Henrietta of England (16 Jun 1644 – 30 Jun 1670)
Mistress of: King Louis XIV of France, among others.
Tenure: 1661.
Royal Bastards: One (Disputed).
Fall From Power: Replaced by one of her ladies-in-waiting.
In the summer of 1661, Henrietta of England began to openly flirt with King Louis XIV, and it was rumored that they had begun an affair. This was a bit of a problem, since Henrietta was newly married to the king’s brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, and he wasn’t very keen on the idea of sharing his new bride. When Henrietta failed to cease her philandering ways, Philippe complained about the affair to his mother, Queen Anne, who promptly reprimanded both her elder son and her daughter-in-law. Louis decided it was in his best interest to find himself another mistress, and immediately moved on to one of Henrietta’s ladies-in-waiting. Unfortunately for Philippe; however, Henrietta also took another lover, this one being Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche, who was formerly in a relationship with her own husband prior to their marriage. Naturally, this made Philippe insanely jealous – which was probably the desired effect. He was further ridiculed when, on March 26th, 1662, Henrietta gave birth to a healthy baby girl, although no one was quite sure who her father was.
Henrietta was actually an English princess (as her moniker might suggest) who was smuggled out of her native country during the English Civil War. She was well-liked at court, and praised for being a “cultured princess” though she suffered from several maladies that made her “rather thin and prone to insomnia.” In 1660, Henrietta was betrothed to Philippe after her brother was crowned the new King of England (making her a much more attractive bride in that her dowry would be significantly increased). Her husband was an effeminate young man who enjoyed dressing in women’s clothing. His tastes and habits were not unwelcome at court; however, and he carried on a number of affairs with both men and women before and after his marriage. Philippe and Henrietta had six further children (all believed fathered by the former), though they remained unhappy.
In early 1670, Henrietta captured Louis’ attention again and she was chosen to act as ambassador between France and England. Henrietta and instrumental in negotiating the Secret Treaty of Dover but all Philippe knew was that his wife was having secret (and frequent) meetings with the king: he began to suspect that Henrietta had resumed her affair with his brother. When Philippe did finally learn the truth of their meetings, he was even angrier –how could Louis not think to ask his permission to involve his wife in these affairs? And more importantly, why was he not chosen to be the ambassador? Unfortunately, Henrietta didn’t have much time to bask in her glory, for just twelve days after her return; she was dead at 26 years old. Of course, it was immediately believed that Henrietta had been poisoned: she had even said so herself before dying, screaming out in pain after having taken a drink of ice chicory. Despite a very public autopsy, no evidence of poison was found, and modern research suggests she died of acute peritonitis.
“Henrietta as Minerva holding a painting of her husband” by Antoine Mathieu, c. 1665 (image).
Herman, Eleanor. Sex with Kings. 240: Harper Perennial (2005). ISBN 0-06-058544-7.
Barker, Nancy Nichols. Brother to the Sun King; Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore/London ( 1989).
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