Lives of the last four princesses of the royal house of Stuart

76 MARY, PRINCESS-ROYAL. [1054.
compel him to enter the Church of Borne, afflicted
the Princess very much, and is thus mentioned by
the Queen of Bohemia in her letter to Sir Edward
Nicholas : — " I was with my best niece " — she always dis-
tinguishes the royal widow of William II. of Orange by
this endearing title — " it being her birthday (then twenty-
four).* I assure you she is in much trouble for her dear
brother, the Duke of Gloucester ; all the world would
look for no other, as I can witness to you. I am sorry
the King has so much cause of grief. I beseech God he
may speedily remedy it. I believe my dear nephew has
a good resolution, but there is no trusting to one of his
age. I confess I did not think the Queen would have
proceeded thus."f
Sir Edward Hyde wrote to the Princess-royal, on this
vexatious business, informing her "that although the
Queen Henrietta Maria and Lord Jermyn had both written
to the King, neither of them had dropped the slightest
hint of the matter. " I have never in my life," continues
he, " seen the King, your brother, in so great trouble of
mind ; and as he hath now written to the Queen, to the
Duke of Gloucester, and to others, his full sense of the
injury, so he will do whatever he can think of to prevent
so insupportable a mischief."
Mary replied at once to express her regret at the
injurious course her royal mother had taken. She says : —
" Mr. Chancellor,
" I give you as many thanks for your letter, as I
wish myself ways to hinder this misfortune that is likely
to fall upon our family, by my brother Henry being made
a papist. I received a letter from my brother this last
week. All the counsel I was able to give him was to obey
* Evelyn's ' Correspondence,' vol. iv. f Ibid.