scotlandsladies:  The Ladies ♔ Queen Consorts [25/25]↳ Mary of Modena (1658 -1718), Queen Conso

scotlandsladies:  The Ladies ♔ Queen Consorts [25/25]↳ Mary of Modena (1658 -1718), Queen Consort from 1685 to 1688 Mary was born on 5 October 1658 at the Ducal Palace of Modena in Duchy of Modena, Italy, as the second, but eldest surviving child of Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena, and his wife, Laura Martinozzi. Her education took place in the Monastery of the Visitation. Since she was a young girl, Mary conveyed a heartfelt sense of religion and yearned to enter convent life; nevertheless, she was promised to the younger brother and heir-apparent of Charles II, James, Duke of York. The marriage was celebrated by proxy on 30 September 1673, when she was close to turning fifteen and James was close turning forty. In early October she travelled to her new home and the newlyweds met each other. James was captivated by Mary’s grace and beauty, but this positive opinion was not likely reciprocal. Until 1685, life at court was hard for Mary: she was detested by the ladies of the court who called her “the daughter of the Pope”, her husband was unfaithful, and she had lost ten children, either by miscarriage or premature death. Despite her tribulations, Mary enlivened a literary salon at the court of St. James and also developed a good relationship with the King. When Charles died in February 1685, James and Mary were crowned in a full-length joint coronation.  Keep reading -- source link

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