Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 1609 – 9 December 1674) was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II

Mary II of England

Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...

 and Queen Anne

Anne of Great Britain

Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

.
Hyde was the third son of Henry Hyde of Dinton

Dinton, Wiltshire

Dinton is a village in Wiltshire, England, on the B3089 road about 8 miles west of Salisbury. The population was 597 at the 2001 census.-Present day:...

 and Purton

Purton

Purton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire. The civil parish includes the village of Purton Stoke and the hamlets of Bentham, Hayes Knoll, Restrop and Widham....

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 (brother of Lawrence Hyde (attorney-general)

Lawrence Hyde (attorney-general)

Sir Lawrence Hyde was an English lawyer who was attorey-general to the consort of King James I. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1584 and 1611....

), a member of a family for some time established at Norbury, Cheshire

Norbury, Cheshire

Norbury is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 190.-External links:...

 and his wife Mary Langford. He was initially educated at Gillingham School

Gillingham School

Gillingham School is a coeducational school situated in Gillingham in North Dorset. Gillingham Grammar School can trace its foundation back to 1516, making it probably the oldest surviving school in Dorset. It was founded as a Free School, paid for out of the proceeds of land gifted to the school...

, and entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford, (now Hertford College, Oxford

Hertford College, Oxford

Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...

, where his portrait hangs in the hall) in 1622, having been rejected by Magdalen College

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...

, and graduated BA in 1626.