James I and VI had auburn hair and was of average height. His wife, Anne of Denmark, was very tall, taller than her husband, and had fair hair and blue eyes. She also had a very large nose; many of her descendants inherited this characteristic.
Reports on the height of Charles I vary, but he was probably between four feet ten inches and five feet four inches tall. He had typical Stuart coloring. His wife, Henrietta Maria, was even shorter than he was, and very dark. Perhaps to make Charles seem taller, most paintings of him show him sitting down.
Charles II was about six feet two inches tall, which is startling in light of his parents' height; it was probably a throwback to Mary Queen of Scots and Anne of Denmark. Charles took after his Medici ancestors, and his skin was swarthy. His wife, Catherine of Braganza, was short, with very short legs; she was evidently not very attractive. The poet Andrew Marvell referred to Catherine as a goblin; allegedly, when Charles first saw Catherine, he said he thought they had brought him a bat instead of a woman.
Charles II's sisters were short and slight. Mary of Orange had Stuart coloring but otherwise took after Henrietta Maria; Elizabeth and Minette had fair Stuart coloring. James II was evidently of average height, and had auburn hair.
Queen Mary towered over her husband, William III. It was the fashion of the Stuart era to make wax figures of the dead to stand over graves at Westminster Abbey, and apparently generations of kids laughed at the figures of these two, since the height difference was so dramatic. Eventually, the figures were retired from public viewing. William III was reportedly hunchbacked as well.
Queen Anne took after the Hydes more than the Stuarts. Like many of the Hydes, she had a severe weight problem.
