Editing William II, Prince of Orange (section)

=== Second proposal and eventual marriage (1641) ===
In late 1640–early 1641, King Charles I decided to renew negotiations with Prince Frederick Henry of Orange. On 10 February 1641, Charles announced to Parliament that the betrothal of his daughter was actually concluded and that it only remained to consider this union from a political point of view. Charles himself hoped that in case of emergency, the Prince of Orange would help him to maintain royal power in England.

A modest wedding ceremony took place on 2 May 1641 at the Chapel Royal in [[Whitehall Palace]], [[London]]. William was not yet fifteen, while Mary was just nine at that time.{{efn|In 1646, when William was twenty, and Mary only fifteen, William had what was described as a [[wiktionary: dalliance|"dalliance"]] with Jeanne de Bommert Silvercroon, the daughter of a Swedish diplomat, and this had resulted in the illegitimate birth of a son, who would later become known as [[Abel Tassin d'Alonne]].<ref name=hora>{{cite book|author=Hora Siccama, J.H.|contribution=Aanteekeningen en verbeteringen op het register op de journalen van Constantijn Huygens den zoon|title=Werken Historisch Genootschap, 3e serie|volume=35|place=Amsterdam|year=1915|page=13|language=nl}}</ref>}} Mary and William were congratulated by courtiers, and received several gifts; in addition, in honour of the couple, a volley of 120 guns was fired. Almost as soon as the ceremony ended, William returned to the Netherlands.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} In November 1643, the second marriage ceremony between the 17-year-old William and 12-year-old Mary took place in [[The Hague]]. The marriage was not consummated until 1644. In February 1644, Mary completely merged into the life of her husband's court.