MARY BEATRICE D'ESTE, Queen of England. - Born in 1658, died at St-Germain-en-Laye in 1718. Daughter of Alfonso IV, duke of Modena, in 1673 she married James of York, who later became James II. Rigidly educated in the Catholic faith, on her arrival in England she had to resign herself to practicing her religious observances privately, because in that very year the Protestants had imposed on Charles II the promulgation of the Test Act, which excluded Catholics from all state offices.

After James's accession to the throne, the Catholic policy of the sovereigns did not at first provoke violent reactions, because the Protestants counted on the not-distant succession to the throne of Princess Mary, married to William of Orange; but when on 10 June 1688 M. B. bore a son, James, the Protestants provoked the intervention of the Prince of Orange. M. B. fled with the Prince of Wales to France, and this had fatal consequences for the King, who, instead of opposing the invader with arms, followed his wife and, by deserting, procured for the Prince of Orange an easy triumph.

Bibliography

BIBL.: M. Hailee, Queen M. of Modena, London 1905.

Roberto Palmarocchi

@incollection{ec8_maria_beatrice_d_este_regina_d, author = {Palmarocchi, Roberto}, title = {Maria Beatrice d'Este, regina d'inghilterra}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {130}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/maria-beatrice-d-este-regina-d-inghilterra} }

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Mary Beatrice d'Este, Queen of England

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