Musings on Mary, Meghan and Marriage

The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Like countless others, I was swept up by the romance and history-making of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and his lady-love Meghan Markle. Their globally televised nuptials (and some pretty cute souvenirs I picked up at the Old Royal Naval College) led me to ponder just how different things were for Mary, the monarch at the very heart of the Painted Hall, where I volunteer. I got to wondering if their stories —  Mary and Meghan, some 341 years apart — had anything in common.

They don’t really. Well, not much anyway. But I had a lot of fun down the research rabbit hole, so I thought I’d share some tidbits I discovered.

Girlpower!

Born at St James Palace on 30 April 1662, Lady Mary of York was the oldest daughter of King James II. Her mother, Anne Hyde — no relation to the park — had eight children during the eleven years of her marriage, but only Mary and her sister Anne survived beyond childhood.

West Wall of The Painted Hall

So, Mary was a Taurus; Meghan’s a Leo. I might be drawing a long bow here, but both the bull and the lion are symbols of strength. Definitely nothing girly about a bull and a lio­n — right? And history records both our M’s as being willing to stand by their beliefs, and to use their status and strength to help others.  

Mary was joint ruler with William. She made all the tough decisions while he was off battling the Catholic foe. More than that, Mary’s compassion for pensioned seamen was the driving force behind the creation of the glorious riverside buildings we know as the Old Royal Naval College.

Likewise, even before she became a Mountbatten-Windsor, Ms Markle was a Global Ambassador for World Vision and a United Nations women’s advocate for political participation and leadership.

Strong women, both.

Almighty Power

Statue of Mary at Royal Albert Museum

When the Lady Mary was just nine, her mother died of what is believed to have been breast cancer. The sisters were sent to live with their Uncle Charles (AKA King Charles II) at Richmond Palace and their grandfather, Lord Clarendon, at then-idyllically-rural pre-rugby Twickenham.

In a controversial and unpopular move, James II had converted to Catholicism, while his brother had remained a staunch Protestant. The English Parliament, therefore, charged Uncle Charles with responsibility for educating Mary and Anne — the heirs to the British throne —  alongside his own progeny. And he took that responsibility very seriously.

Mary was well-schooled in the refined and necessary disciplines of a future queen: religion, drawing, music, dance and French — although, as it turns out, Dutch might have been handier. To ensure that her education in Protestantism was top notch, her personal tutors included two bishops and an archdeacon. I told you Uncle Charles was hard-core.

St James Palace

 Meghan’s parents divorced when she was six, and she was raised by her mother as an only child in distinctly-not-rural Los Angeles. She, too, was raised as a Protestant but Meghan went to a Catholic high school. Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, she was baptised and confirmed into the Church of England by the Archbishop of Canterbury — that’s top-shelf right there. Plus, the service took place in St James Palace. 
Say no more.

Brown is not her colour!

Stage and Screen

Meghan Markle majored in Theatre and International Studies. Ironic, yes? Mary, of course, was the wrong gender for a career as an actor in her lifetime (Shakespeare in Love hadn’t been made yet). But, fun fact, she loved to dance. So, at age 12, Mary was introduced to the court by starring in a ballet called Calista or The Chaste Nymph written especially for her and her sister.

The epilogue was written by John Dryden — a rockstar of the day, being England’s first Poet Laureate. He kind of puts the kybosh on my unlikely theories of burgeoning feminist ideals when he addresses King Charles II thusly, and foreshadows Mary’s future as a political pawn with this reference to the young sisters:

Two glorious nymphs of your own godlike line,

Whose morning rays like noontide strike and shine,

Whom you to suppliant monarchs shall dispose,

To bind your friends and to disarm your foes.

Disposable daughters?

Uncool.

Prince Not-So-Charming

At the time of her marriage, neither James nor Charles had any male heirs. If the choice had been left to Mary’s father, she would have been married off to France’s Catholic Sun King, Louis XIV — mortal enemy of the man chosen for her by Protestant Uncle Charles and the English Parliament.

Statue of Charles, Royal Albert Museum

The man they chose was known as William of Orange. And confusingly, although William, was ‘of Orange’ (which was in old Provence in southern France), he was Prince of Holland. 
Go figure. 
Both he and Mary were grandchildren of Charles I (ousted and executed as a traitor during the English Civil War). His mother (also called Mary) was our good Lady Mary’s paternal aunt, so that meant William was also the fourth in line to the English throne (1:James, 2:Mary, 3:Anne, 4:William). 

Do you think the fact that they were first cousins might have contributed to the fact that Mary and William were unable to have children? Mind you, it also needs to be noted that Mary contracted malaria while in Holland, and that her spouse was frequently absent.

At the time of her betrothal, Mary was a good-natured, intelligent, out-going attractive 15-year old. She was also extremely tall — 5 ft 11in /180 cm. William, the Prince Charming chosen for her, is said to have been a dour asthmatic with rotten teeth, a hooky nose and a hunch-back. He stood a miserable 5ft 6in / 168cm, was twelve years older than her and preferred the battlefield to the ballroom.

Every young girl’s dream.

So apparently the sculptor noticed the height disparity!

Not.

In fact, her little sister oh-so unhelpfully referred to the groom as Caliban — the monstrous ogre of Greek mythology (and Marvel comics).

Wedding Woes

Poor Mary reportedly cried for days before the wedding. And sobbed during the ceremony. As did her stepmother, which I thought sounded a little weird, until I discovered that her step-mother was a dear friend of hers, a mere four years older than Mary and heavily pregnant at the time (with James’ elusive male heir). 
Neither Mary’s sister nor her beloved governess was able to attend the blessed event —  they both had smallpox.

Forget the overflowing chapel and streets lined with waving well-wishers of midday 19 May 2018. The ceremony on 4 November 1677 took place at 9:00 pm in Mary’s bedchamber. It was not Mary’s father who gave her away to her betrothed, it was Royal Uncle Charles. Notably, Royal Father-in-law Charles played just such a critical role in getting Meghan to the altar after what the media delighted in calling ‘the Markle debacle’.

Royal Rocks

I was going to leave the comparison there, with Queen Mary II looking very much the unluckier of the two, until I stubbed my toe on one more curious rocky fact.

The Stuart Diamond

Prince Harry honoured his new wife by giving her a large aquamarine ring that had belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. 
Soon after their return to his home in Holland, Prince William of Orange purchased an enormous diamond in the rough for his bride.

This unusual pale blue-green rock was SO big, that the jeweller advised the couple it would best be cut into two. Mary would have none of that. She wanted one giant gem. Thus, the Holland Diamond, AKA the Stuart Diamond, came to be. Pear-shaped and rose cut, it is an impressive 36+ carats. (That’s even bigger than the one James Packer gave Mariah Carey.)

Win! Go Mary!

A Sort of Happy Ending 

From the ceiling of The Painted Hall

I really cannot leave off without saying that despite their not-so happy beginning, Mary grew to be utterly devoted to her weird-looking husband. Maybe that ginormous diamond helped. Nonetheless, they certainly led a remarkable life together, achieving much for which we still thank them, even though their union was designed “To bind … friends and to disarm … foes”.