Charles I and Henrietta Maria

Wedding of Charles I and Henrietta Maria

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On 11th May 1625 Charles I and Henrietta Maria, the youngest sister of Louis XIII of France, were married by proxy, at Notre Dame Cathedral.

The match signalled Britain’s firm alignment with France against Habsburg Spain, and promised well for future relations between the two countries.

After the proxy marriage, Henrietta sailed to England, and their official Wedding Ceremony took place on 13th June 1625, at St. Augustine's Church, Canterbury, Kent.

The match was controversial from the start, and the marriage celebrations were fraught with tensions.

Despite her marriage to the king of England, Henrietta Maria would never be crowned queen.

She remained a devout Catholic all her life, and refused to be coronated as the coronation service was a Protestant one.

The Wedding preparations were further disrupted, by the sudden death of James I and an outbreak of the plague, which prevented large-scale public celebrations in London.

The unpredictable British weather also played its part, hindering the celebrations further.

Henrietta Maria was aged fifteen at the time of her marriage, to the 24 year old Charles, which was not unusual for royal princesses of the period.

Opinions on her appearance vary, she has been described as having~

"long and lean arms, her shoulders uneven, and some of her teeth were coming out of her mouth like tusks.

She did, however, have pretty eyes, nose, and a good complexion"

The new queen brought with her a huge quantity of expensive possessions, including jewellery, ornate clothes, 10,000 livres worth of plate, chandeliers, pictures and books.

She was also accompanied by a large and costly retinue, including her ladies-in-waiting, twelve priests, and her pages.

Charles blamed the poor start to his marriage on these advisors, primarily her principal confidante Madame St. George.

He ordered their dismissal on 26th June 1626, greatly upsetting Henrietta Maria.

Some refused to leave, and in the end, they were physically ejected from court.

Henrietta Maria managed to retain her chaplain, and seven of her French staff.

Although the marriage between Charles and Henrietta did not start very well, the couple became closer, and they eventually had nine children.

Ultimately Henrietta Maria’s overt Catholic sympathies, and her political meddling played their part in the rift during the 1630s.

This led towards the conflict between the monarch and Parliament, which would eventually lead to the Civil War.

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Source~ Wikipedia

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders

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Charles I and Henrietta Maria, with Prince Charles and Princess Mary ~ Anthony van Dyck 1632.

Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018