Mary ll 1689-1694

Mary remained forever in the shadow of her husband and contributed little to government beyond her good humour. She was the more loved sovereign of the two, and her gay demeanour was much needed at court and in Parliament to lighten William's surliness. Nevertheless Mary had not been raised for government, and did not like it, preferring to defer to William except when he was out of the country. Mary had not welcomed the match with William. She had apparently wept when it was announced. Apart from his ill humour, he was short, almost hump-backed, and with little passion. Mary for her part had no especial liking for men either. The two had three stillborn children in the first two years of their marriage and nothing thereafter. She lived in Holland from 1677 to 1689, where she was much loved by the Dutch. Mary fell out with her sister (and eventual successor) Anne over John Churchill, the Earl of Marlborough. It was Churchill's defection to William in the rebellion of 1688 that had made William's accession so easy, and Churchill had served him valiantly since, but did not feel he had been suitably rewarded. Rumours emerged that Churchill was starting to plot against William. Churchill's wife, Sarah, was a longtime friend of Anne's, having been her maid of honour and lady of the bedchamber. When Churchill was arrested and imprisoned in 1692, Mary expected Anne to dismiss Sarah, but Anne chose not to, and Mary regarded this as an affront. The two were not reconciled within Mary's lifetime.