International Women's Day 2025: Queen Mary II

Mary Stuart, Queen Mary II

1662 – 1694

“And though I am sorry that I have only three crowns to give him, that is not because my love blinds me. No, I can see his faults, but I say this because I know his virtues too.”

Mary Stuart was born at St James’s Palace on 30th April 1662, the eldest daughter of James Duke of York and his first wife Anne Hyde. She was raised, alongside her sister Anne, as Anglican, despite her father and mother having been previously converted to Roman Catholicism.

Queen Mary II

Mary cast a graceful figure with long dark hair, brown eyes, and a smooth, white complexion. In November 1677, at the age of 15, she married her cousin William of Orange.

Like most marriages they faced their difficulties, especially in the early days, as Mary was still very young and William spent a lot of his time engaged in war with France.

In 1678 Mary suffered a miscarriage and later the frustration of two false pregnancies. She never conceived again. However, as the years went on, the love between Mary and William deepened and matured. She began to continually worry for his safety and longed for William’s return at the end of each campaign.

Mary showed her support for William’s invasion of England in November 1688. She arrived in London 2 months after James had fled the country. At once she rejected proposals, advanced by the Earl of Danby, that she become sole ruler to the exclusion of her husband. Following this, on 11 April 1689, she and William were crowned as Joint Sovereigns of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

While William directed military campaigns, both in Ireland and on the Continent, Mary administered the government in her own name. She proved herself to be a powerful, firm, and effective ruler, only deferring to her husband once he had returned home.

Sadly, on 28 December 1694, Mary died of smallpox in Kensington Palace. The late queen was later buried in Westminster Abbey after a spectacular ceremony, notable for its music by Henry Purcell. William III did not attend her funeral despite being distraught at the news of her passing. A monument to her memory was designed but never erected, only a small stone marks her grave.