As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.

Home / People / Catherine of Braganza

Historical person

Catherine of Braganza

1638–1705

Catherine of Braganza was the Portuguese princess who became queen consort of Charles II of England. Her marriage brought a substantial dowry and diplomatic alliance, but she faced anti-Catholic hostility, infertility and the public presence of the king’s mistresses.

Catherine of Braganza also held the offices or ranks of Infanta of Portugal, Queen Consort of Scotland, Consort of England, and Consort of Scotland. Catherine of Braganza belonged to the House of Braganza; House of Stuart and operated within Kingdom of Portugal; Kingdom of England. Catherine of Braganza was born in Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa and died in Palácio da Bemposta.

Jean Plaidy’s The Merry Monarch’s Wife makes Catherine of Braganza the emotional centre of Charles II’s marriage, following a Catholic Portuguese queen forced to negotiate childlessness, public mistresses and a court in which her political usefulness was constantly measured against the succession. A Health Unto His Majesty tells the same reign more broadly but keeps Catherine’s marriage among the personal relationships complicating Charles’s effort to stabilise the restored monarchy. Susanna Gregory’s The Piccadilly Plot brings Catherine into the political world of Restoration conspiracy and court danger, while Antonia Fraser’s King Charles II places her beside the king’s mistresses, ministers and religious problems in biography. Linda Porter’s Mistresses explicitly contrasts Catherine’s position as childless queen with the influence of the women who bore Charles illegitimate children.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Catherine of Braganza (3 series)

Thomas Chaloner in Order

by Susanna Gregory 15 books 4.3(11,693)

The Thomas Chaloner mysteries follow a former Commonwealth intelligencer attempting to survive after the restoration of Charles II. Employed by the Earl of Clarendon, Chaloner works inside a court that distrusts his Parliamentarian past, investigating murder, corruption and political conspiracy in London during the first turbulent years of…

All books in this series

The Stuarts in Order

by Jean Plaidy 7 books 4.3(2,560)

The Stuart novels explore the dynasty from the restoration of Charles II through the Revolution of 1688 and the early eighteenth-century struggle over succession. Court intrigue, royal favourites, hidden marriages and confessional rivalry reveal a monarchy repeatedly threatened by its own family divisions.

All books in this series

A Queens of England Novel in Order

by Jean Plaidy 11 books 3.9(21,484)

The Queens of England novels dramatise the lives of royal women from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Queen Victoria. Each volume concentrates on a queen, consort or claimant whose marriages, loyalties and private ambitions were inseparable from dynastic politics, religious conflict and the exercise of monarchy.

All books in this series

Standalone books

Standalone books featuring Catherine of Braganza (1 book)

Non Fiction

Non Fiction featuring Catherine of Braganza (1 book)

Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.