Back ماري من مودينا Arabic مارى مودينا ARZ María de Módena AST ماری مدنا AZB Maria di Modena Breton Marija Modenska BS Maria de Mòdena Catalan Marie Beatrice d'Este Czech Maria o Modena Welsh Maria af Modena Danish
| Mary of Modena | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait by Godfrey Kneller, c. 1687 | |||||
| Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland | |||||
| Tenure | 6 February 1685 – 11 December 1688 | ||||
| Coronation | 23 April 1685 | ||||
| Born | 5 October 1658 Ducal Palace, Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio | ||||
| Died | 7 May 1718 (aged 59) Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France | ||||
| Burial | Convent of the Visitations, Chaillot, France | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue among others | |||||
| |||||
| House | Este | ||||
| Father | Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena | ||||
| Mother | Laura Martinozzi | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Mary of Modena (Italian: Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este;[1] 5 October [O.S. 25 September] 1658 – 7 May [O.S. 26 April] 1718) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the younger brother and heir presumptive of Charles II.[2] She was devoted to James and their children, two of whom survived to adulthood: the Jacobite claimant to the thrones, James Francis Edward, and Louisa Maria Teresa.[3]
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 II and VII, 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.