Mary of Modena (;Harris, p. 1 ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James VII and II. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the younger brother and heir presumptive of Charles II.Oman, p. 30 She was devoted to James and their children, two of whom survived to adulthood: the Jacobite claimant to the thrones, James Francis Edward Stuart, and Louisa Maria Stuart.
Born a princess of the northwestern Italian Duchy of Modena, Mary is primarily remembered for the controversial birth of Prince James Francis Edward, her only surviving son. It was widely rumoured that he was smuggled into the birth chamber in a warming pan in order to perpetuate her husband's Roman Catholic Stuart dynasty. James Francis Edward's birth was a contributing factor to the "Glorious Revolution", the revolution which deposed James VII and II, and replaced him with Mary II, a Protestant, the elder of James II's daughters from his first marriage to Anne Hyde (1637–1671). Mary II and her husband, William III of Orange, would reign jointly over all three kingdoms.
Mary went into exile in France, being known as the "Queen over the Water" among the Jacobites. She lived with her husband and children in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, provided by King Louis XIV. Mary was popular among Louis's courtiers; James, however, was considered a bore. In widowhood, Mary spent time with the nuns at the Convent of Chaillot, frequently during summers with her daughter, Louisa Maria Teresa. In 1701, when James II died, young James Francis Edward, aged 13, became king in the eyes of the Jacobites. Given that he was too young to assume the nominal reins of government, Mary represented him until he reached the age of 16. When James Francis Edward was asked to leave France as part of the settlement from the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), Mary stayed despite having no family there, her daughter having died of smallpox. Fondly remembered by her French contemporaries, Mary died of breast cancer in 1718.
Early life (1658–1673)
Maria Beatrice d'Este, the second (but eldest surviving) child of Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena, and his wife, Laura Martinozzi, was born on 5 October 1658 NS in Modena, Duchy of Modena, Italy. Her only younger brother, Francesco, succeeded their father as Duke upon the latter's death in 1662, the year Mary turned four.Oman, p. 14 Mary and Francesco's mother, Laura, was strict with them and acted as regent of the duchy until her son came of age.Haile, p. 16Oman, p. 15 Mary's education was excellent; she spoke Italian and French fluently, had a good knowledge of Latin and, later, mastered English.Waller, p. 23Haile, p. 18
Mary was described by contemporaries as "tall and admirably shaped", and was sought as a bride for James, Duke of York, by Lord Peterborough.Fea, p. 70Oman, p. 19 Lord Peterborough was Groom of the Stool to the Duke of York. A widower, James was the younger brother and heir of Charles II of England.Waller, p. 15 Duchess Laura was not initially forthcoming with a reply to Peterborough's proposal, hoping, according to the French ambassador, for a "grander" match with the eleven-year-old Charles II of Spain.Oman, p. 10Haile, p. 17 Whatever the reason for Laura's initial reluctance, she finally accepted the proposal on behalf of Mary, and they were married by proxy on 30 September 1673, she just shy of 15, he being 39.Haile, p. 24
Modena was within the sphere of influence of Louis XIV of France, who endorsed Mary's candidature and greeted Mary warmly in Paris, where she stopped en route to England, giving her a brooch worth £8,000.Oman, p. 27 Her reception in England was much cooler. Parliament, which was entirely composed of Protestants, reacted poorly to the news of a Roman Catholic marriage, fearing it was a "Papist" plot against the country.Fraser, King Charles II, p. 418 The English public, who were predominantly Protestant, branded the Duchess of York – as Mary was thereafter known as until her husband's accession – the "Pope's daughter".Oman, p. 28 Parliament threatened to have the marriage annulled, leading Charles to suspend parliament until 7 January 1674 OS, to ensure the marriage would be honoured and safeguarding the reputation of his House of Stuart.
Duchess of York (1673–1685)
Household
James, an avowed Roman Catholic, was twenty-five years older than his bride, scarred by smallpox and afflicted with a stammer.Haile, p. 40 He had secretly converted to Catholicism around 1668.Waller, p. 135 Mary first saw her husband on 23 November 1673 OS, on the day of their second marriage ceremony.Waller, p. 149Haile, p. 41 James was pleased with his bride.Turner, p. 114 Mary, however, at first disliked him, and burst into tears each time she saw him.Oman, p. 31 Nonetheless, she soon warmed to James.Oman, p. 40 From his first marriage to Anne Hyde, a commoner, who had died in 1671, James had two daughters: Lady Mary and Lady Anne.Chapman, p. 33 They were introduced to Mary by James with the words, "I have brought you a new play-fellow". Unlike Lady Mary, Lady Anne disliked her father's new wife.Waller, p. 22 Mary played games with Anne to win her affection.
The Duchess of York received £5,000 spending money annually and her own household, headed by Carey Fraser, Countess of Peterborough; it was frequented by ladies of her husband's selection: Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch.Waller, p. 24Oman, p. 46Oman, p. 38 That Mary loathed gambling did not stop her ladies compelling her to do so almost every day. They believed that "if she refrained, it might be taken ill".Oman, p. 45 Consequently, Mary incurred minor gambling debts.
The birth of Mary's first child, Catherine Laura, named after Queen Catherine, on 10 January 1675 OS represented the beginning of a string of children that would die in infancy.Oman, p. 48 At this time the Duchess of York was on excellent terms with Lady Mary, and visited her in The Hague after the younger Mary had married William of Orange. She travelled incognito and took Lady Anne with her.Marshall, p. 172
Popish Plot and exile
The Duchess's Catholic secretary, Edward Colman, was, in 1678, falsely implicated in a fictitious plot against the King by Titus Oates.Fraser, King Charles II, p. 463 The plot, known as the Popish Plot, led to the Exclusionist movement, which was headed by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury.Fraser, King Charles II, p. 470 The Exclusionists sought to debar the Catholic Duke of York from the throne.Haile, p. 76 Their reputation in tatters, the Yorks were reluctantly exiled to Brussels, a domain of King Charles II of Spain, ostensibly to visit Lady Mary—since 1677 the wife of Prince William III of Orange.Chapman, p. 67Brown, pp. 10–12Fea, p. 83 Accompanied by her not yet three-year-old daughter Isabella and Lady Anne, the Duchess of York was saddened by James's extra-marital affair with Catherine Sedley.Oman, p. 56 Mary's spirits were briefly revived by a visit from her mother, who was living in Rome.Haile, p. 88
A report that King Charles was very sick sent the Yorks hastily back to England. They feared the King's eldest illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, the commander of England's armed forces, might usurp the crown if Charles died before their return.Oman, p. 63Fea, p. 85 The danger was compounded by the fact that Monmouth enjoyed the support of the Exclusionists, who held a majority in the English House of Commons. Charles survived but, feeling the Yorks returned to court too soon, sent James and Mary to Edinburgh, where they stayed on-and-off for the next three years.Haile, p. 92Turner, p. 171 Lodging in Holyrood Palace, the Yorks had to make do without Ladies Anne and Isabella, who stayed in London on Charles's orders.Oman, p. 67 The Yorks were recalled to London in February 1680, only to return again to Edinburgh that autumn; this time they went on a more honourable footing: James was created King's Commissioner to Scotland.Fea, p. 96 Separated from Lady Isabella once again, Mary sank into a state of sadness, exacerbated by the passing of the Exclusion bill in the Commons.Waller, p. 35Haile, pp. 99–100 Isabella, thus far the only one of Mary's children to survive infancy, died in February 1681.Oman, p. 71 Isabella's death plunged Mary into a religious mania, worrying her physician. At the same time as news reached Holyrood of Isabella's death, Mary's mother was falsely accused of offering £10,000 for the murder of the King. The accuser, a pamphleteer, was executed by order of the King.
The Exclusionist reaction that followed the Popish Plot had died down by May 1682.Waller, p. 36 Exclusionist-dominated Parliament, suspended since March 1681, never again met in the reign of Charles II.Waller, p. 37 Therefore, the Duke and Duchess returned to England, and Mary gave birth to a daughter named Charlotte Mary in August 1682; Charlotte Mary's death three weeks later, according to the French ambassador, robbed James of "hope that any child of his can live"—all James's sons by his first wife died in infancy.Haile, p. 109 James's sadness was dispelled by his revival in popularity following the discovery of a plot to kill him and Charles.Oman, p. 75 The objective of the plot, known as the Rye House Plot, was to have Monmouth placed on the throne as Lord Protector.Oman, pp. 75–76 The revival was so strong that, in 1684, James was re-admitted to the Privy Council, after an absence of eleven years.Fraser, King Charles II, p. 569
Queen consort (1685–1688) Despite all the furore over Exclusionism, James ascended his brother's thrones easily upon the latter's death – which occurred on 6 February 1685 OS – possibly owing to the risk that the said alternative might provoke another civil war.Waller, pp. 143–144 Mary sincerely mourned Charles, recalling in later life, "He was always kind to me."Oman, plate no. VII Mary and James's £119,000 coronation, occurring on 23 April OS, Saint George's day, was meticulously planned.Oman, p. 85Haile, p. 129 Precedents were sought for Mary because a full-length joint coronation had not occurred since the coronation of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine.
Queen Mary's health had still not recovered after the death of Lady Isabella. So much so, in fact, that the Tuscan envoy reported to Florence that "general opinion turns [for Mary's successor] in the direction of the Princess, Your Highness's daughter".Waller, p. 40 France, too, was preparing for Mary's imminent demise, putting forward as its candidate for James's new wife the Duke of Enghien's daughter.Haile, p. 124 The Queen was then trying to make her brother, the Duke of Modena, marry the former, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici.Oman, p. 96
In February 1687, Mary, at the time irritated by James's affair with Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, moved into new apartments in Whitehall; Whitehall had been home to a Catholic chapel since December 1686.Fea, p. 138Haile, p. 142 Her apartments were designed by Christopher Wren at the cost of £13,000.Oman, p. 98 Because the palace's renovation was thus far unfinished, James received ambassadors in her rooms, much to Mary's chagrin.Oman, p. 99 Five months later, shortly after the marriage talks with Tuscany collapsed, the Queen's mother, Duchess Laura, died. Therefore, the whole English court went into mourning.Haile, p. 159 Duchess Laura left Mary "a considerable sum of cash" and some jewellery.Oman, p. 99 William III of Orange, James's nephew and son-in-law, sensed popular discontent with James's government; he used the death of Mary's mother as a guise to send his cousin Count Zuylestein, to England, ostensibly to condole the Queen, but in reality as a spy.Haile, p. 163