After escaping, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London until his father-in-law, Fairfax, arranged his release in February 1659.

The duchess was made a Lady of the Bedchamber to Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II of England, and held the position from 1663 until 1679.

[7] In the course of their marriage, Mary tolerated her husband's mistresses and was called "a most virtuous and pious lady, in a vicious age and Court".

[8] In 1668, after fatally wounding Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, in a duel, Buckingham set up house with his widow, Anna, and Mary Villiers was obliged to return to live with her parents until the liaison ended in 1674.

On her death, the dowager duchess was buried with her husband in the Buckingham vault at Westminster Abbey.