Marriage Treaty

Charles had recently been restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland and had been lobbied by both Portugal and the Spanish, which pushed rival candidates as a potential wife.

Charles's decision to marry Catherine was attributed to the advice of the influential English statesman Edward Hyde, the 1st Earl of Clarendon.

It also became a source of political controversy in England since Whigs suggested that the garrison, which had a large number of Irish Catholics, was designed to be brought over to Britain to impose royal absolutism.

[5] In accordance with the agreement, a force of British and Irish troops under Frederick Schomberg were raised to serve in Portugal's ongoing war against Spain.

Charles and Catherine were unable to conceive a child and so in 1685, the throne passed to the King's brother James, Duke of York, who married Anne Hyde and later Mary of Modena.