Born as Henriette-Marie de Bourbon, Princess of France, I was the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France and Maria of Medici and the sister of the future Louis XIII of France. My father was killed before I was one; my mother was banished in 1617.
I was born at the Louvre Palace and brought up as a Roman Catholic. This made me an unpopular choice of wife for the English King, whom I married by proxy on May 11, 1625, shortly after his accession to the throne. We were married in person at St Augustine's Church, Canterbury, Kent, on June 13, 1626. However, my religion made it impossible for me to be crowned with my husband in an Anglican service. Initially our relationship was cold. I had brought many servants with me from France, all of them Catholic, and all costing the King a lot of money to maintain. Eventually Charles sent this retinue home, only allowing me to retain my chaplain and two ladies in waiting. Finding me sadly watching the retinue depart for France at the window of a palace, Charles angrily and forcibly dragged me away. Charles had intended to marry a daughter of Philip III of Spain, but a mission to Spain in 1623 had failed. Every time the two would meet, they would start arguing, and would separate, not seeing each other for weeks. They would meet again, and have to separate again, because they could not stop arguing.
I was not close to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, the King's favourite. However, after Buckingham was murdered by John Felton in August 1628, my relationship with Charles improved and we finally found deep bonds of love and affection. My refusal to give up my Catholic faith alienated me from many of the people and certain powerful courtiers such as William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. Charles, on the other hand, had definite leanings towards Catholicism, and, once he had reached maturity, did not share his father's sexual ambivalence.
I increasingly took part in national affairs as the country moved towards open conflict through the 1630s. I allied with Puritan courtiers to deflect a diplomatic approach to Spain and sought a coup to pre-empt the Parliamentarians. As war approached I was active in seeking funds and support for my husband, but my concentration on Catholic sources like Pope Urban VIII and the French angered many in England and hindered Charles' efforts.
In August 1642, when the conflict began, I was in Europe. I continued to raise money for the Royalist cause, and did not return to England until early 1643. I landed at Bridlington in Yorkshire with troops and arms, and joined the Royalist forces in northern England, making my headquarters at York. I remained with the army in the north for some months before rejoining the King at Oxford. The collapse of the king's position following Scottish intervention on the side of Parliament, and his refusal to accept stringent terms for a settlement led me to flee to France with my sons in July 1644. Charles was executed in 1649, leaving me almost destitute.
I settled in Paris, appointing as my chancellor the eccentric Sir Kenelm Digby. I angered both Royalists in exile and my eldest son by attempting to convert my youngest son, Henry, to Catholicism. I returned to England following the Restoration in October 1660 and lived as 'Dowager Queen' at Somerset House in London until 1665 when I returned permanently to France. My financial problems were resolved by a generous pension. I founded a covent at Chaillot, where I settled.
I died on September 9th 1669 at Chateau de Colombes, and was buried in the royal tombs at Saint Denis Basilica near Paris. My heart was placed in a silver casket and buried in Chaillot. It bears the inscription: Henrietta Maria, Queen of England, France, Scotland and Ireland, daughter of the King of France Henry IV the Victorious, wife of Charles I the Martyr and mother of the restored Charles II.
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