HENRIETTA MARIA OF FRANCE: (1609-1669) Queen Consort of England, Scotland & Ireland 1625-49. Wife of King Charles I.

HENRIETTA MARIA OF FRANCE: (1609-1669) Queen Consort of England, Scotland & Ireland 1625-49. Wife of King Charles I.
A.L.S., Henriette Marie, one page, small 4to, n.p., n.d., to Henry Rich, Lord Holland ('Mon cousin'), in French. The Queen Consort writes 'I am extremely distressed that my letter should have to begin on such a sad note as the need to commiserate with you on your loss. I take an interest in everything which affects you as you are someone I hold in the greatest esteem. I will not write more but will tell you more [later] and also hear news of your meeting'. Written in her distinctive hand, Henrietta Maria has struck through several words of text and made other alterations. With integral address leaf addressed in her hand, 'A Mon cousin, le comte de holand', and bearing two small red wax seals and pink coloured threads. Small areas of identical paper loss to the right edge of each page, just affecting a few words of text, and possibly caused when the letter was originally opened. A few small areas of light staining, otherwise about VGHenry Rich (1590-1649) 1st Earl of Holland. English Courtier, Peer and Soldier. In 1623, as Baron Kensington, Rich had been involved in the negotiations with the French which concluded with the marriage of King Charles I to Henrietta Maria. He is recorded as having displayed 'a penchant for political dealings with women'. He was one of the many lovers of Marie de Rohan, the veteran of French Court intrigue. Serving as her High Steward, Rich's relationship with Henrietta Maria as Queen Consort of England blossomed in the 1630s, from which time the present letter most likely dates.The fifteen-year-old Henrietta Maria married King Charles I by proxy on 11th May 1625, shortly after his accession to the throne. Her Roman Catholicism made her unpopular in England and she never had a coronation. The Queen Consort immersed herself in national affairs as civil war loomed, and was compelled to seek refuge in France in 1644. The execution of King Charles in 1649 left her impoverished. The mother of his two immediate successors, King Charles II and King James II, Henrietta Maria returned to England after the Restoration although returned again to Paris in 1665, where she died four years later.