Henrietta Maria

May 16, 2022
Historian de Lisle (Tudor) delivers a persuasive revisionist biography of Queen Henrietta Maria (1609–1669). Challenging depictions of Henrietta Maria as the “popish brat” who caused the English Civil War by turning her husband, King Charles I, Catholic, de Lisle describes her as a “warrior and a wit” who survived to see her son, Charles II, restored to the throne in 1660. The youngest daughter of French king Henry IV and Marie de’ Medici, Henrietta Maria was taught from a young age “that women had an important role to play in making the world a better place, containing male violence and inspiring a more refined way of living.” Only 15 years old when she became queen, Henrietta Maria’s relationship with Charles was initially distant and grew closer over time. She gave birth to nine children and formed alliances and rivalries with key historical figures including Cardinal Richelieu and painter Anthony Van Dyck. When parliamentarian forces pushed the royalist army into retreat in 1644, Henrietta Maria sought refuge and financial and military aid for her husband in Europe, where she learned of Charles’s execution in 1649. Though dry at times, de Lisle’s accessible account identifies key players and themes and convincingly argues that Henrietta Maria has been unfairly maligned by historians. Readers will see these complex and tumultuous events in a new light.