Description
William and Mary, Britain's most mysterious monarchs, were married for reasons of dynasticconvenience. Their union gradually developed into a happy and successful one, despiteWilliam's frequent absences on military campaign. They shared interests such as art andgardening, both of which they practised at their palace retreat, Het Loo. Despite the fact thatMary was heir presumptive to her father, the Duke of York, they might have expected toremain in the Netherlands for the rest of their lives. Midway through their marriage, their way of life changed substantially when Mary's father,now King James II, was rejected by his English and Scottish subjects because of his ferventCatholicism. William, a foreigner, was accepted as a replacement primarily because of hisBritish queen. The couple had Kensington Palace built, to a design by Sir Christopher Wren,and their renovations at Hampton Court Palace, also by Wren, gave the palace much of itspresent character. The monarchy was now fully ans
