15/xx Daniel Dumontsier, Le Duc de Boukinkan, 1625, BN Paris
Another souvenir from George’s trip to Paris in May 1625 for Charles and Henrietta’s proxy wedding. Despite what horrible histories told you, he was not the proxy groom - that was one of Charles’s French cousins.
Although the trip to Paris was a hit socially - the stunt with the Pearl suit had the intended effect and there was a type of hat named after him - but he did not get the guarantees from Richelieu and Louis XIII for a joint campaign against the Habsburg to return the Palatine to Elector Frederick, who was languishing in exile at The Hague with Elizabeth and their vast brood of children.
There were also delays getting out of France due to various people getting ill and delays with papal dispensation and the presentation of papal honours to Henrietta Maria. This led to the first big clash between George and his new queen, and set the antagonistic tone for their working and personal relationship going forward.
However what everyone remembers is the business in the garden at Amiens with Anne. What actually happened is honestly a mystery and there has been a lot of scandal and romantic fantasy surrounding this since. Anne was of course the one who bore the brunt of this - when she was introduced to Cardinal Mazarin years later by Richelieu it was with the words “Madame you’ll like him, he looks just like Buckingham.” This also gave George the nickname “Fuckingham” one both sides of the channel.
Well done George, you only had one job and you couldn’t even do that properly.
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