From William and Mary to William III: Transitioning the Monarchy at the Funeral Rituals of Mary II, 1695

Abstract

When Queen Mary II of England died in December 1694, she left her husband, William III, as her successor, though unlike traditional transition periods after the death of a monarch there was no coronation, only a funeral. William was not a new monarch, but rather he assumed the mantle of sole monarch after five years of a unique dual monarchy known as William and Mary. The funeral rituals of Mary, from lying in state to the burial, which played out between February and March 1695, acted as both funeral and succession, ending one form of monarchy and securing a new one. This article explores how this transition took place through a reconstruction of the major funerary rituals and the included images and messages, analysis of which provides valuable insight into how the regime of William III secured itself without the traditional rites of an accession. These acts demonstrate the multitude of ways in which monarchies in the early modern period relied on rituals to preserve, uphold, and promote their legitimacy and prominence to their subjects and critics.