Anne Hyde was Duchess of York and Albany as the first wife of James, Duke of York, who after her death became King James II and VII.
19 Facts About Anne Hyde
2.
Anne Hyde married James in 1660 and two months later gave birth to the couple's first child, who had been conceived out of wedlock.
3.
James was a known philanderer who kept many mistresses, for which Anne Hyde often reproached him, and he fathered many illegitimate children.
4.
Originally an Anglican, Anne Hyde converted to Catholicism soon after her marriage to James.
5.
Anne Hyde had been exposed to Catholicism during visits to the Netherlands and France and was strongly attracted thereto.
6.
Anne Hyde suffered from advanced breast cancer and died shortly after giving birth to her last child.
7.
Six months into the marriage, Anne Hyde caught smallpox, miscarried and died.
8.
Anne Hyde became a general favourite with the people she met either at The Hague or at the Princess of Orange's country house at Teylingen.
9.
Anne Hyde was attractive and stylish, and she attracted many men.
10.
One of the first men to fall in love with Anne Hyde was Spencer Compton, a son of the Earl of Northampton.
11.
However, Anne Hyde quickly fell in love with Henry Jermyn, who returned her feelings.
12.
Anne Hyde dismissed Jermyn just as quickly when she met James, Duke of York, the son of the deposed king.
13.
The French Ambassador described Anne Hyde as having "courage, cleverness, and energy almost worthy of a King's blood".
14.
Anne Hyde was not popular at court, although she was well liked by her brother-in-law.
15.
Anne Hyde was not oblivious to her husband's infidelities, Pepys recording that she was jealous and chided James.
16.
Historian John Callow claims Anne Hyde "made the greatest single impact" in the process that led to James becoming a Catholic.
17.
Anne Hyde was ill for 15 months after the birth of her youngest son, Edgar.
18.
Anne Hyde bore Henrietta in 1669 and Catherine in 1671, never recovering from Catherine's birth.
19.
On her deathbed, her brothers Henry and Laurence tried to bring an Anglican priest to give her communion, but Anne Hyde refused and she received viaticum of the Catholic Church.