Book description
Mary (1662-94), daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the
English Throne, then 15, is said to have wept for a day and a half
when she was told she was to marry her cousin, William (1650-1702),
son of William II of Orange (1626-50), Stadtholder of the Dutch
republic, and Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I of England, who was
eleven years older than her. In November 1677, on William's 27th
birthday, they married in a private ceremony at St James's Palace.
William was solemn, James gloomy, Mary in tears, and only King Charles
appeared cheerful. This dual biography deals with both the "life
and times" of the monarchs, and with England's place in Europe.
Interests of the subjects, outside the constitutional, are dealth
with, as well as their personal relationships: William's rumoured
homosexuality and Mary's hinted-at lesbianism; Mary's troubled
personal relations with her father, James II; and the relationship
between Mary and her sister and her husband's successor Anne. The book
also examines the personal and political relations between William and
his uncle Charles II, and between William and Mary and Charles'
illegitimate son the Duke of Monmouth.
