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The daughter of King James II, she and her Dutch husband became co-rulers of England after he had overthrown James's government.
Raised a Protestant, in November 1677 Mary was married to her Dutch cousin William of Orange, a champion of Protestantism in Europe. In England, James II's pro-Catholic policies provoked a constitutional crisis in 1687-8.
They also led to disagreement with William. Mary felt it her duty to side with her husband against her father and thus supported William's invasion of England in November 1688. James fled in December and Mary arrived the following February. She immediately rejected proposals that she become sole ruler and, in April 1689, she and William were crowned joint sovereigns of England.
Legislation was enacted to ensure that James's activities could not be repeated. The Bill of Rights of 1689 established that only a Protestant could become king and a new coronation oath required the monarch to uphold Protestantism. Parliament's position was bolstered by the Triennial Act of 1694, which re-established the principle of regular parliamentary sessions.
While William was directing military campaigns in Ireland and on the Continent, Mary administered the government in her own name, but she relied entirely on his advice. In the periods when William was in England she willingly retired from politics.
Mary enjoyed great popularity, but continued to be deeply troubled by her estrangement from her deposed father. She died of smallpox at the age of 32 and her childlessness again threw open the question of the succession. It was settled by passing it initially to her sister Anne, before falling onto the James I's granddaughter, Sophia of Hanover and, ultimately, her son George, who eventually became King George I.
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