Mary of Modena (1658 - 1718). Mary of Modena was queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widowed James, who was then the younger brother and heir presumptive of Charles II. She was uninterested in politics and 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. Born a princess of the northwestern Italian Duchy of Modena, Mary is primarily remembered for the controversial birth of James Francis Edward, her only surviving son. It was widely rumoured that he was a changeling, brought into the birth chamber in a warming pan, in order to perpetuate her husband's Catholic Stuart dynasty. Although the accusation was almost certainly false, and the subsequent Privy Council investigation affirmed this, 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 his Protestant eldest daughter from his first marriage to Anne Hyde, Mary II. She and her husband, William III of Orange, would reign jointly as William and Mary. Exiled to France, the Queen over the water-as the Jacobites called Mary-lived with her husband and children in the Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, provided by Louis XIV of France. Mary was popular among Louis XIV's courtiers; James, however, was considered a bore. In widowhood, Mary spent much time with the nuns at the Convent of Chaillot, where she and her daughter Louisa Maria Teresa spent their summers. In 1701, when James II died, young James Francis Edward became king at age 13 in the eyes of the Jacobites. As he was too young to assume the nominal reins of government, Mary represented him until he reached the age of 16. When young 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, Mary of Modena stayed, despite having no family there, her daughter Louisa Maria Teresa having died of smallpox. Fondly remembered by her French contemporaries, Mary died of breast cancer in 1718. Mary Beatrice d'Este, the second but eldest surviving child of Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena, and his wife, Laura Martinozzi, was born on 5 October 1658 NS in Modena, Duchy of Modena, Italy. Her only younger brother, Francesco, succeeded their father as Duke upon the latter's death in 1662, the year Mary turned four. Mary and Francesco's mother, Laura, was strict with them and acted as regent of the duchy until her son came of age. Mary's education was excellent; she spoke French and Italian fluently, had a good knowledge of Latin and, later, mastered English. Mary was described by contemporaries as tall and admirably shaped, and was sought as a bride for James, Duke of York by Lord Peterborough. Lord Peterborough was groom of the stole to the Duke of York. A widower, James was the younger brother and heir of Charles II of England. Duchess Laura was not initially forthcoming with a reply to Peterborough's proposal, hoping, according to the French ambassador, for a grander match with the eleven-year-old Charles II of Spain. Whatever the reason for Laura's initial reluctance, she finally accepted the proposal on behalf of Mary, and they were married by proxy on 30 September 1673 NS. Modena was within the sphere of influence of Louis XIV of France, who endorsed Mary's candidature and greeted Mary warmly in Paris, where she stopped en route to England, giving her a brooch worth E8,000. Her reception in England was much cooler. Parliament, which was entirely composed of Protestants, reacted poorly to the news of a Catholic marriage, fearing it was a Papist plot against the country. The English public, who were predominantly Protestant, branded the Duchess of York, as Mary was thereafter known as until her husband's accession, the Pope's daughter. Parliament threatened to have the marriage annulled, leading Charles to suspend parliament until 7 January 1674 OS, to ensure the marriage would be honoured and safeguarding the reputation of his House of Stuart. The Duke of York, an avowed Catholic, was twenty-five years older than his bride, scarred by smallpox and afflicted with a stutter. He had secretly converted to Catholicism around 1668. Mary first saw her husband on 23 November 1673 OS, on the day of their second marriage ceremony. James was pleased with his bride. Mary, however, at first disliked him, and burst into tears each time she saw him. Nonetheless, she soon warmed to James. From his first marriage to the commoner Anne Hyde, who had died in 1671, James had two daughters: Lady Mary and Lady Anne.