Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, mid-17th century.

Engraving by Hollar after a painting by Van Dyck. Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) was Queen Consort of Charles I (1600-1649), and youngest daughter of Henri IV of France (1553-1610) and Marie de Medicis (1573-1642). Henrietta Maria's Roman Catholic beliefs made her very unpopular. Under the threat of impeachment she fled to France in 1642 during the English Civil War to raise funds for the royalist cause. She was only able to visit England after the Restoration.