Princess Mary of Orange

Princess Mary of Orange, eldest daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, is buried in a vault in the south aisle of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey. She has no monument but her name and date of death were inscribed, with others, on the stone above the vault in the 19th century (the stone is situated between the monuments of the Countess of Lennox and Mary Queen of Scots).

She was born at St James's Palace on 4th November 1631 and at aged only nine she was married to William of Nassau, son of the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands. Her husband succeeded to the title and their only child was William Henry, later Prince of Orange and William III of England. After exile in Holland during Cromwell's regime in England her brother Charles II returned home in 1660 and she later followed him. She died of smallpox and was buried on 29th December 1660 near her brother Henry, Duke of Gloucester who had died of the same disease.

Later on Charles II and William III were buried in the adjoining Stuart vault.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Born

4th November 1631

Died

24th December 1660

Buried

29th December 1660

Location

Lady Chapel

Memorial Type

Vault

Material Type

Stone

Princess Mary of Orange
Painting of Princess Mary of Orange by Bartholomeus van der Helst

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Princess Mary of Orange
Princess Mary of Orange listed on the vaultstone

This image can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library

Image © 2024 Dean and Chapter of Westminster