Queen Anne Vetoes a Bill: Last Time a British Monarch Uses Royal Veto
She signed hundreds of bills into law, but Anne couldn't stomach this one. The Scottish Militia Bill would've armed 20,000 Scots just seven years after the Act of Union merged their parliament with England's — and her advisors warned those weapons might turn on London. So on March 11, 1708, Queen Anne simply refused. Royal Assent withheld. The bill died instantly. No British monarch has dared use this veto power since, though technically they still possess it. Three centuries later, every sovereign from George I to Charles III has rubber-stamped whatever Parliament sends their way, even laws they personally despise. Anne's fear of Scottish muskets accidentally became the crown's last real "no."
March 11, 1708
318 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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