Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena (Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; 05 October [O.S. 25 September] 1658 – 7 May [O.S. 26 April] 1718) was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland. She was the second wife of King James II. Mary was a very firm Catholic. She married James, Duke of York, (the future James II) in 1673. He was the younger brother of Charles II.[1][2] Mary was not interested in politics. Instead, she was devoted to James, and gave birth to two children who lived to become adults. They were Louise Mary and the Jacobite James Francis Edward Stuart, who became known in history as "The Old Pretender".[3]
| Mary of Modena | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait by Peter Lely, 1673 | |||||
| Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland | |||||
| 6 February 1685 – 11 December 1688 | |||||
| 23 April 1685 | |||||
| Born | 5 October 1658 Ducal Palace, Modena | ||||
| Died | 7 May 1718 (aged 59) Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France | ||||
| Burial | Convent of the Visitations, Chaillot, France | ||||
| Spouse | James II | ||||
| Issue among others | James Francis Edward Stuart Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart | ||||
| |||||
| House | House of Este House of Stuart | ||||
| Father | Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena | ||||
| Mother | Laura Martinozzi | ||||
Mary was born as a princess of the Italian Duchy of Modena. She is mostly remembered for the birth of James Francis Edward. Most of the English people thought he was not really Mary's son. They believed he had been secretly brought into the birth-room in a warming-pan to continue King James II's Catholic rule. The privy council investigation declared that the story was false. However, James Francis Edward's birth was one of the reasons why the Glorious Revolution happened. In the Glorious Revolution, King James II was deposed by his daughter Mary and her husband William III of Orange.
The "Queen over the water"—as Jacobites (followers of James II) called Mary—was exiled to France. She lived with her family in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which Louis XIV of France had given her. Louis XIV's courtiers liked Mary, but thought James was not interesting. When James died, Mary spent a lot of time with the nuns at the Convent of Chaillot. When James II died in 1701, the Jacobites saw James Francis Edward as king. Because he was too young to rule, Queen Dowager Mary acted as regent until he became 16. Later, "James III" was forced to leave France because of the Treaty of Utrecht. This left Mary without any family in France (Princess Louise Mary had died of smallpox). Mary died of breast cancer in 1718.[4] She was kindly remembered by the people in France at that time.
Early life (1658 - 1673)
Mary Beatrice d'Este was the older child of Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena and his wife Laura Martinozzi.[2] She was born on 5 October 1658 NS in Modena.[2] Her only sibling, Francesco, became a Duke when his father died in 1662. This was the year Mary became 4.[5] Mary and Francesco's mother Laura was firm with her children. She acted as regent of the duchy until her son grew older.[6][7] Mary's education was very good.[8] She spoke French and Italian well, and had a knowledge of Latin and, later, English.[9][10]
Mary Of Modena Media
Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena, Mary's father, in a portrait by Justus Sustermans
James, Duke of York (King James II from 1685), in a portrait by Sir Peter Lely
Queen Mary with her son, James Francis Edward, by Benedetto Gennari the Younger
Mary II of England in a painting by Sir Peter Lely
Louis XIV of France in a portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701
Queen Mary's coat of arms as Queen consort of England. Depicting the Royal Coat of Arms of England, Scotland and Ireland impaled with a minor version of her father's arms as Duke of Modena.
James Francis Edward Stuart, Mary of Modena's only surviving son, in a portrait by Antonio David.
References
Citations
- ↑ Oman, p 30.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Encyclopaedia Brittanica. "Mary of Modena (queen of England)". Brittanica.com. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ↑ Oman, p.40
- ↑ "Mary of Modena (1658-1718)". Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- ↑ Oman, p 14.
- ↑ Haile, p 16.
- ↑ Oman, p 15.
- ↑ Waller, p 22.
- ↑ Waller, p 23.
- ↑ Haile, p 18.
Bibliography
- Allan, Fea (1909). James II and His Wives. Meuthon and Co.
- Chapman, Hester (1953). Mary II, Queen of England. Jonathan Cape.
- Brown, Beatrice Curtis (1929). Anne Stuart: Queen of England. Geoffrey Bles.
- Fraser, Antonia (2002). King Charles II Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-7538-1403-1
- Fraser, Antonia (2007). Love and Louis XIV: The Woman in the Life of the Sun King. Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-7538-2293-7
- Gregg, Edward (1980). Queen Anne. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Haile, Martin (1905). Queen Mary of Modena: Her Life and Letters. J.M. Dent & Co.
- Harris, Tim. (2007). Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy 1685-1720. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-141-01652-8
- Maclagan, Michael; Louda, Jiří (1999). Line of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. Little, Brown & Co. ISBN 1840135034.
- Oman, Carola (1962). Mary of Modena. Hodder & Stoughton.
- Starkey, David (2007). Monarchy: From the Middle Ages to Modernity. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-00-724766-0.
- Turner, FC (1948). James II. Eyre & Spottswoode.
- Uglow, Jenny (2009). A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-21733-5
- Waller, Maureen (2002). Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole Their Father's Crown. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-79461-5
Other websites
Media related to Mary of Modena at Wikimedia Commons