by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013
Maria Beatrice of Modena, Credit – Wikipedia
Maria Beatrice of Modena was an Italian princess who had intentions of becoming a nun, but instead, she was thrust into religious and political turmoil in England. Born at the Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena, now in Italy on October 5, 1658, Maria Beatrice Eleanor Anna Margherita Isabella d’Este, generally known as Mary of Modena, was the elder of the two children of Alfonso IV d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and Laura Martinozzi, the niece of the powerful Cardinal Mazarin, who served as King Louis XIV’s chief minister at the French court from 1642 until he died in 1661. Maria Beatrice’s father died when she was four-years-old and her two-year-old brother, her only sibling, became Duke of Modena under his mother’s regency. Her brother Francesco II d’Este, Duke of Modena (1660 – 1694), married his first cousin Margherita Maria Farnese. The couple had no children and Francesco died two years after the marriage.
Maria Beatrice had a strict religious upbringing and wanted to be a nun, but those plans changed when she was suggested as a second wife for England’s James, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles II. Her priest told her that this marriage would be an offering to the Roman Catholic Church as she would play a role in converting England to Catholicism. Fifteen-year-old Maria Beatrice was married by proxy to the forty-year-old Duke of York on September 30, 1673, in Modena. Maria Beatrice arrived in England on November 21, 1673, and first saw her husband two days later at their second wedding ceremony.
Maria Beatrice’s husband, King James II; Credit – Wikipedia
James had been a widower for two years and had two surviving children from his first marriage: eleven-year-old Mary and eight-year-old Anne, both future reigning Queens of England. Maria Beatrice was more of a playmate to James’ daughters than a stepmother. Mary and Maria Beatrice got along well, but Anne was resentful of her young stepmother. James secretly converted to Catholicism around 1668, but his brother King Charles II insisted that Mary and Anne be raised in the Church of England. James’ marriage to the Catholic Maria Beatrice was not popular with the English people who regarded her as an agent of the pope.
Even though Maria Beatrice had a secluded, strict upbringing, her charm, poise, and intelligence helped her transition into the wild English court. Middle-aged James who was used to his mistresses treated his young bride with great consideration and in time the differences in their ages did not seem to matter. Between 1675 and 1684, Maria Beatrice had ten pregnancies and gave birth to five live children, all of whom died young. To James, this seemed a repeat of his first marriage to Anne Hyde when six of their eight children died young.
Maria Beatrice’s pregnancies:
- Unnamed child (March 1674), miscarriage
- Catherine Laura (1675 – 1676): Born at St. James’ Palace in London, England, Catherine Laura was named after Catherine of Braganza, the wife of her uncle King Charles II of England, and her maternal grandmother Laura Martinozzi, Duchess of Modena. Catherine Laura’s Catholic mother had her baptized in a Catholic rite but her uncle Charles II carried her off to the Chapel Royal and had her christened in a Church of England rite. Catherine Laura died at the age of nine months and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
- Unnamed child (October 1675), stillborn
- Isabel (1676 – 1681): Isabella was born at St. James’ Palace. She was the first of her parents’ children to survive infancy but died at the age of four. She was buried at Westminster Abbey.
- Charles, Duke of Cambridge (born and died 1677): Charles was born at St. James’ Palace and was styled Duke of Cambridge but was never formally created Duke of Cambridge. He died 35 days after his birth and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
- Elizabeth (born and died 1678)
- Unnamed child (February 1681), stillborn
- Charlotte Maria (born and died 1682): Charlotte Maria was born at St. James’ Palace in London, England. She died of convulsions at the age of two months and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
- Unnamed child (October 1683), stillborn
- Unnamed child (May 1684) miscarriage
- James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales “the Old Pretender” (1688 – 1766), married Maria Clementina Sobieski, had issue
- Louisa Maria Teresa (1692 – 1712), died of smallpox
James’ brother Charles had been married to Catherine of Braganza since 1662, but the marriage remained childless. However, Charles had quite many illegitimate children with his mistresses. With the monarch and the heir married to Catholics, waves of anti-Catholic hysteria swept England. There was even talk of a Catholic plot to kill Charles and put James on the throne.
On February 6, 1685, King Charles II died, converting to Catholicism on his deathbed, and his brother succeeded him as King James II. James and Maria Beatrice were crowned at Westminster Abbey on April 23, 1685, two Catholics participating in an Anglican ceremony. Soon after his accession, James faced a rebellion led by his nephew, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, King Charles II’s eldest illegitimate child. Monmouth declared himself king, but the rebellion ultimately failed and Monmouth was beheaded.
In 1687, five years after her last pregnancy, Maria Beatrice was again pregnant. Catholics rejoiced at the prospect of a Catholic heir. Protestants who had tolerated James because he had no Catholic heir, were worried. If the baby was a boy, he would supplant James’ Protestant daughters from his first marriage, Mary and Anne, in the line of succession. On June 10, 1688, Maria Beatrice gave birth to a boy, James Francis Edward. Rumors soon swirled that Maria Beatrice had had a stillbirth and the dead baby was replaced with one smuggled into her bed even though many (both Catholic and Protestant) had witnessed the birth including James’ younger daughter Anne.
Maria Beatrice and her son James Francis Edward, Photo Credit – Wikipedia
Fearful of a return to Catholicism, some members of Parliament began what is called the Glorious Revolution and King James II was overthrown and succession rights for his son James Francis Edward were denied. Parliament invited James’ elder daughter Mary and her husband William III, Prince of Orange to reign jointly as King William III and Queen Mary II. William was the only child of Mary, Princess Royal who was the daughter of King Charles I and thus was the third in the line of succession after his first cousin and wife Mary and her sister and his first cousin Anne. As William and Mary’s marriage was childless, Anne ultimately succeeded to the throne, the last of the Stuarts. Despite seventeen pregnancies, Anne had no living children and through the Act of Settlement, upon Anne’s death, the throne went to the nearest Protestant in the line of succession, thus bringing the Hanovers to the throne.
James and Maria Beatrice were forced to flee to France where King Louis XIV, James’ first cousin, gave them refuge. Louis allowed James and Maria Beatrice to use Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, where a court in exile was established. In 1692, Maria Beatrice gave birth to her last child Louise Maria Teresa. Plans to restore James failed and in 1700 he suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. He died on September 16, 1701, and was buried at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques in Paris. His tomb and remains were destroyed during the French Revolution.
Maria Beatrice’s two surviving children, James Francis Edward and Louisa Maria Teresa; Credit – Wikipedia
After James’ death, Maria Beatrice began to periodically stay at the Convent of the Visitations in Chaillot, where she befriended Louise de La Vallière, one of Louis XIV’s mistresses who had become a nun. In 1712, due to the Treaty of Utrecht, Louis XIV was forced to withdraw his support of James Francis Edward who was then expelled from France and settled in Rome, Italy. The same year, Maria Beatrice’s daughter Louise Maria Teresa died of smallpox.
On May 7, 1718, Maria Beatrice died of breast cancer at the age of 59. She was buried at the Convent of the Visitations in Chaillot, a place she greatly loved. Her remains were lost in 1793 when the convent was looted and destroyed during the French Revolution. However, her viscera were found and were reburied at the Chapel of the College of the Scots in Paris.
Viscera tomb of Maria Beatrice, Photo Credit – Wikipedia
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