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Wikipedia
Henrietta Anne of England, Duchess of Orléans (16 June Old Style 26 June New Style, 1644 – 30 June, 1670), in French Henriette d'Angleterre, known familiarly as Minette, was the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. The Jacobite claims to the throne following the death of Henry Benedict Stuart descend from her. After her marriage to Monsieur, Philippe de France, brother of king Louis XIV, she became known as Madame at court. Her descendants include Prince Henri, Count of Paris, the present Orléanist pretender to the French throne. She is also an ancestor of Juan Carlos I of Spain, Albert II, King of the Belgians, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, the pretender to the Italian throne.
[edit] Biography
[edit] England
Princess Henrietta of England was born at Bedford House[1], Exeter, at a time when the English Civil War was raging across the land. Her mother Queen Henrietta Maria, the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici, had fled London arriving in Exeter on May 1, 1644. Her mother was not expected to survive the birth.
After a particularly difficult birth, the princess was put in the care of Anne Villiers, Lady Dalkeith, the wife of Robert Douglas.
By 28th June, Queen Henrietta Maria had decided to flee England and left her daughter at Exeter still in the care of Lady Dalkeith. Arriving at Falmouth in mid July, the Queen was informed that the infant princess had been taken ill with convulsions. On 26 July, she met her father for the first time, Charles I of England. Prior to his arrival, the king ordered that the princess would be baptised in accordance with the Church of England; the princess was baptised Henrietta at Exeter Cathedral on 21st July. The Dean of Exeter, Dr Lawrence Burnell, officiated, and the Governor, Sir John Berkeley, Lady Dalkeith and Lady Poulett, acted as sponsors. A canopy of state was erected in honour of her dignity as a Princess of England.
Henrietta Anne (the "Anne" was added after she was baptized into the Catholic Church) was not reunited with her mother until she was two years old. After her father, Charles I of England, was beheaded in 1649, and a republic was proclaimed in England, Lady Morton brought her to France to live at the court of her cousin, King Louis XIV.
[edit] France
At the age of seventeen, Princess Henrietta married her first cousin, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, who was the younger son of her maternal uncle Louis XIII and the only brother of Louis XIV. The wedding was held at the Palais Royal chapel in Paris on 31 March 1661. By then her brother Charles II had been restored to the thrones of England and Scotland and therefore the marriage was even more politically advantageous. The marriage was unhappy, and her husband preferred the affections of his gentlemen, who vied with Henrietta for power[citation needed]. For this reason, the marriage may have been invalid under canon (and therefore French) law due to a lack of consent on the part of the Duke, and also on the grounds of consanguinity, assuming a valid papal dispensation had not been issued.
Louis XIV was very close to his sister-in-law, and the two may have been lovers[citation needed]. Louis' mourning of her after her death was even greater than that of Philippe, her husband, lending credence to that theory[citation needed]. However, Philippe was extremely jealous of his wife, possibly abusive, and paraded a succession of male lovers before her.
Popular at court, much to Philippe's annoyance, Henriette was known as a beautiful, witty and good-natured girl who enjoyed flirting. She soon attracted the attention of her husband's older brother. In order to hide their attraction from the king's mother and wife, Henriette and Louis invented the story that he was constantly in Henriette's company in order to be close to one of her ladies-in-waiting, Louise de La Vallière. Only later did Henriette realize that the ruse had been so successful that Louis had indeed begun an affair with Louise[2].
Reluctantly and somewhat bitterly, Henriette stepped aside. Later, she seems to have taken one of her husband's earlier conquests, the comte de Guiche, as a lover[3]. This caused all sorts of arguments at the Palais Royal, the Orléans residence in Paris.
[edit] The Chevalier de Lorraine
The favorites of Monsieur, invariably younger, handsome men, would dominate contemporary and historical commentary about his role at court, particularly with one man who shared his princely rank and much of his life:
Philippe de Lorraine was three years younger than Philip of Orléans. Insinuating, brutal and devoid of scruple, he was the great love of the life of Monsieur. He was also the worst enemy of the latter's two wives. As greedy as a vulture, this cadet of the French branch of the House of Lorraine had, by the end of the 1650s, hooked Monsieur like a harpooned whale. The young prince loved him with a passion that worried Madame Henrietta and the court bishop, Cosnac, but it was plain to the King that, thanks to the attractive face and sharp mind of the good-looking cavalier, he would have his way with his brother.[4]
Under these circumstances, it is no surprise that Monsieur's first marriage was not a happy one. In January 1670, his wife prevailed upon the King to imprison the chevalier, first near Lyon, then in the Mediterranean island-fortress of the Château d'If, and finally he was banished to Rome. But by February Monsieur's protests and pleas persuaded the King to restore him to his brother's entourage.
[edit] Later life
Today, Henrietta is best known through her correspondence with her brother King Charles II of England, with whom she was very close. With her brother, she helped to negotiate the Secret Treaty of Dover (1670), which was an offensive and defensive alliance between England and France. When she visited her brother at Dover, she was accompanied by one of her ladies-in-waiting, Louise de Kérouaille. The English king became fascinated with Louise. After Henrietta's death, Louise was appointed by Charles to become a lady-in-waiting to his wife, the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza, and became his mistress.
Henrietta died at the Château de Saint-Cloud, near Paris on 30 June 1670, just two weeks after the treaty was signed. At the time of her death, it was widely believed that Henrietta-Anne had been poisoned by friends of her husband’s jealous lover and exiled favourite, the Chevalier de Lorraine. An autopsy was performed, however, and it was reported that Henrietta-Anne had died of peritonitis caused by a perforated ulcer.[5] At her funeral, the well-known orator Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet conducted her eulogy, the famous Oraison funèbre d'Henriette d'Angleterre. Her widowed husband took Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate as his second wife; she was the daughter of Henrietta's first cousin.
- Her eldest daughter died without issue.
- Through her youngest daughter, Anne Marie d'Orléans, she is a direct ancestor of Louis XV and his descendants, the last Bourbon kings of France before the reign of Louis Philippe, King of the French, a descendant of her husband and his second wife.
[edit] Issue
Despite the marital dissension between Monsieur and Madame, several children were born of the union. Some believed at the time that the King was the real father of Henrietta's two daughters[citation needed]:
- Marie Louise d'Orléans (27 March 1662 – 12 February 1689),
- She was the first wife of Charles II of Spain;
- Philippe Charles d'Orléans, Duke of Valois[6], ( 16 July 1664 – 8 December 1666);
- A daughter born 9 July 1665 ; died soon after;
- Anne Marie d'Orléans (27 August 1669[7] – 26 August 1728),
- First wife of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, first King of Sardinia, whom she wed in 1684,
- ancestress of the Kings of Sardinia and Kings of Italy,
- through her derives the post-Stuart legitimist claim of the Jacobites to the English and Scottish thrones (though these would be invalid if her parents' marriage was invalid).
Henriette had four miscarriages, in 1663, 1666, 1667, 1668.[8]
By the time of the birth of Anne Marie, the couple was notorious for their constant arguing at court and at home in the Palais Royal.[9] Philippe now had a new lover, and many were aware of the great influence this man had over Philippe.
[edit] Ancestors
[edit] Titles, styles, honours and arms
[edit] Titles and styles
- 16 June, 1644 - 31 March, 1661 Her Royal Highness Princess Henrietta Anne of England
- 31 March, 1661 - 30 June, 1670 Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Orléans
[edit] In Film & Television
- In the 2003 mini-series, Charles II: The Power & The Passion, Henrietta is played by Anne-Marie Duff
- In the 2009 film, Broadside, Henrietta is played by Jessica Clarke
- In the 2010 short film, Minette, Henrietta is played by Jenna Brighton
[edit] References
- ^ At that time owned by the Russel family, Dukes of Bedford
- ^ Hartmann, Cyril Hughes (1954). The King, my brother. London: William Heinemann. OCLC: 2292261 ASIN: B000GBX3JS
- ^ Barker, Nancy Nichols, Brother to the Sun king: Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989.
- ^ Van der Cruysse, Dirk (1988) (in French). Madame Palatine, princesse européenne. Fayard. pp. 165. ISBN 2213022003. "Philippe de Lorraine était de trois ans le cadet de Philippe d'Orléans. Séduisant, brutal et dénué de scrupules, il fut le grand amour de la vie de Monsieur. Il fut aussi le pire ennemi des deux épouses de celui-ci... Rapace comme un vautour, ce cadet de la branche française de la maison de Lorraine avait mis dès la fin des années 1650 le grappin sur Monsieur comme on harponne une baleine. Le jeune prince l'aimait avec une fougue qui inquiétait Madame Henriette et Cosnac, mais qui fit comprendre au Roi que, grâce à la figure charmante et la tête bien organisée du joli chevalier, il aurait barre sur son frère."
- ^ Robinson, James, The History of Gastric Surgery, chapter 20, page 239. The History of Gastroenterology.
- ^ http://nygaard.howards.net/files/4/4031.htm Title of Valois
- ^ http://nygaard.howards.net/files/4/4031.htm Date of birth
- ^ Royal Genealogy, Information on Stuart, Henrietta Anne
- ^ ib. Barker, Nancy Nichols, Brother to the Sun king: Philippe, Duke of Orléans.
[edit] Titles
|
Henrietta Anne of England
Born: 26 June 1644 Died: 30 June 1670 |
||
| French royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Vacant Marguerite of Lorraine | Duchess of Orléans as spouse of Duke of Orléans 1661–1670 | Succeeded by Vacant<br/Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate |
Annotations
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Stuart, Henrietta Anne
Birth : 16 Jun 1644 Bedford House, Exeter, England
Father: Stuart, Charles I King of England
Mother: Bourbon, Henriette Marie
Marriage: 31 Mar 1661 in Paris, France
Spouse: Orleans, Philippe Duke of
Death : 30 Jun 1670 St. Cloud - poisonedShe appears to be Philippe’s second wife and the first wife lived into the next century.
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Henrietta actually was Philippe’s first wife. In 1671 he remarried Elisabeth Charlotte, daughter of Charles I of the Pfalz (son of the “Winter King” Frederick V and Elisabeth, sister of king Charles I). She was the famous “Liselotte” von der Pfalz, known for her intelligence and good companionship with Louis XIV.
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Yeah, I know, Michiel
Made the mistake and couldn’t figure out how to correct it. This is an unforgiving medium. -
Henrietta-Anne Stuart was left behind at Exeter when her mother fled to France, but her governess smuggled her to France in 1646, where she was raised Catholic. With a reputation for cleverness and beauty, she was married to Philippe d’Orleans in 1661. Shortly afterwards, the obvious attentions of both Buckingham and De Guiche did indeed arouse her husband’s jealousy, leading to both Buckingham and De Guiche being persuaded to leave the court. Their marriage, due to Philippe’s homosexuality and excessive
jealousy, was far short of successful. Before the king took La Valliere as his mistress, he was quite captivated by Henrietta, and it wasn’t
until the monarch’s attentions shifted to La Valliere that she became
receptive to De Guiche’s advances. In 1670 she was sent to England to
persuade Charles II to sign the Treaty of Dover, which he did, and was
poisoned to death on her return.from http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/soc/gutenberg/etext02/vbcom10.txt
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Henrietta Anne
Charles II was devoted to this sister, his beloved Minette, who was in some ways the one,true love of his life. He once confessed that she was the only woman who really had any influence over him.
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Henrietta in better days
http://www.abcgallery.com/V/vandyck/vandyck26.html
:
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Vincent, that looks like Henrietta-Maria rather than Henrietta-Anne.
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Portraits of Henrietta-Anne:
http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp03380
http://www.exeter.gov.uk/visiting/attractions/local_history/exeter_guildhall/history/portraits.xml
“The Unlucky Duchess of Orleans
“Henrietta Anne was the daughter of Charles I of England and Henrietta Marie from France. She was born in 1644 at Exeter and was exiled by Cromwell with her brother, Charles II. She was unlucky in her attempts to marry and was rejected by the Duke of Savoy and the de Medici heir of Tuscany.
“In 1661, the year after her brother was restored to the throne, she married Philippe, Duke of Orleans. The marriage was rather unfortunate. Philippe had been a pretty boy who liked dressing as a girl and helping the court ladies sew. As he grew older, his effeminacy and prettiness became more pronounced; he loved parties, gossip, jewels, fussy clothes and the tinkle of bells. Philippe remained amorous for only two weeks after his marriage, though the couple still had four children.”
“Henrietta died suddenly on 30 June 1670 aged only twenty-six. Poison was suspected and so was Philippe, but an investigation by the Duke of Montagu found that she had died of natural causes. Henrietta is buried at St. Denis, France.”
Source —
http://finmere.org.uk/history/pubs/newsletters/second/record3.htm -
Peter ‘Tis true I cannae read thanks :
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From Grammont’s footnotes
Henrietta, youngest daughter of Charles the First, born at Exeter, 16th June, 1644, from whence she was removed to London in 1646, and, with her governess, Lady Dalkeith, soon afterwards conveyed to France. On the Restoration, she came over to England with her mother, but returned to France in about six months, and was married to Philip, Duke of Orleans, only brother of Lewis XIV. In May, 1760, she came again to Dover, on a mission of a political nature, it is supposed, from the French king to her brother, in which she was successful. She died, soon after her return to France, suddenly, not without suspicion of having been poisoned by her husband. King James, in his Diary, says, “On the 22nd of June, the news of the Duchess of Orleans’ death arrived. It was suspected that counter-poisons were given her; but when she was opened, in the presence of the English ambassador, the Earl of Ailesbury, an English physician, and surgeon, there appeared no grounds of suspicion of any foul play. Yet Bucks talked openly that she was poisoned; and was so violent as to propose to foreign ministers to make war on France.” — Macpherson’s Original Papers, vol. i. At the end of Lord Arlington’s Letters are five very remarkable ones from a person of quality, who is said to have been actually on the spot, giving a particular relation of her death.
http://www.pseudopodium.org/repress/grammont/notes06.html see note 155
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Okay, she was NOT poisoned (even her biographer and contemporary, Madame de la Fayette, says that she initially suspected poison but later felt ashamed she had ever thought so). She died of a perforated ulcer. BUT this does not wholly exonerate Philippe of her death. We can be pretty sure he put that ulcer there.
Also, Louis XIV was NOT the father of any of her children. There is no evidence to suggest their relationship was anything more than a flirtation. And considering that, on her deathbed, Henriette still maintained her fidelity to Philippe, in the presence of her confessors no less, we can be well-assured that she never strayed.
Incidentally, my thesis film, which I am currently working on, is about her and the brief flirtation she had with le Comte de Guiche. My first cut (and related projects can be viewed here —> http://www.vimeo.com/album/48669