Henrietta Maria

by Leanda de Lisle

First published 2022

Amazon

4.0(87)

Leanda de Lisle re-examines Henrietta Maria, the French Catholic princess who married Charles I in 1625 and became queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland. The biography challenges hostile contemporary and later portrayals of her as a foreign Catholic influence responsible for her husband’s political failures. It follows her court, patronage, family relationships and increasingly active participation in the conflicts surrounding Charles’s monarchy.

When civil war began, Henrietta Maria raised money and arms, negotiated abroad and became a visible Royalist political actor before prolonged exile separated her from Charles. De Lisle continues beyond the king’s execution to the queen’s later family conflicts and return to influence after the Restoration. The book therefore presents Henrietta Maria across several political phases rather than reducing her life to the role of Charles I’s controversial wife.