This small notebook records the dates and exact times of the births of seven of the eight children of James, Duke of York and Anne Hyde, including the future queens Mary and Anne; their first child, Charles, Duke of Cambridge (1660-1661) is not recorded. The dates and times of the first three children of James and his second wife, Mary of Modena, are also noted. The early deaths of most of James's children, also recorded in the notebook, vividly captures the high infant mortality rate of the seventeenth century. The death of Anne Hyde at the end of March 1671 is documented, together with a note of James's second marriage: 'The Duke was Mar[ried] & Bedded at Dover to ye Princes[s] Mary of Modena on Fryday ye 21st of Nov[ember] 1673'. Opposite, a lock of hair, probably Anne Hyde's, is sewn onto the page.

The notebook was designed for the Duke of York, whose 'JD' monogram appears both on the elaborate binding in gold tooling and on the clasps, and though it is not in his handwriting, the presence of locks of hair implies the compiler was very close to the royal ducal family. It was written in one sitting, probably in late 1677 or early 1678, as it records the death of a second Charles, Duke of Cambridge (7 November 1677 – 12 December 1677) but not the birth of James's next child, Elizabeth, in 1678. It was probably compiled for James's use; clearly it is a highly personal item.

A transcription of a different version of this notebook (known as 'Mrs Dawson's Diary') appears in Hearne, Thomas and Bliss, Philip (ed.), Reliquiae Hearnianae: the remains of Thomas Hearne...; v.1 (Oxford: Philip Bliss, 1857) pp. 274-6.


Binding information

Contemporary red goatskin with extensive gold tooling including 'JD' monogram with ducal coronet for James, Duke of York, surrounded by palm fronds; white metal clasp with the same monogram; binding attributed to Samuel Mearne (1624-1683).


Bibliographic description

12mo. [74] p. : ms with 2 locks of hair


Adapted from the catalogue entry in Charles II: Art & Power (London: Royal Collection Trust, 2017)