Anne Hyde

Uncommon card · No. 95348

Anne Hyde (12 March 1637 – 31 March 1671) was the first wife of James, Duke of York and Albany, who later became James II of England in 1685, and the mother of future queens Mary II and Anne. As she died before James ascended the throne, she was never queen. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry—Edward Hyde (later created Earl of Clarendon)—and met her future husband when they were both living in exile in the Netherlands. She married James in 1660 and two months later gave birth to the couple's first child, who had been conceived out of wedlock. Some observers disapproved of the marriage, but James's brother, King Charles II of England, wanted the marriage to take place. Another cause of disapproval was the public affection James showed toward Anne. They had eight children, of whom six died in early childhood; the two who reached adulthood were future monarchs, Mary II and Anne. James was a known philanderer who kept many mistresses, for which Anne often reproached him...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Peter Lely, Public domain