Henrietta Maria 1609-69
French princess and Queen of England

Born at the Louvre, Paris, she was the youngest child of Henri IV of France. After his assassination (1610), she was brought up by her mother, Marie de M�dicis. She was married in 1625 to Charles I of Great Britain, and after the death of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628 the marriage became a true love match. Her French attendants and Roman Catholic beliefs made her unpopular, especially as she meddled in politics. In 1642, under the threat of impeachment, she fled to Holland and raised funds for the Royalist cause. A year later she returned and met Charles near Edgehill. In 1644 she gave birth to Henrietta Anne at Exeter, but two weeks later she fled again to France, never seeing her husband again. She paid two visits to England after the Restoration (1660-61, 1662-65) but spent her remaining years in France.

Bibliography: Quentin Bone, Henrietta Maria (1972)