Henrietta Maria of France (Queen of England 1625 – 1649)

Henrietta Maria of France (French: Henriette Marie; 1609 – 1669) was queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I. She was mother of his two immediate successors, Charles II and James II.

Her Catholic religion made her unpopular in England, and also prohibited her from being crowned in an Anglican service; therefore she never had a coronation. She began to immerse herself in national affairs as civil war loomed on the horizon, and was compelled to seek refuge in France in 1644, following the birth of her youngest daughter, Henrietta, during the height of the First English Civil War. The execution of King Charles in 1649 left her impoverished. She settled in Paris, and then returned to England after the Restoration of her eldest son, Charles, to the throne. In 1665, she moved back to Paris, where she died four years later.

Father: Henry IV, King of France
Mother: Marie de’ Medici
Spouses:  Charles I, King of England

• Introduction – Part II
• Sunday 25 September 1644
• Thursday 18 August 1644
• 10 September 1641

• Wikipedia articles on Margaret of Valois

• Wikipedia for background, portrait.