Just because we talk history doesn't mean we have to stick to the U.S., so let's turn to the Stuart rulers of England. James II and his son, who would cause untold problems for all parties, is the subject upon which we'll focus. Why was the infant, who might have been James III, known as "the warming pan baby"?
James II had innumerable issues as the Duke of York, not so surprising for a direct descendant of Mary Stuart. Still this future king had done his duty, married a nice Protestant girl, Anne Hyde, and produced two children. This in itself had been somewhat scandalous because she was a commoner and, less so, because she was extremely pregnant. Yet, the only real problem here was that, in an era of primogeniture (the eldest son as heir), the couple produced only the princesses Mary and Anne. So, when James became a widower, he had no male to continue the Stuart succession.
Quite the ladies man, Stuart was not alone for long. In 1673, his brother, Charles II, granted him permission to marry the Italian princess Mary of Modena. She was 15; he was just days shy of 40. It's a sure bet that reproduction was the major objective here. But James had, despite laws to curtail the practice, long ago become a quietly practicing Catholic. His new bride was of the same religion. This was just one of the many things that would lead to his downfall.
When his brother died two years later, without recognizing any of his children as legitimate and having also become Catholic, James II took his place on the throne. He believed that God had predetermined that he do so. This thinking did not bode well. There was trouble with Parliament, extreme church strife, and war in Ireland--all of which led to a general distrust of the king. He could not even control William, his Dutch (and Protestant) son-in-law by marriage to young Mary Stuart. But he finally met one duty when the prince, James Francis Edward, was born in 1688.
Such was a happy occasion, we would naturally conclude. But the reasoning there would be wrong. The birth of the child was surrounded by secrecy. Because their other children had died in infancy, the queen waited until very late in her pregnancy to share the news. Few people saw her undress, and these were only the most trusted courtiers. On the day of the prince's birth, just the closest staff was allowed into the bed chamber, and, though it was a warm summer day, a woman entered the room carrying a warming pan. This is a lidded device on a long handle that, after being filled with hot coals, is slipped into a bed to heat the cold sheets in winter. All of this was considered very suspicious.
There was already talk of overthrowing the monarch. William and Mary were eager to replace her father. Once all factors were considered, little James made the decision for the rebels. The majority of them believed the heir had died, and a changeling had been smuggled in hidden in the warming pan--thus, "the warming pan baby." They sang a song concerning his questionable ancestry:
"Rock a bye baby, in the tree top,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.
Then down will come baby, cradle, and all."
The tree represented the Stuart dynasty. The wind was one of revolution. The fall presaged that of the monarch and his supposed heir, "baby, cradle, and all."
At any rate, later that year, William of Orange deposed his father-in-law in the Glorious Revolution, also called the Bloodless Rebellion, for little blood was shed. In December, after failing to muster military aid, James II packed up his wife and son and fled to France, never to return. William and Mary became the joint rulers of England by Parliamentary measure.
So if you sing a lullaby tonight, remember little James, that "warming pan baby," as he was forever known. And know that every little word has its own very original meaning.
VK
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