born April 30, 1662, London, Eng.
died Dec. 28, 1694, London
Queen of England (1689–94).
The daughter of King James II , a Catholic convert, she was reared as a Protestant and in 1677 married to her cousin, William of Orange. They lived in Holland until English nobles opposed to James's pro-Catholic policies invited William and Mary to assume the English throne. After William landed with a Dutch force (1688), James fled, and Mary and William (as King William III ) became corulers of England (1689). Mary enjoyed great popularity, and her Dutch tastes had an influence on English pottery, landscape gardening, and interior design. She died of smallpox at age 32.