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Henriette Maria war das sechste und jüngste Kind von Maria de' Medici (1575-1642) und dem französischen König Heinrich IV. (1553-1610). Sie erblickte das Licht der Welt am 26. November 1609 und starb am 10. September 1669.
Ihre Nichte Sophie von der Pfalz berichtet uns, wie sie über die äußere Erscheinung ihrer englischen Tante dachte: "The fine portraits of Van Dyck had given me such an idea of the beauty of all English ladies, that I was surprised to find the Queen [Henriette Maria] (so beautiful in her picture) a little woman with long lean arms, crooked shoulders, and teeth protruding from her mouth like guns from a fort. Still, after careful inspection, I found she had beautiful eyes, a well-shaped nose, and an admirable complexion. … From that time forward I considered her quite handsome." (in: Memoirs of Sophia, Electress of Hanover: 1630-1680, id., p. 13).
Henriette Maria von Frankreich erhielt den Dispens zur Heirat mit dem anglikanischen Karl I. Stuart, dem König von England, vom Papst nur, weil sie versprach zu versuchen, ihn zum Katholizismus zu konvertieren und vielleicht hierdurch England wieder in den Schoß der einzig wahren Kirche zurückführen zu können. Als Katholikin war Henriette Maria in ihrem neuen Königreich sehr unbeliebt. Die katholische englische Königin Maria Tudor (1516-1558) war noch nicht vergessen worden. Henriette Maria, eine überzeugte Katholikin, ließ sich zudem nicht zur Königin krönen, denn sie war nur bereit, die Krone von einem katholischen Geistlichen entgegenzunehmen, wozu ihre englischen Untertanen nicht bereit waren. Die politische Situation im Königreich spitzte sich schließlich wegen der Glaubensfrage und des autoritären Führungsstils ihres Gatten so sehr zu, dass Henriette Maria im Jahr 1644 nach Frankreich fliehen musste. Erst im Jahr 1660 kehrte sie nach England zurück, das sie schließlich fünf Jahre später für immer verließ, um in ihrer Heimat, Frankreich, zu sterben.
Jeffrey Hudson wurde im Alter von sieben Jahren in Leicestershire entdeckt. Er war zu dieser Zeit ungefähr 46 cm groß. Die Königin Henriette Maria von Frankreich lernte er in diesem Jahr, also 1625, bei ihrer Hochzeit mit Karl I. Stuart kennen. Er gehörte zu den vielen Zwergen, die sich im Mittelalter bis zum 17. Jahrhundert hinein während der prächtigen Mahlzeiten in Pasteten verstecken mussten, um dann zur großen Überraschung der Gäste aus der Teigware (in seinem Fall mit einem kleinen Schwert) herauszuspringen. Jeffrey Hudson oder Sir Jeffrey Hudson galt als gut aussehend, amüsant und sehr loyal. Er brachte es übrigens letztendlich zu einer Größe von 1,14 m. Der Königin, die ebenfalls nicht besonders groß war - sie brachte es auf 1,47 m -, diente er bis zu ihrem Tod im Jahr 1669. Das Äffchen war sein Haustier, das sich stets bei ihm befand.
"Henrietta's wit was irrepressible and rather sharp, and her court was often filled with laughter, especially at the expense of outsiders, such as when a luckless foreign ambassador mistook Henrietta's dwarf, Jeffrey Hudson, for her eldest son. 'Becoming aware of this error too late, he apologized, which only made her Majesty and the others who were standing by laugh the more.' Two years later, the court ladies laughed 'for all the rest of the day' after another ambassador held forth pompously to the queen in Latin for more than an hour. Failing to understand a word, Henrietta could only give him 'a very concise and almost voiceless answer.'" (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 129).
"... 'She [Henriette Maria von Frankreich] hath eyes that sparkle like stars,' the English enthused; her face was 'a mirror of perfection.'" (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 57).
Für Henriette Maria von Frankreich war ihr Gatte der beste aller Männer: "gut, gerecht und weise", "ein König, ein Gatte und ein Freund", alles in einem. "The love between them was 'the admiration of all Europe'". (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 2).
Aber es war bei ihr, was ihren Gatten betraf, nicht die große Liebe auf den ersten Blick. "The Queen of England told me afterwards that in the beginning of her marriage she had some distaste to the king, her husband ..." (in: Memoirs of Madame de Motteville, Volume 1, id., p. 35).
Im März 1630 hatte ihr ihre Mutter, Maria de' Medici, ein Schmuckstück in Form eines Herzens geschenkt, das gegen Fehlgeburten schützen sollte und das Henriette Maria ihr ganzes Leben lang sehr schätzte. Hier im Bildnis hängt dieses Herz an einer Perlenkette: "Henrietta wore it around her neck all the time, 'for I fancy it brings me such good fortune that I am always afraid when I am without it."
Die erste Begegnung von Karl I. Stuart und Henriette Maria von Frankreich in Dover: "He [Karl I. Stuart] arrived in the castle while Henrietta was still at breakfast. Abandoning her food, she rushed downstairs to meet him. It was a moment of real romance. Falling to her knees, the young queen kissed her husband's hand. 'Sire,' she said, speaking in French, in which Charles was fluent, 'I am come to this land for Your Majesty, to be used and commanded by you.' But Charles would have none of this submission. At once he lifted her, wrapped her tightly in his arms, and kissed her over and over, 'with all the tenderness which an immaculate and unspotted affection could express.' Everyone was moved by the couple's open display of affection, their 'pure and unfeigned caressments.' This was a true meeting of souls, they said: you could almost see the two young lovers' hearts flying out through 'the windows of their eyes' to fix 'themselves in each other's bosom.'" (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 53).
Von der französischen Hofdame von Anna von Spanien/Österreich, Madame de Motteville, erfahren wir Folgendes über die Königin: "She was agreeable in society, courteous, pleasant and easy to get along with; living without the slightest ceremony among those who had the honor of being near her. Her temperament was inclined toward mirth; and among her tears, if something amusing occurred to her, she would somehow stop crying to entertain the company." ... "All in all, 'she made herself loved by everyone'". (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 4).
Lesetipp: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. New York and London 2010
Die Situation für das Königspaar in England war im Jahr 1641 bereits sehr kritisch. Besonders Henriette Maria war von den puritanischen Politikern im Parlament unter schwerem Beschuss. Sie wurde als Erzfeind Nummer 1 betrachtet, die im englisch-schottischen Königreich den Katholizismus wieder einführen wollte und die das Parlament und die Freiheit des englischen und des schottischen Volkes aufzuheben trachtete. An ihre Schwester Christine, der Herzogin von Savoyen, schrieb sie Folgendes: "I swear to you, I am almost mad at the sudden change in my fortune ... Imagine my condition at seeing the king deprived of power, the Catholics persecuted, the priests scattered, our loyal servants removed from us and pursued for their life for having endeavored to serve the king, and me kept here like a prisoner, forbidden even to follow the king who is leaving for Scotland, and with no one in the world to whom I can tell my afflictions, and knowing withal that I must not show any resentment at it. ... The king leaves the day after tomorrow if the Parliament does not restrain him by force; they threaten to. God help us: we need of it." (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 215).
"Henrietta was fast becoming the villain she would remain in Protestant English history: 'a papist, a French lady of haughty spirit,' who ... had applied 'her great wit and parts' to stir the king's 'violent purpose' against his subjects, producing 'sad desolations.' Charles 'was enslaved in his affection only to her, though she had no more passion for him than what served to promote her designs,' wrote the Puritan memoirist Lucy Hutchinson. 'Nothing but the mercy of God prevented the utter subversion of Protestantism in the three kingdoms [England, Schottland und Irland].' On Sunday, January 9 [1642], the most fearsome news reached Whitehall: the MPs were preparing 'to accuse Her Majesty of high treason.' Already there were articles ready to 'be put into Parliament against her' when the Commons returned to Westminster in two days' time. ... He [Karl I. Stuart] and Henrietta could afford to remain at Whitehall no longer. [Sie flohen mit ihren älteren Kindern Karl II., Maria und Jakob zuerst nach Windsor; die jüngeren Kinder Elisabeth und Heinrich blieben im St. James's Palast zurück.] They [Karl I. Stuart und seine Frau] agreed that it was not safe for Henrietta to remain in England, facing an imminent treason charge. 'Parliament's violence was so great against me that I had to flee to be sure of my own life,' Henrietta told her sister Christine, Duchess of Savoy: 'they said publicly that a queen was merely a subject and she could be punished like any other. Yet it is not the fear of death that has made me leave, but of a prison separating me from the king which I avow would have been more insupportable than death.'" [Henriette Maria floh mit ihrer Tochter Maria nach Holland.] [Ihr Abschied von ihrem Gatten am 25. Februar 1642:] ... down on the seafront, the royal couple said their sad farewells. Charles, 'deeply moved ... did not know how to tear himself away.' For a long time, he remained near Henrietta, 'conversing with her in sweet discourse and affectionate embraces.' Neither could 'restrain their tears,' lost as they were in 'extreme regret and grief.' Finally, 'after many kisses, many tears,' they drew apart. Henrietta stepped into the royal barge and rowed out to the flotilla's flagship, the Lion ... While Henrietta looked back toward England, Charles mounted his horse and followed her ship eastward along the coast ... At last, when Henrietta's figure disappeared from sight, he lifted his hat and 'waved it around several times, bidding her a very affectionate but very sad and painful adieu.' [Henriette Maria kam noch einmal in den Jahren 1643 und 1644 zu ihm zurück, um dann endgültig nach Frankreich zu flüchten und zwar kurz nach der Geburt ihres letzten Kindes, ihrer Tochter Henriette Anna, am 16. Juni 1644.] Leaving her tiny baby with a little household of caregivers, Henrietta left Exeter in disguise. For more than a week, she was carried in a litter almost to the farthest end of Cornwell ... On July 14 [1644], she sailed for France, even as Charles's northern army was being destroyed in the Battle of Marston Moor." (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., pp. 229-230/234/239/248). Letztendlich war Henriette Anna ihr einziges Kind, das bei ihr in Frankreich aufwuchs. Sie muss also kurze Zeit später zu ihr geschickt worden sein.
Henriette Maria in Frankreich im Jahr 1644, beschrieben von der Hofdame der französischen Regentin Anna, Madame de Motteville: "They [ihre Schwägerin Anna von Spanien/Österreich, die Witwe ihres ältesten Bruders, des französischen Königs Ludwig XIII., und ihr jüngster Bruder Gaston, der Herzog von Orléans] took the English queen to lodge in the Louvre, which was then unoccupied; and for a country-house they gave her Saint-Germain. As the king's [Ludwigs XIV.] affairs were in good condition the wars had not yet ruined the royal finances, they gave her a pension of ten or twelve thousand crowns a month, so that in all things she had great reason to praise the queen. The Queen of England was much disfigured by the severity of her illness [Folgen der letzten Geburt ihrer Tochter Henriette Anna] and her misfortunes, no trace remaining of her past beauty. Her eyes were fine, her complexion admirable, and her nose well-shaped. There was something so agreeable in her face that it made her beloved by every one, but she was thin and short; her figure was even deformed, and her mouth, never handsome naturally, was now, from the thinness of her face, too large. I have seen her portraits, done in the days of her beauty, which show that she was very pleasing; but as that beauty lasted but the space of a morning and left her before her midday, she was accustomed to declare that no woman could be handsome after twenty-two years of age. To complete the presentation of her such as I saw her, I must add that she had infinite wit, and a brilliant mind which pleased all spectators. She was agreeable in society, honourable, gentle, and easy; living with those who had the honour to approach her without ceremony. Her temperament inclined her to gaiety; and even amid her tears, if it occurred to her to say something amusing, she would stop them to divert the company. The almost continual suffering she endured gave her much gravity and contempt for life, which, to my thinking, made her more solid, more serious, more estimable than she might have been had she always been happy. She was naturally liberal; and those who knew her in prosperity assured us she had exhausted her wealth in doing good to those she loved. Her favourite, who, so the public said, had a share in the misfortunes of England, was a rather worthy man, of gentle mind which seemed very narrow and more fitted for petty things than great ones. He had the fidelity towards her which ministers usually have; he wanted money, before all else, to meet his expenses, which were large. The princess no doubt had too much confidence in him, but it is true that he did not govern her absolutely; she often had a will quite contrary to his, which she maintained as the absolute mistress. She supported her opinions with strong reasons, but they were accompanied with a charm, a raillery that pleased and corrected the signs of haughtiness and courage which she had shown in the principal actions of her life. She lacked the great and noble knowledge which is acquired by reading. Her misfortunes had repaired that defect, for grievous experience had given her capacity. We saw her in France lose the tottering crown she still wore, lose the king her husband by a dreadful death, and suffer with constancy the adversities it pleased God to sent her." (in: Memoirs of Madame de Motteville, Volume 1, id., pp. 121-123).
In ihrem Exil in Frankreich kämpfte Henriette Maria seit 1644 für ihren Gatten, indem sie sich an den Papst in Rom, an ihre Familien in Frankreich, Lothringen und den Niederlanden und an die Irländer wandte, um um finanzielle und militärische Hilfe für ihren Gatten zu bitten. Aber Karl I. Stuart hatte kein Glück auf dem Kriegsfeld. "... his southern army was defeated at the Battle of Naseby. 'Bodies lay slain about four miles in length, the most thick on the hill where the king stood.' Almost his entire force was killed or captured, along with the artillery and baggage train. Many of his commanders now talked of abandoning the cause." (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 249).
[Im Jahr 1642 war die englische Königin Henriette Maria von Frankreich in Holland]: "Twelve-year-old Princess Sophie [von der Pfalz] had discovered that the Queen of England was by no means as lovely as the brush of Vandyk represented. Her court painter had disguised the facts that her Majesty's shoulders were not quite even and teeth projected." (in: Carola Oman: Elizabeth of Bohemia, id., p. 357).
Als Henriette Maria von der Hinrichtung ihres Gatten erfuhr: "The intelligence of the execution of Charles I. was communicated to her on the 19th of month [of February 1649]. In her dreary lodging at the Louvre, Henrietta [Henriette Maria] had worn her heart out in miserable suspense ... Henrietta was in bed, pale and despairing; according to etiquette, daylight was excluded from the apartment, around which a few tapers dismally glimmered. On seeing Madame de Motteville [Hofdame ihrer Schwägerin Anna von Spanien/Österreich, der franzöischen Königin], Henrietta stretched out her hand, and drawing her close, gave her an emphatic message to deliver to Queen Anne. 'Tell her Majesty,' said she, 'in what miserable condition you leave me. Say to her, that the death of the King my lord, which renders me evermore the most wretched woman in existence, befell him because he never heard the truth; therefore I counsel her not to irritate her people, unless she is positive of possessing power to subjugate them. Tell her Majesty that the people, when roused, is like a ferocious beast, which can never be tamed, as my poor lord the King, experienced. ... Speak to her Majesty openly and truly: it is the greatest service that you can render to her! Ah, madame, tell the Queen that I have lost my King, my husband, my most tender friend!'" (in: Martha Walker Freer: The Regency of Anna of Austria - Queen Regent of France, Mother of Louis XIV, From numerous unpublished sources, including M88. in the Bibliothèque Impériale, and the Archives du Royaume de France, etc., etc., Vol. 2, id., pp. 115-116).
Henriette Maria hatte die Enthauptung ihres Gatten nicht verhindern können. Sie hatte ihm versucht zu helfen, militärisch und finanziell und als Ratgeberin. Aber er schien nicht den Willen gehabt zu haben, oder sein Gewissen ließ es nicht zu, radikal gegen seine Feinde vorzugehen. "Henrietta was furious when she heard what he [ihr Gatte] had conceded: 'With the granting [of] the militia [to Parliament's control], you have cut your own throat; for having given them this power, you can no longer refuse them anything, not even my life, if they demand it from you, but I shall not place myself in their hands ... Do you think that when I see you so resolute in the affair of the bishops, and so little in that which concerns yourself and your posterity, that I am not in great despair, after having so often warned you as I have done, and it avails nothing? I tell you again, for the last time, that if you grant more you are lost, and I shall never return to England, but shall go and pray to God for you.'" (in: Katie Whitaker: A Royal Passion - The turbulent marriage of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, id., p. 260).
Madame de Motteville, die Hofdame der französischen Königin/Regentin Anna von Spanien/Österreich, die die englische Königin Henriette Maria persönlich kannte, da sie im Exil in Paris lebte, berichtet uns nach der Ermordung des englischen Königs Karl I. Folgendes: "A few days after the horrible murder of the king, the Queen of England received false news that her husband had been taken from his prison to the scaffold, where they were about to behead him, but the populace opposed it. I [Madame de Motteville] think that Lord Germain, his minister wished to prepare her by this fabulous tale for the fatal blow. The queen, as she told us this piteous incident, shed many tears, but took comfort in the thought that his people would save him, since they had thus begun to show feeling in his favour. February 19, 1649, she received the horrible true news, and her misfortune could no longer be hidden from her. ... She suffered infinitely, but she did not die. She often told me herself that she wondered how it was she had survived the blow. She knew that life could never again be pleasant to her. She had lost a crown; but what she regretted more was a good, just, virtuous husband, worthy of her affection and the love of his subjects. She had fallen into a deplorable position; and from being the most opulent queen on earth she now saw before her, according to all appearances, a lifetime of poverty and afflictions which were enough to horrify her. She had ideas and noble sentiments, and was consequently able to see all that she had lost, and what she owed to the memory of a king who had loved her much, giving her his whole confidence and showing her extreme consideration. He shared his grandeur and his wealth with her; it was therefore right that the should taste of his bitterness, and mourn all the days of her life for the day of his death. And she did, indeed, wear perpetual mourning on her person and in her heart, - as much, at least, as she was capable of; for by nature her mind had more gaiety than gravity. On the first day of her sorrow I did not have the honour of seeing her, because the violence of her grief made her invisible; but the next day ... I went to take leave of the sorrowing queen. As soon as she saw me she bade me kneel down beside her bed. Doing me the honour to give me her hand, with sobs which often interrupted her words, she ordered me to tell the queen [der französischen Regentin Anna von Spanien/Österreich, ihrer Schwägerin] the state in which she was, and to say, from her, that her lord the king, whose death would make her the unhappiest woman in the world, was lost solely because he never knew the truth: that she advised her not to irritate her subjects unless she had the power to quell them completely ..." (in: Memoirs of Madame de Motteville, Volume 2, id., pp. 85-86).
Über den Tod von Henriette Maria am 10. September 1669: "Henrietta Maria had been too suffering during the last week to visit her daughter [Henriette Anna, die die Geburt ihrer zweiten Tochter erwartete], but, at Madame's [ihrer Tochter] earnest request, she allowed the King's doctor, Vallot, and M. Esprit and M. Yvelin, first physicians to Monsieur and Madame [also ihrer Tochter und ihres Schwiegersohnes], to hold a consultation with her own doctor, as to her state of health. The result of this consultation was that Vallot recommended the Queen to take a grain of opium, in order to allay the continual cough and pains in the side that disturbed her rest. According to Father Cyprian's account, Henrietta Maria at first objected to this, saying that her old doctor, Mayerne, had always warned her against taking any narcotic. ... Her objections, however, were over-ruled. She took the opium pills when she retired to rest on the night of the 9th [of September], and in the morning was found in a dying condition. Father Cyprian hastened to administer the last sacraments, but the Queen never recovered consciousness, and passed quietly away. 'She could not sleep,' observes Mademoiselle [ihre Nichte Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans], in her caustic style, 'so the doctors gave her a pill to send her to sleep, which it did so effectually that she never woke again.' ... On the day after the death, the heart of the Queen was borne in solemn procession to the convent of Chaillot, where she had always hoped to end her days, and delivered by Abbé Montagu to the keeping of the Abbess and her nuns. Two days afterwards her corpse was buried at Saint-Denis with royal honours, Mademoiselle appearing as chief mourner, followed by all the princes and princesses of the blood." (in: Julia Mary Cartwright Ady: Madame, a life of Henrietta, daughter of Charles I. and Duchess of Orleans, id., pp. 295/297).
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