Princess Henrietta of England
Encyclopedia
Henrietta Anne of England & Scots (16 June 1644 (26 June n.s.) – 30 June 1670) was born a Princess of England and Scotland as the youngest daughter of King Charles I of
England
and his consort Henrietta Maria of France
. Fleeing England with her governess at the age of three, she moved to the court of her first cousin Louis XIV of France
, where she was known as Minette. After she married Philippe of France
, brother of King Louis XIV, known as Monsieur at court, she became known as Madame
. Very popular with the court in no small part due to her flirtatious nature, her marriage was marked by frequent tensions. Henrietta was instrumental in negotiating the Secret Treaty of Dover
prior to her unexpected death in June 1670. Jacobite
claims to the throne of Great Britain following the death of Henry Benedict Stuart
descend from her through her daughter Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia.
on 16 June 1644, on the eve of the Second Battle of Newbury
during the English Civil War
. Her father was King Charles I of England
, her mother the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France
and Marie de' Medici
. All her life, Henrietta would enjoy a close relationship with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Her connections with the court of France as niece of King Louis XIII
and first cousin of Louis XIV
would prove to be very useful later in life.
Shortly before the birth of Henrietta, her mother had been forced to leave Oxford
for Exeter
, where she had arrived on 1 May 1644. Many thought she would not survive the birth due to her state of health at the time. After a particularly difficult birth, the princess was put in the care of Anne Villiers, Countess of Morton
, known at that time as Lady Dalkeith. For the safety of the infant princess, the queen decided to make her way to Falmouth
and then return to France to ask Louis XIV to assist her husband's war efforts. Arriving at Falmouth in mid July, the queen was informed that the infant princess had been taken ill with convulsions, from which she recovered. On 26 July, Henrietta met her father, Charles I of England
, for the first time. Prior to his arrival, the king had ordered that the princess would be baptised in accordance with the rites of the Church of England
, and she was baptised Henrietta at Exeter Cathedral
on 21 July. A canopy of state was erected in honour of her dignity as a Princess of England. Henrietta was moved to Oatlands Palace
outside London, where the princess and her household lived for some three months before fleeing secretly in June 1646, Lady Dalkeith ensured Henrietta's safe arrival to France where she was reunited with her mother.
. When she first arrived, she was known as Henriette d'Angleterre or the princesse d'Angleterre in France. She and her mother were given apartments at the Louvre
, a monthly pension of 30,000 livres and the use of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
. This lavish establishment soon diminished as all the money Queen Henrietta Maria received was given to her husband in England
or to exiled cavaliers who had fled to France. During the Fronde
, the civil war that raged in France between 1648 and 1653, Henriette and her mother stayed at the Louvre.
In February 1649, Henrietta's mother was informed of the execution of her husband Charles I, who had been beheaded on 30 January. At the end of the Fronde, Queen Henrietta Maria and her daughter moved into the Palais Royal
with the young Louis XIV and his mother and brother Philippe. At the same time, Queen Henrietta Maria decided to have her daughter, who had been baptised in the Church of England
, brought up as a Roman Catholic. With the arrival of Henrietta's brother, Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester
, in 1652, their small court was increased.
After the Fronde was over, the French court put a priority on finding a bride for the young king of France. Queen Henrietta Maria hinted at the idea of a union between Henrietta and Louis, but Queen Anne rejected the idea, preferring instead her niece, the princess Maria Theresa of Spain
. Louis and Maria Theresa married in June 1660, after which Queen Anne turned her attentions to her unmarried son Philippe. While residing at the Château de Colombes
, Henrietta Maria's personal residence outside Paris, mother and daughter heard of the restoration of the monarchy in England under Henriette's brother Charles II of England
, and they returned to Paris. This change of fortunes caused Philippe, a flamboyant homosexual who had been party to a series of sexual scandals, to ask Henriette to marry him. Prior to this Henrietta had received various proposals from Charles Emmanuel of Savoy
and the Grand Prince of Tuscany
but nothing came of them.
An impatient Philippe was eager to make sure he married Henrietta as soon as possible, but Queen Henrietta Maria was intent on going to England to sort out her debts, secure a dowry for Henrietta and prevent the Duke of York
's announcement of his marriage to Anne Hyde
, a former maid-of-honour to the Princess Royal
. During this time, Henrietta became distraught when her brother the Duke of Gloucester died of smallpox
in September 1660. In October, Henrietta and her mother embarked at Calais
for Dover
, where they stayed at Dover Castle
. The French court officially asked for Henrietta's hand on 22 November and her dowry was arranged. Charles II agreed to give his sister a dowry of 840,000 livres and a further 20,000 towards other expenses. She was also given, as a personal gift, 40,000 livres annually and the Château de Montargis
as a private residence.
Henrietta's return to France was delayed by the death from smallpox
of the Princess of Orange
. She finally left England in January 1661. Returning to France, she and Philippe signed their marriage contract at the Palais Royal on 30 March 1661; the ceremony took place the next day. The marriage was greatly celebrated and she and her husband moved into the Palais des Tuileries. As she had married Monsieur, Henrietta was styled Madame, la duchesse d'Orléans.
The marriage started well and Philippe seems to have been a doting husband. A year into the marriage, Henrietta gave birth to a daughter later baptised Marie Louise. The paternity of the child was doubted by the court who believed Louis XIV or the Count of Guiche
, to be the father. Henriette and Guiche had started an affair early in her marriage, despite his having been a former lover of Philippe. These flirtations caused a once adoring Philippe to become intensely jealous and he complained to Queen Anne, who reprimanded both Louis and Henrietta.
Soon after, Louis started an affair with one of Henrietts's ladies-in-waiting
by the name of Louise de La Vallière
, who had joined her household at the end of 1661 and had protected Henrietta with regards to her affair with Guiche. The couple's next child was a son born in July 1664 who was given the title Duke of Valois. The son, however, died in 1666 of convulsions after being baptised Philippe Charles
hours before death. The loss of the little Duke of Valois affected Henrietta greatly. She gave birth to a stillborn daughter in July 1665, but another daughter was born in 1669 who was baptised Anne Marie in 1670.
In 1666, her husband's most prominent lover, the Chevalier de Lorraine
, became attached to the Orléans household – Lorraine would often vie for power within Philippe's household, an unusual arrangement for the time.
Henrietta has often been praised as a cultured princess and her correspondence with Moliere
, Racine
, La Fontaine, Bussy-Rabutin and others is notable. She was also a lover of gardening, and it was she who created a water garden at the Palais Royal
. Henrietta also amassed a large and prestigious picture collection that included paintings by Van Dyke
and Corregio. Her active personality has caused historians to think that she showed signs of Anorexia nervosa
.
Late in 1669, Henriette lost her mother Queen Henrietta Maria, who died after having taken an excessive quantity of opiates as a painkiller. Henrietta was devastated, and the situation was not helped by Philippe's immediate rush to claim all her possessions before she had even been buried.
, with whom she had always been very close, had been trying to establish a closer relationship with France. Having been under discussion since 1663, it was not till 1669 that Charles II set the wheels into motion by openly admitting he would become a Roman Catholic and vowing to bring England under Roman Catholicism. Henriette was eager to visit her homeland and Louis XIV encouraged her in order for the treaty to take place. Philippe, however, annoyed with Henrietta for her flirting with Guiche and his previous lovers, remained adamant that she should not be allowed to go complaining to the English king and that she should remain at his side in France. Appealing to the French king, she managed to arrange for her to travel to England, where she arrived in Dover on 26 May 1670, remaining there till 1 June, the day the treaty was signed.
Charles was to abandon England's Triple Alliance with Sweden
and the Dutch Republic
in favor of assisting Louis XIV in conquering the Dutch Republic, which he claimed for his wife Queen Marie Thérèse as part of her unpaid dowry. Provided that the conquest was successfully completed, England was promised several very profitable ports along one of the major rivers that ran through the Dutch Republic. The treaty did not become public until 1830. After her time in England, she returned to France on 18 June.
water
. According to reports, immediately after drinking the water she felt a pain in her side and cried out, "Ah! What a pain! What shall I do! I must be poisoned!". She immediately assumed she had been poisoned and asked both for an antidote and for someone to examine the chicory water. She was given common contemporary treatments for colic
, as well as anti-poisons. The royal family arrived at Saint Cloud having heard the news within hours. Bishop Bossuet
was called and later administered the Sacrament
. At 2 o'clock in the morning of June 30, 1670, Princess Henrietta died.
The Chevalier de Lorraine and the Marquis d'Effiat were rumored by many to be accomplices in poisoning Henrietta. Seventeen French and two English physicians, the British ambassador and roughly one hundred other onlookers observed the autopsy, and though the official report stated "death from cholera morbus (gastroenteritis) caused by heated bile," many observers disagreed.
Henrietta was interred at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis on July 4, another service was held on 21 July. All chief public bodies including the Parliament, courts of Law, Assembly of the Clergy and the City Corporations were represented, as well as members of the nobility and general public. Queen Maria Theresa was present with the king of Poland, John II Casimir, and the English Ambassador, the Duke of Buckingham
. French Princes of the blood
were present as well as masses of the nobility.
"Last of all came the members of Monsieur and Madame's household, bearing torches in their hands. A mausoleum, surrounded with altars and silver urns, and adorned with a crowd of mourning allegorical statues, among which Youth, Poetry and Music were conspicuous, had been erected in the centre of the choir. There the coffin rested, covered with cloth of gold, edged with ermine, and embroidered with the arms of France
and England
in gold and silver. Everyone having taken their places hundreds of candles burst into flame giving a cloud of incense; and the Archbishop of Reims
assisted by other bishops, began the mass, which was chanted by the King's musicians organized by Lully
." Monsieur married again in 1671 to Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
, who, like Henrietta, was descended from Mary, Queen of Scots, sharing James I of England
as a common ancestor. Monsieur and the "new Madame" would have a further two surviving children.
Henrietta's eldest daughter Marie Louise died like her mother at the age of 26 in Spain in 1689. The circumstances of her death were almost identical to those of her mother's death, and she was also believed to have been poisoned. Anne Marie married in 1684 and was the mother of some eight children, the eldest of which, Princess Maria Adelaide, was the mother of Louis XV. She also died at the age of 26. Monsieur himself would die in 1701. Her descendants include Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist
pretender to the French throne, the king of Spain
, the king of the Belgians
, the grand duke of Luxembourg
and the pretender to the Italian throne
.
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and his consort Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
. Fleeing England with her governess at the age of three, she moved to the court of her first cousin Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, where she was known as Minette. After she married Philippe of France
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, brother of King Louis XIV, known as Monsieur at court, she became known as Madame
Fils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
. Very popular with the court in no small part due to her flirtatious nature, her marriage was marked by frequent tensions. Henrietta was instrumental in negotiating the Secret Treaty of Dover
Secret treaty of Dover
The Treaty of Dover, also known as the Secret Treaty of Dover, was a treaty between England and France signed at Dover on June 1 in 1670. It required France to assist England in the king's aim that it would rejoin the Roman Catholic Church and England to assist France in her war of conquest...
prior to her unexpected death in June 1670. Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
claims to the throne of Great Britain following the death of Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne...
descend from her through her daughter Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia.
Infancy in England
Princess Henrietta was born at Bedford House in ExeterExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
on 16 June 1644, on the eve of the Second Battle of Newbury
Second Battle of Newbury
The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the English Civil War fought on 27 October, 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year.The combined armies of Parliament...
during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Her father was King Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, her mother the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
. All her life, Henrietta would enjoy a close relationship with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Her connections with the court of France as niece of King Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
and first cousin of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
would prove to be very useful later in life.
Shortly before the birth of Henrietta, her mother had been forced to leave Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
for Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, where she had arrived on 1 May 1644. Many thought she would not survive the birth due to her state of health at the time. After a particularly difficult birth, the princess was put in the care of Anne Villiers, Countess of Morton
Anne Villiers, Countess of Morton
Anne Villiers was an English noblewoman and Countess of Morton. She was famed for her beauty, bravery and loyalty to the throne. The first half of the 17th century closet drama Cicilia and Clorinda was dedicated to her....
, known at that time as Lady Dalkeith. For the safety of the infant princess, the queen decided to make her way to Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
and then return to France to ask Louis XIV to assist her husband's war efforts. Arriving at Falmouth in mid July, the queen was informed that the infant princess had been taken ill with convulsions, from which she recovered. On 26 July, Henrietta met her father, Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, for the first time. Prior to his arrival, the king had ordered that the princess would be baptised in accordance with the rites of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, and she was baptised Henrietta at Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
on 21 July. A canopy of state was erected in honour of her dignity as a Princess of England. Henrietta was moved to Oatlands Palace
Oatlands Palace
Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace located between Weybridge and Walton on Thames in Surrey, England. The surrounding modern district of Oatlands takes its name from the palace...
outside London, where the princess and her household lived for some three months before fleeing secretly in June 1646, Lady Dalkeith ensured Henrietta's safe arrival to France where she was reunited with her mother.
Life and marriage in France
While living at the French court, the princess was given the name Anne in honour of her aunt Queen Anne of AustriaAnne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
. When she first arrived, she was known as Henriette d'Angleterre or the princesse d'Angleterre in France. She and her mother were given apartments at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, a monthly pension of 30,000 livres and the use of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale ....
. This lavish establishment soon diminished as all the money Queen Henrietta Maria received was given to her husband in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
or to exiled cavaliers who had fled to France. During the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
, the civil war that raged in France between 1648 and 1653, Henriette and her mother stayed at the Louvre.
In February 1649, Henrietta's mother was informed of the execution of her husband Charles I, who had been beheaded on 30 January. At the end of the Fronde, Queen Henrietta Maria and her daughter moved into the Palais Royal
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
with the young Louis XIV and his mother and brother Philippe. At the same time, Queen Henrietta Maria decided to have her daughter, who had been baptised in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, brought up as a Roman Catholic. With the arrival of Henrietta's brother, Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester
Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester
Henry Stuart, 1st Duke of Gloucester was the third adult son of Charles I and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
, in 1652, their small court was increased.
After the Fronde was over, the French court put a priority on finding a bride for the young king of France. Queen Henrietta Maria hinted at the idea of a union between Henrietta and Louis, but Queen Anne rejected the idea, preferring instead her niece, the princess Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
. Louis and Maria Theresa married in June 1660, after which Queen Anne turned her attentions to her unmarried son Philippe. While residing at the Château de Colombes
Colombes
Colombes is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 13 March 1896, 17% of the territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of Bois-Colombes ....
, Henrietta Maria's personal residence outside Paris, mother and daughter heard of the restoration of the monarchy in England under Henriette's brother Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, and they returned to Paris. This change of fortunes caused Philippe, a flamboyant homosexual who had been party to a series of sexual scandals, to ask Henriette to marry him. Prior to this Henrietta had received various proposals from Charles Emmanuel of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine Marie of France until 1663. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus and Jerusalem...
and the Grand Prince of Tuscany
Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo III de' Medici was the penultimate Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of ultra-reactionary laws which regulated prostitution and...
but nothing came of them.
An impatient Philippe was eager to make sure he married Henrietta as soon as possible, but Queen Henrietta Maria was intent on going to England to sort out her debts, secure a dowry for Henrietta and prevent the Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
's announcement of his marriage to Anne Hyde
Anne Hyde
Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain....
, a former maid-of-honour to the Princess Royal
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
. During this time, Henrietta became distraught when her brother the Duke of Gloucester died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
in September 1660. In October, Henrietta and her mother embarked at Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
for Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, where they stayed at Dover Castle
Dover Castle
Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history...
. The French court officially asked for Henrietta's hand on 22 November and her dowry was arranged. Charles II agreed to give his sister a dowry of 840,000 livres and a further 20,000 towards other expenses. She was also given, as a personal gift, 40,000 livres annually and the Château de Montargis
Montargis
Montargis is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. The town is located about south of Paris and east of Orléans in the Gâtinais....
as a private residence.
Henrietta's return to France was delayed by the death from smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
of the Princess of Orange
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
. She finally left England in January 1661. Returning to France, she and Philippe signed their marriage contract at the Palais Royal on 30 March 1661; the ceremony took place the next day. The marriage was greatly celebrated and she and her husband moved into the Palais des Tuileries. As she had married Monsieur, Henrietta was styled Madame, la duchesse d'Orléans.
The marriage started well and Philippe seems to have been a doting husband. A year into the marriage, Henrietta gave birth to a daughter later baptised Marie Louise. The paternity of the child was doubted by the court who believed Louis XIV or the Count of Guiche
Armand de Gramont, comte de Guiche
Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche was a French nobleman, adventurer, and one of the greatest playboys of the 17th century....
, to be the father. Henriette and Guiche had started an affair early in her marriage, despite his having been a former lover of Philippe. These flirtations caused a once adoring Philippe to become intensely jealous and he complained to Queen Anne, who reprimanded both Louis and Henrietta.
Soon after, Louis started an affair with one of Henrietts's ladies-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
by the name of Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right...
, who had joined her household at the end of 1661 and had protected Henrietta with regards to her affair with Guiche. The couple's next child was a son born in July 1664 who was given the title Duke of Valois. The son, however, died in 1666 of convulsions after being baptised Philippe Charles
Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois
Philippe Charles d'Orléans, petit-fils de France, Duke of Valois was a French prince and Grandson of France. He was created Duke of Valois at the time of his birth. He was a short lived nephew of Louis XIV.-Biography:...
hours before death. The loss of the little Duke of Valois affected Henrietta greatly. She gave birth to a stillborn daughter in July 1665, but another daughter was born in 1669 who was baptised Anne Marie in 1670.
In 1666, her husband's most prominent lover, the Chevalier de Lorraine
Chevalier de Lorraine
Philippe of Lorraine, called the Chevalier de Lorraine was a French noble man and member of the House of Guise, cadet of the Ducal house of Lorraine. He was the renowned lover of Philippe de France, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV.-Biography:Philippe de Lorraine was the second son of the Count and...
, became attached to the Orléans household – Lorraine would often vie for power within Philippe's household, an unusual arrangement for the time.
Henrietta has often been praised as a cultured princess and her correspondence with Moliere
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
, La Fontaine, Bussy-Rabutin and others is notable. She was also a lover of gardening, and it was she who created a water garden at the Palais Royal
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
. Henrietta also amassed a large and prestigious picture collection that included paintings by Van Dyke
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
and Corregio. Her active personality has caused historians to think that she showed signs of Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
.
Late in 1669, Henriette lost her mother Queen Henrietta Maria, who died after having taken an excessive quantity of opiates as a painkiller. Henrietta was devastated, and the situation was not helped by Philippe's immediate rush to claim all her possessions before she had even been buried.
Secret Treaty of Dover
Henriette was instrumental in diplomatic negotiations between her native England and adopted France. Her brother Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, with whom she had always been very close, had been trying to establish a closer relationship with France. Having been under discussion since 1663, it was not till 1669 that Charles II set the wheels into motion by openly admitting he would become a Roman Catholic and vowing to bring England under Roman Catholicism. Henriette was eager to visit her homeland and Louis XIV encouraged her in order for the treaty to take place. Philippe, however, annoyed with Henrietta for her flirting with Guiche and his previous lovers, remained adamant that she should not be allowed to go complaining to the English king and that she should remain at his side in France. Appealing to the French king, she managed to arrange for her to travel to England, where she arrived in Dover on 26 May 1670, remaining there till 1 June, the day the treaty was signed.
Charles was to abandon England's Triple Alliance with Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
in favor of assisting Louis XIV in conquering the Dutch Republic, which he claimed for his wife Queen Marie Thérèse as part of her unpaid dowry. Provided that the conquest was successfully completed, England was promised several very profitable ports along one of the major rivers that ran through the Dutch Republic. The treaty did not become public until 1830. After her time in England, she returned to France on 18 June.
Death, burial and aftermath
In 1667 Henrietta began complaining of an intermittent, intense pain in her side. Beginning in April 1670, according to reports, Henrietta began having digestive problems so severe that she could consume only milk. Returning to France after the treaty, Henrietta went to stay at Saint Cloud with her husband on the 26 June. On June 29, at five o'clock, Henrietta drank a glass of chicoryChicory
Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons , or for roots , which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also...
water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. According to reports, immediately after drinking the water she felt a pain in her side and cried out, "Ah! What a pain! What shall I do! I must be poisoned!". She immediately assumed she had been poisoned and asked both for an antidote and for someone to examine the chicory water. She was given common contemporary treatments for colic
Colic
Colic is a form of pain which starts and stops abruptly. Types include:*Baby colic, a condition, usually in infants, characterized by incessant crying*Renal colic, a pain in the flank, characteristic of kidney stones...
, as well as anti-poisons. The royal family arrived at Saint Cloud having heard the news within hours. Bishop Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
was called and later administered the Sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
. At 2 o'clock in the morning of June 30, 1670, Princess Henrietta died.
Henrietta was interred at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis on July 4, another service was held on 21 July. All chief public bodies including the Parliament, courts of Law, Assembly of the Clergy and the City Corporations were represented, as well as members of the nobility and general public. Queen Maria Theresa was present with the king of Poland, John II Casimir, and the English Ambassador, the Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
. French Princes of the blood
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
were present as well as masses of the nobility.
"Last of all came the members of Monsieur and Madame's household, bearing torches in their hands. A mausoleum, surrounded with altars and silver urns, and adorned with a crowd of mourning allegorical statues, among which Youth, Poetry and Music were conspicuous, had been erected in the centre of the choir. There the coffin rested, covered with cloth of gold, edged with ermine, and embroidered with the arms of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in gold and silver. Everyone having taken their places hundreds of candles burst into flame giving a cloud of incense; and the Archbishop of Reims
Archbishop of Reims
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...
assisted by other bishops, began the mass, which was chanted by the King's musicians organized by Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
." Monsieur married again in 1671 to Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...
, who, like Henrietta, was descended from Mary, Queen of Scots, sharing James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
as a common ancestor. Monsieur and the "new Madame" would have a further two surviving children.
Henrietta's eldest daughter Marie Louise died like her mother at the age of 26 in Spain in 1689. The circumstances of her death were almost identical to those of her mother's death, and she was also believed to have been poisoned. Anne Marie married in 1684 and was the mother of some eight children, the eldest of which, Princess Maria Adelaide, was the mother of Louis XV. She also died at the age of 26. Monsieur himself would die in 1701. Her descendants include Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist
Orléanist
The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...
pretender to the French throne, the king of Spain
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
, the king of the Belgians
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, the grand duke of Luxembourg
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg OIH is the head of state of Luxembourg. He is the eldest son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. His maternal grandparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden...
and the pretender to the Italian throne
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, formerly Crown Prince of Italy is the only son of the Umberto II, the last King of Italy. He is commonly known in Italy as Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia...
.
Issue
- Marie Louise d'Orléans (26 March 1662 – 12 February 1689) married Charles II of SpainCharles II of SpainCharles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
, no issue. - Philippe Charles d'OrléansPhilippe Charles, Duke of ValoisPhilippe Charles d'Orléans, petit-fils de France, Duke of Valois was a French prince and Grandson of France. He was created Duke of Valois at the time of his birth. He was a short lived nephew of Louis XIV.-Biography:...
, Duke of Valois (16 July 1664 – 8 December 1666). - Stillborn daughter (9 July 1665).
- Anne Marie d'Orléans (27 August 1669 – 26 August 1728) married Victor Amadeus II, Duke of SavoyVictor Amadeus II of SardiniaVictor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy but Victor Amadeus soon broke away...
(future king of Sardinia) and had issue.
Ancestors
Titles and styles
- 16 June 1644 – 31 March 1661 Her Royal Highness Princess Henrietta of England
- 31 March 1661 – 30 June 1670 Her Royal Highness Madame, Duchess of Orléans
In Film & Television
- In the 2003 mini-series, Charles II: The Power & The Passion, Henrietta is played by Anne-Marie DuffAnne-Marie DuffAnne-Marie Duff is an English actress best known for playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, and Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen.-Early life:...
- In the 2009 filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Broadside, Henrietta is played by Jessica Clarke - In the 2010 short film, Minette, Henrietta is played by Jenna Brighton
External links
- Funeral oration of Henriette d'Angleterre, Duchess of Orléans by Bossuet
- Henriette d'Angleterre at Genealogics