17th Century England
Lesson 2: Meet the King and the main personalities.
The King's Family
Queen Henrietta Maria, or as she was known in England, Queen Mary, married King Charles I in 1625. A French Princess, Henrietta was staunchly Catholic and frequently aimed for conversions, though she knew her limits with her own Protestant husband and children.
Henrietta was by nature very blunt, impulsive and elegant. She was graceful in the way she walked and danced, despite being less than five foot high. She was prone to bouts of gloom and melancholy, but severe mood swings could also push her to bound with high energy and over excitment.
She remained tactless about politics and with politicians. She never understood the English political climate and her advice to Charles was almost always bad, but she did love her husband above anything else in the world.
Henrietta often seemed to be a hyperchondriac and had proverbial "bad luck at sea". She was, despite all this, a brave and energetic woman, always doing her utmost for her husband and trying her very best to uphold his authority and his own willpower in times of trouble. She acted as a mainstay for Charles who needed a stronger character to lean on, and found her essential.
Henrietta had six surviving children:
- Charles, Prince of Wales - became King Charles II
- James, Duke of York - Became King James II.
- Henry, Duke of Gloucester - died in 1660 from smallpox.
- Mary, Princess Royal - married the Prince of Orange.
- Elizabeth, died in Parliamentary custody in 1650.
- Henrietta Anne - married Phillipe, Duc D'Orleans, brother to King Louise XIV of France.
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