A divided marriage and a divided country.
Neither was born in England. Charles was a Protestant member of The Church of England whilst Henrietta Maria was a Roman Catholic. Neither was popular amongst a large section of the English and Scottish population whose religious commitment was to stricter forms of Protestantism.
In politics, as well as in religion, both countries were divided. Such divisions led to Civil War in 1642, and forced separations for the king and queen. Charles was executed in London in 1649 with only his two youngest children with him. His widow attempted to keep her children safe and, if possible, convert them to Catholicism.
She lost control of her youthful lad about town, Charles (II). Yet she returned to Restoration England after the return of Charles in 1660, only to escape poor English weather, for her health’s sake, in 1665 by returning home to Paris.
In the final analysis, neither Charles nor Henrietta Maria, by either temperament or upbringing, had the skills to deal with the crises of mid 17th century England.
Join William for a special extended lecture as he explores both the private and public people that were King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria.
William Tyler MBE is a superb communicator. He is a freelance educator, lecturer, public speaker, writer and consultant with a main focus on History. He was the Principal of The City Lit, Britain’s largest college of adult education. William is a Freeman of the City of London. In 2009 he was awarded his MBE for services to education.
