Mary II of England

Mary II
Portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1690
Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (more...)
Reign	1689[a] – 28 December 1694
Coronation	11 April 1689
Predecessor	James II & VII
Successor	William III & II
Co-monarch	William III & II
Born	30 April 1662 (N.S.: 10 May 1662) St James's Palace, London
Died	28 December 1694 (aged 32) (N.S.: 7 January 1695) Kensington Palace, London
Burial	5 March 1695 Westminster Abbey, London
Spouse	William III & II ​ (m. 1677)​
House	Stuart
Father	James II & VII
Mother	Anne Hyde
Religion	Anglican

Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 until her death. Mary was a Protestant. She became queen after the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of her Roman Catholic father, James II and VII. Mary ruled together with her husband, William III and II. He became the ruler of both countries when she died in 1694. Popular histories usually call their joint reigns as those of "William and Mary". Mary had less power than William when William remained in England. When William went to military campaigns, however, she governed alone. She was a powerful, firm, and effective ruler.^[1] She gave most of her authority to her husband, but he greatly depended on her. She was very active in the Church of England, ruling it as its Supreme Governor.

Mary was born at St. James Palace in London on 30 April 1662. Her father was James, Duke of York, and her mother was his first wife, Lady Anne Hyde. She was their oldest daughter.^[2] Mary's uncle was Charles II. Her grandfather by her mother's side was Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. He served for a long time as Charles's chief advisor. Her mother gave birth to eight children, but only Mary and her younger sister Anne lived to adulthood.^[3]

The Duke of York became a Roman Catholic in 1668 or 1669,^[4] but Mary and Anne had a Protestant education,^[4] as Charles II had commanded.^[5][6] Mary's mother died in 1671, and her father married again in 1673. He took Mary of Modena, a Catholic, as his second wife.^[7] She was also known as Mary Beatrice d'Este.^[7] Before her marriage, Mary wrote many letters to Frances Apsley, the daughter of James II's hawks keeper. However, she did not return Mary's interest.^[8]

When she was 15, Lady Mary became betrothed to her first cousin, the Protestant William, Prince of Orange.^[1] William was the son of Mary, Princess Royal and Prince William II of Nassau. At first, Charles II did not want Mary to marry William. He wanted Mary to marry the heir to the French Throne, the Dauphin Louis, instead. This was because he hoped that England would become friends with France. He also wanted to have a Catholic successor to the throne. But because of Parliament's pressure, he later approved their marriage.^[9] He thought that it would make the Protestants like him more, but he was wrong.^[10] Mary and William married in London on 4 November 1677.^[6] It was reported that Mary wept through the whole ceremony.^[2]

Mary went to the Netherlands and lived there as William's wife.^[4] The Dutch people liked her because of her lively, friendly nature, and Mary loved William deeply. However, the marriage was often unhappy. Her three pregnancies ended in miscarriage or stillbirth, and Mary was very sad that she did not have a child. Her husband was often cold to her,^[1] and he had an affair with Elizabeth Villiers, one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting, for a long time.^[10] After some time, though, he grew warmer towards Mary.^[2]
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1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Mary II". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. 1911.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} "The House Of Stuart: William III and Mary II". English Monarchs. 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2006.
3. ↑ "Anne Hyde". David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History. 2005. Retrieved 18 September 2006.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Mary II (1662 - 1694)". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
5. ↑ "The House Of Stuart: James II". English Monarchs. 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2006.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "Mary II (queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia". britannica.com. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "James II and VII". The Jacobite Heritage. 1997. Retrieved 18 September 2006.
8. ↑ Farquhar, Michael (2001). A Treasure of Royal Scandals, p.20. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 0739420259.
9. ↑ John Pollock. The Policy of Charles II and James II. (1667–87.). Archived from the original on 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Nicholas Seager, University of Nottingham (2006-02-09). "Reign of King William III". The Literary Encyclopedia. The Literary Dictionary Company. Retrieved 2006-09-19.