Henrietta I: Difference between revisions
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| death_date = May 18, 1692
| death_place = London, [[United Kingdom]]
| resting_place = Westminster Abbey, London
| era = Late Stuart period
| term = 1667 - 1692
| predecessor = Charles II
| successor = [[William III]]
| spouse = William II of Orange (m. 1643-1650) </br> William Russell (m. 1661-1687)
| children =
| mother = Henrietta Maria of France
| father = Charles I of England
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==== Early years ====
She was born as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Princess_Royal_and_Princess_of_Orange Princess Mary Henrietta Stuart] in the month of November, 1631. Her father was King [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England Charles I] of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Her mother was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Maria_of_France Queen Henrietta Marie], a French princess, from whom she inherited distaste for the name 'Mary'.
During her childhood, she spent most of her time in the various palaces of London, most notably Hampton Court. The daughter of Lord Drummond, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Ker,_Countess_of_Roxburghe Countess of Roxburghe], was Henrietta's primary educator. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Stanhope,_Countess_of_Chesterfield Lady Stanhope] was her personal governess and close friend. Around the age of 10, her late French mother's confidantes attempted to convert the young Henrietta to Roman Catholicism. However, King Charles I quickly ended any enduring Catholic presence in the princess's life.
==== As Princess of Orange ====▼
She received her first marriage proposal from Prince William of Nassau, the future William II, in 1640. Initially arranged to wed the Prince of Asturias, William became the primary suitor after Henrietta refused to convert to Catholicism and move to [[Spain]]. [[File:Portret van Willem II (1626-1650), prins van Oranje, en zijn echtgenote Maria Stuart (1631-1660), SK-A-871.jpg|left|thumb|297x297px|1647 portrait of Henrietta and her husband, [[William II]], during their residency in The Hague.]]
==== Return to England ====▼
====
In 1642, chaos was brought upon London when several people objected to the engagement. Henrietta fled to [[Netherlands|the Netherlands]] with her mother, her governess, and several other members of her entourage.
She officially married William of Nassau in 1643 and consummated the marriage in 1644. As Princess Royal of England, she integrated into Dutch court life, earning the favour of several aristocrats and her aunt [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Stuart,_Queen_of_Bohemia Elizabeth of Bohemia]. Her relationship with her [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalia_of_Solms-Braunfels mother-in-law] was sour and tense, and thus preferred to keep a distance from her and other Hessians.
When her father-in-law died in 1647, she became Princess of Orange when her husband officially became William II of the Netherlands. Her brothers, the Prince of Wales (the future Charles II) and the Duke of York fled to The Hague and came under her protection. When Charles I of England was killed in 1648 and the House of Lords was abolished a year later, Henrietta accepted and accommodated several royalist refugees.
Shortly before she gave birth to her eldest son, the future [[William III]], her husband William II died of smallpox in 1650. A dispute began with her mother-in-law over young William's guardianship. Eventually, his guardianship was shared between Henrietta, her mother-in-law, and a distant relative, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William,_Elector_of_Brandenburg Duke of Prussia]. Now a widow and unpopular in the Netherlands, she resettled in Breda.
Her son was elected as statholder of Zeeland in 1652 but was strategically prevented from being elected in Holland. She vocally protested against the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Westminster_(1654) Treaty of Westminster] in 1654 but was ultimately ignored. Worried for her health, she toured Europe for the next six years. Henrietta visited Cologne, Frankfurt, and Paris. In Paris, she lived joyously with her mother and her sister, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_of_England Princess Anne].
When [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protectorate the Protectorate] was defeated and her brother became Charles II, she decided to remain in Paris. However, she decided to return to England with her mother and sister when her brother James, the Duke of York, tragically died of smallpox in 1660. Her son William, who was studying in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiden_University Leiden University], decided to spend a few months every year at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Oxford Oxford] in order to maintain contact with his mother and learn English. When Henrietta fell ill, William's close friend and Dutch physician Gerwin van Doorne successfully treated her sickness. Gerwin also engaged in a brawl with a French doctor employed by Queen Henrietta Marie, who was noted as medically incompetent and a proponent of hematolagnia.
She attracted the attention of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Russell,_Lord_Russell William Russell, Duke of Bedford]. Initially enemies and rivals due to their deeply contrasting political positions, they grew fond of each other. They married in 1661.
In 1664, Henrietta was vehemently opposed to the [[History of Europe#2nd Anglo-Dutch War (1664)|Anglo-Dutch War]]. She publicly announced her opposition in the court and spoke against the belligerent Sir [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_George_Downing,_1st_Baronet George Downing]. She temporarily became unpopular for her outspokenness, but was vindicated when England was defeated and incurred losses.
==== Coronation and early years ====
Charles II abruptly died in 1667. In Parliament, there was a general consensus to make Henrietta the new monarch. However, several lords distrusted Henrietta due to her French mother and 'abundant time spent among Catholics'. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Scott,_Duke_of_Monmouth Duke of Monmouth], the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, was presented as an alternative to the princess. However, the intervention of husband William Russell, Henrietta's son William, and others led to the Duke of Monmouth being permanently disqualified from the throne and exiled to The Hague.
Eventually, Henrietta was chosen as Queen and was suggested the regnal name Mary II. However, she despised the name Mary (like her mother, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Maria Henrietta Marie]) and instead pioneered the regnal name Henrietta. She was coronated on the ninth of April, 1667. Unfortunately, her lifelong governess and friend [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Stanhope,_Countess_of_Chesterfield Lady Stanhope] died moments after her coronation. It is said that Henrietta retained her composure until she reached her chambers, when she burst into sobs of sorrow.
Months after her ascension, she signed the [https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/hs8fsu/2nd_anglodutch_war_treaty_of_breda_1667_dutch/ Treaty of Breda], beginning a period of amicability between England and the Netherlands. In January of 1668, she married William Russell, Duke of Bedford.
===== [[History of Europe#Coronation of Queen Henrietta & The War of Devolution (1667)|War of Devolution]] =====
While fond of France, Queen Henrietta was appalled at the French invasion of the southern Netherlands. Johan de Witt, a Dutch pensionary, visited London and collaborated with Henrietta in order to form the Triple Coalition. Thus, England, the Netherlands, and Sweden opposed French belligerency and mediated the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in the summer of 1668, when France made significant gains in the Low Countries.
After the war, many people began slandering Henrietta's mother, Henrietta Marie of France. Distressed, she retired to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church,_Oxford Christ Church College] in Oxford to spend time with her grandson, William. In 1669, Henrietta Marie and William left for Paris, intending to stay for a few weeks. However, Henrietta Marie passed away due to bronchitis within days of arriving in France. After news of her death reached London, Queen Henrietta blamed the 'foulmouthed aristocrats and Machiavellian gentry' for her mother's death. In her honour, the Henrietta Regina Palace was constructed in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queenborough Queenborough], done in the Baroque style and finished in 1673.
==== Reign ====
===== Henrietta and Marie Louise =====
Henrietta's sister, Princess [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_of_England Henrietta Marie] of England and France, died in 1670. Her niece, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Louise_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans Marie Louise of Orléans], came to live in England in 1673. Her presence was objected to by Henrietta's husband William Russell, which became the source of several martial arguments. In 1679, the young Anglo-Dutch princess was betrothed to Carlos II of Spain. Terrified of his portraits and suspecting his impotency, she begged Henrietta to convince her father, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_I,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans Duke of Orléans], to allow her to marry someone else. It was successful, and Marie Louise married the pro-French [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_Carlo_Gonzaga,_Duke_of_Mantua_and_Montferrat Duke of Mantua].
== Family ==
* Father: Charles I of England
* Mother: Henrietta Maria of France
* Children:
** William III (1650-1712)
** Edward, Duke of Rothesay (1661-1663)
** Beatrice, Countess of Devon (1662-1703)
** James Piers, Earl of Kent (1663-1742)
* Siblings:
** Charles II (1630-1667)
*** James Scott, Duke of Monmouth (1649-1669; illegitimate)
** James, Duke of York (1633-1660)
** Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1640-1667)
*** Margaret, Countess of Somerset (1667-1739; illegitimate)
** Henrietta Anne, Princess of France (1644-1670)
*** Marie Louise, Duchess of Montferrat (1662-1716)
== Titles and honours ==
====
* 1631 - 1667: HRH the Princess Mary
* 1647 - 1667: HRH the Princess Royal
* 1667 - 1692: Her Majesty the Queen
The official style of Henrietta I as queen was "Henrietta, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.". However, many have informally referred to her as "Henrietta the First, Queen of England".
== See also ==
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