Mary Stuart (1605–1607)

Mary Stuart
Mary accompanies her siblings in an 1814 mezzo-tint by Willem van de Passe.
Born	(1605-04-08)8 April 1605 Greenwich Palace, Greenwich
Died	16 September 1607(1607-09-16) (aged 2) Stanwell Park, Stanwell
Burial	23 September 1607 (1607-09-23) Westminster Abbey, London
House	Stuart
Father	James VI and I
Mother	Anne of Denmark
Religion	Anglicanism

Mary of England, Scotland and Ireland (8 April 1605 – 16 September 1607) was the third daughter and sixth child of James VI and I, the first king of a unified England, Scotland and Ireland, by Anne of Denmark, daughter of Frederick II of Denmark and sister of Christian IV of Denmark; her birth was much anticipated. She developed pneumonia at 17 months and died the following year.

The first child to be born to Anne and James after James succeeded Elizabeth I of England, Mary was the first princess of Great Britain, although then it was not so named. Her birth was thus awaited with much excitement among both the Scottish and the English. Disputes among nobility as to the distribution of places in the establishment for the unborn child were very common. A note containing the necessaries ordered by the king for his child contains orders of the following: "a carnation velvet cradle, fringed with silver fringe and lined with carnation satin; a double scarlet cloth to lay upon the cradle at night; a cradle cloth of carnation velvet with a train, laid with silver, and lined with taffeta to lay upon the cradle; two small mantles of unshorn velvet, lined with the same velvet; one large bearing cloth of carnation velvet, to be used when the child is brought forth of the chamber, lined with taffeta; one great head sheet of cambric for the cradle, containing two breadths, and three yards long, wrought all over with gold and coloured silks and fringed with gold; six fine handkerchiefs of fine cambric, one to be edged with fair cut work, to lay over the child's face; six veils of lawn, edged with fair bone lace, to pin with the mantles; six gathered bibs of fine lawn with ruffles edged with bone lace; two bibs to wear under them, wrought with gold and coloured silks." The total cost of this went up to £300, currently worth around £790,000.

Finally, on 8 April 1605, at Greenwich Palace, Anne of Denmark delivered a girl. Although the peoples of King James were slightly disappointed, the birth of the first princess of the two united realms was a cause for celebration. Throughout the realms, bonfires were lit and church bells rung all day long; the celebrations were encouraged by the fact that 68 years had elapsed since the birth of a child to an English sovereign, the last being Edward VI. The next day, King James drank health to his wife and new daughter. In letters announcing his relatives of Mary's birth, James described her as "a most beautiful infant" and punned on her not-yet-revealed name, saying that "if I would not pray to the Virgin Mary, I would pray for the Virgin Mary."