Henrietta of England

Henrietta Anne Stuart (June 16, 1644 - June 30, 1670) was the daughter of King Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria of France. She was born at Bedford House, Exeter. Two weeks after she was born, her mother the Queen, fled the country, leaving Henrietta in the care of Lady Villiars. 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.

She married Phillippe I of Orléans, the only brother of Louis XIV, King of France, at Chapel Palais Royal, in Paris on March 31, 1661. With her marriage, she became known to France as Madame and was the second most powerful woman in the country. She is best known for her assistance in the negociation of the Secret Treaty of Dover (1670), which was an offensive and defensive alliance between England and France. She died at the Palace of Saint-Cloud, near Paris on June 30, 1670. At the time of her death it was widely believed that Henrietta-Anne had been poisoned by her husband’s jealous lover, the Chevalier de Lorraine An autopsy was performed, and it was determined that Minette had died of peritonitis caused by a perforated ulcer.

Her children were:

• Marie Louise of Orléans (March 27, 1662 - February 12, 1689). On November 18, 1679, she married Charles II of Spain.
• Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois (July 16, 1664 - December 8, 1666)
• Anna Maria of Orléans (August 27, 1669 - August 26, 1728). On April 10, 1684 she married Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.
• She also had two miscarriages and gave birth to a still born daughter.

External link

• Ancestors of Philippe d'Orleans