Mary II of England (An Orange Dynasty)

Mary II ( O.S. 30 April 1662 – 27 August 1719) was the joint Sovereign of England, Scotland and Ireland with her husband (and first cousin) William III and II from 13 February 1689 to her death. Born as the first daughter of Roman Catholic James II and VII, she would go onto overthrow her predecessor with the support of Parliament due to her Protestant leanings and was promptly declared alongside her husband Queen and King regnant.

A reformist, she set out to maintain a government of limited royal interference with the passage of the Bill of Rights in 1689, and although she attempted to curve her own powers she simultaneously ceded most of her authority over to her husband, although he had to rely on her to maintain popular power in their nations. She did, however, often have to act alone in England and Scotland during the periods of time in which William was fighting abroad, proving herself to be a capable, albeit disengaged administrator. However, after her husbands death in 1712, she slowly withdrew herself from public life and granted more powers onto her son and heir, the future William IV, who was appointed by parliament a month before Mary's death to be Prince Regent with the power to act in her name.