Historedia
EuropeEvent

Queen Anne's Veto of the Scottish Militia Bill

When
1708
Where
Parliament of Great Britain
Episodes
1

On 11 March 1708, Queen Anne withheld Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last instance of a British monarch vetoing legislation. The decision was driven by fears that a Scottish militia might support Jacobite forces during a threatened Franco-Jacobite invasion.

Episodes

  1. 11 March 1708 · Parliament of Great BritainWithholding Royal Assent

    Queen Anne refused to sign the Scottish Militia Bill due to security concerns.

Background and detail

The Veto. On 11 March 1708, Queen Anne refused Royal Assent on the advice of her ministers. The immediate trigger was news of a Franco-Jacobite invasion fleet en route to Scotland, leading to fears that the proposed militia might be disloyal and side with the Jacobites.

People involved

Sources

  1. Scottish Militia Bill Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-16
  2. Anne, Queen of Great Britain Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.