Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange

Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange-Nassau (4 November 1631–24 December 1660) was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria. She was the wife of Willem II, Prince of Orange-Nassau (27 May 1626–6 November 1650) and the mother of King William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland (14 November 1650–8 May 1702). Mary Stuart or Mary of Orange, as she was also known, was the first daughter of a British Sovereign to hold the title Princess Royal.

Later Life

In March 1647, her husband, Willem II, succeeded his father as stadholder. However, in November 1650, just after his attempt to recapture Amsterdam from the Spanish, he died of smallpox. The couple's only child, Willem (later William III), was born a few days later. The Dowager Princess of Orange was obliged to share the guardianship of her infant son, with his grandmother Amelia, the widow of Frederick Henry, and with Frederick William, the elector of Brandenburg. She was unpopular with the Dutch due to her sympathies with her family, the Stuarts; and at length, public opinion having been further angered by the hospitality that she showed to her brothers, the exiled Charles II and the Duke of York (later James II), she was forbidden to receive her relatives. From 1654 to 1657, the princess passed most of her time away from Holland. In 1657 she became regent on behalf of her son for the principality of Orange, but the difficulties of her position led her to implore the assistance of King Louis XIV of France; the French king answered by seizing Orange himself.

Related Topics:
Frederick William - Charles II - Duke of York (later James II) - Louis XIV of France

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