Hyde, Anne, Duchess of York (1637 -1671)

Anne Hyde was the eldest daughter of Edward Hyde, afterwards Earl of Clarendon, and his second wife, Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas Aylesbury. In May 1649 she accompanied her mother, sisters and brother to Antwerp. In the autumn of 1653 the Princess of Orange (Princess Royal of England) assigned Lady Hyde and her children a house in Breda, and the following year Anne was appointed one of her maids of honour. In January 1656 she accompanied the Princess to Paris where she met James Duke of York. When they met again in Breda, they contracted an engagement of marriage 24 November 1659. Despite much opposition the marriage was solemnized privately in Worcester House in London 3 September 1660. They had eight children, of whom only two survived into adulthood, Mary and Anne, both of whom in turn succeeded to the throne of Great Britain. The Duchess of York was converted to the Church of Rome, and died of cancer of the breast 31 March 1671.