Mary II of England

Mary II, born on 30 April 1662 at St James’s Palace in London, was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England, and his first wife, Anne Hyde. She was baptised into the Anglican faith and named after her ancestor Mary, Queen of Scots. Raised as an Anglican despite her father’s conversion to Roman Catholicism, Mary’s education included music, dance, drawing, French, and religious instruction. At fifteen, she married her cousin William III of Orange, the Protestant Stadtholder of Holland, on 4 November 1677. Mary’s marriage to William, who was fourth in the line of succession to the English throne, was initially opposed by her uncle, Charles II, but later approved due to political pressures.

Mary became Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband from 1689 until her death. She was also Princess of Orange through her marriage. During William’s military campaigns abroad, Mary proved to be a powerful and effective ruler in her own right. She died from smallpox at the age of 32 on 28 December 1694 at Kensington Palace, Middlesex, England, and was buried at Westminster Abbey on 5 March 1695. Her childlessness was a source of personal unhappiness, and she left no direct heirs to succeed her.