Subject

Second wife of King James II. Born in the Duchy of Modena, Italy. She lost five children in infancy, before giving birth in 1688 to James Francis Edward Stuart (the future 'Old Pretender'). News of this gave rise to sceptism and the story grew that the baby was not actually hers, but had been smuggled into her bedchamber in a warming pan. When William of Orange landed to claim the throne, she fled to France with her son and was later joined by her deposed husband.