The Great Fire of London appears as a historical landmark in the account of Queen Anne’s birth, which the text dates to 1664, two years before the fire. It is not narrated as a disaster scene; its principal function here is to anchor a brief account of the predictions made about Anne’s future.

Chronology and Context

The passage places the fire in 1666 through the interval it gives between the event and Anne’s birth. It describes astrologers as interpreting Anne’s birth as that of the elder sister of fire and predicting that she would become queen. The account then notes that she did become queen, attributing this outcome to astrology and the Revolution of 1688. The fire thus supplies the chronological point of comparison for a prediction that the narrative connects to Anne’s eventual accession.