Dorothy Cromwell (; c.1620 – 5 January 1675) was the wife of the second

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

, who succeeded to the post in 1659 following the death of his father,

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

Life

Dorothy or Dorothea Maijor was the daughter of

Richard Maijor Richard Major or Richard Maijor (1605 – 25 April 1660) was a Member of Parliament during the English Commonwealth era. Major was the son of John Maijor, Alderman and Mayor of Southampton. He bought Hursley Park and Lodge, Hampshire in 1639 ...

, Esq of

Hursley Hursley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 900 in 2011. It is located roughly midway between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090. Besides the village the parish includes the hamlets of Standon and ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. In 1649 Richard Cromwell married Dorothy Maijor. He and his wife continued to stay at Richard Maijor's estate at Hursley. During the 1650s they had nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood. After Richard fled the country, Dorothy remained loyal to him and spent fifteen years of her life awaiting his return, only to die on 5 January 1675.

Duties

Although very little of her is known and published, she was known to be present at her husband's investment ceremony at

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

and may have been called 'protectress', though it appears she undertook very few duties during Richard's short nine-month reign.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maijor, Dorothy 1620s births 1675 deaths 17th-century English women People from the City of Winchester Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

Richard Cromwell