Born -26th November 1609
Died – 10th September 1669
Father – Henri IV of France (1553 – 1610)
Mother – Marie de Medici (1575 – 1642)
Spouse – m. 1625 – King Charles I (1600 – 1649)
Children – Charles (1629), King Charles II 1630 – 1685), Mary (1631 – , King James II (1633 – 1701), Elizabeth (1635 – 1650), Anne (1637 – 1640), Catherine (1639), Henry (1640 – 1660), Henrietta (1644 – 1670)
Queen Consort of England – 1625 – 1649
1609 (26th November)
Henrietta Maria of France was born to King Henri IV of France and Marie de Medici at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France.
1610 (14th May)
Henrietta Maria’s father was fatally stabbed by Francois Ravaillac as he travelled through Paris in his carriage.
1610 (14th May)
Henrietta Maria’s nine year old brother succeeded to the throne of France as King Louis XIII. Her mother, Marie de Medici acted as regent for the young king.
1610 (1st July)
Henrietta Maria’s father was buried in the Basilica of St Denis in Paris.
1611 (17th November)
Henrietta Maria’s brother, Nicolas Henri, died at the age of 4 years.
1615 (24th November)
In a double wedding ceremony, Henrietta Maria’s brother Louis married Anne of Austria and her sister Elisabeth married Prince Philip of Spain.
1619 (10th February)
Henrietta Maria’s sister, Christine Marie, married Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy.
1624 (February)
Having failed to win the hand of Maria Anna of Spain, Prince Charles of England determined to find a French bride and make war against the Habsburgs and Spain. Although Charles had the support of the English Parliament, his father, King James I, refused to declare war on Spain.
1625 (27th March)
Prince Charles of England became King Charles I after his father died after contracting dysentery.
1625 (1st June)
Henrietta Maria married King Charles I of England by proxy at Notre Dame in Paris, France.
1625 (13th June)
Henrietta Maria married King Charles I of England at St Augustine’s Church, Canterbury, Kent. The marriage was not popular because she was a Catholic. Under the terms of the marriage it was agreed that Henrietta Maria could remain a catholic but their children were to be raised as Protestants.
1625 (Summer)
Charles signed a decree that Henrietta would be known as Queen Mary. Henrietta did not like the name Mary and always signed her name as Henriette R.
1626 (2nd February)
Charles was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. Henrietta Maria refused to take part in the ceremony because it was a Protestant ritual and was therefore not crowned Queen.
1626 (July)
Henrietta Maria caused controversy and ill feeling after she stopped to pray for Catholics who had died at Tyburn.
1626 (26th June)
Charles and his wife had quarrelled for much of their first year of marriage about her religion and her household. In a bid for a better relationship with his wife, Charles dismissed most of her French attendants.
1628 (23rd August)
Charles’s favourite, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was assassinated. Charles was distraught, but the death of his friend led him to turn to Henrietta Maria for support and the two became closer.
1629 (13th May)
A son, Charles, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at Greenwich Palace. He died soon after birth.
1630 (during)
A doctor, Alexander Leighton, was flogged and imprisoned for life for criticising Henrietta Maria.
1630 (29th May)
A son, Charles, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London. He was created Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay.
1631 (4th November)
A daughter, Mary Henrietta, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London.
1632 (during)
Henrietta Maria ordered a new Catholic chapel to be built at Somerset House.
1633 (18th June)
Charles was crowned King of Scotland at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh. He upset many Scottish lords by insisting that his coronation follow Anglican tradition.
1633 (14th October)
A son, James, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London. He was created Duke of York at birth.
1635 (29th December)
A daughter, Elizabeth, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London.
1636 (during)
The new Catholic chapel at Somerset House was completed. Although it was plain outside it was very richly decorated inside. The opening of this chapel caused alarm to Protestants and parliament.
1637 (during)
Charles ordered that the Book of Common Prayer be used in all Scottish churches. It was widely resisted by the Scottish clergy and people.
1637 (17th March)
A daughter, Anne, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London.
1639 (29th June)
A daughter, Catherine, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London. She died later that day.
1640 (8th July)
A son, Henry, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at St James’s Palace, London. He was created Duke of Gloucester from birth.
1640 (5th November)
Henrietta Maria’s daughter, Anne, died of consumption at Richmond Palace.
1641 (2nd May)
Henrietta Maria’s daughter, Mary, married William, Prince of Orange.
1641 (22nd October)
A Catholic rebellion broke out in Ulster and quickly spread across the country. The Irish Catholics referred to themselves as the ‘Queen’s Army’ giving the impression that Henrietta Maria had sanctioned their action. This was used by many opponents of Charles and the monarchy to show that she was meddling in English politics.
1642 (4th January)
With Henrietta Maria’s encouragement Charles instructed his attorney-general to issue a charge of treason against one peer and five members of the Commons including Pym and Hampden. When Parliament refused to recognise the charge, Charles sent a troop of horsemen to make the arrests. However, Parliament had been warned and the five men had fled. This move by Charles was extremely unpopular and across the country people declared themselves for Parliament and against Popery.
1642 (10th January)
Charles removed himself and his family from Whitehall to Hampton Court.
1642 (13th February)
King Charles Henrietta Maria accompanied her daughter, Mary to The Hague for her marriage to Prince William of Orange. While in the Netherlands Henrietta Maria raised funds to support Charles’s battle against Parliament.
1643 (February)
Henrietta Maria returned to England landing at Bridlington, Yorkshire. She brought with her, funds, troops and arms from continent.
1643 (March)
Henrietta Maria’s chapel at Somerset House was destroyed by order of Parliament.
1643 (14th May)
Henrietta Maria’s brother, King Louis XIII of France, died. He was succeeded by his son, Louis XIV.
1643 (July)
Henrietta Maria joined Charles and her two eldest sons at Oxford. She lived in Merton College during her stay in Oxfors.
1644 (April)
The Civil War was going badly for Charles so for her own safety, Henrietta Maria, seven months pregnant, went to Exeter.
1644 (16th June)
A daughter, Henrietta Anne, was born to Charles and Henrietta Maria at Bedford House, Exeter, England. She was known as Minette.
1644 (14th July)
Fearing that she would be taken hostage by the Earl of Essex, Henrietta Maria left her daughter in the care of a friend and returned to France. In France whe was granted a pension and lived with her youngest daughter, Henrietta Anne.
1644 (6th October)
Henrietta Maria’s sister, Elisabeth, died in Madrid, Spain.
1645 (during)
Henrietta Maria maintained communication with Charles by letter and continued to raise funds and support for him.
1646 (during)
With the Civil War in England going badly for the Royalists, Henrietta Maria’s eldest son, Charles, heir to the English throne, joined his mother in France.
1649 (30th January)
Charles I was executed after being found guilty of treason. Henrietta Maria was deeply shocked when she learned of his execution.
1649 (after 30th January)
Many English Royalists joined Henrietta Maria in France. They became known as the ‘Louvre Group’.
1651 (during)
Henrietta Maria founded the Visitation Convent Chapel at Chaillot, France.
1650 (8th September)
Henrietta Maria’s daughter, Elizabeth, died in prison at Carisbrooke Castle.
1652 (during)
Henrietta Maria’s son, Henry joined his mother in France.
1660 (2nd February)
Henrietta Maria’s brother, Gaston, died in France.
1660 (May)
Henrietta Maria’s eldest son, Charles, was invited to return to England as King.
1660 (Summer)
Henrietta Maria returned to England and made her home at Somerset House, London. She was referred to as the Queen Mother and was granted a payment of £30,000 for the loss of her possessions during the Civil War.
1660 (3rd September)
Henrietta Maria’s son, James, married a heavily pregnant Anne Hyde, daughter of the Duke of Clarendon. Henrietta had tried to dissuade James from making the marriage which she saw as beneath her son.
1660 (13th September)
Henrietta Maria’s son, Henry, died of smallpox.
1660 (24th December)
Henrietta Maria’s daughter, Mary, died of smallpox.
1661 (31st March)
Henrietta Maria went to France to attend the marriage of her daughter, Henrietta to Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Orleans.
1662 (during)
Henrietta Maria returned to England.
1662 (21st May)
Henrietta Maria’s son, Charles, married Catherine of Braganza at the Church of Thomas a Becket in Portsmouth.
1665 (during)
Henrietta Maria left England for France, possibly to escape the Great Plague.
1669 (10th September)
Henrietta Maria died from an overdose of opiates. She had taken the drug on the advice of her brother’s doctor.
Published Aug 17, 2018 @ 12:05 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page::
Heather Y Wheeler. (2018 – 2020). Henrietta Maria of France 1609 – 1669. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/henrietta-maria-of-france-1609-1669. Last accessed [date]