When the birthing room in St James’s Palace became a chaotic place on June 10 1688, more than 70 people were present as witnesses to the legitimacy of the Catholic heir; at least 42 of these were high-ranking government officials. This uncharacteristic breach of royal privacy is recorded in the British Library in the form of both the original satirical prints and pamphlets that published the ‘Warming Pan Scandal’. The accusation made by some that Queen Mary of Modena was hiding a fake baby in her bed was based on these records. According to the History of Parliament, King James II was forced to allow such a large crowd to assist him in counteracting rumours about ‘supposititious births’. The Royal Collection Trust notes this decision did not succeed in stopping the Glorious Revolution and the King’s exile.
When a royal birth became political theatre in 1688
The private royal bedchamber became a public space of diplomacy with high stakes due to the birth of the Prince of Wales on June 10, 1688. King James II was aware of rumours regarding the legitimacy of his wife’s pregnancy, so he breached protocol by inviting 70 people to observe as witnesses in the room where he delivered his child. According to the History of Parliament, 42 high-ranking officials among the 70 witnesses were brought in specifically to limit the King’s enemies’ chances of later claiming exclusion from the event. The room was so full that Mary of Modena recorded her distress about the lack of space after giving birth. The presence of these strangers was far from supportive; the Queen felt humiliated and physically overwhelmed by the scrutiny of dozens of political sceptics. Mary of Modena felt ‘under siege’ as many in the room, including representatives of her stepdaughter Princess Anne, were there specifically to act as spies and find evidence of a fraud rather than to offer comfort.
The ‘Warming Pan’ conspiracy that shook a royal birth
The birth of the royal heir to the Catholic monarchy sparked a highly successful fake news campaign, despite the large number of people present to witness the actual event. Those who opposed the Catholic monarchy began to spread a crazy conspiracy theory that the Queen’s child had died at birth and that the baby that was presented as the new heir was actually a replacement infant that had been smuggled into the royal bed inside a large, hollow brass warming pan- a common household item used to heat bedsheets. This ‘fake news’ narrative suggested the baby was hidden in the pan to bypass the guards, a physical impossibility that the public chose to believe to justify a political coup.The many historical sources clearly indicated that the people were very willing to believe that the royal heir was actually the son of a commoner; this provided the Protestant aristocracy with the moral justification they required to try to take away the King’s right to reign over them.
When 70 witnesses couldn’t save a king’s reputation
In an effort to save his son’s throne, James II took the unique approach of publishing the testimony from all 70 people present as witnesses. On October 22, 1688, he convened these witnesses in front of the Privy Council and took their testimony under oath; then their sworn statement was published as the ‘Depositions.’ However, according to The Royal Collection Trust, the damage was already beyond repair to the king’s reputation. No matter how much evidence was presented, the damaging rumour that was spread, called ‘the warming pan,’ had gained such popularity that it had indeed motivated the public to support William of Orange’s invasion of England.The scandal provided the necessary ‘moral’ excuse for the Protestant elite to invite William of Orange to invade, triggering the Glorious Revolution. As noted by The Royal Collection Trust, Mary of Modena was forced to flee to France in disguise with her infant, who would spend the rest of his life as the ‘Old Pretender,’ a king in name only who never regained his father’s throne.
