.[22] On 28 July 1683 in the Chapel Royal, Anne married the Protestant Prince George of Denmark, brother of King Christian V of Denmark (and her second cousin once removed through Frederick II).[23] Though it was an arranged marriage, they were faithful and devoted partners.[24] They were given a set of buildings in the Palace of Whitehall known as the Cockpit as their London residence,[25] and Sarah Churchill became one of Anne's ladies of the bedchamber.[26] To mark their friendship, and at Anne's request, Anne and Sarah called each other the pet names Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman respectively rather than use their formal styles and titles.[27] Within months of the marriage, Anne was pregnant, but the baby was stillborn in May. Anne recovered at the spa town of Tunbridge Wells,[28] and over the next two years, she gave birth to two daughters in quick succession, Mary and Anne Sophia.[29]

His marriage to Anne was arranged in the early 1680s with a view to developing an Anglo-Danish alliance to contain Dutch maritime power. As a result, George was unpopular with his Dutch brother-in-law William of Orange, who was married to Anne's elder sister, Mary. William and Mary became joint monarchs of Britain, with Anne as their heiress presumptive, in 1689 after the "Glorious Revolution" deposed James II and VII, the father of Anne and Mary. William excluded George from active military service, and neither George nor Anne wielded any great influence until after the deaths of William and Mary, when Anne became queen. During his wife's reign, George occasionally used his influence in support of his wife, even when privately disagreeing with her views. He had an easy-going manner and little interest in politics; his appointment as Lord High Admiral in 1702 was largely honorary. Anne's seventeen pregnancies by George resulted in twelve miscarriages or stillbirths, four infant deaths, and a chronically sick son William, who died at the age of eleven. Despite the tragic history of their children, George and Anne's marriage was a strong one. He died aged 55 from a recurring and chronic lung disease, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Anne became Queen upon the death of William III on 8 March 1702, and was immediately popular.[83] In a speech to the English Parliament she distanced herself from her late Dutch brother-in-law and said, "As I know my heart to be entirely English, I can very sincerely assure you there is not anything you can expect or desire from me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England."[84] Soon after her accession, Anne appointed her husband Lord High Admiral, giving him nominal control of the Royal Navy.[85] Anne gave control of the army to Lord Marlborough, whom she appointed Captain-General.[86] Marlborough also received numerous honours from the Queen; he was created a Knight of the Garter and was elevated to the rank of duke. The Duchess of Marlborough was appointed Groom of the Stole, Mistress of the Robes, and Keeper of the Privy Purse.[87] Anne was crowned Queen on St George's Day, 23 April 1702.[88] Afflicted with gout, she was carried to Westminster Abbey in an open sedan chair, with a low back to permit her train to flow out behind her.[89] On 4 May, England was embroiled in the War of the Spanish Succession, in which England, Austria and Holland fought against France and Spain.[90] Charles II of Spain had died childless in 1700, and the succession was disputed by two claimants: the Habsburg Archduke Charles of Austria and the Bourbon Philip, Duke of Anjou.[91]