The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Monday 27 September 2004

Almost a Queen

More than 300 years before Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, she was the last Englishwoman to marry an heir to the throne. As a mere “Lady” (just barely), she was also one of the then rare cases of a female commoner marrying a high-ranking royal. Pregnant before a legitimate marriage could take place, she went on to produce two future Queen Regnants. She secretly converted to Catholicism at a time in British history when to do so was akin to treason.

In short, she led a more interesting life – and got away with a lot more – than some prominent British Queen Consorts; but, alas, Lady Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, never became Queen and, as a result, is frequently overlooked in the annals of history.  

Although born into a good English family in 1637, Anne was essentially just the insignificant daughter of a lawyer who was slowly rising to prominence in an unstable Parliament. In 1641, Anne’s Royalist father, Edward, became an unofficial advisor to King Charles I and, by the time of the Civil War, he had joined the King’s Council as Chancellor of the Exchequer. But being a rising star in a turbulent King’s precarious court was not exactly a great place to be. Disagreements with the King led to Edward Hyde being appointed as the guardian of the Prince of Wales – the future Charles II – and it was Edward who accompanied the Prince on his initial escape from the Civil War in 1646. 

After Charles I’s execution and the abolition of the monarchy in 1649, the Prince of Wales became – at least to Royalists – the exiled King Charles II. Around 1651, Edward Hyde became the new King’s chief advisor and was ultimately appointed Lord Chancellor in 1658. This rise to power in exile would ultimately pay off in abundance when the monarchy was restored in 1660; but, in the meantime, Edward’s family was already profiting from his advancing career. In 1654, Anne was appointed as Maid of Honour to Charles II’s sister, Mary, Princess of Orange – a move that eventually put her in direct contact with the King’s brother, James, Duke of York.  

One thing led to another and, depending on which account you believe, James and Anne were either married or betrothed secretly in Breda on November 24, 1659. At the time, although James’ position as Duke of York and heir presumptive was tenuous, the “alliance” was still technically and completely inappropriate, as Anne was not even the daughter of a peer. Everything would change dramatically, however, by the spring of 1660, when the monarchy was restored and the royal family returned to power. Having returned with the King to London, Edward Hyde sent for his family – including Anne – to rejoin him. Reunited with her lover/husband, Anne quickly informed James that she was pregnant.  

Whether, in his newly confirmed position, the Duke liked it or not, he officially married Anne on September 3, 1660 in London, although the public announcement of the marriage was not made until December 21st. During the interim, Anne braved the anger and intrigues of almost everyone around her, including her previous mistress, the Princess of Orange, her new mother-in-law, Queen Henrietta Maria, and even her own father. When told of the marriage, Edward Hyde became furious at his daughter, going so far as suggesting to the King that Anne be immediately sent to the Tower of London, where she be placed under strict guard in the dungeon to await execution. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Princess of Orange arrived in London and was immediately dead set against the marriage, on the basis that Anne was a commoner. Rather than just express anger over the match, the Princess also took affirmative action – hatching a plot designed to cast doubt in the Duke’s mind as to his wife’s virtue. She also, as a dutiful daughter, immediately notified her mother – the formidable Queen Henrietta Maria, now Queen Mother – who wrote a scathing letter to the Duke demanding to know why “he should have such low thoughts as to marry such a woman." More forebodingly for the marriage, the Queen Mother set sail for England to personally settle the matter. In direct opposition to everyone else, the King expressed his desire that the marriage be validated and made public. In the midst of all the chaos, Anne gave birth to a boy on October 22, 1660. But, as is often the case for the weary, Anne had no rest from the tumult. 

With the Queen Mother due at Dover, the King set out to greet her, but not before making a gift of 20,000 pounds to Edward Hyde and leaving a signed warrant raising him to the peerage as Lord Hyde of Hindon. Meanwhile, the plot hatched by the Princess of Orange was having the desired effect, and probably would have worked if the Princess had not died unexpectedly, repenting her role in the plot on her deathbed and causing her co-conspirators to come clean. Finally, as the King was the King, he undoubtedly impressed his own will on his domineering mother, who eventually relented. With all the antagonistic parties at bay, Anne was finally officially recognized as the Duchess of York. As for Lord Hyde, he was further rewarded in 1661 when Charles made him the Earl of Clarendon. 

Anne’s victory over the strength of the Court not only secured her position, but also cemented her forceful personality and, ultimately, her power over her husband. Diarist Samuel Pepys said, “The Duke, in all things but his cod-piece, is led by the nose of his wife.” Her domination of her husband, combined with an imperious attitude, didn’t earn her much popularity at Court and she was often the subject of various rumors, accusations and intrigues. Insult was most certainly added to injury each time her husband embarked on yet another not-so-secret affair. But, with a libido surpassed only by the King, the Duke’s “extracurricular” activities didn’t seem to keep him away from his wife’s bed. All told, in a little over a decade of marriage, the couple had eight children – four boys and four girls – although only two survived. 

Despite her unpopularity at Court, Anne did manage to leave at lasting legacy outside of her contribution of two future Queen Regnants. Not a real beauty herself (Pepys called her “plain”), Anne seemed to appreciate beauty around her – that is, as long as it wasn’t directly involved with her adulterous husband. Shortly after their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of York commissioned artist Peter Lely to paint a series of portraits of the most attractive women, both respectable and otherwise, at Charles II’s Court, known as the Windsor Beauties. 

Contradictory to the political mood of the time, the Duke and Duchess of York secretly converted to Catholicism in 1669. Anne wrote a document explaining her reasons for the conversion, which her husband published after he became king. In effect, the letter explains that, despite the fact that she would lose her friends and any respect due to her because of her action, she converted because it was the only thing she could do to save her soul. Apparently, others shared this belief, including the King, who converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. No matter what was done in secret or on deathbeds, Charles demanded that the couple’s living children, Mary and Anne, were raised as Protestants – something that would come back to haunt the Duke in later years. 

Around the time of the their conversion, it had become clear that the Queen, Catherine of Braganza, would not have any children. At this point, both the Duke and Duchess must have recognized that they and their children would ascend to the throne on the death of Charles. Near the end of 1669, however, any dreams of a family dynasty must have been severely battered when a fourth son, Edgar, was also the last son to die an early death. At the same time, another daughter, Henrietta, also died. Pregnant again by the summer of 1670, Anne fell ill, living long enough to see the birth of her fourth daughter, Catherine, on February 9, 1671. Catherine would also die young, but Anne would not live to know it – she died on March 31^st, 1671. 

Anne’s early death precluded her not only from ever becoming Queen, but also from the flattering honors given to her successor, Mary of Modena. In 1683, for instance, Dutchess County, New York – one of the 12 original counties of that American state, was named for the second Duchess of York. Despite the odd spelling (explanations range from simple spelling mistake to the use of an earlier lexicon) it was an appropriate eponym considering that when England took control of the colony – previously known as New Netherlands – in the 1660s, Charles II renamed it in honor of his brother, the Duke of York. 

On the other hand, Anne’s death also kept her from the problems associated with her husband’s troubled later life. As a converted Catholic herself, Anne would have undoubtedly played a similar role to that of Mary during James’ largely disastrous reign and subsequent forced abdication. She would have also had to stand by and watch as her own daughters usurped her husband’s throne in the name of the religion she so cherished. Instead, she was largely consigned to the back pages of history – almost a Queen, but not quite.

Until next week, 

- Tori Van Orden Martínez