The Queen's Devotion: The Story of Queen Mary II (33 page)

Young William came to see me. I was always delighted to be visited by him. His coming lightened my spirits.

He talked for a little about his soldiers, and then suddenly he said: “The people love you dearly, Queen. My servant Lewis Jenkins has been most unhappy because of your illness.”

“The people have always been good to me,” I said.

“He saw you riding in the park. He came back and looked so pleased that I asked him what good fortune he had had. He laughed and said, ‘Your Grace, I have seen the Queen. She is well again.' I said, ‘I am glad of that with all my heart.' Then Lewis took his hat from his head and cried: ‘The Queen is well again. Oh, be joyful!' ”

He looked at me very strangely then and seemed suddenly unlike a child—more like a wise old seer. His eyes looked beyond me, as though he did not see me. It was a strange moment.

He went on: “I said to Lewis Jenkins, ‘Today you say “Oh, be joyful!” Soon you may be saying, “Oh, be doleful.” ' ”

There was a deep silence in the room, and I thought I heard a strange rushing of wings. It was as though the Angel of Death was passing overhead.

William had become himself—precocious, it was true, but a child again.

He did not attempt to explain his strange words. Indeed, it was as though he were unaware of having said them.

He went on to talk about his “men” and a new parade he was planning. He hoped the King would come to receive the honors he was intending to pay him.

I sat still.

I knew that death was close.

THE LAST REQUEST

My return to health was short-lived. Within a few days I was confined to my apartment. There was concern and people were praying for me in the churches.

Archbishop Tenison was often with me. He was a good man and a great comfort to me in those days.

I had known from the moment young William had said those strange words to me that I had not long to live. There was a feeling of unreality all about me.

My father was constantly in my thoughts. I kept going back over those happy days. There were times when I blamed myself. I had had to choose between them. Dr. Ken, Dr. Hooper, all those who had guided me, who had inspired me with the desire to lead a Protestant life, who had instilled in me the virtues of being a good submissive wife, had led the way. But it is also written “Honor thy father.” I had wanted to be a good wife, but a good daughter too . . . a good daughter to the best of fathers.

But life had ordained that my duty toward one was my betrayal of the other.

Was anyone ever put in such a position?

I wished I could go to my father. I wished I could explain how it had happened. I think he understood a little but his letters had shown me the depth of his wounds. And William? What had I been to him? An easy way to a crown. And what had the realization been? He was not a happy man. Poor William, I could feel sorry for him.

And then sudden fierce anger came to me. I had brought him the crown. I, the Queen, beloved of the people, had been submissive to a man who had never been faithful to me through all the years of our marriage.

How soon had his passion for Elizabeth Villiers begun? Before we left for Holland? Almost certainly immediately afterward.

I had been the one with whom he must do his duty. I was the one to whom he must cling for all those years.

And for this, I had betrayed my father, for the sake of a man who had never loved me, never wanted me except for what I could bring him, a man who had been unfaithful to me throughout our married life.

If he had been such as my uncle Charles or my father it would have been different. Women had been a way of life to them, and they had always been good and kind to their wives, asking only this one concession. But Elizabeth Villiers had been his only mistress. There had been whispers that he had dallied with Anne Bentinck, but I did not believe that. The four of them, Elizabeth, William and the Bentincks had been close friends because Anne was Bentinck's wife and Bentinck was the closest of William's associates.

It hurt more perhaps because he could be faithful, but not to me. I had been the foolish child whom he must take because of a treaty, the tearful bride who had in the beginning been unable to hide her disgust for him and her dislike of the match. So he turned to Elizabeth Villiers.

They had sold me into marriage. My father had hated it and he had tried to save me, but it had been beyond his power to do so.

Could I blame William altogether? Yes, I did. He had never been kind, never understanding; he had always been brusque, insisting on domination. And I was the Queen, the one the people wanted, the one they loved. “Oh, be joyful.” “Oh, be doleful.”

I sat down to write to him.

I said I was going to die. I told him that I had suffered a great deal through his liaison with one of my women. There was nothing he could do now to atone for his neglect of me, but for the sake of his mortal soul, I wanted him to repent of his adultery and give up Elizabeth Villiers. I should not be here to know whether he respected my last wish, but for the sake of his own salvation, I hoped he would.

I sealed the letter.

Then I sat there, thinking of Elizabeth Villiers—her air of superiority, her contempt for me, her sly squinting eyes, and all I had suffered through her.

I wished I did not hate her as I did. I should be thinking of my own sins rather than those of others.

If I could go back, how should I act? I could not be sure. But one cannot go back in life and say, “There was the turning point.” There is no quick turn in the path along which Fate has chosen one shall go.

Archbishop Tenison came to see me. I could see that he was aware of the deterioration in my health.

“I have been writing a letter to the King,” I said.

He looked surprised, no doubt wondering why I should write when he was here and I could speak to him.

“I am entrusting it to you,” I went on. “I want you to give it to him when I am dead.”

“Your Majesty,” he protested with that false note of disbelief which people used to deny they are aware of something which must be obvious.

I lifted my hand. “You will do this for me, Archbishop?”

“I am at Your Majesty's command. Will you join me in prayer?” We prayed and I asked forgiveness for my sins.

EARLY THIS MORNING
I saw the spots which were beginning to appear on my body. The dreaded smallpox has come to Kensington. I am certain now that death is close.

I lay down my pen. There are certain matters I must put in order, for there is little time left to me now.

Bibliography

Aubrey, William Hickman Smith,
National and Domestic History of England

Bathurst, Benjamin, Lt-Col, the Hon.,
Letters of Two Queens

Bryant, Sir Arthur,
King Charles II

Burnet, Bishop,
History of His Own Times, with Notes by the Earls of Dartmouth and Hardwick and Speaker Onslow to which are added the Cursory Remarks of Swift

Chancellor, Frank,
Sarah Churchill

Clark, Sir George,
The Later Stuarts

Corville, Mrs. Arthur,
Duchess Sarah

Chapman, Hester W.,
Mary II, Queen of England

Hopkinson, M.R.,
Anne of England

Hume, David,
The History of England

Macauley, Lord, Edited by Lady Trevelyan,
History of England from the Accession of James II

Oman, Carla,
Mary of Modena

Renier, G.T.,
William of Orange

Sandars, Mary F.,
Princess and Queen of England, Mary II

Stephen, Sir Leslie and Lee, Sir Sidney,
The Dictionary of National Biography

Strickland, Agnes,
Lives of the Queens of England

Traill, H.D.,
William III

Trevelyan, G.M.,
England Under the Stuarts

Trevelyan, G.M.,
History of England

Wade, John,
British History

Van der Zee, Henri and Barbara,
William and Mary

About the Author

The Queen's Devotion

THE STORY OF QUEEN MARY II

Queen Mary II started her life in the court of her uncle, the Merry Monarch, King Charles II. Charles's England was a Protestant country with a great disdain for Catholicism. The people remembered the great persecutions Queen Mary I had enacted during her reign and would always be reluctant to accept another Catholic on the throne. Charles knew that under their father's care, Mary and her sister, Anne, would be raised Catholic, since James was a practicing Catholic. In the interest of keeping the royal line Protestant, King Charles looked after the girls and even arranged Mary's marriage.

When Mary was fifteen she was married to her first cousin William of Orange, a stern and cold man. Mary moved to Holland to be with her husband, leaving behind her sister and her father, with whom she was very close, despite their religious differences.

Mary spent her life torn between her duty as a daughter and her loyalty as a wife. After the death of her uncle Charles, her father became King James II, which proved to be an ephemeral reign as his religion was unpopular, and William of Orange had his ambitious sights set on the crown. Mary supported her husband in his deposing of her father, and although she was reluctant, was crowned queen with William ruling as king.

Plaidy's portrayal of Mary is that of a woman who tries to be diplomatic and strong. Mary tries her whole life to do right by her husband and father, always feeling herself torn in two directions.

A Reader's Group Guide

This guide is designed to help direct your group's discussion of
The Queen's Devotion.

1. In the first paragraph of the novel Mary confesses, “There have been two people in my life whom I have loved beyond all others, and it has weighed heavily upon me that I was called upon to decide between them and, in choosing one, I betrayed the other” (
EARLY DAYS
). How does this sentence play out in the rest of the novel? Cite some examples of when Mary had to choose between her two loves.

2. Compare the relationship between Anne and her mother, and Mary and her father in their younger years. Why was Mary closer to her father and Anne to her mother?

3. Discuss Mary and Anne's relationship. Mary describes Anne as “very good-natured, rarely cross and fundamentally lazy” (
Anne as “very good-natured,
). What was your impression of Anne? Did you feel Mary was overly harsh in her feelings toward her sister? Why or why not?

4. When reflecting on when she first met Elizabeth Villers, Mary thinks, “I knew I had to be wary of her, that she was sly, clever—far cleverer than I could ever be—and that she disliked me because she, who considered herself my superior, should have to pay homage to me simply because I have been born royal” (
RICHMOND PALACE
). Was Mary wary enough? How did Elizabeth live up to Mary's premonitions?

5. James's wife Mary Beatrice has wise words for Mary: “One has to learn to do things one does not like. It makes it easier to face the world” (
THE STEPMOTHER
). How is this advice applied toward Mary's marriage?

6. Who was Frances Apsley? Discuss her relationship with Mary and Anne. Did you feel it was appropriate? Why or why not?

7. When Mary first hears of her marriage arrangement, she thinks, “The Prince of Orange! That cold little man with the penetrating critical eyes, who had asked all those questions. Marry
him
! He was too old. He was quite different from my father and the King and the men that I had seen in my uncle's court” (
THE ORANGE MARRIAGE
). How does her opinion change? When does it change? Does she ever truly grow to love him?

8. Sarah Churchill called William “Caliban.” Did William really deserve that moniker? How does he embody Shakespeare's character?

9. What were the mysterious circumstances surrounding William's birth? What did they mean? Was the prophecy fulfilled?

10. William is described by Mary as being very cold, yet there is one man, William Bentinck, with whom William is very close. What was the nature of their relationship? Do you think there was more that perhaps Mary never knew? (
A “VERY INCOGNITO” VISIT
: “They were smiling at each other and then suddenly . . .”)

11. Knowing his brother's religion and his open practice, King Charles II declares, “The people will never get rid of me, because if they did they would have to have James” (
THE EXILE
). Why was James so unbending in his religion? Knowing that the people could not accept a Catholic king, why didn't he practice in private to save his throne?

12. Describe Mary's relationship with Jemmy, the Duke of Monmouth. What was King James II opinion of him? (
REVELRY AT THE HAGUE
: “And so died the Duke of Monmouth.”)

13. When Mary comes to William after she has learned of his affair she says, “I know now you have a mistress. I am shocked and amazed. You . . . who have pretended to be so virtuous” (
THE MISTRESS
). Were you surprised by her candor? Describe the difference between the Mary the reader sees here and the Mary who was too afraid to stand up to her husband in the past. What has changed?

14. What did Mary do that changed William's behavior toward her? (
WILLIAM AND MARY
: “if you were to declare the Prince King.”)

15. Mary receives a letter from her father saying that “if I were crowned while he and the Prince of Wales were living, the curse of an outraged father would light upon me as well as that of God, who had commanded duty to parents” (
CORONATION
). How does Mary proceed? Is she ever able to please both her father and her husband? Why or why not?

16. Who was Mrs. Pack? What effect did she have on Anne's son William? Why did she finally leave Anne's services?

17. “I had been happier in Holland” (
THE PROPHECY
), Mary says, after all she has been through on the throne of England. When was she happier in Holland? What brings her happiness in England?

18. Young William is a child whom Mary loves, yet she feels there is something strange about him. What happens to fulfill her belief? What does he say to Mary toward the end of the book that makes her believe “the Angel of Death was passing overhead” (
THE PROPHECY
)?

19. In the last chapter Mary says, “I wanted to be a good wife, but a good daughter too . . . . a good daughter to the best of fathers” (
THE LAST REQUEST
). How did she succeed? Where did she fail? What would you have done in her position?